Ted Ray Movies
- 2002
"Warning: The phone calls you are about to hear are REAL. The names have NOT been changed. SCREW THE INNOCENT." With such an opening disclaimer as this, is it any surprise that the Comedy Central sitcom Crank Yankers was created by Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, the same two naughty boys whose puerility had previously been given a workout on The Man Show? Here's how it worked: Kimmel, Carolla, and several other talented improv comedians -- among them Jim Florentine, Tracy Morgan and Sarah Silverman -- would place crank calls to unsuspecting civilians, who worked at businesses ranging from a pet store to a private detective agency. The regulars were careful to phone only those states where they could not be prosecuted for harassment (namely New York and Nevada, though other states may have been sneaked in from time to time). Once these calls were preserved on tape, they were then reenacted by a cast of motley-looking foam puppets, purportedly the residents of a backwater community called Yankerville. Lip-synching to the prerecorded prankishness were such recurring characters as grumpy 62-year-old war veteran Dirk Birchum, shock-rock deejay The Nudge, deaf-as-a-post nonagenarian Elmer Higgins, burp-a-dacious Bobby Fletcher, dimwitted teenaged janitor Special Ed, Jewish-American "princess" Hadassah Guberman, obnoxious politician Tony DeLoge, and laid-back African American guy Spoonie Luv. Some of the character voices were new to the series, while others were old standards, notably Jimmy Kimmel's Man Show alter ego Karl Malone and Bob Einstein's "Super Dave" persona. In each episode, a number of guest stars joined in on the fun, managing to make fools of the poor souls at the other end of the line -- and even bigger fools of themselves, which in a way made the show more endearing than annoying. The weekly, half-hour Crank Yankers was first telecast by Comedy Central on June 2, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Please Turn Over is an updated British variation on a theme put forth by the old Hollywood film Theodora Goes Wild. A bored young teenage girl (Julia Lockwood) causes a scandal when she pens a torrid bestseller. Those close to the girl recognize themselves as characters in the book; all they can hope for is that no one else does. But as the girl's fame escalates, her friends and family enter the realm of notoriety--which turns out not to be so bad after all. Clearly inspired by the Peyton Place brouhaha, Please Turn Over was based on the long-running West End stage farce Book of the Month by Basil Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1959
This third entry in the "Carry On" sweepstakes concerns William Wakefield (Ted Ray), the much-loved headmaster at a British school, who applies for a new job at a recently built country school. When Felicity Wheeler (Rosalind Knight) and Alistair Grigg (Leslie Phillips) from the Ministry of Education come to the school to check out Wakefield's qualifications, the students, not wanting their headmaster to leave, disrupt the school procedures to sabotage Wakefield's job application. Their subversive behavior comes to a head during a school production of Romeo and Juliet which degenerates into a free-for-all where it becomes every educator and student for him or her self. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Ray, Kenneth Connor, (more)
- 1959
The "crowning touch" of the title is a fancy woman's hat. It has been specially set aside at a posh British headwear shoppe, but no one comes to claim it. At this point the film takes a prismatic approach, with three of the shoppe's employees offering different reasons as to why the pretty young girl who'd ordered the hat never showed up. The Crowning Touch is a serviceable British shaggy-dog story, graced by the presence of such top talents as Greta Gynt, Griffith Jones, Sydney Tafler, Dermot Walsh and Irene Handl. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1956
This farce is the third movie version of Fred Duprez's play. A newlywed with a dominating mother-in-law attempts to surprise his wife with a baby grand piano, but when she overhears him talking about it, she mistakes it for an illegitimate child, particularly when his old flame shows up. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
- 1954
In this action-filled crime drama, a tough journalist relentlessly pursues a fleeing racketeer. When the gangster realizes that he is being pursued, he captures the reporter and then goes after his moll whom he suspects of ratting on him. The reporter escapes and rescues the girl. Meanwhile, the mobster is shot down in a police shoot-out. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1952
Meet Me Tonight was the American title for the British-filmed Tonight at 8:30, adapted from the Noel Coward stage production of the same name. Several rotating playlets were presented in the original Tonight at 8:30, most of them starring Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. The film version utilizes three of these short plays. "The Red Peppers" stars Kay Walsh and George Pepper as a brash music-hall team (their big number is "Has Anybody Seen our Ship") on the verge of splitting up. "Fumed Oak" stars Stanley Holloway as a man finagled into marriage by a domineering woman (Betty Ann Davies). And "Ways and Means" stars Valerie Hobson and Nigel Patrick as a pair of impoverished "professional guests" who have worn out the welcome of every wealthy host in Europe. Meet Me Tonight was given its American TV premiere on the ABC network in November of 1956, at which time its original title was restored. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1935
Will Hay heads a cast of nearly 40 popular British variety artists in Radio Parade of 1935. The magnificent supercilious Mr. Hay is cast as William Garland, a radio-station manager whose operation is in big financial trouble. Our hero is baled out by Jimmie Clare (Clifford Mollison), head of the station's complaints department, who enlists the aid of his fellow employees to stage a big-time variety show. So grateful is Garland that he consents to the marriage of his daughter Joan (Helen Chandler) and the enterprising Mr. Clare. The film's guest stars may have not meant much to American audiences, but British filmgoers were delighted to see their favorites in action. Filmed in a primitive but eye-pleasing color process, Radio Parade of 1935 represents one of the first directorial efforts of Arthur B. Woods, whose promising career was tragically cut short in the early stage of WW II. In America, the film was released as Radio Follies. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Will Hay, Clifford Mollison, (more)
