Henry Gibson Movies
American comic actor Henry Gibson acted professionally since childhood, but didn't gain prominence until his discovery by Jerry Lewis for a role in The Nutty Professor (1963). Gibson quickly developed a comedy act for TV variety shows, in which he passed himself off as a fey, Southern-accented "blank verse" poet. So convincing was this persona that many viewers believed Gibson was a genuine Southerner, though he actually hailed from Pennsylvania. He played a cruder variation of his yokel character as a patron of the "Belly Button" bar in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me Stupid (1964), and was hilarious as a hip-talking Indian in the Three Stooges' feature film The Outlaws is Coming (1965). Gibson might have continued in small roles indefinitely had he not been catapulted to stardom in 1968 as part of the ensemble on TV's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, where his introductory "A poem...by Henry Gibson" became a national catchphrase. Gibson stayed with Laugh-In until 1971, whereupon he launched a reasonably successful career as a straight character actor. One of his best film roles of the '70s was Haven Hamilton, a hard-driving, flag-waving country-western star in Nashville (1975). Gibson not only delivered an expert performance but also co-wrote the songs sung by Haven Hamilton, including the deliberately banal Bicentennial ballad, "200 Years", in one of the film's early scenes. Henry Gibson continued throughout the next two decades playing strong movie character parts (the neo-Nazi commander in 1980's The Blues Brothers) and bright little cameos (the closet-smoking security guard in 1990's Gremlins 2). Gibson was also ubiquitously available as a guest star on such cable-TV reruns as Bewitched (he played a leprechaun) and F Troop (he was jinxed Private Wrongo Starr). He died of cancer in September 2009, about a week before his 74th birthday. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Professor Julius F. Kelp (Jerry Lewis) is an addle-brained, absent-minded chemistry instructor always incurring the wrath of the university administration by continually blowing up the classroom laboratory. The shy guy has his eyes on the student body of Stella (Stella Stevens). When a football-playing bully humiliates him, Kelp tries to concoct a chemical to help him gain physical strength and stature. The potion turns him into the handsome, hard-edged nightclub singer named Buddy Love. The mild-mannered professor's alter ego becomes a self-absorbed campus favorite at the Purple Pit, a hangout for hip cats and kittens. Stella falls for the enigmatic entertainer who wows the crowd with his jazzy, breezy delivery and cool demeanor. Buddy mixes it up with the bartender (Buddy Lester), who is instructed on how to mix the latest drinks by the professor-turned-party animal. The drawback of the potion is that it wears off at the most embarrassing an inopportune times for Buddy, turning him back into the helpless Kelp. Buddy performs at the annual student dance, and while on the dais, the elixir starts to wear off. The students and staff watch in amazement as he changes back into the professor. He gives an impassioned plea that people must learn to like themselves before others can like them in return. Stella still wants to be the teacher's pet, and the two make future plans together. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens, (more)
- 1964
Granny thinks she has found the ideal husband for Elly May: Quirt Manly, the rugged hero of Granny's favorite TV Western. Here at last is a "real man," one who can tame the rambunctious Elly. Without giving away the ending of this episode, it will suffice to say that Quirt Manly is played by Henry Gibson, who later portrayed the wispy poet laureate of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Originally telecast January 1, 1964, "A Man for Elly" was The Beverly Hillbillies' highest-rated episode to date -- though that record would be spectacularly broken one week later! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
During his latest effort to reactivate his spaceship, Martin (Ray Walston) absorbs a huge amount of electricity. As result, the town's electrical power goes totally bonkers, with TVs and radios turning themselves on and off, and half of the LA area going completely dark. Worse still, Martin causes further power damage whenever he sneezes--affording the authorities plenty of clues as to the source of all the trouble! Future Laugh-In regular Henry Gibson appears in an amusing supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Catholic League of Decency gave Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid! a "condemned" rating. The Moral Majority charged the picture with debauchery and movie theaters across the nation discontinued its run. The bed-trick comedy had