Vito Scotti Movies
American character actor Vito Scotti may not be the living legend as described by his publicity packet, but he has certainly been one of the most familiar faces to bob up on small and large screens in the last five decades. Scotti's father was a vaudeville impresario, and his mother an opera singer; in fact, he was born while his mother was making a personal appearance in San Francisco. Launching his own career at seven with an Italian-language commedia del arte troupe in New York, Scotti picked up enough improvisational knowhow to develop a nightclub act. When the once-flourishing Italian theatre circuit began to fade after World War II, Scotti began auditioning for every job that came up -- whether he could do the job or not. Without his trademarked mustache, the diminuitive actor looked like a juvenile well into his thirties, and as such was cast in a supporting role as a timorous East Indian on the "Gunga Ram" segment of the '50s TV kiddie series Andy's Gang. Once the producers discovered that Scotti had mastered several foreign dialects, he was allowed to appear as a comic foil to Andy's Gang's resident puppet Froggy the Gremlin. In nighttime television, Scotti played everything from a murderous bank robber (on Steve Canyon) to a misplaced Japanese sub commander (on Gilligan's Island). He was indispensable to TV sitcoms: Scotti starred during the 1954 season of Life with Luigi (replacing J. Carroll Naish), then appeared as gesticulating Latin types in a score of comedy programs, notably The Dick Van Dyke Show (as eccentric Italian housepainter Vito Giotto) and The Flying Nun (as ever-suspicious Puerto Rican police captain Gaspar Fomento). In theatrical films, Scotti's appearances were brief but memorable. he is always greeted with appreciative audience laughter for his tiny bit as a restauranteur in The Godfather (1972); while in How Sweet it Is (1968) he is hilarious as a moonstruck chef, so overcome by the sight of bikini-clad Debbie Reynolds that he begins kissing her navel! Vito Scotti was still essaying dialect parts into the '90s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1974
Dick Van Patten guest stars as Harry Curtis, a lovable drunk whose hilarious wisecracks have arresting officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) in stitches. What isn't so funny is the desperation which Harry is hiding under his clownish veneer--in fact, it can be said that he's laughing to keep from crying. Perhaps inevitably, this story ends on a somber note...and need we add, no one feels like laughing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The Queen is a luxury cruise ship, "played" by the Queen Mary in this made-for-TV thriller. The villain has it in for one of the ship's millionaire passengers. Accordingly, he (or she-we're not telling) plans to destroy the vessel and everyone on board. The producer of this all-star disasterfest was-drum roll, please-Irwin Allen. TV movie "regulars" John Gay and David Lowell Rich served as scripter and director, respectively, for Adventures of the Queen, which first sailed into American homes on February 14, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, a wealthy teen convinces a burglar to kidnap him so he can get his family's wayward attention. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Young, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1965
Hoping to improve business at Mario's Pizza Parlor, Samantha mounts an advertising campaign to publicize the failing establishment. At the same time, Darrin is hired to build up an ad campaign for Mario's main competition, a national pizza chain owned by the powerful Linton Baldwin (Alan Hewitt). It is inevitable that Sam ends up saving both Darrin's job and Mario's restaurant. Mario is played by Vito Scotti. Written by Richard Baer, "Eat at Mario's" originally aired on May 27, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1966
In this offbeat mixture of espionage and slapstick comedy, Arthur Vincenti (Alejandro Rey) is a scientist working on secret military projects for the United States government. Vincenti is becoming increasingly unstable as he works in solitude in a backwater swamp; his superiors fear that he might be going mad, so they arrange for a respected psychiatrist from New York, Dr. Bartholomew Snow (Rock Hudson), to meet with him on a regular basis. However, in order to keep Vincenti's whereabouts a secret, Snow is blindfolded before he's driven to his meetings with the scientist. When a group of enemy agents kidnaps Vincenti, Snow could be the only one who can help him; however, he can't track down his patient without wearing the blindfold. Prominent in the supporting cast are Claudia Cardinale, Jack Warden, and Guy Stockwell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1983
Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Cotter Smith, (more)
- 1961
Wounded bandit Track (Paul Richards) takes refuge at the home of widow Lee Bolden (Faith Domergue). Another of Lee's house guests, Joe Cartwright, recognizes Trock as a fugitive from justice. At first prepared to reveal Trock's identity, Joe hesitates when he realizes that Lee is falling in love with the injured outlaw. Featured in the cast are Jim Beck as Gavin and Vito Scotti as Pooch. Originally telecast October 15, 1961, "The Lonely House" was written by Frank Chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1961
