Billy Gilbert Movies

With Five Weeks in a Balloon, 20th Century-Fox hoped to cash on the success of the studio's earlier Jules Verne adaptation Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959). The plot is set in motion when 19th-century explorer Fergusson (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) volunteers to head a balloon expedition to claim an otherwise unreachable chunk of African territory for the British Empire. Along for the ride are reporter Donald O'Shay (Red Buttons), absent-minded professor Sir Henry Vining (Richard Haydn), Vining's assistant Jacques (Fabian) and schoolmarm Susan Gale (Barbara Eden). Along the way, the little party acquires another passenger when they rescue native girl Makia (Barbara Luna) from a slave trader. Their many near-death experiences include a run-in with evil potentate Sheik Ageiba (Henry Daniell). Other reliable characters on hand include Peter Lorre, Herbert Marshall, Reginald Owen, Mike Mazurki, and, in a dual role, sneezemaster Billy Gilbert. Since no one could be expected to take this sort of fare seriously, Five Weeks in a Balloon is played tongue-in-cheek, peppered with such overripe dialogue as "You, sir, are a cad!" and "Kismet! We are doomed!" ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This live, full-color musical version of Jack and the Beanstalk was one of NBC's most ambitious productions, costing $300,000 and utilizing 17 sets, all specially constructed at the network's vast Brooklyn studios. Though set in olden times, this version has a decidedly contemporary slant, with Jack depicted as a teenaged layabout who must redeem himself in the eyes of the community by doing "something big"--namely, climbing a beanstalk and conquering a giant. But from that point forward, the story doesn't quite adhere to formula: The so-called giant isn't nearly as fierce (or as big) as he's supposed to be, and there's a climactic surprise delivered by Jack's dyspeptic employer Mr. Poopledoop. Joel Grey, still ten years away from becoming an "overnight star" by virtue of the Broadway musical Cabaret, is cast as Jack, with Billy Gilbert as Poopledoop, Peggy King (then the vocalist on The George Gobel Show) as the Love Interest, Celeste Holm as a local looney, Cyril Ritchard ("Captain Hook" in the Mary Martin version of Peter Pan) as the bean peddler, and scrawny Arnold Stang as one "Mr. Fum." The lively but forgettable score by Jerry Livingston (Hello Dolly, Mame etc.) and Helen Deutsch includes"This is the One", "He Never Looks My Way", "Where Are the White Birds Flying?", "People Should Listen to Me", "Sweet World", "Twelve Feet Tall", "Looka Me", and "I'll Go Along With You". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Make Room for Daddy was the first modern family sitcom, although, to see it at any time since the 1960s, one would think that it was hopelessly dated. In fact, it was the most important 1950s sitcom after I Love Lucy -- and has a production history closely connected to that show -- and it spawned more than a decade's worth of hit sitcoms in its wake. Danny Thomas was the star and co-owner of the production company behind it, along with actor-turned-producer/director Sheldon Leonard. The series itself was based on Thomas' experiences as a standup comedian and father, trying to juggle a career and his responsibilities as a husband and parent. The series' original title, Make Room for Daddy, came from a phrase that Mrs. Thomas used to use on their oldest daughter, Marlo, who often slept in the master bedroom when Danny Thomas was out of town performing, reminding her to move back her own room, telling her "We must make room for daddy." As it went on the air in the fall of 1953 on ABC, Thomas portrayed Danny Williams, a New York-based standup comic and nightclub singer married to Margaret (Jean Hagen), with two children, daughter Terry (Sherry Jackson) and son Rusty (Rusty Hamer). Louise Beavers played their housekeeper, Louise; Horace McMahon played Danny's agent, Phil Arnold; Mary Wickes played Liz O'Neal, Danny's publicist; and Hans Conried played Danny's uncle Tonoose, the patriarch of Danny's Lebanese family back in Toledo, OH. Jean Hagen wanted to leave the series after three seasons and was written out of the show by having her character die of an illness.