America's panties tied in a knot; one could not imagine a story so distasteful. Dean Martin is Dino, a Las Vegas crooner, alcoholic, and celebrity playboy. Dino requires women like oxygen -- a companionless night leaves him with a headache. Ray Walston is Orville, a provincial piano teacher, aspiring songwriter, and jealous husband. Orville violently obsesses over his wife Zelda's (Felicia Farr) fidelity -- any man she encounters becomes his sworn enemy. When a chance detour brings Dino to Orville's hometown of Climax, NV, it is the perfect opportunity for the piano teacher and his songwriting partner, Barney (Cliff Osmond), to pitch their tunes. Yet, Orville predictably fears the possible combination of Dino's libido with Zelda's childhood crush on the singer. Before the two can meet, Orville deceitfully bullies Zelda out of their house and Barney hires local roadhouse prostitute Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak) to pose as Orville's wife. Zelda turns to drink for solace, ending up at the exact bar where Polly plies her trade and, eventually, in the call girl's empty trailer. By the next morning, Orville is with Polly and Dino (looking for a prostitute) finds his way to Zelda -- and husband, wife, hooker, and Barney will all reap the benefits of infidelity. This tale may be tasteless, but Kiss Me, Stupid! is now a cable favorite. Its modern rating? PG. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Kim Novak, (more)
The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Joe De Rita) leave Boston for the Wild West when they are fired from the Society for the Preservation of Wildlife. With Eastern editor Kenneth Cabot (Adam West), the boys find themselves in lawless Wyoming and the target of every infamous gunslinger of the era. With help from Annie Oakley (Nancy Kovak), the Stooges and Cabot fight the likes of Billy the Kid, Johnny Ringo, Jesse James, Cole Younger, and the Dalton Gang, and soon Wild Bill Hickok and Bat Masters arrive in a blaze of bullets. Watch for longtime Stooges foil Emily Sitar in a triple role as Aberrant, a U.S. cavalry Colonel, and the Witch Doctor, with Henry Gibson as Charlie Horse, and Murray Alper as Chief Crazy Horse. Ellwood Ullman provides the screenplay from the story by director Norman Maurer, Moe's son-in-law. With character names like the Sunstroke Kid and Trigger Mortis, this last of the Stooges feature films ranks among the best. Annie has a fight in the middle of town with Belle Starr (Sally Starr), and the cowardly editor Cabot proves his bravery and falls for his heroine Annie. Years later in a tribute to history's longest running comedy trio, Adam West fondly remembered his experience in making The Outlaws Is Coming with the Stooges. West would score his biggest career plume with the television series Batman, but he was obviously in awe of working with Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Fine, Moe Howard, (more)
- 1966
Henry Gibson guest stars as Private Wrongo Starr, the Army's most notorious jinx. The men of F Troop are terrified that Private Starr will wreak disaster upon them; after all, he has only recently finished a hitch with Custer at the Little Big Horn. Meanwhile, another infamous character shows up at Fort Courage: Hermione Gooderly (Sarah Marshall), aka "The Black Widow", whose last four husbands have all died mysteriously. (While the source of the character name "Wrongo Starr" needs no explanation, it perhaps should be noted that "Hermione Gooderly" is a play on the name of British actress Hermione Baddeley, the sister of Upstairs, Downstairs costar Angela Baddeley.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Rob (Dick Van Dyke) comes across a crumpled network memo ordering his boss Alan Brady (Carl Reiner) to fire one of his writers. Certain that his job is on the chopping block, Rob reluctantly violates the edicts of his contract by looking for an outside writing assignment. His search leads to a bizarre encounter with neurotic ventriloquist Claude Wilbur (Paul Winchell) and an abusive, insulting -- and extremely popular -- hand puppet named Jellybean. And the moral of this episode? "Alan Brady may be many things, but he's certainly not nice!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Reiner, Paul Winchell, (more)
- 1966
Henry Gibson returns as "jinxed" Army private Wrongo Starr, a character introduced in the first-season episode " Wrongo Starr and the Lady in Black" (excerpts of which are seen in sepia-tone). The troopers of Fort Courage are horrified to learn that Pvt. Starr has been assigned to guard a load of dynamite by their feckless commander Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry). The odds on Starr blowing Fort Courage to smithereens are increased by the arrival of a very hungry goat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Henry Gibson takes time off from his Laugh-In duties to appear in this episode of Bewitched. While trying to magically create a French dessert, Uncle Arthur accidentally conjures up the spirit of Napoleon Bonaparte (Gibson). Though Samantha offers to zap "Nappy" back to his own time, the Little Corporal decides to stick around, especially after he becomes a popular TV commercial star. Written by Richard Baer, "Samantha's French Pastry" originally aired on November 14, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1970
