Art Linkletter Movies

Art Linkletter hosts the five-part series Family Violence in America. The series examines the causes and effects of family violence, and addresses ways to alleviate domestic hostilities. The segment The Horror and the Healing explores the tragic stories of several victims of violence, including that of two women shot to death by their husbands. Recovering victims speak openly about how various treatment methods, support, and therapies have helped them to escape the cycle of abuse, allowing the healing process to begin. Other programs in the series are The Family As Victim, The Fear of Anger, The Value of Life, and Conflict Resolution. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide

As a contestant on Art Linkletter's TV show (which looks a lot like People Are Funny), Lucy is offered a 200-dollar prize if she can refrain from talking for 24 hours. To make certain Lucy keeps her end of the bargain, Linkletter chooses a lady from the audience, one Helen Cosgrove (Doris Singleton), to accompany her home. What Lucy doesn't know is that Helen is a "plant," one of several actors hired by the capricious Linkletter to give our heroine as miserable a time as possible while she tortuously attempts to keep her mouth shut. Former child actor Jack Searl appears briefly as an escaped convict who rushes into the speechless Lucy's living room, desperately searching for a "one-armed man" (guess which TV show was popular when this episode was filmed back in 1965!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This volume features a different selection of game shows from the '50s and '60s, including "People Are Funny," "Concentration," and "I've Got a Secret." This video also features some of the original commercials. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This comedy stars Ronald Colman as Beauregard Bottomley, a self-styled genius in need of a job. He applies for a position with a large soap company, but Burnbridge Walters (Vincent Price), the firm's willfully eccentric president, falls into a "trance" while interviewing Beauregard and decides not to give him the job. When Beauregard overhears his sister Gwenn (Barbara Britton) listening to a game show sponsored by Walters' soap company, he discovers the perfect means to get revenge -- each time a contestant answers a question correctly, they double their prize money. Beauregard gets a spot on the show and starts winning -- and doesn't stop. Before long, the company owes him $40 million and Beauregard hasn't even broken a sweat. Beauregard is poised to bankrupt Walters and destroy his company, so the soap tycoon persuades Flame O'Neal (Celeste Holm) to pose as a nurse who will (a) find out if there's anything Beauregard doesn't know, and (b) distract him romantically. While a critical success and something of a cult item, Champagne for Caesar was a box office disappointment on its initial release; Ronald Colman appeared in only two more films before his death eight years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This compilation tape showcases three of TV personality Art Linkletter's television shows. The first, People Are Funny, was a show where Linkletter pulled practical jokes and pranks on unsuspecting people to see what reaction he would get. House Party was an afternoon talk show aimed primarily at women. Linkletter and the Kids was a show that grew out of a popular segment of House Party, where Linkletter would interview young children and basically just let them talk about their lives; they would often unknowingly blurt out somewhat embarrassing but often extremely funny "family secrets." ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide