Shelly Manne Movies
Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley Moore) is a noted heart surgeon whose personality is switched with his teenage son Chris (Kirk Cameron) in this uninspired comedy. The ingestion of a brain transference serum is the catalyst for the comic catastrophe and the confusion that follows. Sean Astin and Patrick O'Neal co-star with Margaret Colin and Catherine Hicks. A decent idea for a comedy that has since been done better in Brian Gilbert's 1988 comedy Vice Versa starring Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, (more)
This remake of François Truffaut's 1977 comedy misses out on Truffaut's subtext that delves into the nature of love and instead simply recounts the sexual and romantic exploits of David, a sculptor who is an incurable womanizer (Burt Reynolds). In order to come to grips with his obsession for women, David goes to see a psychiatrist, Marianna (Julie Andrews), and sure enough, she later joins him on the couch. His tale is told by Marianna, as flashbacks reveal their relationship and other loves of David's life, most notably Louise (Kim Basinger), a married woman hooked on intimacy in odd, if not dangerous, places. In all these relationships, David is as much attracted to the women as they are to him. Unfortunately, with flat dialogue and uninspired comedy, David fares better than the film as a whole. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Julie Andrews, (more)
- 1973
- PG
This film is based on the 1931 film, Trader Horn. In the earlier picture, explorers (including Trader Horn) who stumbled on a hostile tribe of Africans have their lives saved by a white girl whom the tribe members regard as a goddess. They discover that she is the daughter of some missing missionaries and take her back to Europe with them. In this film, Trader Horn (Rod Taylor) works to thwart the efforts of Germans to use slave laborers in Africa to mine platinum for the war effort (WWI). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Father Daniel Berrigan, at the height of the Vietnam War, was arrested along with eight other protesters (including his brother Philip) in Baltimore in 1968, for burning draft records. Berrigan later penned a didactic play, based upon the incident, which was the basis for this film. The motives behind the Vietnam War protesters are examined during their trial, but the plea for individual responsibility and personal action concerning the war is rejected by the judge, and the Nine are found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwen Arner, Ed Flanders, (more)
- 1969
Veteran western director Burt Kennedy wrote the screenplay for this tale, based on the novel Who Rides with Wyatt? and also released under the title Who Rides with Kane? Robert Mitchum, who sings the title song, stars as Ben Kane, an ex-sheriff hunting for Frank Boone (John Anderson), the man who killed his son. He enlists the aid of Billy Young (Robert Walker), a hired gun who was abandoned by his fleeing partner Jesse Boone (David Carradine) after they killed a Mexican general. Kane becomes marshal of Lordsburg and falls in love with Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson), a dance hall girl. John Behan (Jack Kelly) and Jesse Boone try to kill Kane, but Lily warns him of the plot in time. Kane arrests Jesse Boone, and when Kane learns that his captive is the son of his son's killer, he uses him as bait in a plan to catch Frank Boone. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1965
Not to be confused with the 1987 movie of the same name, this is one of the early films that Tom Laughlin directed before he became famous from his series on Billy Jack, an anti-hero of his time. Laughlin also stars in this uneven teen drama as its only developed character, Christopher Wotan, a high-school athlete who starts out as essentially a normal young man faced with the tyranny of a brutal coach, and the vagaries of romantic and sexual challenges. Because Christopher's father has been trampled by failure and alcohol abuse, questions arise about the son's fate as he takes on life's obstacles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Laughlin, William Wellman, Jr., (more)
- 1965
In this realistic, nonexploitative drama, a high school athlete confesses his life story to a priest. The story is told in flashback. First he is seen as a top football player hoping for a scholarship so he can go to school and get away from his alcoholic father and his hard-working mother. The trouble begins when he is caught swimming in the school pool after hours and put on probation. Though he is love with one girl, he dates another, more wealthy girl. The affair goes well until they are caught in bed by her parents. Later he is falsely accused of participating in a robbery and gets expelled. The lonely youth then takes a 14-year-old slut to a secret hiding place in the church for a quick liaison. But he cannot go through with it because he is disgusted with himself. Instead he goes to confession. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Laughlin, Stefanie Powers, (more)
- 1964
In this comedy, a Yankee musician is working in Paris when he encounters a movie star chasing after her naughty French poodle Monsieur Cognac. The name is most apropos for the little doggy is quite the lush when it comes to booze. This suits the hard-drinking musician just fine and the two go out on a bender. Later the star and her father find the toasted twosome. The star begins falling in love with the musician. Despite her father's objections, the two get married. Unfortunately, Mr. Cognac accompanies them on the honeymoon. He becomes quite jealous of the woman's new husband and ruins their wedding night. Because she refuses to relinquish the dog, their new marriage is nearly destroyed. They separate until the husband manages to bring home Pink Poupee, a charming female poodle. Suddenly Mr. C forgets all about his jealousy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Christine Kaufmann, (more)
- 1962
Created by television pioneer Steve Allen, Jazz Scene USA was nationally syndicated television program in the beginning of the sixties that showcased some of the best practitioners of that very American musical form. This video contains a pair of programs - one featuring the cool jazz pioneer Shorty Rogers and the other capturing a performance by the gifted drummer Shelly Manne. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Based rather loosely on a novel by Jack Kerouac, The Subterraneans concerns a writer (played by George Peppard) who moves to San Francisco and falls in with a crowd of beatniks after falling in love with a French girl (Leslie Caron). The woman was black, not French, in Kerouac's novel, only the most obvious of the many areas in which this strays from the source material. Jazz great Gerry Mulligan has a small role as a saxophone-playing priest; jazz fans will also want to watch for cameos by Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, and Art Farmer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, George Peppard, (more)
