Fred Gwynne Movies
The son of a Wall Street broker, towering (6'5") actor Fred Gwynne was born sucking on the proverbial silver spoon. Gwynne attended the prestigious Groton prep school, where he made his acting bow in a student production of Henry V. He then attended Harvard, where he studying drawing with artist R.S. Merryman and was active in dramatics and as a staffer of the Harvard Crimson. Upon graduation, Gwynne played Shakespeare with the Cambridge repertory before heading to New York City. He appeared in such Broadway plays as Mrs. McThing and was cast in a bit role in the Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront, but for many years his principal source of income was as a book illustrator and commercial artist (his first published work was titled The Best in Show). In 1961, Gwynne was co-starring in the Broadway musical Irma La Douce when TV producer/writer Nat Hiken, who'd cast Gwynne in a handful of guest roles on the 1950s sitcom Sgt. Bilko, hired the actor to play NYPD officer Francis Muldoon on the weekly comedy Car 54, Where are You? A year after the series' cancellation, Gwynne was starred in his most famous TV role: bolt-necked, soft-hearted Herman Munster in The Munsters (1964-66). Afterwards, Gwynne distanced himself from television for the most part. In the 1970s and 1980s, he distinguished himself on Broadway in powerful dramatic roles, often playing autocratic Southerners (e.g. Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and an elderly Klansman in Texas Trilogy). Fred Gwynne also returned to films during this period, playing key roles in such major productions as The Cotton Club (1984) and Shadows and Fog (1992); he died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completing his critically acclaimed role of the judge in My Cousin Vinny (1993). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1982
This adaptation of a Mark Twain story features a daydreaming apprentice who finds himself in medieval Europe. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Trying to recreate the screwball comedy success of his collaborations with Peter Bogdanovitch, actor Ryan O'Neal headlined this sporadically funny mixture of light farce and social satire. O'Neal stars as Bobby, an intellectual English professor who leaves his job when his father Jack (Jack Warden) appeals to him for help. A garment manufacturer, Jack is in serious debt to humongous loan shark Eddie (Richard Kiel), and he desperately needs his business to provide the capital to pay Eddie back. Completely by accident, Bobby invents the solution to his dad's problem: see-through denim blue jeans with strategically placed holes in the rear that expose one's backside. The fickle public goes mad over the "sexy" new style, and the money starts flowing in, but Bobby exacerbates his father's problems greatly when he falls for and begins dating the amorous Lira (Mariangela Melato), whose husband is none other than Eddie. So Fine was the feature directorial debut of popular Blazing Saddles (1974) writer Andrew Bergman, who would wait eight years before getting behind the camera again with the much more successful The Freshman (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Jack Warden, (more)
- 1981
This early-'80s made-for-TV movie includes most of the cast of the original Munsters TV series. An evil scientist creates android replicas of the Munster family in order to frame them for the robbery of an art-gallery. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- Add The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg to QueueAdd The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg to top of Queue
Filmed in Vermont, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is based on one of Mark Twain's more mysoginistic works. Mysterious stranger Robert Preston shows up in Hadleyburg, a town that prides itself upon the honesty and integrity of its leaders. Preston offers $40,000 in gold to the anonymous Hadleyburg citizen who, years earlier, had given Preston a handout and some valuable advice. The stranger sends letters to each of Hadleyburg's nineteen finest families, containing cryptic clues pointing to the identity of the beneficiary of the gold. Before the story is over, it becomes painfully clear that 18 of the town's "nineteeners" are willing to lie and deceive in order to claim the prize. Adapted by Mark Harris (who was compelled to sweat out 40 pages of the original story in order to make it "play" on TV), The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg was first presented in tandem with a dramatization of William Faulkner's Barn Burning on PBS' American Short Story series; the program first aired on March 17, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- PG
In this far-out comedy that slams it to academia, television, and the military, Simon (Alan Arkin) is a puffed-up professor who is boondoggled by a group of geniuses in a think tank. Becker (Austin Pendleton) leads the wacked-out thinkers as they invent off-the-wall games to keep themselves amused instead of solving global problems in ecology or whatever. They manage to convince Simon he is really a space alien, but then Simon gets away from them and takes refuge in a strange commune headed up by a former television executive (Adolph Green) whose bible is TV Guide. Simon's life does not get any easier since he is being hunted by the army with orders to shoot on sight. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Arkin, Austin Pendleton, (more)
- 1979
- R