Henry Gibson guest stars as a leprechaun named Tim O'Shanter, whom Endora has installed in the Stephens household to test the strength of Samantha and Darrin's marriage. Ticked off at Sam, Endora instructs Tim to make Darrin's life a living heck. As a result, Darrin is outfitted with a pair of magic shoes which transform him from a go-getting ad man to a lazy lout. Written by Ed Jurist, "If the Shoe Pinches" first aired on March 26, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
Overlooked when it first aired February 18, 1972, the made-for-TV Evil Roy Slade has gained a loyal and protective cult following in the past 20 years. The film was the second pilot for a never-sold TV western spoof created by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, Sheriff Who?. Actually, it was the second and third pilot, since Evil Roy Slade has been cobbled together from two hour-long films. John Astin is terrific in the title role, playing an outlaw so repulsive that, when he was orphaned and left stranded in the desert as a baby, even the wolves didn't want him! As an adult, Evil Roy Slade can't resist "going the extra mile" in his nastiness: while robbing a bank, he stops to pilfer a fountain pen chained to one of the desks, and the next shot shows Slade riding off into the sunset, dragging the desk behind him. Attempting to reform for the sake of pretty schoolmarm Betsy Potter (Pamela Austin), Slade simply cannot curb his crooked tendencies, so it's up to Dick Shawn as singing Sheriff Bing Bell ("Will somebody please answer that door?") to bring the criminal to justice. Shawn previously appeared in the original 1967 Sheriff Who? pilot as the "fastest interior decorator in the West"; in both films, he's almost unbearably funny. The Marshall/Belson script is full of hilarious running gags and throwaway jokes. Our favorite bit concerns railroad magnate Mickey Rooney's legendary stubby index finger: "They still sing about it around campfires at night," claims Rooney--and indeed, they do. The supporting cast includes such never-fail laughgetters as Milton Berle, Henry Gibson, Dom DeLuise and Edie Adams; also, keep a lookout for John Ritter and Penny Marshall in unbilled bits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
According to this cookie-cutter TV movie, every man needs a woman to put down his rampant chauvinism. Ken Berry is a swinging architect (yes, he has long sideburns) who doesn't believe that women should work. Enter Connie Stevens, a highly intelligent young lady whom Berry reluctantly hires as an assistant. There's lots of talk about women's liberation, but note how most of the liberated ladies wear miniskirts and go-go boots. Every Man Needs One is inexorably a product of the early 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"It's OK with me...." Applying his deconstructive eye to the "film noir" tradition, Robert Altman updated Raymond Chandler in his 1973 version of Chandler's novel, The Long Goodbye. Smart-aleck, cat-loving private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is certain that his friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) isn't a wife-killer, even after the cops throw Marlowe in jail for not cooperating with their investigation into Lennox's subsequent disappearance. Once he gets out of jail, Marlowe starts to conduct his own search when he discovers that mysterious blonde Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt), who hired him to find her alcoholic novelist husband Roger (Sterling Hayden), lives on the same Malibu street as the absent Lennox and his deceased spouse. As numerous variations on the title song play in unexpected places, Marlowe encounters a shady doctor (Henry Gibson), a bottle-wielding gangster (director Mark Rydell), and a guard aping Barbara Stanwyck (among other stars), before heading to Mexico to stumble onto the truth once and for all. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, (more)
This animated musical, based on E.B. White's children's book classic, is about a courageous spider who helps save the life of an ill-fated pig. Wilbur is a young pig (voice of Henry Gibson) who's owned by New England farmer Homer Zuckerman (voice of Robert Holt). One day he is sold to a neighbor, where he meets a sheep who warns him that his fate lies in the confines of the slaughterhouse. Wilbur is terrified of this news until he meets Charlotte, a charming spider (voice of Debbie Reynolds), who is determined to save Wilbur from this dire destiny. By weaving words into her web, she convinces the farmer that Wilbur is some sort of prodigious animal too important to kill. The music for Charlotte's Web was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who wrote the scores for countless Disney movies, including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, (more)
- 1975
In this mystery, a group of high-ranking policemen have an important meeting and one of them ends up murdered, leaving the others to solve it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) and his fragile star protegée Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley); Tom (Keith Carradine), a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin); Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles), a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig; Albuquerque (Barbara Harris), a runaway wife with dreams of stardom; nightclub owner Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), who reminisces about "those Kennedy boys"; single-minded groupie L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall); vapid BBC commentator Opal (Geraldine Chaplin); and campaign guru John Triplette (Michael Murphy), who is trying to organize a concert rally for the unseen but always heard populist presidential candidate-cum-demagogue Hal Phillip Walker. Everything comes to a head during a climactic concert at Nashville's replica of the Parthenon temple, as the entertainment-hungry audience is momentarily woken out of its stupor by unexpected violence, only to be lulled into a restorative sing-along to "It Don't Worry Me." ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Gibson, Barbara Baxley, (more)
- 1975
The second made-for-TV movie based on Charles Moulton's classy comic-strip heroine Wonder Woman, The New Original Wonder Woman was the one that "sold", resulting in a popular and durable weekly series. Replacing Cathy Lee Crosby, who'd starred in the disastrous 1974 adaptation of Wonder Woman, is the statuesque Linda Carter. Having dwelled exclusively among females on Paradise Islandsince 200 BC, immortal Amazonian princess Diana comes in contact with the real world for the first time in her life when US Army Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) crash-lands on the island during WWII. Falling in love with Steve, the Princess assumes the identity of mousy, bespectacled Diana Prince and returns with him to the mainland. Every so often, and unbeknownst to Steve, Diana occcasionally transforms herself into the scantily clad superheroine Wonder Woman (golden lasso, magic belt and bracelets, the whole bit) in order to save the world from the Nazi menace. On this occasion, Wonder Woman does her thing in order to prevent the Nazis from destroying the prototype of a revolutionary new bombsight. First telecast on November 7, 1975, The New Original Wonder Woman was seen on ABC; by the time the Wonder Woman series proper ran its course on September 11, 1979, the property had switched networks to CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynda Carter
- 1977
A Southern big shot (Mitch Ryan) runs his local community like a personal fiefdom. His despotism extends to his abusive marriage to Maggie (Jaclyn Smith). Denied her basic rights as a woman and a human being, Maggie tries to file for divorce, only to run up against a corrupt, good-ole-boy legal system. Her only recourse is to escape from Bogen County without attracting the attention of the paid-off police force. The film's feminist trappings do not entirely compensate for the exploitational nature of the script. Made for TV, Escape from Bogen County first aired October 7, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Comedy writers David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams of Airplane and The Naked Gun fame got their start at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when they formed a theatrical group known as The Kentucky Fried Theater. The Kentucky Fried Movie is based on the KFT's gag-filled theatrical skits. Including well-known stars such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, George Lazenby and Henry Gibson, the film has over 22 different segments of varying lengths. Some are seconds long. Longer segments include such highlights as: "Zinc Oxide," which spoofs school educational films; "Cleopatra Schwartz," a spoof of female blaxploitation action films, whose heroine is married to a rabbi; "Sex Record," which depicts a couple who are attempting to follow the step-by-step instructions of a how-to-do-it record; "Catholic High School Girls In Trouble," and "A Fistful of Yen," (the longest episode), which is an elaborate spoof of martial-arts films. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, George Lazenby, (more)
- 1977
In this drama, five beauty aspiring beauty queens are abducted in a hijacked airplane. Also upon the plane is a strain of deadly virus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
Beau Geste, the classic adventure story of a young man's dangerous journeys as part of the French Foreign Legion, becomes the subject of broad parody in this slapstick comedy. The original tale, best known to film lovers from William Wellman's 1939 classic, tells of several brothers who join the Foreign Legion after claiming responsibility for the mysterious disappearance of an invaluable family heirloom. Eventually, brothers Beau and Digby find themselves in conflict with their vicious commander, leading to a potential mutiny. The plot here is similar, with Michael York assuming Gary Cooper's role as Beau, and first-time director Marty Feldman co-starring as Digby. However, following the lead of former collaborator Mel Brooks, Feldman plays strictly for laughs, loading the story with jokes ranging from the satirical to the vulgar. A cast of notables keeps things lively, with Peter Ustinov and Ann-Margret mocking their own images as the sadistic commander and lusty Geste stepmother. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Marty Feldman, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Robert Altman cooled his "innovative" jets to make the innocuous romantic comedy A Perfect Couple. Marta Heflin plays a member of a boisterous rock group. Paul Dooley is a bashful bachelor from a tradition-bound Greek family. Heflin and Dooley meet via a computer dating service, whereupon all the expected comedy setups avail themselves, though most of these setups are played as seriously as if this film were MacBeth. The best moments are the scenes with Heflin's musical group, though there are far too many of these. While Perfect Couple didn't make a dime, it still represents one of Altman's better "chamber" films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Dooley, Marta Heflin, (more)
- 1979
Director Joel Schumacher makes like Robert Altman in the made-for-TV Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill. In the tradition of Altman's Nashville, Schumacher's film is a rambling, anecdotal study of an amateur talent show in a tawdry Southern saloon. The link between the two films is strengthened by the presence in Amateur Night of Henry Gibson, who'd played a Porter Wagoner type in Nashville. Among the contestants is country-western singer Tanya Tucker, who also contributed some of the background themes for the film's musical score. Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill was produced by Motown Industries' motion picture division. Sidebar: To improve ratings, the ad copy for this film was headlined "Disco Killer on the Loose!"--then, in smaller type, the copy explained that "killing" was merely a slang term for winning over the audience! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
Robert Altman, the director responsible for M*A*S*H, came up with another acronymic title for his 1979 comedy H.E.A.L.T.H The letter stand for Happiness, Energy And Longevity Through Health--the name given a health-food convention at a Florida luxury hotel. In the tradition of his earlier Nashville and A Wedding, Altman utilizes the hotel as a gathering place for numerous interrelated, interconnecting plot threads. The unifying theme is a satire of corrupt politics, a la Watergate. Playing the unflappable hotel manager, Alfre Woodard stands out in a stellar cast including Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall, Henry Gibson, Dick Cavett, and Paul Dooley (who cowrote the screenplay with Altman and Frank Barhydt). By rights, H.E.A.L.T.H should have been a real crowd pleaser, but the film's preview went so poorly that its release was held up for nearly a year. Virtually thrown away by 20th Century-Fox, H.E.A.L.T.H has appeared recently on The Fox Movie Channel, but never received a commercial video release, which hasn't helped it it attain a following. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Jackson, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1980
Country superstar Loretta Lynn appears as herself in this episode. Hazzard County is thrown into an uproar when Loretta is kidnapped by a trio of shabby amateur crooks (Henry Gibson, Dennis Burkley Rebecca Reynolds) who demand a ransom of $1136.15! Truth to tell, the kidnappers aren't all that villainous or menacing: they simply want to recoup the money that was cheated out of them by a fraudulent record company. To clear themselves of blame for the abduction, Luke (Tom Wopat) and Bo (John Schneider) set out to rescue Ms. Lynn and see that justice is served all around. Loretta Lynn sings "Y'all Come". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
