Baruch Lumet Movies

Woody Allen's in-name-only adaptation of the once notorious sexual reference guide by Dr. David Reuben contains seven episodes based on "helpful" questions answered in the book. In "Do Aphrodisiacs Work?", Allen appears as a court jester who uses a love potion to spark the erotic interests of the Queen (Lynn Redgrave). "What Is Sodomy?" stars Gene Wilder as a doctor who throws away his marriage, career, and position in the community when he falls madly in love with an Armenian sheep named Daisy. "Why Do Some Women Have Trouble Reaching Orgasm?" is a parody of stylish Italian films of the '60s in which a slick playboy (Woody Allen) discovers his wife (Louise Lasser) can climax only when they make love in public places. In "Are Transvestites Homosexuals?," Sam (Lou Jacobi) has his little secret revealed at a most inopportune moment. "What Are Sex Researchers Actually Accomplishing?" features John Carradine in a great parody of his mad-scientist roles as Dr. Bernardo, whose research into human sexuality has led to a fearsome mutation -- a 50-foot tall female breast! "What Are Sexual Perversions?" takes us to a broadcast of the popular game show What's My Perversion?, in which Jack Barry leads a panel of celebrities (including Regis Philbin and Robert Q. Lewis) in guessing the erotic obsessions of their guests. And "What Happens During Ejaculation?" takes the audience inside the body of a man in the throes of passion; The Brain (Tony Randall) guides the body's functions, with the help of his assistant (Burt Reynolds), while Allen plays a nervous sperm cell not sure if he can make the big jump. While the quality of the episodes is uneven, the best rank with the funniest moments of Allen's career, especially Gene Wilder's touching romance with the sheep ("I think we can make this work, Daisy") and the final sequence inside the male body ("What if he's only masturbating? I'll end up on the ceiling somewhere!"). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Critically acclaimed Rod Steiger plays Sol Nazerman, a Jewish pawnbroker who survived imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp, even though his wife and family did not. The devastating experience and unrelenting memories inhibit Sol from emotional involvement with life. He has no faith in religion and less in mankind. Though he carries on an affair with a woman who was also a victim of the Nazi camps, it is without emotion and Sol grows increasingly bitter and callous, withdrawing still further from the world around him. As his small shop in Harlem is run with little care or attention, it becomes a convenient cover for a local racketeer. Finally, a caring social worker tries to appeal to his humanity, but Sol's emotional wounds may prove to be too great to overcome. Based on a book by Edward Lewis Wallant, The Pawnbroker features the skilled camera work of Boris Kaufman, who had previously worked with director Sidney Lumet on films such as 12 Angry Men (1957) and Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962). The score is composed by Quincy Jones, who would contribute to Lumet's 1978 musical, The Wiz. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

The "Kiss of Death girl" is Francey McKay (Jan Sterling), who runs the blackjack table at a mob-controlled gambling house. Every time a man falls in love with Francey, he ends up shot full of holes: her most recent "victim" was Whitey Barrows (Wesley Lau), who worked for Francey's bootlegger boss Lou Scalisi (David J. Stewart). Though Scalisi and his fellow hoodlums hold Francey personally responsible for the ongoing friction between the booze runners and a gang of hijackers, it really isn't the poor girl's fault. All she wants to do is get out of the rackets, and she's looking for a nice guy who'll show her the way--and can she help it if every guy she knows is mixed up with the rackets? Mickey Shaughnessy is seen as Henny Combs, a softhearted nightclub bouncer who shares Francey's dream of going straight...without, of course, committing the fatal blunder of cooperating with Elliot Ness (Robert Stack). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once one of the biggest names in Hollywood, horror-movie star Ernest Von Kroft is now regarded as a pathetic has-been by everyone -- except, apparently, low-budget producer Hal Ballew (Sam Jaffe). With Ballew's sponsorship, Von Croft stages a comeback in a new vampire movie, only to discover on the night of the premiere that he has been set up to be cruelly humiliated by the film's director Morty Lenton (Robert H. Harris). Before the episode is over, however, a few unfortunate characters learn the hard way that Von Kroft is still "the greatest monster of them all." Listen for the unbilled voice of Mel Blanc during the movie-premiere sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a play which was originally produced by the Federal Theatre Project (part of the WPA), this is a film from the Depression era which shows the disparity between life in the slums and the life of the upper class. When a young man inherits a city block in the ghetto, he begins to meet those who live there. One, a young boy, had been crippled in a fire which ripped through his tenement. He meets and falls in love with this young boy's sister as well. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide