Leslie Nielsen Movies
Although his career stretches back half a century and includes over 100 films and countless TV programs, Leslie Nielsen gained true fame late in his career, when he starred in a series of comic spoofs beginning with 1980's Airplane!.The son of a Canadian Mountie and the brother of Canada's future Deputy Prime Minister, Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on February 11, 1926. He developed an early knack for acting when he was forced to lie to his disciplinarian father in order to avoid punishment, and he went on to become a radio announcer after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII (despite being legally deaf, the result of a childhood illness). To prepare himself for his future career, Nielsen studied at Toronto's Academy of Radio Arts, which was run by CBC commentator and future Bonanza star Lorne Greene. After several years in radio, he won a scholarship to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, where he studied acting under Sanford Meisner and dance under Martha Graham. He then spent five years appearing on such live television programs as Tales From Tomorrow before making his film bow in Ransom! (1956). With the exception of his starring roles in the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956) and the popular Debbie Reynolds-vehicle Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men. An attempt to do a "Davy Crockett" by starring as Francis Marion in the Disney TV saga The Swamp Fox resulted in a nifty title tune but little else. Nielsen went on to star in such series as The New Breed, Bracken's World, and Hawaii Five-O (1968), but found he was more in demand as a heavy than as a hero.
A notorious offscreen practical joker and cut-up, Nielsen was not given an onscreen conduit for this trait until he was cast in the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker spoof Airplane (1980). This led to his deadpan characterization of monumentally inept police lieutenant Frank Drebin on Z.A.Z.'s cult TV series Police Squad, which in turn spawned the 1988 hit The Naked Gun and two sequels. Nielsen also found success in a number of other film spoofs, so much, in fact, that those familiar only with his loopy comedy roles are invariably surprised that, once upon a time, he took himself deadly seriously in films like Harlow (1965) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
One of producer Walt Disney's more blatant efforts to duplicate the success of his early TV miniseries Davy Crockett, the eight-part Swamp Fox featured another flamboyant frontiersman hero who wore coonskin-style headgear and whose adventures were introduced with a catchy, memorable theme song. Based on a book by Dr. Robert D. Bass, The Swamp Fox stars Leslie Nielsen as real-life American patriot Francis Marion, a wealthy landowner who during the Revolutionary War led a hardy band of guerilla fighters against the Redcoats and pro-British tories in his native South Carolina. The villain of the piece (at least in the first few episodes) was another actual historical figure, the ruthless Banastre Tarleton (John Sutton), an officer in the British Green Dragoons (Marion and Tarleton later served as the models for the hero and villain, respectively, of the 1999 Mel Gibson film Patriot). In the first episode, Marion is prevailed upon by his friends and neighbors to help free South Carolina from the grip of British rule. His task is made difficult by the fact that his sweetheart, Mary Videaux (Joy Page), is from a pro-Tory family. "The Birth of the Swamp Fox" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In the second episode of Walt Disney's eight-part miniseries The Swamp Fox, the Redcoats have retaliated against the raids of Colonel Francis Marion's guerillas by burning down their homes. While Francis (Leslie Nielsen) advises his men to wait before striking back, his own brother Gabriel (Dick Foran) is in no mood to bide his time. Gabriel has vowed vengeance in particular against the pro-Tory Videaux family, even though Mary Videaux (Joy Page) is in love with Francis. What neither Gabriel nor the Redcoats realize is that Mary is secretly working on the guerillas' behalf, spying on the British and reporting their activities to Francis. "Brother Against Brother" was originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The Sheepman was touted as a comedy by some of MGM's publicity people. It really isn't, but this western does have its lighthearted moments. Glenn Ford stars as a hard-bitten sheep farmer, running up against the opposition of cattle ranchers. Shirley MacLaine is a no-nonsense frontier girl who becomes the bone of contention between Ford and cattle baron Leslie Nielsen. Ford is able to get a leg-up in the community by humiliating Nielsen's top gun (Mickey Shaughnessy) in public. The range war comes to an end when Ford and Nielsen go one-to-one. Because The Sheepman didn't do well in its initial engagements, MGM reissued the picture under the more aggressive title The Stranger With a Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1958
After he accidentally kills a man whom he assumes to be his wife's lover, wealthy Lloyd Ashley (Leslie Nielsen) engages his lawyer -- and best friend -- Mark Robeson (Barry Sullivan) to defend him in court. To bind the bargain, Ashley offers Robeson half of his four-million-dollar fortune. Only after he has been exonerated does Ashley discover that the man he killed was not the only victim in the whole affair. This is the first Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode to be directed by longtime Hitchcock associate Norman Lloyd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Debbie Reynolds stars as Tammy in this romantic comedy of a country girl living in the South who cares for pilot Peter Brent (Leslie Neilsen) after his plane crashes near her home. At the beckoning of mutual admiration, Peter soon invites her to his plantation where she charms the fancy-shmancy attitude out of his family and transforms the whole place into virtual sweetness and sunshine. Tammy and the Bachelor presented the original song Tammy by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, which gained the two an Oscar nomination for Best Song and became a hit song for Reynolds. Tammy Tell Me True (1961), Tammy and the Doctor (1963) and Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), as well as a television series, all were spun from this film. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan, (more)
- 1957
Hot Summer Night is an out-of-the-ordinary crime yarn from the TV/radio production team of Morton Fine and David Friedkin. Unemployed journalist William Joel Pertain (Leslie Nielsen) hopes to reestablish himself by capitalizing on a recent wave of bank robberies. Pertain has a "lead" to the gang's leader Tom Ellis (Robert Wilke), and intends to parlay this into a hot news story. Instead, he places the lives of himself and his wife Irene (Colleen Miller) in dire peril. Of interest is the fact that the villain is portrayed with a modicum of sympathy, while the reporter comes off as a bit of a jerk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Colleen Miller, (more)
- 1956
- NR
Viewers familiar with the 1996 Mel Gibson blockbuster Ransom may be disappointed that there are no smirking villains, car chases, or bloody fistfights in the original 1956 version of the same story. Even so, the earlier Ransom! has much to offer on a purely dramatic level. Based on the Richard Maibaum-Cyril Hume TV play Fearful Decision, the film stars Glenn Ford as self-made industrialist David Stannard. When his son is kidnapped and held for 500,000 dollars ransom, Stannard at first sets about to cooperate with the abductors and to raise the necessary funds. Somewhere along the line, however, Stannard's outrage erupts and boils over. Buying air time on a local TV station, he pulls out the half-million dollars, then informs the kidnappers that they'll never get their hands on a single penny. He further threatens to use the money as a reward for the kidnappers' capture, dead or alive, should any harm befall his son. Despite the protests of his wife, Edith (Donna Reed), and the admonishments of his friends, family, business associates and even the police, Stannard sticks fast to his decision...but will he live to regret it? The boy's abductors are never seen in Ransom!; instead, the film concentrates on the multitude of ramifications (including a few political ones) stemming from David Stannard's bold stance. As such, the 1956 Ransom! is in its own way as tense and exciting as the more elaborate 1996 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, (more)
- 1956
The Opposite Sex is an opulent musical remake of Clare Booth Luce's The Women (1939). June Allyson stars in the old Norma Shearer role, playing the virtuous wife who loses her husband to scheming Joan Collins (as the Joan Crawford character). At first agreeing to a divorce, June decides to win hubby back by utilizing the same crafty feminine wiles that Joan had employed to lead him astray. Doloress Gray plays the counterpart to Rosalind Russell's vitriolic gossip. The original The Women boasted an all-female cast: the remake includes several male characters, played by the likes of MGM contractees Leslie Nielsen and Jeff Richards. Dick Shawn, Jim Backus and Harry James are also on hand, billed as "special guest stars." The satirical bite of The Women has been softened in The Opposite Sex, but musical fans should have a good time. Sammy Cahn, Nicholas Brodszky, Ralph Freed and George Stoll were among the songwriters; Collins, Allyson and Jeff Richards perform musical numbers in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Allyson, Joan Collins, (more)
- 1956
The Rudolf Friml operetta The Vagabond King was first filmed in 1930, with Dennis King in the lead. On both sides of this adaptation, audiences were treated to non-singing versions of the story, bearing titles like The Beloved Rogue and If I Were King. In all instances, the plot remained the same: in 15th-century France, irreverent beggar poet Francois Villon, crowned "king for a day" by capricious Louis XVI, patriotically rallies his fellow beggars to pick up their weapons when Paris is invaded by the Burgundians. In the 1956 remake of Vagabond King, new "singing sensation" Oreste (of whom little was heard afterwards) stars as Villon, with Cedric Hardwicke as the droll, doddering King Louis, Kathryn Grayson as the high-born heroine, and Rita Moreno as the lusty low-born wench whose love for Villon eventually costs her the use of her life. Vincent Price narrates the film, which if nothing else is elaborately mounted and colorfully photographed. Sharp-eyed viewers will be able to spot Phyllis Newman, whose meaty supporting role was pared down to a one-line bit in the release prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathryn Grayson, Oreste, (more)
MGM's first big-budget science fiction film, Forbidden Planet, combined state-of-the-art special effects with a storyline based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. In the 23rd century, Cmdr. J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) guides United Planets cruiser C-57-D on a rescue mission to faraway planet Altair-4. Twenty years earlier, Earth ship Bellerophon disappeared while en route to Altair-4. Only the ship's philologist, Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), survived; in the intervening decades, Morbius has created an Edenlike world of his own, for the benefit of himself and his nubile young daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis). His private paradise is zealously guarded by Robby the Robot, a piece of technology far in advance of anything on Earth. When Adams and his crew land on Altair-4, Morbius announces that he has no intention of being rescued and returned to Earth. When Adams attempts to contact home base, he finds that his radio equipment has been smashed by some unseen force. Holding Morbius responsible, Adams confronts the scientist, who decides to tell all. At one time, according to Morbius, Altair-4 was populated by the Krel, a wise, intellectually superior race. Using leftover Krel technology, Morbius has doubled his intellect and gained the ability to shape a new world to his own specifications. Forbidden Planet was a big influence on future sci-fi outer-space efforts, especially Star Trek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, (more)