- 1960
In this romantic comedy, a young basketball star proposes to a tall and intelligent coed while attending Custer College. She accepts, and he begins to worry about how they will get the money they need to survive. He then finds himself tempted to take a gambler's bribe and throw the game during an upcoming match with a Russian team. The weight of his decision affects his studies, causing him to fail a major test. As a result, he nearly misses the big game. Jane Fonda made her debut in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins, (more)
- 1959
A young college student has a stuttering problem around everyone but girls. He goes of to UCLA and is rejected by a fraternity, but meets a young blonde. The blonde has a sexy brunette roommate, and soon the brunette and the young man sleep together. Their thoughts turn to marriage, and the boy attends a speech clinic. He is halfhearted in his attempt to overcome his speech impediment and leaves the clinic. Finding out his "fiancee" is not faithful, he breaks up with her in a dramatically powerful scene. He isn't lonely too long as the blonde catches him on the rebound. He returns to the clinic in an earnest effort to improve his speech. Tom Laughlin is the writer, director and star of the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Laughlin, Nyra Monsour, (more)
The Five Pennies is the life story of influential jazz cornetist Red Nichols, played here by a remarkably straight-faced Danny Kaye. The somewhat romanticized screenplay chronicles Nichols' rise from obscurity, annotates the many future bandleaders who would play with Nichols' "Five Pennies," and details his self-destructive streak and (seeming) inability to conform to changing musical tastes. Weaving in and out of the main story is a sentimental subplot concerning Nichols' physically impaired daughter Dorothy, played by Susan Gordon as a child and by Tuesday Weld (in her movie debut) as a young woman. Nichols's long-suffering wife is portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes. The storyline occasionally lapses into sappiness and the ending is almost impossibly lachrymose, but the musical highlights save the day. Especially memorable is Danny Kaye's duet with Louis Armstrong. Among the real-life musicians who grace the supporting cast of The Five Pennies are Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony, Shelly Manne, and, as Jimmy Dorsey, Bobby Troup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, (more)
In this crime drama, a courageous high-schooler goes undercover and joins a teen-age gang so he can get revenge upon his father. When his cover is blown, his life is endangered. Fortunately, the second-in-command has a change of heart and tries to help the young man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sal Mineo, who'd previously registered well as the lead in the TV drama Drummer Man, essays a strikingly similar role in The Gene Krupa Story. The film details Krupa's troubled home life: (he wanted to be a musician; his father wanted him to become a priest), his rise to fame as drummer for the Benny Goodman orchestra, his years on top as a bandleader, and his ongoing problems with drug abuse. A fictional romantic subplot is grafted onto the proceeding involving clearly defined "good" and "bad" girls Ethel Maguire (Susan Kohner) and Dorissa Dinelli (Susan Oliver). Yvonne Craig has an entertaining scene as an anachronistically garbed good-time girl. Craig would later recall that, at the time of shooting The Gene Krupa Story, she weighed more than Sal Mineo, and that in the scene where he's required to lift her off the floor, she virtually had to lift him. Mineo, a drummer of some accomplishment, convincingly wields the sticks during the musical highlights, though the trickier drum solos were dubbed in by Gene Krupa himself. Real-life recording stars Anita O'Day, Red Nichols, Bobby Troup and Shelley Manne make cameo appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sal Mineo, Susan Kohner, (more)
Grim, almost unbearably intense, I Want To Live is the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward) a perjurer, prostitute, liar and drug addict. The product of a broken home, Graham works as a shill, luring gullible men into crooked card games. She attempts to go straight, marries the wrong man, and has a baby. When her life falls apart, she returns to her former profession and is involved in a murder. Despite her claims of innocence, she is convicted and executed. Robert Wise directs the uniformly fine cast with grim efficiency, telling Graham's story in a series of adroitly crafted scenes that won him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination. However, the film belongs to Susan Hayward who gives a intense, shattering performance without one false note. Her performance is so grimly focused that she is, at times, almost unbearable to watch. The final scenes, which lead up to Graham's execution, are exhausting in their emotional intensity as the audience is spared nothing of Graham's agony, despair and desperation when she finally loses the long battle to save her life. Whether one sees Graham as a murderer or a hapless victim of society, the power and relentless, sordid reality of her story leaves an indelible memory in the mind of the viewer. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, (more)
When Otto Preminger was willing to release his drug-addiction drama Man With the Golden Arm without the sanction of a Production Code seal, it proved to be yet another nail in the coffin of that censorial dinosaur. Based on the novel by Nelson Algren, the film stars Frank Sinatra as Frankie Machine, expert card dealer (hence the title). Recently released from prison, Frankie is determined to set his life in order -- and that means divesting himself of his drug habit. He dreams of becoming a jazz drummer, but his greedy wife Eleanor Parker wants him to continue his lucrative gambling activities. Since Parker is confined to a wheelchair as a result of a car accident caused by Frankie, he's in no position to refuse. Only the audience knows that Parker is not crippled, but is faking her invalid status to keep Frankie under her thumb. Gambling boss Robert Strauss wants Frankie to deal at a high-stakes poker game; terrified that he's lost his touch, Frankie asks dope pusher Darren McGavin to supply him with narcotics. When McGavin discovers that Parker is not an invalid, she kills him, and Frankie (who is elsewhere at the time) is accused of the murder. He is willing to go to the cops, but he doesn't want to show up with drugs in his system. So with the help of sympathetic B-girl Kim Novak, Sinatra locks himself up and goes "cold turkey"-a still-harrowing sequence, despite the glut of "doper" films that followed in the wake of this picture. After Parker herself is killed in a suicidal fall, the path is cleared for Frankie to pursue a clean new life with Novak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, (more)
