Sandy Duncan Movies
Considered an "oddball" in her Texas hometown because she wanted to be an actress, Sandy Duncan refused to be dissuaded, and headed for New York fresh out of Lon Morris College. A bit too petite to stand out in the dancing chorus, Duncan was eventually being spotlighted in second-lead roles. After working in the 1968 rock musical Your Own Thing, Duncan was engaged to play Maizie, the soubrette character in the venerable musical The Boy Friend. This 1969 production was supposed to be a vehicle for Laugh-In alumnus Judy Carne, but all the critical plaudits went to Duncan. This triumph, followed by a starring stint in the Disney film The Million Dollar Duck and a few well-circulated TV commercial appearances, encouraged CBS programming chief Fred Silverman to seek out a situation comedy for Duncan. Melba Moore had been slated to star in Funny Face, the weekly saga of a struggling actress, but when the series debuted in 1971 Moore was out and Sandy Duncan was in. The actress was lauded to the rooftops as the biggest "new find" of the season, but Duncan began suffering headaches on the set--which she discovered were caused by a tumor on the optic nerve. Duncan underwent a long and delicate operation, which threatened to end not only her career but her life. Fortunately the operation was a success, even though she permanently lost the sight in one eye. Having left the airwaves in December of 1971, Funny Face re-emerged in the fall of 1972 as The Sandy Duncan Show. Network in-fighting and a bad time-slot caused this version to fail, but Duncan survived as a guest-star on other people's programs, an actress in such films as The Cat From Outer Space (1978), a stage headliner, and a commercial spokesperson. Sandy Duncan returned to the weekly-sitcom grind in 1987 in The Hogan Family, in which she moved in with her widowed brother and inherited a sizeable family of multi-aged children. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Two singles in their early fifties who are convinced love has passed them by find each other -- and then try to figure out what to do next -- in this romantic comedy. Grace Minor (Jill Clayburgh) is a social worker whose personal life has hit the skids. Prompted by her friends Natasha (Sandy Duncan) and Elaine (Caroline Aaron), Grace takes the plunge and sets up a meeting with a man she's found through an Internet dating service. The date is a complete disaster, and Grace, deciding she needs a stiff drink, dashes into the first watering hole she finds. Grace finds herself in a gay bar, where she meets Christopher Roland (Jeffrey Tambor), a full-time exterminator and part-time jazz musician who, after an unsatisfying relationship with a younger woman and a surprising erotic dream, thinks he might be turning gay. Christopher and Grace strike up a conversation and quickly discover they have a great deal in common. They begin dating, but both have been through enough bad relationships in the past that they are determined not to get too serious about this one, even after they discover they get along extremely well in bed. Never Again also features Michael McKean as a cheerful transvestite prostitute and Bill Duke as one of Christopher's bandmates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Tambor, Jill Clayburgh, (more)
- 1995
After a coed is murdered, a detailed description of the crime appears online. Once again, detective Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) must rely upon the computer savvy of his partner Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) to track down the perp. Once the accused is in custody, Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) must deal with the stonewall tactics of the defense attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Swan Princess is an animated, musical adaption of the fairy tale, "Swan Lake." An aging king (Dakin Matthews) and a widowed queen (Sandy Duncan) arrange a marriage between his only daughter and her only son, despite the two children's initial dislike of one another. Eventually they fall in love, but the evil sorcerer Rothbart (Jack Palance), desiring the throne for himself, enchants the princess Odette (Michelle Nicastro). She is a swan by day, and becomes a woman only when the moon rises. Prince Derek (Howard McGillin) refuses to accept another bride and continues to search for his lost love. When he finds her, Derek must fight the sorcerer to free her from the spell. Winner of the Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence and the Parent's Choice Award, this adventure exhibits high quality animation and a blend of romantic and humorous musical numbers. The animal characters are fun without being too cute, including Jean-Bob the frog who thinks he is a prince, given voice by John Cleese. The subtle layering of spiritual symbolism makes this film intelligent enough for adults to enjoy as well as children. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Howard McGillian, (more)
- 1992
- G
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When Chanticleer the Rooster (Glenn Campbell) is tricked into leaving town to seek fame as an Elvis-style Las Vegas singer, his farm is plunged into eternal darkness. This animated musical from Don Bluth centers on a young farm boy who embarks on a magical journey into the animal world to try and bring Chanticleer home. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Glen Campbell, Ellen Greene, (more)
- 1992
Based on the 1989 earthquake that rocked San Francisco, this is the true story of the rescue workers who at their own peril tried to free the people trapped under a collapsed highway. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- 1990
Barney and his Gang show that they know how to throw a super birthday party for Dad when they host a wonderful backyard show that turns into a backyard block party. ~ Rovi
- 1990
In this Backyard Gang episode, a day at the beach turns into a day of adventure as the bunch accompanies Barney on a flying saucer ride where they encounter beautiful mermaids and dangerous pirates. ~ Rovi
Sandy Duncan, Judith Light, and Jill Eikenberry star in director Paul Schneider's made-for-television musical comedy about a 1960s-era female singing trio that reunites to take part in a television special produced to pay tribute to the pop superstars of yesteryear. Back in the 1960s, pop was king and the Bouffants were at the top of the charts thanks to their catchy hit single "My Boyfriend's Back." Two decades later, an ambitious NBC producer begins planning a television special dedicated to honoring pre-Beatles pop acts, and he wants to name it after the Bouffants' biggest hit. Now in order to make that happen, he sets out to find all three of the original Bouffants and offer them a chance to reunite on stage. But The Bouffants broke up for a reason, and convincing sarcastic bowling alley queen Vicki (Light), high-profile cosmetics executive Deborah (Eikenberry), and downhome housewife Chris (Duncan) to put aside their differences for the sake of the special will prove a more daunting task than he ever anticipated. Additional appearances by such notable '60s-era singing icons as Gary Lewis, the Penguins, Peggy March, and Mary Wells ensure that music lovers are not only in for a few nostalgic laughs, but a toe-tapping trip back to the time when everyone tuned into their radios eager to discover the next great hit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1988
Fed up with having to stay in hiding, ALF fantasizes about revealing his presence to the world. In his dreams, ALF serves a guest host on David Letterman's late-night NBC talkfest (replete with typical "Dave-isms"), while the Tanners plan a party celebrating his "emergence." Featured as ALF's TV guests are several of the people to whom he's revealed himself in the past--as well as Sandy Duncan, playing herself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In this entertaining feature for the 3- to10-year-old set, the wicked witch Hydia (voice of Cloris Leachman) and her two nasty daughters, Reeka and Draggle (voices of Rhea Pearlman and Madeline Kahn) are scheming to flood Ponyland with a strange liquid called Smooze. The ponies find allies in the Grundles, who have already been made homeless by the Smooze. The challenge is to stop the witch and her daughters, send them back into their volcano, and retrieve the lost land of the Grundles from under its cover of Smooze -- not to mention protecting Ponyland from the worst. Not an easy agenda, even after several adventures gear everyone up for the grand finale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Madeline Kahn, (more)
The Disney animated feature The Fox and the Hound tells the story of a friendship between traditional enemies. Tod is a fox whose parents have died. His best friend is a hunting dog named Copper. As Copper grows up, he learns that it is his job to hunt foxes. Tod's caretaker Widow Tweed takes Tod to live in a game preserve where he falls madly in love with Vixey. Copper and his owner eventually enter the preserve to hunt Tod, and eventually Copper must decide between duty and friendship. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, (more)
- 1979
His piano and singing repertoire mixed classical standbys and sentimental hits of the day, but Liberace was a Vegas superstar for more complex reasons. One of three television specials released on video by Rhino Video, Liberace's Valentine's Day Special features the showman who embodied Las Vegas glitter and flamboyant excess. Called a "kitsch virtuoso," pianist Liberace was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, and he was the darling of Vegas-vacationing mothers for decades, with a stage presence that was the prototype of what would become the glam rock star. In this program he arrives at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas via a hot-air balloon. He jumps on-stage in one of his patented over-the-top glitzy suits and plays several songs on the piano. He then takes the audience on a tour of the Liberace Museum, where he explains, "I collect pianos, cars, dogs, and talented people that I use in my shows." He also gives a tour of his private home, finally arriving at a small yacht christened the Queen Mary, where Sandy Duncan and Lola Falana join him. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
Zunar J5/90 Doric 4-7, also known as Jake, is an alien cat who crash-lands on earth. He heads off to the nearest scientist to find gold ($120,000 worth!) in order to repair his spaceship. Jake reveals that he can predict the winners in sporting events and soon the military is trying to track him down. The plot becomes more complicated when a wacky veterinarian inadvertently puts Jake into a deep sleep; now he must hide the alien cat from government authorities. The Cat from Outer Space was written by cartoonist Ted Key, who also wrote other Disney family fare, including Gus and The $1,000,000 Duck. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, (more)
This tuneful children's adventure offers another retelling of the classic tale of a marionette who achieves his dream of becoming a real live boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Jerry Paris's Star Spangled Girl (1971), based on Neil Simon's play (a notorious Broadway flop), never made much of an impression in theaters, which is understandable with a cheap, overlit television look to most of it and Davy Jones singing the song "Girl" over the main titles (which got a lot more visibility from its use in the Brady Bunch episode in which Marsha has to get the singer to appear at her school), it looked too much like a small-screen production blown up; it was dated from the first frame of its opening credits. Tony Roberts and Todd Susman play Andy Hobart and Norman Cornell, a pair of self-styled political radicals living in California, beating the system by stealing as much as they can from neighborhood shops and conning the rest out of anyone around, all for the greater goal of keeping their underground newspaper alive and kicking. Their lifestyle is a cross between the ideas in Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book and Max Bialystock's dalliances in The Producers. Into their midst moves a transplant from rural Florida, Amy Cooper (Sandy Duncan) (who was called Sophie Rauschmeyer in the play), a perky aspiring Olympic swimmer and old-fashioned, patriotic Southern girl, and as corn-fed a hick as you found in movies in 1971 without a cynical bone in her body. Norman, a hopelessly neurotic and sexually dysfunctional writer, falls in love with her almost instantly upon encountering her; not, mind you, based on her personality or even her looks, but her smell. Andy is, at first, oblivious to her charms and content to maintain his relationship with their libidinous landlady (Elizabeth Allen, totally wasted here), paying their rent with all-night barhopping and trysts involving skydiving. At some point, however, Amy decides she has to have Andy (based on his smell...), and he feels the same way. Andy and Norman end up -- Odd Couple-style -- in conflict over their differing approaches to life; the Odd Couple allusions are further amplified by Roberts' remarkable resemblance to Walter Matthau in his manner and delivery of dialogue. The story is resolved as unconvincingly as it's played. It's also a sign of just how unfunny the play was in that the funniest moment in the movie is new to the screenplay and comes just a minute after the opening credits with a gag referring to a certain John Schlesinger movie from 1969. It's not much of a gag, but it's funnier than anything in the main body of the movie, which otherwise plays like a terminally extended version of a Love American Style episode. The original Broadway production, incidentally, starred Richard Benjamin, Anthony Perkins, and Connie Stevens. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- 1971
Ponderosa ranchhand Dusty Rhodes (Lou Frizzell) has landed in jail. The only man who can clear Dusty is an itinerant, ill-tempered wrestler named Tom Callahan (Victor French), who is nowhere to be found. While searching for the reluctant witness, Joe Cartwright not only runs afoul of Callahan but also Callahan's girl Evangeline (Sandy Duncan in her TV debut), a deceptively frail-looking lass who is capable of smashing barrels with her head! Written by Preston Wood, "An Earthquake Called Callahan" originally aired on April 11, 1971, as the final episode of Bonanza's twelfth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
In $1,000,000 Duck, the titular duck is exposed to radiation and begins laying golden eggs, which brings it under the scrutiny of the treasury department, the FBI, and a gang of comic-opera crooks. The cast includes Disney perennials Dean Jones and Joe Flynn, with Sandy Duncan taking over the part usually assumed by someone like Michele Lee or Stefanie Powers. $1,000,000 Duck was directed by Vince McEveety. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sandy Duncan, Dean Jones, (more)
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