Dwayne Hickman Movies

This comedy extends and embellishes characters introduced on Saturday Night Live by regulars Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in their sketch series of two head-bobbing losers who go on the town, looking for action, when they hear the What Is Love? disco tune. Looking cool, brothers Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) always fail to pick up women in their hapless nightclub jaunts. In Beverly Hills, they work at a fake-flower store run by their father (Dan Hedaya). They are always denied entrance to the Roxbury, a leading discotheque, but an auto accident with Richard Grieco (portraying himself) gives them a foot in the door. Inside, they meet the club's owner (an uncredited Chazz Palminteri), and two gold-diggers (Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice) believe they are wealthy businessmen. Steve finds his father shoving him into marriage with next-door neighbor Emily (Molly Shannon), but Doug keeps this from happening. Fortune smiles, and the Butabi brothers become the co-owners of a new nightclub. The real-life Roxbury on the Sunset Strip (once the location of the Imperial Gardens and the Players Club) was converted into a Japanese restaurant by the time this film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The second of two TV-movie attempts to revive the Dobie Gillis sitcom series of the 1950s and 1960s, Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis rounds up as many cast members of the old show as humanly possible. Dwayne Hickman took a break from his busy career as a CBS daytime-drama executive to recreate the role of Dobie Gillis, while Bob Denver was back as his beatnik "good buddy" Maynard G. Krebs. Also making return appearances are Sheila James as Zelda Gilroy (now Mrs. Dobie Gillis), Steve Franken as ridiculously wealthy Chatsworth Osborne Jr., and William Schallert as Dobie's college teacher Mr. Pomfritt. The plot concerns the attempts by Dobie's former high school sweetheart, the ever-mercenary Thalia Menninger, to wrest Dobie away from wife Zelda and claim him for her own. Tuesday Weld, the original Thalia, wasn't interested in reprising the character (nor was Dwayne Hickman interested in working with the troublesome Ms. Weld again), so the role was assumed by another 1950s TV icon, Connie Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An air-traffic reporter discovers that his partner--a St. Bernard dog--has accidentally swiped a priceless necklace from a jewel-smuggling gang. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1969, Don't Push, I'll Charge When I'm Ready remained on the shelf until December 18, 1977. On that evening, it was discreetly offered as an NBC Sunday Night Movie presentation. If the film resembles an old Bob Hope comedy, it may be because it was put together by Hope's son-in-law, Nathaniel Lande. Italian actor Enzo Cerusio plays a POW who finds himself in an American uniform during World War 2. Cerusio's pacifistic sympathies are rather at odds with the gung-ho attitudes of his fellow GIs, notably sergeant Dwayne Hickman. The romantic element is handled by Sue Lyon, who obviously had a lot of trouble landing good parts after her spectacular screen debut in Lolita (1962). Saving the film from total boredom are such seasoned laughgetters as Jerry Colonna, Soupy Sales, Edward Andrews, Parley Baer and Avery Schreiber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an aspiring singer finds herself single and pregnant. The story begins when she is rushed to the hospital to give birth. She is joined by three men; all of them want to marry her. The story of her pregnancy and her rise to stardom are told in flashback. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

American-International's Beach Party series came to an abrupt end with Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. Because of such tangible reasons as contractual commitments, coupled with such intangibles as illness and death, most of the series "regulars" are absent. Deborah Walley and Aron Kinkaid fill the roles usually played by Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, while Benny Rubin plays a comic-Indian role obviously intended for Buster Keaton. Only Harvey Lembeck, as the inimitable Eric von Zipper, is on hand from the good old days. The plot is set in motion by the ghostly Boris Karloff, a corpse who must perform one good deed before gaining entrance into the Hereafter. Together with a sexy spirit (Susan Hart) (the titular lass in the invisible bikini), the corpse attempts to save the heiress (Walley) from the murderous machinations of a greedy attorney (Basil Rathbone) and his cohorts (Rubin and Jesse White). Music is provided by such second-generation celebs as Nancy Sinatra and Claudia Martin, and with The Bobby Fuller Four lip-synching a pair of songs. The climax is a less-funny reworking of the final sequence in Beach Blanket Bingo, with the heroine (Walley) strapped to the longest buzzsaw plank in film history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The great Vincent Price obviously had fun with his characterization of Dr. Goldfoot in this campy spy spoof directed by Norman Taurog. With his henchman Igor (Jack Mullaney), the demented doctor builds a machine that mass-produces an army bikini-clad babes. Goldfoot programs his vixens to seduce the wealthiest men alive and convince them to sign their fortunes over to him - thus enabling the fiendish doctor to amass tremendous wealth and take over the world. Frankie Avalon co-stars as Secret Agent Craig Gamble, who sets out to destroy the women and bring Goldfoot's plan to a screeching halt. Annette Funicello and Harvey Lembeck provide cameo appearances. Strictly for fans who loved those 1960s drive-in quickies. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

1001 Arabian Nights was the first animated feature film produced by the "progressive" UPA cartoon firm. The studio had originally planned to feature its star attraction, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo, in an adaptation of Don Quixote scripted by no less than Aldous Huxley. But Columbia, UPA's distributor, didn't think that a Quixote film would sell to the kiddie trade, so the studio settled on the oft-used "Aladdin's Lamp" story. It might have worked better had Magoo portrayed a bumbling genie; instead, the Myopic One is cast as Aladdin's uncle, a wholly extraneous character who has no bearing on the plot or its outcome. Beyond its script shortcomings, 1001 Arabian Nights boasts an attractive production design and color scheme, as well as some pleasant voicework by Dwayne Hickman, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Hans Conried and Herschel Bernardi. Many of the character designs seen in Arabian Nights were reused on UPA's weekly 1964 TV series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still on NBC after moving from CBS a year earlier, Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show) enters its fifth and final season in first-run prime time. Bob Cummings returns in his signature role as professional photographer and self-styled ladies' man Bob Collins, with Ann B. Davis as Bob's faithful assistant Schultzy, Rosemary de Camp as Bob's widowed sister Margaret, and Dwayne Hickman as Margaret's son Chuck, now a college sophomore. With the series' ratings in a slump, Love That Bob producer Paul Henning tries to freshen up the proceedings with a gimmick or two. First off, there are more guest stars this season than ever before, including Steve Allen, George Burns, Art Linkletter, Peter Lawford, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and, most memorably, Mamie van Doren, here hiding her considerable assets under a frizzy wig, an outsized pair of glasses, and a dumpy outfit. (It is explained that van Doren is "preparing" for a movie character role!) Secondly, a belated effort is made to "domesticate" the rakish Bob Collins by introducing child actress Tammy Marihugh in the role of six-year-old Tammi Johnson. Attracted to Tammi's widowed mother, Bob suddenly (and uncharacteristically) finds himself working overtime to win the little tyke's affection and respect, at one point hiring actor George Montgomery, then starring on the TV Western Cimarron City, to teach him how to be a "real cowboy"! Though Love That Bob would conclude its nighttime run at the end of its fifth season, the series' episodes were rebroadcast on ABC's daytime schedule from 1959 through 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Happy-go-lucky photographer Bob Collins (Bob Cummings) continues to ardently pursue his lovely models -- and for that matter, any other lovely lady who tickles his fancy -- as Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show) enters its third season. Also still on hand are future Brady Bunch co-star Ann B. Davis as Bob's "gal Friday" Schultzy, who secretly pines for her boss; Rosemary de Camp as Bob's widowed sister Margaret, still hoping that her randy brother will stop playing the field and settle down to marriage; and Dwayne Hickman as Margaret's son and Bob's nephew, Chuck, now an 18-year-old who is even more determined to follow in his Uncle's footsteps as God's Gift to Women (late 1956 model). New to the series is Mary Lawrence as Ruth Helm, the wife of Bob's Air Force Reserve buddy Harvey Helm. Fully aware of Bob's reputation with the opposite sex, jealous Ruth keeps Harvey on a short leash, but she can't censor the gleam in her otherwise 100 percent faithful husband's eye whenever he gets a gander at Bob's harem of lady friends. Also conspicuous by her frequent appearances this season is Nancy Kulp as gangly bird-watcher Pamela Livingston, who'd like to feather Bob's nest someday (this character is virtually a "dress rehearsal" for Kulp's more famous role as Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies, which like Love That Bob, was executive-produced by Paul Henning).
And finally, there are several more appearances this season by Bob's aged but spry grandfather Josh Collins, who is even more of a wolf than his grandson. (Both Bob and Josh are, of course, played by Bob Cummings.) Ol' Josh is in fact the focal point of the season opener, "Grandpa Meets Zsa Zsa" -- and it is surely unnecessary for us to mention who "portrays" Zsa Zsa! Of Season three's 35 episodes, several stand out. "Bob Clashes With His Landlady" is a film buff's dream, offering a romantic pairing of Amazonian character actress Hope Emerson and dialect comedian El Brendel. "Bob Meets Miss Sweden" introduces a new recurring player, real-life Miss Sweden Ingrid Goude." Former child actress Bonita Granville, on the verge of becoming co-producer of the TV series Lassiewith husband Jack Wrather, plays the cousin in "Bob Meets Schultzy's Cousin." And "Chuck at College" was originally intended as the pilot episode for a spin-off series starring Dwayne Hickman; though no such series materialized at the time, Hickman would eventually headline his own sitcom, Dobie Gillis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Moving from NBC to CBS for its second season, Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show) also moved to a more advantageous time slot, Thursday nights at 8:00 PM. Here it would remain for the next two years -- never a huge ratings hit, but always consistently popular with its target audience, which seemed to be comprised of women who were attracted to star Bob Cummings, and men who envied Cummings' incredible luck with the opposite sex (at least on his TV show!) As was the case back at NBC, the CBS version of Love That Bob finds professional photographer Bob Collins (Cummings) ardently pursuing every beautiful and unattached girl who sashays into his studio.
Meanwhile, Bob's "gal Friday" Schultzy (Ann B. Davis) employs a full arsenal of wisecracks to cover up the fact that she carries a torch for her boss; and Bob's widowed sister Margaret (Rosemary de Camp), with whom he lives in a suburban L.A. bungalow , wishes that Bob would stop chasing about and get married, if only to provide a worthwhile role model for her teenaged son Chuck (Dwayne Hickman) -- who, more than ever during season two, is exhibiting a desire to emulate his uncle's Lothario tactics. In another carryover from season one, overprotective Bob is determined to save Margaret from the "lecherous" clutches of his airline pilot pal Paul Fonda (Lyle Talbot), even though Paul is basically a nice guy and a gentleman. Once he decides that Paul and Margaret should be together after all, Bob nearly louses up the relationship by being an overbearing buttinsky. And near the end of the season, Margaret tires of Bob's interference and sets about to "trap" Paul all by herself by shedding her sweet, domestic image and transforming into a Sadie Thompson-like vamp. Season two inagurates the series' policy of featuring story arcs that carry over from one episode to the next, a technique producer Paul Henning would hone to a fine science on such series as The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction. Typical is the two-episode arc in which Bob Collins follows guest star Jack Carson to Hawaii, hoping to dally amongst the sun-kissed island lovelies -- only to inadvertently become engaged to a local girl with a large and rather intimidating family! The most amusing development during Love That Bob's second season is the introduction of a "new" character: Bob's peppery, harmlessly wolfish grandfather Josh Collins -- also played by Bob Cummings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide