Jay Novello Movies
American actor Jay Novello began his film career with Tenth Avenue Kid (1938). Small, wiry and mustachioed, Novello found a home in Hollywood playing shifty street characters and petty thieves; during the war he displayed a friendlier image as a Latin-American type, appearing as waiters and hotel clerks in innumerable Good Neighbor films set south of the border. Once the war was over, it was back to those scraggly little characters, even in such period pieces as The Robe (1953), in which Novello played the unsavory slave dealer who sold Victor Mature to Richard Burton. Adept in TV comedy roles as meek milquetoasts and henpecked husbands, Novello was a particular favorite of Lucille Ball, who used the actor prominently in both I Love Lucy (first as the man duped by the "Ethel to Tillie" seance, then as a gondolier in a later episode) and The Lucy Show (as a softhearted safecracker). Jay Novello remained active in films into the '60s, as scurrilous as ever in such fantasy films as The Lost World (1960) and Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961); he also stayed busy in such TV programs as The Mothers in Law, My Three Sons and McHale's Navy, playing a recurring role in the latter series as a resourceful Italian mayor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1977
- R
Stanley Kramer directed this paranoid thriller involving a murderer who is inexplicably released from prison by a mysterious organization. Gene Hackman is Roy Tucker, serving time in San Quentin when he's busted out by a secret organization in return for having to assassinate an unnamed person. Roy travels from San Francisco to Spain trying to find out why he was released from prison and who he has to kill. His only lead is the organization is run by a collection of unknown people, collectively known as "They." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, (more)
- 1973
Stone (Karl Malden)and Keller (Michael Douglas) spring into action when a priest is killed in his Confessional. It turns out that the victim had attended the same seminary as three other priests who were murdered in similar fashion. To root out the killer, Stone goes undercover, donning the collar and robe of a Roman Catholic prelate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) order round-the-clock surveillance on Paul Hale (Robert Foxworth), the weak-willed son of kidnap victim George Hale (Harold Gould). Though he has only a fraction of the ransom money, Paul is supposed to "bluff it out" and make the drop--but he may never get that far thanks to his ongoing love affair with liquor. Meanwhile, George Hale is helplessly trapped in the flooding hold of a sinking ship--and the water is practically at chin level now! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
After accidentally knocking her down with the van, a guilt-ridden Mark (Don Mitchell) befriends an elderly woman named Melissa Babcock (Juanita Moore). It is just possible, however, that the accident was no accident: Ms. Babcock has a reputation for staging phony injuries in order to collect huge insurance settlements. But is the old lady the real villain of the piece? Former Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In regular Chelsea Brown appears as Melissa's daughter Andrea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
In The Comic, Dick Van Dyke plays Billy Bright, silent-era film comedian. The opening scene is at his funeral in which his sidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney) honors his partner's last request by hitting the preacher in the face with a pie. Van Dyke's voice then narrates the life story of the comic in flashbacks. Steve Allen plays himself and is the man who revives Billy's career towards the end of his life. Bright's life deteriorates as the bitter man becomes a drunk and abusive, alienating his wife Mary (Michele Lee). Van Dyke combines the characters of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel for his interpretation of the fictional character Billy Bright. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee, (more)
- 1969
While Sheriff Coffee testifies at a trial in San Francisco, Hoss Cartwright serves as temporary sheriff of Virginia City. Before long, Hoss has outraged and astonished the townsfolk by locking up millionaire Paul Forbes (Robert Emhardt) and his valet Fairfax (Jay Novello), for reasons which remain unclear throughout most of the episode. Conversely, Hoss refuses to accommodate troublemaker Hiram Peabody (Tom Bosley), who desperately wants to be arrested so he can escape his impending marriage to Cissie Summers (Melinda Dillon). First telecast on October 5, 1969, the lighthearted "A Lawman's Lot is Not a Happy One" was written by Robert Vincent Wright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1969
In the first episode of a three-part story, Bill takes Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) and the kids along on a business trip to Spain. Enchanted by the country and its people, both Bill and Cissy find romance, in the respective forms of a girl named Ana (Anna Navarro) and a boy named Ricardo (John Aladdin). Conversely, while taking a bus tour, poor Mr. French loses something--namely, Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In the second episode of a three part story, the family is still in Spain, where Bill (Brian Keith) has fallen for attractive senorita Ana (Anna Navarro) and Cissy (Kathy Garver) has been swept off her feet by a lad named Ricardo (John Aladdin). Meanwhile, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) conducts a frantic search for Buffy (Annisa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker), who have somehow gotten on the wrong bus during a sightseeing tour. After an encounter with a nun and some Spanish schoolchildren, and a spooky experience in an empty church, the worn-out twins seek refuge in an old barn, hoping against hope that somewhere, somehow, they'll come across someone who speaks English! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In the conclusion of a three-part story, Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) have managed to get lost while on a sightseeing tour of Spain. As Bill (Brian Keith) Cissy (Kathy Garver), Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) and several members of the local Civil Guard conduct a frantic search, the twins are given shelter by a kindly peasant couple named Carlos (Nacho Galindo) and Maria (Rosa Turich), who are worried that they'll be arrested should they reveal the kids' whereabouts. With all this going on, there's hardly time for the romance between Bill and Ana (Anna Navarro, to say nothing of the one between Cissy and Ricardo (John Aladdin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Career bank robber Peter Churchman Stephen Boyd plans to retire from his life of crime and live the good life in this uninspired crime thriller. He is blackmailed by Angela Tresler Giovanna Ralli into pulling off one last heist of some precious jewels located in the bank in Pamplona, Spain. Peter and three accomplices must steal the jewels during the annual running of the bulls. The festival atmosphere will hopefully allow them to pull off the crime, but the bank is located directly across the street from the local police station. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Yvette Mimieux, (more)
- 1966
Jay Novello, who made a number of memorable appearances on I Love Lucy, shows up in this Lucy Show outing as Sam Boscovitch, the inventor of a giant robot called "Major Fun Fun." The robot is designed as a mechanical babysitter for banker Mooney's (Gale Gordon) nephew, a spoiled-rotten brat named Wendell (played by former "Dennis the Menace" Jay North), whom no live sitter can stand. In hopes of obtaining funding for her friend, and to pick up a bit of extra money herself, Lucy dons a "tin soldier" outfit and impersonates the metallic Major Fun Fun, enduring all manner of indignities at the hands of Wendell -- at least until she turns the tables on the unruly youngster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay North, Jay Novello, (more)
- 1966
Agarn (Larry Storch) unwittingly becomes the third corner of a romantic triangle involving a gorgeous Sicilian girl named Gina (Leticia Roman) and her hot-blooded suitor Mario (Joby Baker). As a result, Agarn is literally a marked man: it so happens that Mario is a member of a secret terrorist society called the Black Foot. It will take the combined efforts of Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and the Hekawi Indians to prevent Agarn from sleeping with the fishes! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
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In this service comedy set during World War II, Capt. Cash (Dick Shawn) and Lt. Christian (James Coburn) are given orders to invade a small but strategically important village in Sicily. To their surprise, none of the natives offer the slightest resistance to the Americans taking over their town, who present only one stipulation -- the main event on the town's annual social calendar, a football match followed by a wine festival, is scheduled to happen in a few days. If the Americans would be kind enough to let them have their party, they'll hand over the town without a fight. Cash and Christian think that this plan sounds reasonable enough, and a few days later they and their men are drunkenly whooping it up with the townspeople when both German and U.S. surveillance planes spot the festivities. Thinking the wild party looks more like some sort of battle, both the Germans and Americans make plans to send in troops. Screenwriter William Peter Blatty would enjoy greater success a few years down the line with The Exorcist, a novel about a different sort of conflict. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Dick Shawn, (more)
