Isabel Sanford Movies
Defying her mother's wishes, African-American actress Isabel Sanford secretly worked as a nightclub performer in her teens. Upon winning 3rd prize in an Apollo Theatre amateur contest, Sanford could keep her new career a secret no longer. Married to a house painter who worked only on a seasonal basis, she held down a full-time job as a keypunch operator at the New York City department of Welfare, spending her evenings acting with such groups as Harlem Y and the American Negro Theatre. Seeking out better opportunities, Sanford packed her family into a bus and headed to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Her breakthrough film role was in Stanley Kramer's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; she played Tillie the cook, who heartily disapproved of the upcoming interracial marriage between Katharine Houghton and Sidney Poitier (the hardest part of this assignment was not mouthing the "controversial" dialogue but preparing dinner in a key scene; Sanford had never learned to cook!) On the strength of this film, Isabel Sanford was hired for several guest spots on The Carol Burnett Show, which led to her most famous characterization: Louise Jefferson, the acerbic but loving wife of "movin' on up" Sherman Hemsley, on the immensely popular sitcom The Jeffersons (1975-82). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
The stars of the witty TV series I Spy were reunited for this downbeat crime thriller, which takes a much darker and more violent look at the lives of two detectives for hire. Al Hickey (Bill Cosby) and Frank Boggs (Robert Culp) are a pair of private eyes who are approached by an attorney to find his girlfriend, who has gone missing. Their investigation leads them to a large sum of money from a Pittsburgh bank robbery. It seems that the woman in question has married the leader of a leftist radical group, which is now trying to find a buyer for the tainted money. An attempt to recover both the money and the girl goes awry when Hickey and Boggs infiltrate a meeting with the radicals; the girl slips away and takes the burgled cash with her. Adding to the disaster, the meeting tips off the identity of the detectives to mobsters dealing with the radicals, and the gangsters execute Hickey's wife in an effort to keep him away from their activities. Hickey and Boggs also features Rosalind Cash, Michael Moriarity, Vincent Gardenia, Isabel Sanford, and James Woods. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Cosby, Robert Culp, (more)
Joseph Wambaugh's best-seller about patrol-car cops in urban Los Angeles is given a competent yet antiseptic treatment by director Richard Fleischer. The film has a bad-tasting us-versus-them mentality in its depiction of patrolmen-civilian interaction, and its hopeless atmosphere carries over into the bleak suicide of one of the principle characters. But behind its rancid veneer, the story is the old "B"-movie police story concerning a rookie cop being shown the ropes by a kindly and wizened old veteran. Roy (Stacy Keach) is the young patrolman introduced into the ways of Los Angeles street life by Kilvinsky (George C. Scott), the philosophical old pro. Kilvinsky is just short of retirement and wants to educate Roy to succeed him when he leaves. Roy, however, is on the edge because of a recent divorce, and it takes many speeches by Kilvinsky and the love and affection from his new black girlfriend Lorrie (Rosalind Cash) to keep from going over the deep end. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, (more)
Up The Sandbox is a complex and difficult film, and it is ambiguous on many points, particularly on whether the protagonist Margaret Reynolds (Barbara Streisand) is a women's liberationist, a closet lesbian, or a masochist. Based on the novel by Anne Richardson Rolphe, it follows Margaret's attempts to tell her husband that she is pregnant with yet another child. The everyday events of her life are punctuated by numerous and complex fantasy sequences which reveal her fears and her desires. It is clear that she is afraid that she and her husband Paul (David Selby) are growing apart -- and that he may be having an affair. Despite the increasingly elaborate and frantic nature of her fantasies, her disclosure, when she finally makes it, has happy results. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, David Selby, (more)
- 1971
In this comedy-drama, President Lincoln temporarily abandons his inaugural tour to visit a little girl who wrote him a letter asking him to grow a beard. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The tempestuous introductory "shakedown season" of All in the Family ended on a high (and highly rated) note with the episode titled "The First and Last Supper." Though Archie is resigned to the fact that the Jeffersons are living across the street, he is still opposed to having other black families move into the neighborhood. Archie's intolerance -- and all the inconsistencies and contradictions included therein -- come to surface when Edith invites the Jeffersons to dinner. Isabel Sanford appears as Louise Jefferson, while Mel Stewart appears as her brother-in-law Henry (Sherman Hemsley had not yet joined the cast). Written by Jerry Mayer, "The First and Last Supper" originally aired on April 6, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1971
Archie learns to his horror that a black family is moving across the street. As Edith, Gloria, and Mike listen with varying reactions, Archie spouts out all manner of racist venom and ethnic misapprehensions -- only to be caught short when Lionel (Mike Evans) arrives with an added tidbit of information. Vincent Gardenia, who later joined the cast as Frank Lorenzo, here portrays the extremely nervous Bowman (Best line: "Uh-uh, they're Baptists!"). Written by Don Nicholl and Bryan Joseph, "Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood" originally aired on March 2, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1971
Season two of All in the Family commenced on September 18, 1971 with yet another taboo-banning episode. Scripted by Burt Styler and Norman Lear from a story by Styler, "The Saga of Cousin Oscar" dared to turn a subject as serious as death into a joke. No one in the Bunker family can abide freeloading cousin Oscar, least of all Archie. Thus, when Oscar has the audacity to drop dead in Archie and Edith's upstairs bedroom, poor Arch is stuck with the funeral expenses -- and the eulogy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1971
Christmas is anything but merry in the Bunker household this year. Anticipating his usual Christmas bonus, Archie makes like a modern-day Scrooge when the bonus doesn't come through. Meanwhile, Edith, Gloria, and Mike try to make the best of things for themselves and their erstwhile dinner guests, the Jeffersons. Written by Don Nicholl, "Christmas Day at the Bunkers" was appropriately telecast on December 18, 1971 -- then inappropriately rerun in July 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1970
- PG
A US Army Colonel (Cesar Romero) and his wife (Barbara Hale) relate their stories about the all black 10th cavalry unit formed after the Civil War. Eli (Robert Do'Qui) is one the new recruits being trained by two veteran troopers (Rafer Johnson & Isaac Fields). Julie (Janee Michelle) is the young beauty who tries to tame Eli's wild romantic heart. Eli befriends a local Indian chief (Robert Dix), but is unable to save him and the tribe from military cruelties. Lincoln Kilpatrick and Isabel Sandford also appear in this period film that is the directorial debut for John Cardos. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert DoQui, Janee Michelle, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Police Captain Matthews (George Peppard) believes he has successfully pinned a murder and rape conviction on Paul Sanderson (Robert F. Lyons) only to have the sentence overturned by the United States Supreme Court. When his wife Adele (Jean Seberg) is found murdered, Matthews finds himself on the other side of the law. The disillusioned suspect finds that his police cronies and friends have turned their backs on him, particularly when Senator Cole (Paul McGrath) goes on a much-publicized tirade against crime. Woodrow Wilson King (Richard Kiley) is the civil libertarian who has doubts about Sanderson's insanity defense and uncovers information about his sadistic alcoholic mother who lead him to become a murderous misogynist. Matthews feels something is not quite right when his police colleagues are all too eager to pin the crime on him in this engaging murder mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Peppard, Jean Seberg, (more)
- 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)
- 1968
Mistaking Samantha for her lookalike cousin Serena, a jealous witch named Brunhilde (Barbara Morrison) zaps Sam back to 1868 New Orleans. Unable to remember who she really is, Sam will remain spellbound in the past until she willingly kisses a mortal. Jack Cassidy guest stars as Southern "gentleman" Rance Butler, who ends up challenging Darrin to a duel. Also in the cast is Isabel Sanford of Good Times fame as family retainer Aunty Jenny. Written by Ed Jurist, "Samantha Goes South for a Spell" first aired on October 3, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1968
Three teenage runaways leave home for life in the big city. Shelly (Brooke Bundy) runs away from her father (Lloyd Bochner), when communication breaks down between the success-minded dad and his daughter. Dewey (Kevin Coughlin) leaves behind life on the farm when his girlfriend suggests she may be pregnant. Deanie (Patty McCormick) is the sex-starved teen who runs away from her promiscuous mother (Lynn Bari) and her father who doesn't have a clue (Norman Fell). Dick Sargent plays the kind soul who offers the teens temporary refuge in his home. Richard Dreyfuss makes an early film appearance as a lazy, draft-dodging car thief in this youthful exploitation feature. The Gordian Knot delivers two songs as the runaways fall victim to drugs, prostitution and other urban nightmares. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Bundy, Kevin Coughlin, (more)
Old-line liberals Matt and Christina Drayton (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) have raised their daughter Joey (Katharine Houghton) to think for herself and not blindly conform to the conventional. Still, they aren't prepared for the shock when she returns home from a vacation with a new fiancé: African-American doctor John Prentice (Sidney Poitier). While they come to grips with whatever prejudices they might still harbor, the younger folks must also contend with John's parents (Roy Glenn Sr. and Beah Richards), who are dead-set against the union. To complicate matters, the older couple's disapproving maid (Isabel Sanford) and Christina's bigoted business associate (Virginia Christine) put in their two cents' worth. While Joey is determined to go ahead with the wedding no matter what people think, John refuses to consider marriage until he receives the unqualified approval of all concerned. The closing monologue delivered by Spencer Tracy turned out to be the last scene ever played by the veteran film luminary, who died not long after the production. The film was a success in the racially volatile year of 1967 and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Hepburn and screenwriter William Rose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