Bernardo Bertolucci's controversial drama explores the troubled life of a young man and his troubling relationship with his parents. Joe (Matthew Barry) is the son of famous opera singer Caterina Silveri (Jill Clayburgh); while Joe believes that Caterina's husband Douglas Winter (Fred Gwynne) is his biological father, the truth is that he was sired by Caterina's former lover, who is now living in Italy and working as a schoolteacher. Joe is moody and rebellious and needs a strong father figure to guide him and keep him in line. But Douglas is ineffectual and emotionally weak, and when Joe witnesses Douglas committing suicide, it sends the young man over the edge. In hopes of boosting her singing career, which has fallen into a rut, Caterina decides to move to Italy, with Joe in tow; Joe falls in with a dangerous crowd and becomes addicted to heroin, while Caterina, hoping to lure her son back to a safer and more healthy lifestyle, tries to become closer to him, which leads to a flirtation with incest. Jill Clayburgh's performance earned her a 1980 Golden Globe nomination. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Matthew Barry, (more)
- 1979
A Manhattan priest with a fondness for dabbling in detective work investigates a series of unnerving, mysterious attacks, seemingly designed to terrify a young actress. This made-for-television film, retitled for its video release, is inspired by the books of mystery author G.K. Chesterton. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Captains Courageous is Rudyard Kipling's story of a wealthy, spoiled teenager who matures into responsible manhood during an enforced voyage on a fishing schooner. The 1937 MGM version of the Kipling tale lowered the age of the protagonist to accommodate juvenile star Freddie Bartholomew, and re-shaped the plot so that the Portuguese fisherman Manuel, played by Spencer Tracy, would be the leading role. This 1977 TV-movie version wisely restores the full age of Harvey Cheyne (Jonathan Kahn), reiterating Kipling's point that it's never too late to steer a young man on the right path. The 1977 version also relegates Manuel (Ricardo Montalban) to the secondary position he held in the novel, strengthening the growing friendship and mutual respect between young Harvey and wise old captain Danko (Karl Malden). Filmed on location off the Maine coast, The TV version of Captains Courageous originally aired December 4, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Produced and directed by Glenn Jordan, this 1971 made-for-television movie features a performance of Clifford Odets' depression-era drama, Paradise Lost. Starring Eli Wallach, the play is a character study focusing on the lives of Leo and Clara Gordon, a middle-class husband and wife living in 1932 America. Also starring Bernadette Peters, Fred Gwynne, and Jo Van Fleet, the program was released as part of Kultur's Broadway Theatre Archive series. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this made-for-television musical fable, a young boy yearns to become an angel after he dies in a fall. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Dr. Victor Frankenstein IV (John Abbott), a descendant of the scientist who "created" Herman Munster, has in his possession a primitive, brutish Herman lookalike named Johann (also Fred Gwynne). Unfortunately, Johann escapes from Dr. Frankenstein's lab at precisely the same time that his Herman and his wife Lily have arrived at a small motel for their second honeymoon--and the inevitable mixups wreak havoc on all concerned. Incidentally, one scene finds Johann watching a TV broadcast of an old cartoon series named Calvin and the Colonel--which, like The Munsters, was produced by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher (who also wrote this episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Herman Munster and his ghoulish clan leave the confines of their 1960s television series The Munsters to try their luck on the big screen in this feature length comedy that chronicles their adventures in merry England where Herman has inherited a large estate. Unfortunately, the Munsters do not realize that their new home is already inhabited by a ring of counterfeiters determined to frighten the family back to the United States. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
Season two of The Munsters finds that monstrous Munster aggregation -- Frankenstein Monster look-alike Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), his vampirish spouse ,Lily (Yvonne de Carlo), their werewolf son, Eddie (Butch Patrick), and Lily's Dracula-like "Grandpa" (Al Lewis) -- still innocently terrifying their neighbors, random visitors, and potential boyfriends of the Munsters' gorgeous niece Marilyn (Pat Priest), the only normal-looking member of the family. Of course, we all know that, despite their fearsome appearance, the Munsters are gentle and good-hearted...but if the rest of the world knew this, there wouldn't be any show, would there? The first of the season's 32 episodes is "Herman's Child Psychology," in which Eddie plans to run away from the Munster Mansion (provided he can avoid the full moon, one supposes!) Later episodes of note include "Happy 100th Anniversary," with Herman and Lily taking odd jobs (the odder the better) to afford anniversary presents for one another; "Just Another Pretty Face," wherein a bolt of lightning causes Herman to become "disfigured" -- that is, he looks like handsome Fred Gwynne without makeup; "Zombo," a classic outing with Louis Nye as a dyspeptic TV horror-show host; "Herman's Sorority Caper," if for no other reason than it features a decidedly pre-One Day at a Time Bonnie Franklin; and the last episode filmed for the series, "Prehistoric Monster," in which a nutty professor (Harvey Korman) concludes that Herman is the Missing Link! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, Fred Gwynne, (more)
Those creepy-but-lovable residents of 1313 Mockingbird Lane are on deck for 38 hilarious half-hours during season one of The Munsters. Seen throughout the season are Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, a softhearted replica of the Frankenstein monster; Yvonne de Carlo as Herman's voluptuously vampirish wife, Lily; Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster, a 350-year-old Dracula clone who spends most of his time cooking up mischief in his laboratory; and Butch Patrick as Herman and Lily's young son, Eddie, a budding werewolf. During the season's first 13 episodes, Beverly Owen appears as the Munsters' beautiful niece Marilyn, the only normal-looking member of the family (though she thinks she's a homely freak). Thereafter, and throughout the rest of the series' run, Pat Priest is seen as Marilyn. Some of the season's funniest entries include "Pink's Pique," in which the gas company is in for quite a shock when they accidentally build a pipeline in the Munsters' dungeon -- er, basement; "Low-Cal Munster," featuring Paul Lynde as a nearsighted doctor who puts Herman on a diet (and who, fortunately for his own sanity, can't see what Herman really looks like!); "Autumn Croakus," wherein Grandpa's nearly four-century lifespan may come to an end at the hands of a murderous widow; "Herman the Great," with Herman becoming a pro wrestler to pay for Eddie's education; "Eddie's Nickname," featuring a magical milk shake which, thanks to Grandpa's bungling, grows a thick beard; "Far Out Munsters," a spoof of "bizarre" '60s rock & roll groups featuring future softcore film producer Zalman King and The Standells; and "Herman the Rookie," the one in which Herman gets a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers as manager Leo Durocher and former football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch look on with mouths agape.
Two of the more fascinating first-season Munsters episodes are "Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights," featuring a cameo appearance by another of Universal's copyrighted monsters, the Creature from the Black Lagoon (aka the Munsters' "Cousin Gilbert"); and "Come Back Little Googie," guest starring child actor Bill Mumy, who had been the series producers' first choice for the role of Eddie Munster -- but whose mother did not like the idea of subjecting her boy to a daily two-hour makeup session. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two of the more fascinating first-season Munsters episodes are "Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights," featuring a cameo appearance by another of Universal's copyrighted monsters, the Creature from the Black Lagoon (aka the Munsters' "Cousin Gilbert"); and "Come Back Little Googie," guest starring child actor Bill Mumy, who had been the series producers' first choice for the role of Eddie Munster -- but whose mother did not like the idea of subjecting her boy to a daily two-hour makeup session. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, Fred Gwynne, (more)
- 1964
Fred Gwynne plays a dual role in this episode as softhearted monstrosity Herman Munster and his glib-tongued twin brother Charlie. After years away from home, Charlie suddenly shows up at the Munster mansion, mesemerizing the family with his "sure-fire" scheme to create uranium from seawater. Taking into account Charlie's reputation as a swindler, Herman smells a rat--and for once in his life, Herman is absolutely right! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This classic story of Mob informers was based on a number of true stories and filmed on location in and around the docks of New York and New Jersey. Mob-connected union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) rules the waterfront with an iron fist. The police know that he's been responsible for a number of murders, but witnesses play deaf and dumb ("plead D & D"). Washed-up boxer Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) has had an errand-boy job because of the influence of his brother Charley, a crooked union lawyer (Rod Steiger). Witnessing one of Friendly's rub-outs, Terry is willing to keep his mouth shut until he meets the dead dockworker's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint). "Waterfront priest" Father Barry (Karl Malden) tells Terry that Edie's brother was killed because he was going to testify against boss Friendly before the crime commission. Because he could have intervened, but didn't, Terry feels somewhat responsible for the death. When Father Barry receives a beating from Friendly's goons, Terry is persuaded to cooperate with the commission. Featuring Brando's famous "I coulda been a contendah" speech, On the Waterfront has often been seen as an allegory of "naming names" against suspected Communists during the anti-Communist investigations of the 1950s. Director Elia Kazan famously informed on suspected Communists before a government committee -- unlike many of his colleagues, some of whom went to prison for refusing to "name names" and many more of whom were blacklisted from working in the film industry for many years to come -- and Budd Schulberg's screenplay has often been read as an elaborate defense of the informer's position. On the Waterfront won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Brando, and Best Supporting Actress for Saint. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, (more)