- 1965
Carroll Baker, the Sharon Stone of the sixties, plays another classy-looking blonde with a sordid background in Sylvia. Millionaire Peter Lawford is about to marry the glamorous but secretive Sylvia (Baker). Before taking the plunge, he hires private eye George Maharis to do a background check on the girl. Whew, what he finds out! Apparently the only sin Sylvia doesn't commit is robbing parking meters, but we have no idea what might happen after the final fadeout. Shortly before it opened, Sylvia was the subject of several magazine articles, trumpeting the fact that Carroll Baker had conducted extensive interviews with real-life prostitutes in order to prepare herself for her role. This apparently left her no time to consult an acting coach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, George Maharis, (more)
- 1965
In this frontier spin on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Joan Hackett guest-stars as Margarita, the fiery, sharp-tongued daughter of a Mexican nobleman (Jay Novello). Having frightened off most of her potential suitors, Margarita may never be married-a sorry state of affairs for younger sister Eleana (Susan Silo), who cannot be wed until Margarita takes a hustand. It is up to Adam Cartwright to play "Petruchio" to Margarita's "Kate". Also in the cast are Cesare Danova as Luis, Eugene Iglesias as Carlos and Valentin DeVargas as Manuel. Written by Suzanne Clauser (with no credit afforded the Bard of Avon!), "Woman of Fire" first aired on January 17, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1965
A Very Special Favor stars Rock Hudson as a notorious romeo and Leslie Caron as a prudish psychiatrist. At the urging of Caron's lawyer father Charles Boyer, Hudson begins a seduction campaign. Caron resents this intrusion in her private affairs and builds up a wall of resistance against the ardent Mr. Hudson. Still, the film ends with Hudson and Caron happily married, with plenty of children underfoot and another one on the way. Roundly panned for its alleged smarminess in 1965, A Very Special Favor is offensive today not for its sex talk but for its "pregnant, barefoot, in-the-kitchen" mentality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Leslie Caron, (more)
Elvis Presley plays singer/actor Johnny Tyronne in this formulated quickie directed by Gene Nelson. While on a promotional tour of Pakistan, Johnny is drugged, kidnapped, and whisked away to a mythical Middle East country. Jay Novello plays the scheming Zacha who vows (for a price) to help Johnny in a world that is 2,000 years behind the times and sealed off from the outside world. With the help of Baba (Billy Barty), they hope to get Johnny back to the comforts of the modern world. Elvis shows off some neat karate moves, but he looks bored and resigned to the fact no one in Hollywood (or Colonel Tom Parker) will give him a serious screen role. Filmed on sets that were originally used for Kismet (1944) and Cecile B. DeMille's silent classic The Ten Commandments. As for the songs, only Mirage and Hey Little Girl are memorable. The generous Presley, perhaps feeling nostalgic, donated $50,000 to the motion picture relief fund after completing the film. On hand at the celebrity press conference were such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Bud Abbott, and silent-screen veteran Chester Conklin. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Mary Ann Mobley, (more)
- 1965
Two bohemians come up with a get-rich-quick scheme that goes awray in this comedy scripted by Carl Reiner. Paul (Dick Van Dyke and Casey (James Garner) are two American expatriates living in Paris; Paul is an artist and Casey a writer. Both have been trying to make a career, but with little success; Paul's girlfriend Nikki (Angie Dickinson), who is still in America, believes in his work and pays his rent. But Paul has reached the end of his tether and wants to go back home; Casey is horrified at the prospect of losing a rent-free home, so he comes up with an idea to help Paul's career and make some money. Since works by dead artists tend to fetch higher price tags and command more interest than work by living painters, Paul will fake his death with Casey's help and they'll both clean up. The plan works at first, until Casey finds he's been accused of murdering Paul. Ethel Merman has a supporting role as a madam with a habit of bursting into song. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Dick Van Dyke, (more)
- 1964