During the 1956-1957 season (by which time the series had been renamed The Danny Thomas Show, which was what most people called it anyway), the series introduced Marjorie Lord as Kathy O'Hara, a nurse who takes care of a seriously ill Rusty; a romance was written in, and Danny Williams proposed marriage at the end of the season. The couple were married, and Kathy's daughter by a previous marriage, Linda (Angela Cartwright), joined the Williams clan as the youngest member. The following season, the series moved to CBS and opened with the Las Vegas honeymoon of Danny and Kathy, with their three children in tow. Other characters came and went, including Sid Melton as Charlie Halper, an excitable family friend and the owner of the Copa Club, where Danny was often booked, Pat Carroll and Charlie's wife Bunny, and Penny Parker, who took over the role of Terry after 1960. The series ran until 1964, and there were more than a few notable guest stars and cameo appearances, including Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, Bill Dana, and comedy legend Joey Faye, among numerous others. Annette Funicello was also a regular on the series during the 1959 season. The theme song for the run of the show was a big band version of "Londonderry Air," also known as "Danny Boy." ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this period musical, Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) is the son of a Mexican innkeeper who has come to California to take over a hotel owned by his family after the death of his father. Ricardo makes the startling discovery that his father was best known as a "kissing bandit," a dashing thief who aptitude for crime was matched by his gift for romancing the ladies. When tax collectors from Spain begin to overrun his homeland, Ricardo decides to follow in his father's footsteps, liberating the taxmen's ill-gotten gains and winning the heart of Teresa (Kathryn Grayson), the governor's daughter. Also starring J. Carrol Naish, Billy Gilbert and Mildred Natwick, The Kissing Bandit also features the fancy footwork of Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban, and Cyd Charisse, who appear as specialty dancers in the production numbers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This collection of three comedy shorts separately stars Billy Gilbert, Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy in Chicken Feed (1939), Twin Husbands (1946) and False Roomers (1938). ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

This mammoth musical is at base the story of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Brash Joseph Brady (Gene Kelly) has promised his shy pal Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) that he will introduce Clarence to all the glamorous movie starlets whom he allegedly knows so well. Actually, the only actress whom Joseph meets is bit player Susan Abbott (Kathryn Grayson). He arranges for the golden-throated Susan to be auditioned by musician José Iturbi, but when she seems to want to return the favor romantically, Brady tries to foist the girl off on Clarence. But Clarence only has eyes for a fellow Brooklynite (Pamela Britton). Also involved in the plot machinations is runaway orphan Donald Martin (Dean Stockwell). Featuring Kelly dancing with such partners as a cartoon mouse (courtesy of MGM's house animators Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera), Anchors Aweigh was a huge hit in 1945, assuring audiences future Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra teamings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shemp Howard and Billy Gilbert are a pair of lovable vaudeville clowns who spend most of their free time looking after the young son (Robert "Buzzy" Henry) of their boss (Paul Phillips), a nice guy who is trying desperately to hold together his second marriage. When his wife (Helen Gilbert) walks out, and he dies in an accident, Billy and Shemp are left to take care of the boy. In the course of looking for work, they meet impoverished restaurateur Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom and manage to achieve success as entertainers when their antics prove more alluring to patrons than the food they cook up. But then their late boss' widow and the man she's taken up with turn up, trying to claim custody of the boy so that they can steal the insurance payment for his father's death. Suddenly, everything they have worked for is in jeopardy, unless Billy can get married and adopt the boy legally. But marrying off Billy Gilbert is a task easier said than done, and leads to a comical search worthy of a good Three Stooges movie (only slightly more sophisticated). The two grifters manage to fool Billy into thinking the boy would be better off with the former stepmother -- he lets the boy go, which breaks up his partnership with Shemp. Can Maxie Rosenbloom's fists and the legal system put these three back together where they belong? ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this crazy comedy, the threesome try to become foster fathers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Olsen and Johnson's followup to their zany, iconoclastic Hellzapoppin' was the more conventional Crazy House. The premise: Having nearly laid waste to Universal while filming Hellzapoppin', O & J are thrown out of the studio when they arrive with plans for a new picture. Only momentarily daunted, our heroes decide to produce the film themselves, renting a studio and hiring carhop Margie (Martha O'Driscoll) as their leading lady. The success of this plan hinges upon an "angel", self-proclaimed millionaire Col. Merriweather (Percy Kilbride), who promises to advance the money for the new film. Things get sticky when the Colonel turns out to be a balmy eccentric with nary a cent to his name. After a wild courtroom trial presided over by ever-scowling Edgar Kennedy, it is decided that Olsen and Johnson will be permitted to screen their new film before a gathering of Hollywood studio executives, with distribution rights going to the highest bidder. The finale devolves into frantic slapstick when the last reel of the film turns up missing (a plot device later utilized in Mel Brooks' Silent Movie). Though Crazy House gets off to a suitably wacky start-when word arrives at Universal that Olsen and Johnson are coming, barricades are set up and armed guards posted, while every studio contractee from Leo Carrillo to "Sherlock Holmes" (Basil Rathbone) and "Dr. Watson" (Nigel Bruce) brace themselves for the comedians' invasion-the film quickly settles into a standard musical-comedy groove, complete with such guest stars as Allan Jones, Count Basie, the Delta Rhythm Boys and the Glenn Miller Singers. Still, there are plenty of hilarious moments along the way, most of them handled by raucous comedienne Cass Daley, playing a dual role. And there's seldom been a more satisfying movie finale than the last gag of Crazy House, which literally disposes of tiresome romantic leads Martha O'Driscoll and Patric Knowles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical comedy, a vaudevillian teams up with a barber and becomes a smash hit. The barber also finds himself falling in love with his talented partner. When he learns that she has a shot at becoming a famous radio singer, he decides to go solo. Eventually, the woman gets herself into a real fix. Fortunately, the barber comes to save her. The lovers are reunited and happiness ensues. Songs include "The Restless Age" (Ed Rose, Abe Olman), "Goodnight Now," "The Lilac Tree," "Tempo of the Trail," "Oh Johnny." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this "East Side Kids" escapade (the eighth in the series), the gang, led by Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey), help a man load a barrel on a truck. Little do they know that the man is a crook; accused of trying to steal the truck, they are immediately and without due process sent to reform school. Meanwhile, a gang members' brother is framed for murder and sentenced to death (justice is dispensed with remarkable swiftness on the East Side). The imprisoned gang watch a newsreel which features the man whom they'd helped load the truck. The man was filmed picking up a lottery prize for the his boss, a supposedly dead gangster who committed the murder for which the boy mentioned a few sentences back was framed. With the flimsiest of evidence, Muggs and his boys figure that the barrel loaded on the truck contained the murderous gangster. They escape from reform school (almost as easily as they'd gotten in), track down the gangster's henchman, extract a confession and save the condemned boy at the last minute. Insanely illogical, Mr. Wise Guy is lifted ever so slightly from mediocrity by the supporting performance of Billy Gilbert as the gangster's stooge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the shortest and sweetest of Betty Grable's Technicolor musicals, Song of the Islands casts the Leggy One as Eileen, the daughter of Hawaii-based Irish planter Dennis O'Brien (Thomas Mitchell). For many years, O'Brien has been carrying on a feud with local cattle baron Harper (George Barbier), who covets a patch of beach land that O'Brien owns but won't relinquish. It so happens that Barbier has a handsome son named Jeff (Victor Mature), who upon returning to Hawaii from the Mainland immediately falls in love with Eileen. Before the feud can be patched up, the audience is treated to an endless supply of music and dancing, with both Betty Grable and Victor Mature generously displaying the physical attributes which brought them worldwide fame. Incidentally, some wonderful outtake footage of Song of the Islands exists, featuring Grable and Mature giggling their way through a tender love scene. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wessel Smitter's semicomic novel FOB Detroit was the source material for Reaching for the Sun. Joel McCrea plays a North Woods clam digger who orders an outboard motor for his business. Figuring he'll save shipping money by picking the motor up himself, he heads for Detroit. Here he decides to take a job at an auto plant, the better to support wife Ellen Drew and the couple's baby. Paramount remembered that Joel McCrea's fans expected a few action scenes, and obligingly included a sequence in which a jealous coworker tries to kill McCrea with a grappling iron. Reaching for the Sun is easy to take, though not quite on the level of Joel McCrea's later work with director Preston Sturges. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi