Bill Dana Movies

In Lena's Holiday, the title heroine (Felicity Waterman) is an East German who makes the most of her newfound post-Berlin Wall freedom to visit Los Angeles. After crossing paths with a gang of jewel thieves, she finds herself running for her life. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

During the 1950s and 1960s, San Francisco's hungry i nightclub (the lower case is not a mistake: that's how the name read on the club's outside wall) was a primary breeding ground for young and hungry comedy talent. The "i" is no longer in existence, but most of its more illustrious alumni are still alive and kicking. Taped in 1981, The hungry i Reunion is comprised of interviews and brief snatches of several classic comic monologues. The star roster includes Mort Sahl, Jonathan Winters, Ronnie Schell, Jackie Vernon and the inimitable Professor Irwin Corey. And just so we won't forget that the "i" was also famous for its folk-singing sessions, the Kingston Trio is on hand to stir up fond baby-boomer memories. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The made-for-TV Guide for the Married Woman was conceived by screenwriter Frank Tarloff as an "answer" to his frolicsome 1968 theatrical feature Guide for the Married Man. If the sequel isn't quite as much fun as the original, it may be because what was deemed "risque" in 1968 was kid's stuff in 1978. In her TV-movie debut, Cybill Shepherd plays a bored housewife who yearns for romance and excitement. With the help of a steady stream of celebrity guest stars, Shepherd is able to fantasize about extramarital hijinks to her heart's content. The supporting cast includes such luminaries as Peter Marshall, Eve Arden, John Beradino, John Byner, Bill Dana, Bonnie Franklin, George Gobel, Tom Poston, Barbara Feldon and Chuck Woolery (the guest-star list of the original Guide for the Married Man included Art Carney, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Joey Bishop and Jayne Mansfield: guess which film had the bigger budget?) Guide for the Married Woman originally aired October 13, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kill My Wife...Please! was the rather desperate reissue title of the 1976 comedy I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? Sneaky Bob Dishy marries bitchy Joanna Barnes, then plots to kill her for the insurance money. He goes so far as to hire a hit man for that purpose-a man who deals in irrevocable contracts. The laughs are supposed to start rolling in when Dishy discovers that Barnes isn't insured after all. Bill Dana and Vito Scotti are among the potent comic talents wasted in this hectic dark farce. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Written by comedian Bill Dana (aka Jose Jimenez), this classic episode represents the one and only time that All in the Family relied upon a guest star. It all begins when moonlighting cabbie Archie comes home bearing a briefcase left in his taxi by Sammy Davis Jr. Intending to return the briefcase to the cab company in the morning, Archie is amazed when Davis himself shows up on the Bunker doorstep. What follows is a brilliant blend of Davis' patented charisma and Archie's bumbling, unintentional bigotry: "I know you had no choice about bein' colored, but what made you turn Jew?" The episode's final gag need not be revealed here, since it has been excerpted ad infinitum in dozens of TV-history specials since its first airing on February 19, 1972. Director John Rich, who won an Emmy for this episode, has claimed that "Sammy's Visit" came about because Sammy Davis Jr. insisted upon appearing on his favorite sitcom -- and has further claimed that Archie's "second job" as a cabdriver was added to the All in the Family lexicon so that Davis' visit to the Bunkers would be a logical plot development. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Albert Sordi is the son who travels to America to visit his father in New York. The two are to be reunited for the first time in 30 years on a television program. His father (Vittorio De Sica) takes advantage of the fabulous prizes offered by the show in hopes of paying off his gambling debts. The faithful son has quit his job as a gas-station attendant outside Rome to visit his opportunistic father, who uses his son to collect the gifts. The father talks his son into laying down a bet at the Derby while father travels to Mississippi in his newly won luxury sedan. Instead of sharing in his father's winnings, the son once again ends up pumping gas in a service station while the police go after the felonious father. Sordi also produced and wrote this effort. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A more appropriate title for this animated 60-minute special might have been Alice in Hanna-Barbera Land, since the cartoon producers have eschewed the original Lewis Carroll text and John Tenniel illustrations for something that more closely resembles The Jetsons or Scooby Doo. Updated to the 1960s, the story begins as Alice, a precocious suburban youngster, escapes the wrath of her stern father when she and her dog Fluff follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. In standard Hanna-Barbera operating procedure, several of the familiar Wonderland denizens are redrawn to resemble the actors providing their voices: thus, The White Knight looks and talks like "Jose Jimenez," the Hispanic character created by comedian Bill Dana (who also wrote the script), while the Queen of Hearts is a visual and verbal clone of Zsa Zsa Gabor. In a similar vein, some of the characters have been completely overhauled to be more "relevant" to Sixties viewers: Humpty Dumpty is now Humphrey Dumpty, with his Bogart-like voice provided by Allan Melvin; the Mad Hatter has a female counterpart, Hedda Hatter, voiced by gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (famous for her bizarre headwear); and the Caterpillar has suddenly grown two heads, who look and sound exactly like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. The songs, by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse of Bye Bye Birdie fame, are pleasant but forgettable, with the exception of "What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing In a Place Like This?", sung by the Cheshire Cat (his "hipster" voice supplied by Sammy Davis Jr.). In fact, it is obvious that Hanna-Barbera thought that they had a hit on their hands with this song, the title of which is used as the "subtitle" of this irreverent but entertaining cartoon romp. Alice in Wonderland first aired March 30, 1966, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi