Billy Barty Movies
American dwarf actor Billy Barty always claimed to have been born in the early '20s, but the evidence of his somewhat wizened, all-knowing countenance in his film appearances of the 1930s would suggest that he was at least ten years shy of the whole truth. At any rate, Barty made many film appearances from at least 1931 onward, most often cast as bratty children due to his height. He was a peripheral member of an Our Gang rip-off in the Mickey McGuire comedy shorts, portrayed the infant-turned-pig in Alice in Wonderland (1933), he did a turn in blackface as a "shrunken" Eddie Cantor in Roman Scandals (also 1933), and he frequently popped up as a lasciviously leering baby in the risqué musical highlights of Busby Berkeley's Warner Bros. films. One of Barty's most celebrated cinema moments occurred in 1937's Nothing Sacred, in which, playing a small boy, he pops up out of nowhere to bite Fredric March in the leg. Barty was busy but virtually anonymous in films, since he seldom received screen credit. TV audiences began to connect his name with his face in the 1950s when Barty was featured on various variety series hosted by bandleader Spike Jones. Disdainful of certain professional "little people" who rely on size alone to get laughs, Barty was seen at his very best on the Jones programs, dancing, singing, and delivering dead-on impressions: the diminutive actor's takeoff on Liberace was almost unbearably funny. Though he was willing to poke fun at himself on camera, Barty was fiercely opposed to TV and film producers who exploited midgets and dwarves, and as he continued his career into the 1970s and '80s, Barty saw to it that his own roles were devoid of patronization -- in fact, he often secured parts that could have been portrayed by so-called "normal" actors, proof that one's stature has little to do with one's talent. A two-fisted advocate of equitable treatment of short actors, Billy Barty took time away from his many roles in movies (Foul Play [1978], Willow [1988]) and TV to maintain his support organization The Little People of America and the Billy Barty Foundation. Billy Barty died in December 2000 of heart failure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1996
With his nerves at the breaking point, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is in no mood for the rude behavior he encounters at every turn at the Café Nervosa. When one customer becomes particularly abusive, Frasier uncharacteristically administers an "etiquette lesson" with physical force. Word quickly spreads concerning this outburst turning Frasier into a local hero -- whereupon his radio listeners follow his example by settling their problems with their fists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A blend of screwball farce and whodunit murder mystery, this madcap period piece was the brainchild of executive producer George Lucas. In 1939, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the harried general secretary and de facto manager of a new fourth radio network, WBN. On the night that the Chicago station goes live on the air, a mysterious voice interrupts, and a series of murders soon follows, each one described by the same sonorous phantom. While Penny and her staff desperately try to keep WBN's roster of shows afloat during the unfolding crisis, her estranged husband Roger (Brian Benben), a staff writer, becomes the chief suspect. Roger is forced to dodge a detective, Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), find the real killer, win Penny back, and perform last-minute script rewrites for an unhappy sponsor. As the backstage hysteria reaches a fever pitch, the show goes on with real-life radio-era pros such as George Burns and Rosemary Clooney. Although never explicitly pointed out in the film, Radioland Murders (1994) was a pseudo-prequel to an earlier Lucas feature -- Roger and Penny are the future parents of Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) from American Graffiti (1973). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
In this broad comedy, two buddies named Frank, with more ambition than sense, are en route to Hollywood in hopes of breaking into the movie business when they accidentally witness a Mafia execution. Before they know it, they're witnesses in a criminal case the FBI is preparing against the Mob, and the two Franks are suddenly being chased by Mafia hit men. The Franks get the "brilliant" idea of disguising themselves as women and posing as make-up artists at an upcoming beauty pageant to avoid being killed -- not knowing that this event is also controlled by the mob. The Naked Truth features M. Emmet Walsh, Erik Estrada, Shannon Tweed, Little Richard and Billy Barty. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1992
- NC17
Poor Michael Moore is one messed-up screenwriter who is more depressed than usual when his girl friend abruptly dumps him. His life forever changes when he saves a diminutive old man from street thugs. The little man has magical powers and as a reward for Michael's kindness gives him a notepad. This is no ordinary pad for anything Michael writes upon it will come true. This comedy-adventure follows what happens when the writer begins to use it. First he scrawls his wish that the lovely bank teller Diane Jacobs will enter his life. Unfortunately, he should have been clearer for they meet after they are both abducted by bank robbers. Fortunately, Mike has his trusty pad and they get out of the situation. Next he makes the mistake of telling his avaricious sister Jody about the magic pad. Wanting all of the family fortune for herself, she promptly plans on getting him declared insane. A trip to the courtroom ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1991
- PG
In this Navy spoof, a mismatched bunch of sailors are sent to sea as the incompetent crew of the U. S. S. Substandard, a faulty, unfinished submarine. Little does the crew of the Substandard know that the government doesn't intend for them to make it back to shore, as they encounter all kinds of crazy problems. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
If a comedy is to be made from the plight of the homeless, who have to scrape through their days returning deposit bottles and cleaning car windshields to get their daily bread as the rich get richer and more heartless, it may as well be Mel Brooks' Life Stinks. The trademark Brooks humor dominates this fable about a ruthless billionaire, Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), who wants to obliterate a poor section of Los Angeles and build a high-tech commercial center in its place. His only problem is that he owns only half the land needed for the construction, the other half belonging to equally ruthless billionaire Vance Craswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who has his own ideas for the land. The two try to buy each other out until, finally, a deal is struck: Craswell bets that Bolt cannot survive a month on the streets as a homeless man. If Bolt makes it, he gets the property. If he doesn't, Craswell gets it. Bolt agrees and, as a poor man, he begins to feel the pain of being uprooted and alone, even meeting a friendly homeless woman, Molly (Lesley Ann Warren) with whom he forms an attachment. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
- 1991
Originally titled Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride, this 2-part TV movie stars supermodel Carol Alt as Nancy, the ward of Mafia don Frank Latella (Eli Wallach). Part One gets off to an explosive start when Nancy witnesses her father's murder. Raised by Latella, our heroine lives for the day that she can avenge her dad's death. Little does she know that her own fiancé (Eric Roberts) was the man who pulled the trigger. Syndicated to local TV stations, Family Matter was first made available on May 13, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Carol Alt, (more)
Bernard (voice of Bob Newhart) and Miss Bianca (voice of Eva Gabor), the intrepid mouse squad from the International Rescue Society of The Rescuers, return to help a little boy from the Australian outback named Cody (voice of Adam Ryen), who has been kidnapped by an evil poacher named McLeach (voice of George C. Scott). Enlisting the air services of Wilbur the Albatross (voice of John Candy), the two mice travel to the wasteland of Australia. McLeach is a dark complexioned exploiter who scours the Outback in a giant hovercraft, intent on capturing endangered species and selling them for a hefty profit. Bernard and Miss Bianca befriend a Paul Hogan-type mouse named Jake (Tristan Rogers), but to battle against the evil McLeach, Bernard's wisdom is required in order to save the day. Disney got its feet wet in computer animation with several impressive flight sequences, which bracket the film. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
- Add UHF to Queue Add UHF to top of Queue
UHF is the film debut of comedy rock satirist Weird Al Yankovic, who also co-wrote the screenplay. George Newman (Yankovic) and his friend Bob (David Bowe from The Cable Guy) are fired from their jobs at Burger World. So George decides to take over Channel 62, a failing local TV station that his uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) won in a poker game. George turns it around into an overnight success after letting the janitor, Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards from Seinfeld), host a kid's show. George then fills the broadcast day with bizarre programming, bringing the ratings up and saving the station. Soon, rival station CEO R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) of Channel 8 threatens to sabotage the successful station, and George must come up with a way to save it. Only loosely constructed around this storyline, UHF is mostly a series of TV, movie, and music parodies strung together and played for cheap laughs. UHF also stars Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Fran Drescher. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- "Weird Al" Yankovic, Michael Richards, (more)
- 1989
- PG
When her grandfather the mortician goes on holiday, a young woman must run the family business. The comedy begins when she goes through grandpa's books and finds out that he is a wanted man and is nearing bankruptcy. Hoping to save him, the clever girl comes up with a few crazy ideas and begins staging extremely creative funerals. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This farcical send-up of the movie business borrows a plot from the classic 1968 Mel Brooks film The Producers. It stars Tony Curtis as J.P. Sheldrake, a movie producer sorely in need of a flop for tax purposes. Imagine his delight when a very young would-be filmmaker shows up on his doorstep with what could be the worst B-movie ever made, Lobster Man From Mars. In the story-within-a-story, a Martian lobster-man who has come to earth to steal some badly needed air for his home planet grows increasingly addicted to munching on humans. He is pursued by an addlepated professor (Patrick Macnee) a couple of all-American teens, and a trigger-happy military man. The movie looks guaranteed to be a flop, but of course it foils Sheldrake's plan by becoming a huge success. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Deborah Foreman, (more)
Though Willow was one of director Ron Howard's few box-office disappointments, it definitely deserves a second look. At once an epic celebration and a gentle spoof of the sword-and-sorcery genre, the film concerns the efforts by little person Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) to protect a sacred infant from the machinations of a wicked queen (Jean Marsh). One source book has assessed the picture as a combination of The Ten Commandments and Snow White. This is true enough, except that neither one of those properties offered such offbeat casting choices as Billy Barty and Jean Marsh. Executive producer George Lucas has (through the conduit of screenwriter Bob Dolman) added elements of his own Star Wars saga to the stew. The results are generally satisfactory, though the film is sometimes weighed down by too much plot, and the action sequences may not be suitable for very young children. Incidentally, this is the film where co-star Val Kilmer met his future wife Joanne Whalley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, (more)
- 1988
This animated adventure tells of Ralph the talking and motorcycle riding mouse. Episodes include "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" and "Runaway Ralph." ~ Rovi
- 1988
This television documentary chronicles the career of Spike Jones, a talented musical satirist who had audiences of the '50s rolling in the aisles as he and his City Slickers committed inventive forms of musical murder on some of America's most beloved songs. Archival footage from performances during the early '50s, coupled with interviews of former band members and Jones' family, round out the show. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1987
- R
This uneven comedy came and went quickly in commercial release. An American triathlete (Mark Neely) trains for an upcoming event, with the main competition coming from a pretty Russian exchange student (Terry Farrell). Billy Barty excels in his character role as a diminutive Russian, and the slapstick rivalry between the two event announcers and some sight gags help but fail to bring this feature to the finish line. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Neely, Terry Farrell, (more)
Dolph Lundgren stars in this live-action film version of the popular television cartoon series (based on a collection of Mattel action figures). Lundgren is He-Man, a well-muscled super-hero, battling the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) for control of the universe. Skeletor has designs on conquering the planet Eternia, a ravaged utopia ruled over by the Sorceress of Greyskull Castle (Christina Pickles). He-Man is summoned to stop Skeletor's plans. But when the wily dwarf Gwildor (Billy Barty) utilizes his Cosmic Key, He-Man and Skeletor finds themselves transported to California. There, a waitress named Julie (Courteney Cox) and her boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncan Mitchell) come across the Cosmic Key and become embroiled in the intergalactic battle between He-Man and Skeletor. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Harry Similac (Dirk Benedict) is a music promoter who must scramble to stay out of debt in this slapstick comedy. He hits upon the idea of becoming a wrestling promoter and steals Rick Roberts (Roddy Piper) from his former manager Captain Lou Milano (Lou Albano). He books his rock band Kick at the match and creates a new phenomena that combines wrestling with rock n' roll. Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty, and John Astin provide memorable comedy relief. Cameo appearances by wrestlers Ric Flair, Afa & Sika, Sheik Adnan Al Kaissy, Freddie Blassie, and Bruno Sammartino add further realism to this feature that recalls the rock-and-wrestling spectaculars of the early 1980s. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dirk Benedict, Tanya Roberts, (more)
The highlights of this classic children's story are the performances of Diana Rigg as the Mean Queen and Billy Barty as Biddy the Dwarf. The seven-year-old Snow White is played by Nicola Stapleton, with Sarah Patterson portraying the princess at age 16. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg, Billy Barty, (more)
Billy Barty, one of the world's biggest little people, stars in this musical children's fable from the Brothers Grimm. Rumpelstiltskin (Barty) promises the miller's daughter Katie (Amy Irving) that she will be able to spin straw into gold in order to win the love of the Prince (John Mouler-Brown). After the marriage, Katie gives birth to a son that the nasty gnome abducts. Rumpelstiltskin agrees to give the child back to Katie if she can guess his name. An excellent performance from Billy Barty who began his career in the silent film era. Amy Irving's brother David provides the direction. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Amy Irving, Billy Barty, (more)
- 1986
- PG
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas team up one last time in Tough Guys. Harry Doyle (Lancaster) and Archie Lang (Douglas) are two old-time train robbers, who held up a train in 1956 and have been incarcerated for thirty years. After serving their time, they are released from jail and have to adjust to a new life of freedom, now as old men. Harry and Archie realize that they still have the pizzazz when, picking up their prison checks at a bank, they foil a robbery attempt. Archie, who spent his prison time pumping himself up, easily picks up a 20-year-old aerobics instructor named Skye (Darlanne Fluegel). Harry, on the other hand, has to waste away his days in a nursing home. They both have festering resentments --Archie for having to endure a humiliating job as a busboy; Harry for having to endure patronizing attitudes toward senior citizens. The two old pals finally go back to what they know best. After successfully robbing an armored car, they decide to rob the same train that they robbed thirty years ago. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, (more)
This lavishly staged and costumed fantasy is about young Jack (Tom Cruise) and his lady love Princess Lili (Mia Sara), and how Jack battles Darkness (Tim Curry) to save both the Princess and the world. When the peasant Jack takes Princess Lili to see the unicorns, the strongest animals around, he does not know that Darkness, with his cloven hooves, yellow eyes, and red skin plans on using Lili as bait to weaken the unicorns which he does -- and plunge the world into an ice age. Soon after that disaster, Darkness captures Lili and, Jack has to rally his elves and elvettes to rescue her and subdue Darkness at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, (more)
Essentially a knock-off of the "Police Academy" series, this slapstick comedy tells the idiotic tale that contains humor to offend just about everyone as it tells the story of a milque-toast cop who moonlights at night as a paper-bag wearing stand-up comic who unfortunately gets mistaken for a paper-bag wearing bank robber. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Pat Paulsen, (more)
- 1983
In this "Who done it?," a home-schooled detective (Tim Conway) gets to the bottom of a complicated crime (murder, no less) in spite of his goofy self. ~ Rovi
- 1983
Details are sketchy regarding the British Saturday-morning children's program Fun Factory. It is known that the series debuted in 1983 as an intended replacement for the legendary ITV kiddie weekender TISWAS. Lacking the earlier series' stellar guest-star lineup, the "new" show at least afforded a rare weekly host opportunity to American dwarf actor Billy Barty. Unfortunately, Fun Factory didn't last as long as its predecessor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
© 2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2013 Rovi Corporation.