Richard B. Shull Movies
Versatile comic actor Richard B. Shull attended Iowa State University before making his first Broadway appearance in 1954. Many of Shull's subsequent New York stage appearances have been in plays that looked good on paper but withered in the glare of audience and critical scrutiny (1969's Minnie's Boys, a musical biography of the Marx Brothers, was an all too typical example). He entered films in 1971, enjoying a particularly busy first year before the cameras in Klute, The Anderson Tapes and B.S. I Love You. He was featured on the weekly TV series Diana (1973) and Hail to the Chief (1985), and co-starred with John Schuck in the 1976 sci-fi sitcom Holmes and Yoyo (the producers' plans to make Shull and Schuck a permanent comedy team ended with the series after three months). Richard Shull was for many years the husband of Rhoda star Valerie Harper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1979
Richard B. Schull appears as Barney of Barney's Burger Barn, the much-maligned (but hitherto unseen) chief competitor of Mel's Diner. Barney glides into Mel's and sweeps Flo (Polly Holliday) off her feet, declaring his undying love. But Mel (Vic Tayback) smells a rat: His chili has just been named "Best in the West" by a local magazine, and he strongly suspects that Barney is using Flo to get his mitts on Mel's top-secret recipe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
B. S., I Love You is appropriately titled, as the story concerns a young adman (Peter Kastner), who not only loves his job, but enjoys success in his job due to his success in lovemaking. Especially helpful is his liaison with his boss (Joanna Barnes), but he also manages to further his career with the romantic assistance of the boss's daughter (Joanna Cameron). With enviable energy, he somehow keeps his career going, along with relationships with the boss-ladies and his regular girlfriend (Louise Sorel), while traveling between New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
This urban drama examines the diverse lives of the patrons of a fictional bar for the rich and famous, El Casbah. Among them are the playboy heir to a margarine fortune, Mickey Jelke, and Jack Cale, a handsome actor who has become a new client and works hard to ingratiate himself to others. Using the influence of a press agent and a pimp, Jack becomes friends with Mickey and his lover Pat Ward, a tough, worldly young woman. When Mickey is cut out of the family will, he suggests that Pat become a call girl so they can continue living in luxury. Suddenly Jack reveals his true identity; he has been working undercover for the politically ambitious New York City district attorney. The district attorney uses Jack's information to frame Mickey which gets him billed as the Big Apple's king of vice, and no one is very happy by the time the trial comes around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Whaley, Peter Gallagher, (more)
Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) is a game cock trainer who has taken a vow of silence; he once bragged too loudly about his cockfighting prowess and ended up losing his best fowl in a drunken, late-night match before an important tournament. To regain his pride after such hubris, Frank refuses to utter a word until he wins the coveted "Cockfighter of the Year" medal. Cockfighter follows his ups and downs as he attempts to succeed in the shadowy, barely legal sport. Frank loses his truck, trailer, and a girlfriend after trying to rig a match with fellow cocksman Jack Burke (Harry Dean Stanton), and has to sell his house to raise funds for stock. Later, Frank wins ten roosters in a private backwoods match and trains them heavily with his partner, Omar Baradinsky (Richard B. Shull), working his way back to the top of his chosen craft. He also attempts to reestablish his relationship with an old girlfriend (Patricia Pearcy) who doesn't know much about cockfighting and is repulsed when she actually witnesses one in the flesh. There is plenty of brutal footage included in Cockfighter that will dismay many animal lovers, so those with qualms about the sport should steer clear. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Oates, Richard B. Shull, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Tim Matheson is Dreamer in this Rocky-like inspirational drama. Instead of boxing, the sport in question is bowling. "Dreamer" is a ten-pin whiz in his small town, but can he make it in the Big Time? In his favor, he has the help of irascible manager Jack Warden and faithful girlfriend Susan Blakeley. As if to boldly underline the resemblances between Dreamer and its cinematic role model, the musical score is by Rocky's Bill Conti. If you like bowling, Dreamer should be right up your...right up your.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1984
- PG13
This bittersweet comedy is, among many other things, a tour de force for the marvelous Anne Bancroft. The star is cast as Estelle Rolfe, an unconventional divorcee who resides in New York, in close proximity to her grown son Gilbert (Ron Silver) and his wife Lisa (Carrie Fisher). Though his wife yearns to move back to her home state of California, Gilbert cannot quite cut the silver cord that binds him to his mother. Upon learning that Estelle is dying, her dutiful son offers to honor her last request to meet the reclusive actress Greta Garbo. The rest of the film plays wonderful variations on this theme, involving such peripheral characters as a gay Garbo fan (Harvey Fierstein), an elderly Shakespearean actress (Hermione Gingold), a "female Joe Papp" director (Denny Dillon), and an ageing papparazzi (Howard Da Silva). Without giving away the ending, it is worth noting that the divine Garbo shows up in the person of playwright/lyricist/ performer Betty Comden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, (more)
- 1974
The "Militant Midget" is at it again. Outraged about his family's substandard living conditions, 11-year-old Michael Evans (Ralph Carter) writes a letter of protest to the newspapers. As a result, a smug housing-authority official (Richard B. Schull) prepares to visit the Evanses to refute the charges -- and is in for quite a rude awakening when he finds his way to the projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Any resemblance between the U.S. president in Hail and Richard M. Nixon was purely intentional. Faced with rebellious teenagers and college students, paranoid chief executive Dan Resin comes up with a brilliant idea: lock all the malcontents in concentration camps. Unfortunately, this leads to ramifications that turn the Good Ol' USA into an armed stockade. Amusing at first, the film's satirical content is compromised by repetition and predictability. Also known as Hail to the Chief and Washington BC, Hail was released in 1973 -- though, incredibly, it was completed before the Watergate incident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Heartbeeps stars Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters as domestic robots who fall in love and run off together. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Kaufman, Bernadette Peters, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Hearts of the West (British title: Hollywood Cowboy) stars Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater, a 1930s-era aspiring novelist who harbors dreams of becoming the next Zane Grey or Peter B. Kyne. He arrives in Nevada to seek out the correspondence school that has "graduated" him. After learning that he's been taken to the cleaners by crooks, he stumbles onto a threadbare film-unit grinding out "B" westerns. He is given a job by unit manager Kessler (Alan Arkin), then falls in love with spunky script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner). With the help of crusty stunt man Howard Pike (Andy Griffith), Tyler fends off the correspondence-school crooks who want the money that he has accidentally stolen from them. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, (more)
In this romantic comedy from director Frank Oz, Steve Martin plays Boston architect Newton Davis, an impulsive dreamer who builds a bucolic dream home for his girlfriend (Dana Delany) as a means of proposing to her -- only she turns him down. Three months later, the depressed Davis meets a waitress who calls herself Gwen (Goldie Hawn), though pretending to be Hungarian proves to be only the first of her many deceptions. Davis has a one-night stand with Gwen during which he tells her the sad story of the house, which remains unoccupied just outside the city in his hometown of Dobbs Mills, because he can't bear to sell it. Following what seems to be a familiar path for this con artist, Gwen locates the house, figuring she can take up residence without anyone noticing. During a trip to the local grocery, she ends up telling the proprietor she's Davis' wife while trying to charge her purchases to his account. When she offers the same story to a local furniture dealer (Donald Moffat), unaware he's Davis' father, it triggers a string of fabrications in which the shocked Davis unwittingly becomes a co-conspirator. Seeing an opportunity of his own, Davis allows Gwen to stay in the house and agrees to go along with her story in hopes of winning back his jealous ex. Of course, this also necessitates outlandish lie upon outlandish lie, leaving the whole enterprise forever on the verge of collapse. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, (more)
- 1974
Someone has been bootlegging the songs performed by a popular musical quartet. Investigating the situation, Ed (Don Galloway) and Fran (Elizabeth Baur) are "treated" to the spectacle of the death-by-electrocution of the group's lead singer Joey (Kip Niven). Clearly, the man has been murdered--but when the two detectives and their boss Ironside (Raymond Burr) launch their investigation, they learn to their surprise that none of the suspects had any reason on earth to hate the dead man. In a curious chain of casting choices, the character of Manning is played by former Laugh-In regular Judy Carne; Mo is played by Geoffrey Deuel, the brother of the late Pete Deuel), who'd costarred with Carne on the 1966 sitcom Love on a Rooftop; and Willie is played by Roger Davis, who'd appeared on the popular TV western Alias Smith and Jones... as as last-minute replacement for star Pete Deuel! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The first part of his "paranoia trilogy," Alan J. Pakula's 1971 thriller details the troubled life of a Manhattan prostitute stalked by one of her tricks. Investigating the disappearance of his friend Tom Gruneman (Robert Milli), rural Pennsylvania private eye John Klute (Donald Sutherland) follows a lead provided by Gruneman's associate Peter Cable (Charles Cioffi) to seek out a call girl who Gruneman knew in New York City. The call girl is Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), an aspiring actress who turns tricks for the cash and to be free of emotional bondage. Klute follows Bree's every move, observing the city's decadence and her isolation, eventually contacting her about Gruneman. Bree claims not to know Gruneman, but she does reveal that she has received threats from a john. As Bree becomes involved in Klute's search and realizes that she is in danger, she reluctantly falls in love with Klute, despite her wish to remain unattached to any man. When she finally comes face to face with the killer, however, she is forced to reconsider her detached urban life. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, (more)
Saul (Dudley Moore), a married psychiatrist, becomes romantically obsessed with Chloe (Elizabeth McGovern), one of his patients. Chloe has already devastated one psychoanalyst, and although the venerable Freud himself (Alec Guinness) appears to counsel Saul in his worst moments, the man continues on his tormented way. In spite of notable names in the acting field, neither the subsidiary characters nor the story itself rise above the limited dialogue and plot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, (more)
- 1971
- PG13
In this semi-autobiographical romantic comedy starring Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor (who also wrote the script together) two lonely hearts find each other in group therapy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
This black-and-white feature has some uncredited color shots. Pamela (Elaine Edwards) appears in various stages of undress in this three-camera production slated for nothing more than exploitation. Plagued by bad acting, the photography is the only redeeming quality feature -- though fans of this genre of films usually could care less about expert lensing as long as the nudity is in clear view. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Edwards, Paul Hardy, (more)
The PBS series Great Performances first presented the made-for-TV feature Seize the Day. The time is the success-driven '50s; Robin Williams plays Tommy Wilhelm, a middle-ager who has just lost his salesman's job. Margaret, his wife (Katherine Borowitz), is on the verge of divorce and fully intends to take him to the cleaners whether he has an income or not. Doctor Adler (Joseph Wiseman), Tommy's judgmental father, cannot abide having a failure in the family and refuses to lend his son a single penny. In desperation, Tommy heads to New York City, where his old wheeler-dealer pal Dr. Tamkin (Jerry Stiller) has promised him a job. Even there, however, Tommy is defeated by the cold-shoulder treatment afforded him by the people whose opinions he values most. Seize the Day was adapted by Ronald Ribman from the novel by Saul Bellow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Jerry Stiller, (more)
- 1973
- PG
In Slither, James Caan plays Dick Kanipsia, a recently paroled car thief whose plans to go straight are interrupted when his best pal Harry Moss (Richard B. Schull) is shot and killed. As he lies dying, Moss advises Kanipsia to seek out fellow crook Barry Fenaka (Peter Boyle), who knows where a huge amount of money stolen by Moss is hidden. Aware that he himself is a marked man, Kanipsia has to play it cool en route to Fenaka. This proves difficult when his erstwhile travelling companion, dopehead Kitty Kopetzky Sally Kellerman, robs a roadside diner in his presence. Since nothing is ever quite what it appears to be in Slither, perhaps we shouldn't tell you any more. This truly serpentine tale served as the feature-film directorial debut of Howard Zieff, the former TV-commercial helmsman responsible for the famous Spicy Meatball ad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Peter Boyle, (more)
"I'm in love with a mermaid!" read the opening line of Leonard Maltin's original review for Splash. And with the delightful Darryl Hannah in the lead, who could fault Maltin for his public declaration of ardor? The story begins in 1959, when a young boy is rescued from a watery grave by an adolescent mermaid. Twenty-five years later, the boy has grown up--and lo and behold, it's Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, the mermaid, likewise grown up, has surfaced in search of Hanks, her long-lost love. On dry land, the mermaid is able to walk about on legs; any contact with salt water, and she reverts to her half-fish form. Adopting the name of Madison from a New York street sign, the girl manages to win Hanks' heart. Alas, a secret government lab, populated by such smarmy types as Richard B. Shull and Eugene Levy, captures Madison for research purposes--and possible vivisection. Egged on by his brother John Candy, Hanks rescues his beloved, joining her in the ocean depths as a mer-man (mer-fellow? mer-guy?) A captivating confection from the peerless creative team of director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Splash was a winner all the way--especially at the box office, where the $11 million film racked up a huge profit. Historical sidebar: Splash was the first release from Disney's Touchstone Pictures division. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, (more)
- 1986
In this children's drama, a con artist's dog leads two children to his former master's secret cache of loot. The children's lives change dramatically after that. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sand, surf, sun, and sex alternate in this bikini-clad movie about student lemmings heading to the sea at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the moment the last test is taken (and sometimes before). This time, Nelson (David Knell) and his three friends get into various types of innocent trouble while Nelson tries to evade his overbearing stepfather. Wet T-shirt contests vie for attention with bikini and He-shirt contests and a Playboy centerfold, but other than a fairly standard venting of pent-up energy, there is not much else to remember about this Spring Break. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Knell, Steve Bassett, (more)
In this spooky horror movie, a crazed doctor is able to transform a man into a giant cobra. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Adapted from the once-notorious trilogy of novels by James T. Farrell, the three-part miniseres Studs Lonigan isn't quite as earthy and explicit as its source, but is lot more faithful to the original than the 1960 film version. Set in Chicago and covering the years from 1916 to 1931, this is the story of a brawling, braggadocio young Irish-American lad named Studs Lonigan (played as a child by Dan Shor, and as an adult by Harry Hamlin in his first major TV role). Despite his rough veneer, Studs is sensitive and concerned about his future, though he doesn't want to follow the values set forth by his tradition-bound parents (Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst). Hanging around with his childhood buddies, Studs gets into all sorts of scrapes and becomes involved with a number of women, notably the decent, demure Catherine (Diana Scarwid) and the lusty, libidinous Lucy (Lisa Pelikan). Though he grows in age and size, Studs has trouble maturing emotionally, surrounded by the pressures of a rough, prejudice-ridden neighborhood and the increasing hooliganism of his cronies. As the Depression crashes heavily upon the scene, Studs finds himself "trapped" in the very sort of middle-class quagmire that he'd always hoped to avoid. Earning an Emmy Award for art/set direction, the 6-hour Studs Lonigan originally aired March 7, 14 and 21, 1979, as part of NBC's Novels for Television anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- R
Based upon the novel by Lois Gould and adapted (under the pseudonym Esther Dale) by Elaine May, Such Good Friends focuses on Julie Messinger (played by Dyan Cannon), a woman with intense, often wild emotions that are held in check beneath a rather conventional façade. After her chauvinistic and self-centered husband Richard checks into the hospital for a simple mole removal that goes seriously wrong, Julie discovers that he has been titanically unfaithful to her. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back, and Julie decides it is time for her to break out of her shell, no matter what the consequences. She begins to exhibit a sexual interest in other men (sometimes indiscriminately, as when she seduces her family doctor, played by James Coco), and speaks her mind to others, including her egocentric mother (Nina Foch) and her hypocritical best friend (ennifer O'Neill). At the end, Julie wanders into Central Park and, presumably, a new life. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
This breathlessly paced high-tech thriller stars Sean Connery as Anderson, a career criminal who's just been released from his latest prison term. Seeking a quick financial turnover, Anderson uses mob funding to finance an ambitious robbery. With a gang of expert thieves, Anderson sets about to rob every wealthy tenant of a fancy East Side apartment building. What he doesn't know is that every move he makes is being monitored and taped by several law-enforcement agencies, who hope that Anderson will lead them to the Mob kingpins. Though the film may look like a "comment" on the Watergate break-in, The Anderson Tapes actually preceded that third-rate burglary by nearly two years. The Anderson Tapes boasts an impressive supporting cast, many of whom play wildly against type, including Alan King as an aging and infirm Mafia don. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, (more)