Leaving his usual jail cell after sobering up from his weekly bender, Otis Campbell trips and falls. Though the injury is minor, Barney insists that Otis sign all manner of documents absolving the county of any blame. This insignificant incident mushrooms into a major crisis when Otis falls into the clutches of an ambulance-chasing lawyer named Bentley (Jay Novello). Written by Bob Ross, "Otis Sues the County" was originally shown on December 28, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Smith
- 1964
Lucy (Lucille Ball) goes ga-ga over handsome Italian millionaire Umberto Fabriani (Cesare Danova). Alas, Fabriani speaks no English, and Lucy isn't much better at Italian, despite the "assistance" of that master linguist Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon). Things get worse when, during an intimate dinner, Lucy accidentally spills spaghetti sauce all over Fabiani's tuxedo. This situation culminates with a nocturnal foray into a closed-up dry cleaning establishment--where Lucy is unceremoniously plunked into a vat of green dye! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gale Gordon, Cesare Danova, (more)
- 1964
With the Germans advancing, Hanley (Rick Jason) and his men are ordered to evacuate a French village. Taking advantage of the situation, Frenchman Paul Lejeune (Jay Novello) switches a few road signs in order to misdirect Hanley's platoon into another village--his own. Lejeune hopes that by pulling the wool over the Americans' eyes, he can not only save the lives of the few villagers remaining, but also prevent a local winery from being bombed into oblivion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) are freed from the bank vault in which they've been locked up for 18 hours. In trying to explain to the media how she accidentally locked the door in the first place, Lucy succeeds in trapping Mooney in the vault all over again! The only person in town qualified to open the vault is candy manufacturer Mr. Bundy (Jay Novello), who'd once served time as a safecracker. Unfortunately, the temptation of all that money proves too much for the "reformed" Bundy, and he ends up robbing the safe and taking Lucy and Viv (Vivian Vance) hostage! The episode's riotous climax finds our two heroines, tied back to back, happily hopping around to sample the tasty confections in the back room of Bundy's candy store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gale Gordon, Jay Novello, (more)
- 1963
Heavy on slapstick and light on the more subtle forms of humor, this standard comedy by Frank Tashlin is still an amusing junket with Danny Kaye at the forefront as Ernie Klenk, a bumbling employee of the Diner's Club credit card company. Ernie has his hands full trying to manage the new computers (maybe they were all new at this point in time) and a bullying boss. His job is to okay the credit line of new customers and after he does just that with Foots Pulardos (Telly Savalas) he may have made his last serious mistake. Foots is facing trial for tax evasion and when he discovers that he and Ernie have an odd physical trait in common, he hits upon a scheme to fake his own death by immolating most of the hapless employees and then escaping the country disguised as Ernie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Cara Williams, (more)
- 1963
Having previously costarred in the third-season episode "The Contract", John Larkin, former star of the daytime drama The Edge of Night, and Frank Sutton, future "Sgt. Carter" on Gomer Pyle USMC, are reunited in this Season Four entry. Larkin is cast as "Lieutenant" Phillip Hedden, a former WW1 hero now running a protection racket preying on neighborhood butchers. Sutton plays Hedden's former sergeant and current partner-in-crime, Davey McCain. Though convinced of McCain's loyalty, Hedden doesn't realize that the battle-scarred Davey despises him. Ultimately, this unholy alliance is destroyed not so much by Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) as by Davey's grim determination to "win" both a pretty girl (Francine York) and a long-denied War decoration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
The Mayberry Chamber of Commerce hits upon a seemingly foolproof scheme to attract more tourists to the community. During Founder's Day, the first person to visit Mayberry will be designated "guest of honor" and handed the keys to the city. A perfect plan-except for the fact that the visitor in question is Sheldon Davis (Jay Novello), a well-known thief and pickpocket. Recognizing Davis, Andy says nothing, choosing instead to keep the stranger under surveillance during the festivities. But as often happens, Barney manages to bollix up Andy's strategy. Written by Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart, "Guest of Honor" was originally telecast on February 26, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard McNear