Ben Cartwright's suspicions are aroused when scruffy prospectors Cunningham (Parley Baer) and Furnas (Walter Coy) arrive in town, claiming to have struck a valuable silver lode at Thunderhead Mine. Investigating, Ben discovers that Jim Bronson (Judson Pratt), former owner of the mine, has been murdered. Could the two prospectors be responsible, or is there another sinister figure waiting in the wings? Also in the cast are Ross Elliot as Watkins and the ineluctable Vito Scotti as Leon Flores. Written by Gene L. Coon, "Thunderhead Swindle" made its network debut on April 29, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
Goldie Hawn won an Oscar for her performance as a Greenwich Village free spirit in Cactus Flower. Middle-aged dentist Winston (Walter Matthau) is enjoying an affair with Toni (Goldie Hawn) but doesn't want to be hemmed in by marriage. He prevails upon his non-glamorous assistant Stephanie (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his wife so as to keep from campaigning for a ring. Then, to justify his "infidelity," Winston talks his pal (Jack Weston) into pretending to be Stephanie's illicit lover. Flattered by all the attention, Stephanie begins to "doll up." Confronted by a newly gorgeous Stephanie, Winston realizes that his Dream Girl has been right there in his office all along. As for Toni, she ends up in the arms of a writer (Rick Lenz), who has loved her since Reel One. Cactus Flower was adapted by Billy Wilder's frequent collaborator I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Abe Burrows -- which in turn was adapted from a French farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, (more)
- 1963
Gregory Peck plays a benevolent God-like figure in a white smock as Captain Josiah Newman, the head of a psych-unit at a Southwestern army base during the waning days of World War II. Newman is a patriarchal protector to his patients, preferring to keep him in his ward, rather than return them to certain death on the battlefield. The matriarchal figure of the ward is Lieutenant Grace Blodgett (Jane Withers), but Newman is more interested in his assistant Lieutenant Francie Corum (Angie Dickinson), with whom he is having an affair. Further help is provided by human nature expert, Corp. Jackson Laibowitz (Tony Curtis), the orderly. And Newman needs all the help he can get. Particularly with three patients: Colonel Bliss (Eddie Albert) is suffering from a guilt complex from all the men he has sent to death; Corporal Tompkins (Bobby Darin, in an Academy Award-nominated performance), although decorated for bravery in combat, calls himself a coward for failing to save his pal from a burning plane; and Captain Winston (Robert Duvall) is guilt-ridden and has lapsed into catatonia because he had hidden for over a year in the basement of a building in Germany. Although Newman wants to cure these men of their psychological problems, he doesn't want to see them returned to the war to be killed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, (more)
- 1981
- PG
A former baseball player (Alan Arkin) has descended into alcoholism, and meets up with a has-been entertainer (Carol Burnett) when both spot a briefcase containing secret documents. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1989
Columbo: Murder, A Self Portrait stars Patrick Bauchau as an artist hounded by a contentious ex-wife (Fionulla Flanagan). He murders his former spouse on the beach at Malibu, but arranges things to make it seem he was far away in his art studio at the time of the killing. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) has heard this song before, and he meticulously chips away at the artist's alibi. Also in the cast is Shera Danese, a.k.a. Mrs. Peter Falk. Murder, A Self Portrait was one of the handful of Columbo 2-hour episodes shown during the 1989-1990 season on The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
George Pal's now-quaint science fiction odyssey concerns a multi-national group on the first space flight to Mars. Pal pulls out all stops in the special effects department, creating "The Wheel" (a earth-orbiting circular space station), rocket launches into space, and a breathtaking near-collision with an asteroid. The film itself concerns the travails of the crew of the spaceship as they make their way to Mars. General Samuel T. Merritt (Walter Brooke) heads the team. Supporting him and along for the ride are his son, Captain Barney Merritt (Eric Fleming), Sergeant Mahony (Mickey Shaughnessy), Jackie Siegle (Phil Foster), and Imoto (Benson Fong). As the ship gets closer to their Martian quest, General Merritt cracks and tries to sabotage both the mission and the crew, babbling about the blasphemy of mankind trespassing upon God's domain. His son is forced to kill him and save the mission, whereupon the crew peacefully lands on the Martian surface and scouts out the terrain like a group of sightseers at Lourdes before returning to Earth. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Brooke, Eric Fleming, (more)
Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster) returns home after a few years of knocking around the country following his divorce from good-time girl Anna (Yvonne De Carlo). Getting his old job back driving an armored car, and not even convincing himself that he's making a new start, he also wants his old wife back. When he finds Anna, he quickly learns that she is involved with gangster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). Nonetheless, they carry on a clandestine affair, with Steve foolishly believing that Anna will return to him. Even after she marries Slim, Steve, with her encouragement, masochistically clings to this doomed obsession. So when Slim catches them together, Steve ad libs plans for an armored car robbery that includes Slim. The two rivals form an uneasy and untrusting collaboration, but Steve and Anna plan to double cross Slim. However, the title of Robert Siodmak's film noir gem is, not incidentally, Criss Cross. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1948
The opening scene of Robert Siodmak's grim film noir depicts police lieutenants Candella (Victor Mature) and Collins (Fred Clark) observing wounded cop killer Martin Rome (Richard Conte) receive last rites. Though Rome recovers, he still must elude Candella and Collins in his desperate attempt to escape his fate. Rome has two visitors in the hospital: his girlfriend, Teena (Debra Paget), who goes into hiding, and Niles (Berry Kroeger), a crooked lawyer. Niles tries to bribe Rome to take a jewel theft and homicide rap for a client of his since Rome is facing the electric chair anyway. When Rome refuses, Niles threatens to frame Teena as the client's female accomplice. Worried that Candella might find Teena, Rome breaks out of jail and goes to Niles' office to accept the offer, but he actually plans to leave the country with Teena. When Niles reneges, Rome kills him, but not before learning the accomplice's identity and discovering the stolen jewels in the lawyer's safe. Rome finds the accomplice, Rose Given (Hope Emerson), and offers to trade the jewelry for the means to leave the country. She agrees, and they arrange a meeting in the subway, but Rome informs Candella of the plan. When the police arrive, Candella is shot, Rose is arrested, and Rome escapes to meet up with Teena in a church. As he is trying to convince Teena to run away with him, a wounded Candella shows up and tells Teena how Rome uses people and that everyone who helped in his escape will be paying a price. Teena rejects Rome, and he runs again, only to be shot down by Candella. The moral order is ultimately restored, but no one has been left unscarred. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1963
Dime with a Halo was designed in part as a showcase for MGM's new child actor Manuel Padilla, who was featured shortly afterward in the studio's The Young and the Brave (63) and as a regular on the Tarzan TV series. Director Boris Sagal transcends the cold-cash motives of Dime by fashioning a touching Mexican-based comedy centering around five street urchins. The oldest (Roger Mobley) leads the kids in stealing a dime from a church collection box; they bet this "windfall" on a horse race, using the winnings to jointly purchase a sweepstakes ticket. All their dreams of sudden luxury are dashed when they find they're too young to cash the ticket when it hits the jackpot. Manuel Padilla manages to steal focus from his formidable kiddie opposition, but Dime with a Halo didn't quite establish Padilla as the Mickey Rooney of the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Luna, Roger Mobley, (more)
- 1960
In the concluding episode of a two-part Zorro adventure, bandit leader El Cuhillo (Gilbert Roland) has been thwarted in his plans to rob Los Angeles' warehouse by dashing masked do-gooder Zorro (Guy Williams). Somewhat playfully, Zorro's alter ego, Don Diego, keeps tabs on the incognito El Cuhillo by looking out for the bandit's coat, upon which Zorro had previously carved a "z" with his sword. But it is no laughing matter when El Cuhillo and Zorro have their final showdown. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Adios El Cuhillo" was a one-hour spin-off of Disney's popular weekly series Zorro, which ran from 1957 to 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In the first episode of a two-part Zorro adventure, dashing Mexican bandit leader El Cuchillo (Gilbert Roland) and his gang are diverted from robbing a stagecoach by alluring señorita Chulita (Rita Moreno). Changing his plans, El Cuchillo decides to hide out in the pueblo of Los Angeles to steal a valuable cache of silver from the local warehouse. But that dauntless masked do-gooder Zorro (Guy Williams) (aka Don Diego de la Vega), is not about to let that happen. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "El Bandido" was a one-hour spin-off of Disney's popular weekly series Zorro, which ran from 1957 to 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Mervyn Leroy lends a burnished MGM gloss to this sordid tale of infidelity among rich New York East Siders. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Jessie Bourne, a charming society woman whose finds out that her husband Brandon (James Mason) is guiltily indulging in an illicit affair with the earthy Isobel Lorrison (Ava Gardner). Jessie bears her husband's indiscretion with a gallant dignity, and when Isabelle is killed, Jesse realizes that she doesn't care for Brandon anyway. Van Heflin is also on hand as ex-cop Mark Dwyer, who admires Jessie's stoic dignity. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, (more)
- 1980
Based on the kind, generous puppetmaker from Pinocchio, Geppetto's Music Shop is an endearing children's film where Geppetto gathers the local children in his house to tell the great stories in children's literature, which are all presented in animated form. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
A gangster is looking to get away from crooked deals and double-crossing people but ends up in the movie business anyway in this comic crime story. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a Miami-based loan collector for the mob trying to collect a gambling debt. His assignment takes him to Hollywood to collect money from Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a mildly sleazy producer of low-budget horror movies. Although Chili intends to hurt Harry if necessary, he takes a certain liking to him and an even keener interest in Karen (Rene Russo), Harry's girlfriend, whom Chili recognizes from Harry's grade-B monster epics. It seems Harry has a script that he feels is Academy Award material, and he could get the project off the ground if he could get the right actor for the lead -- say, the well-respected but egocentric (and diminutive) Martin Weir (Danny DeVito). Chili thinks he has a feel for the movie business and decides to see what he can do to persuade Weir to get behind the project. Chili soon finds himself hip deep in the film industry, which at least puts him in contact with a higher grade of scumbags than he's used to. But Chili isn't the only criminal Harry's been dealing with; he's been obtaining financing from Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), a drug dealer with a highly uncertain temperament. An intelligently constructed crime story and a hilarious look at the absurdities of the film business, Get Shorty was based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard; Leonard based Chili on a real-life former gangster of his acquaintance, though Chili's model never worked in Hollywood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1965
The castaways discover that Gilligan (Bob Denver) is secretly keeping a diary. This leads to several flashbacks to the day that the island was invaded by a Japanese soldier (Vito Scotti) who didn't know that WW2 was over (as chronicled in the previous episode "So Sorry, My Island Now." In their efforts to get Gilligan to write down the true story of the fateful day, each one of the castaways comes up with his or her version of the events--and in each case, the "truth" is wildly exaggerated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vito Scotti
- 1966
Vito Scotti returns as Dr. Boris Balenkoff, who during his last visit to the island conducted a series of diabolical experiments resulting in some severe personality changes amongst the Castaways. This time, the mad doctor has come bearing gifts--namely, a collection of attractive-looking rings. Unfortunately, when the Castaways slip on the rings, they leave themselves vulnerable to Balenkoff's latest mind-controlling experiment...which, if successful, will culminate in the robbing of Fort Knox! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vito Scotti
- 1965
Versatile character actor Vito Scotti guest stars as a Japanese soldier who has been piloting the local waters in his one-man submarine for twenty years, unaware that WW2 is over. Bobbing to the surface, the soldier "captures" the island and takes the castaways prisoner, locking them in a makeshift jail booby-trapped with hand grenades. It is up to Gilligan (Bob Denver) to rescue his companions without getting blown up in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vito Scotti
- 1966
Versatile dialectitian Vito Scotti, cast as a misplaced WW2 Japanese solider during Season One of Gilligan's Island, makes a return visit to the island, this time in the role of mad scientist Dr. Boris Balinkoff (Vito Scotti). Promising to rescue the Castaways, Balinkoff transports them to his spooky old castle, where his sinister purpose is revealed: He plans to use our seven heroes and heroines for his experiments in personality-switching. Before long, everybody is speaking and acting like everyone else: The Professor (Russell Johnson) sounds like Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), Mary Ann sounds like the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.), and worst of all, the mind and personality of the voluptuous Ginger (Tina Louise) has been switched with that of Balinkoff's brutish assistant Olaf (Mike Mazurki)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vito Scotti, Mike Mazurki, (more)
