Phil Silvers Movies

Per the episode's title, Phil Silvers appears as Oliver Kasten, the gung-ho efficiency expert hired to get the bank in top shape. Within a few minutes, Kasten has demoted the "inefficient" Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) and promoted Lucy (Lucille Ball) to the position of administrative assistant. Determined to prove her worth, Lucy organizes an assembly-line demonstration at the Grantland Toy Factory--whereupon, in the words of William Shakespeare, "Confusion hath made his masterpiece"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Richard Lester uses the Burt Shevelove/Larry Gelbart/Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical hit as a launching pad for some of his wildest slapstick gaggery. Zero Mostel repeats his stage role as Pseudolus, the cunning Roman slave who'll do anything to win his freedom. The plot hinges on three Roman houses next door to each another. One is the home of Pseudolus' masters: the philandering Senex (Michael Hordern), his domineering wife Domina (Patricia Jessel), and their handsome but empty-headed son Hero (Michael Crawford. The second house is a brothel belonging to unctuous procurer Lycus (Phil Silvers). The third house has long been empty, in that its owner, the senile Erronious (Buster Keaton), has gone on a long journey to find his children, who were kidnapped in infancy by pirates. Other principals include Pseudolus' fellow slave, the aptly named Hysterium (Jack Gilford); vain warrior Miles Gloriosus (Leon Greene), who marches triumphantly into Rome declaring "I am a parade!"; and the virginal Philia (Annette Andre), a resident of Lycus' "domicile" who is loved by Hero but who has been promised in marriage to Miles Glorious. There are also acrobats, transvestites, a phony funeral, and an outsized climactic chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Damon Runyon's story "Little Miss Marker" gets a mid-'60s update in this comedy. Steve McCluskey (Tony Curtis) is the manager of a nightspot in Lake Tahoe owned by Bernie Friedman (Phil Silvers). Steve is the kind of guy who has heard every sob story in the book and is not easily impressed, but his hard heart begins to soften a bit when he meets Penny Piper (Claire Wilcox), a young orphan girl with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Steve grudgingly takes her in and soon grows fond of the tyke. Penny thinks that Steve needs to get married and settle down, so she starts playing Cupid, trying to set him up with pretty Chris Lockwood (Suzanne Pleshette). However, Steve is still reeling from his failed first marriage and isn't so sure that another trip to the altar would be good for him. The film's finale sends Steve on a wild chase through Disneyland. Forty Pounds of Trouble marked the feature directorial debut of Norman Jewison, who would go on to make In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof, and Jesus Christ Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Created by Paul Henning, The Beverly Hillbillies was, next to The Andy Griffith Show, the most successful of CBS' "rural" sitcoms, not to mention one of the most consistently popular comedy series of all time. Its premise was as old as...well, as old as the hills: a family of ignorant country rubes were transplanted to the big city, where in their own simple, unpretentious manner, they often proved themselves to be wiser and more honorable than the sophisticated "slickers." It was a formula that kept the property alive and kicking for nine seasons on CBS, and forever after in off-network syndication. As musically explained at the beginning of each episode in "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (sung by Jerry Scoggins and performed on guitar by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs), the members of the Clampett family were "poor mountaineers" who suddenly became very, very rich when widowed paterfamilias Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) accidentally struck oil on his Appalachian property. Following the advice of both neighbors and "flatlanders," Jed and his immediate kinfolk -- his spunky, curvaceous daughter Elly May Clampett (Donna Douglas); his doltish, musclebound nephew Jethro Bodine (Max Baer Jr.); and Jed's ancient but feisty mother-in-law Daisy "Granny" Moses (Irene Ryan) -- packed their belongings and their family bloodhound Duke in their dilapidated automobile and drove to the land of "swimmin' pools, movie stars," Beverly Hills, CA. The hillbillies moved into a luxurious mansion just across the road from the home of their banker, Milburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey), who did everything he could to make the mountaineers happy in their new surroundings -- and, incidentally, to keep the family's millions in his bank. (By series' end, Jed was worth around 95,000,000 dollars!) Drysdale's loyal secretary Miss Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp) was assigned to help the Clampett clan assimilate themselves into Beverly Hills society, a task she took on with gusto, primarily because she secretly harbored a hankerin' for the brawny Jethro. Meanwhile, Drysdale's snobbish wife Margaret, who despised "those dreadful hillbillies" (even though they were never less than friendly and courteous to her), plotted and planned to oust the Clampetts from her neighborhood. During the series' first season, the action alternated between Beverly Hills and the Clampett's hometown of Bug Tussle, where Jed's cousin (and Jethro's mom) Pearl Bodine (Bea Benaderet) had long been Granny's rival as the local social leader. Pearl was written out of the series when Benaderet was cast in her own sitcom, Petticoat Junction -- as was Pearl's daughter Jethrine, who was amusingly played in drag by Max Baer Jr. (with "her" voice dubbed by another future Petticoat Junction regular, Linda Kaye, daughter of producer Paul Henning). Dozens of other supporting characters came and went during the series' lengthy run, but only one could be regarded as a regular: Mark Templeton (Roger Torrey), a Navy frogman who became Elly May Clampett's fiancé during the final season. Debuting September 26, 1962, The Beverly Hillbillies ranked as America's top-rated series in its first and second season, and was comfortably settled in the Top Ten during seasons four, five, and seven. Its cancellation on September 7, 1971, after 274 episodes (168 in color) was due less to a falling-off of viewership than CBS' decision to "de-ruralize" its audience demographic and concentrate on grabbing the all-important big-city viewership. Reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies were seen on CBS' daytime lineup from 1966 through 1972. In addition, a TV-movie reunion special, The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, was telecast in 1981; and 12 years later, a theatrical-feature version of The Beverly Hillbillies was released, starring Jim Varney as Jed, Erika Eleniak as Elly May, Diedrich Bader as Jethro, Cloris Leachman as Granny, Dabney Coleman as Mr. Drysdale, Lily Tomlin as Miss Hathaway -- and Buddy Ebsen, recreating his later TV-series role as detective Barnaby Jones! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucky Me is a mixed-bag musical from Warner Bros., adhering to a tried-and-true formula that was wearing just a bit thin in 1954. Candy (Doris Day), Hap (Phil Silvers), Duke (Eddie Foy Jr.) and Flo (Nancy Walker) are four small-time performers who find themselves stranded in Miami. Forced to take domestic jobs in a fancy hotel, the foursomes's spirits are lifted when songwriter Dick (Bob Cummings) checks in. On the verge of writing a big-time Broadway show, Dick invites the four entertainers to participate. The hitch: In order to bankroll the show, Dick must woo and win the daughter (Martha Hyer) of a Texas oil magnate. . .and Candy has fallen in love with Dick. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot Angie Dickinson making her uncredited feature-film debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Summer Stock represented Judy Garland's swan song at MGM. Garland plays the owner of a New England farm which entrepreneur Gene Kelly hopes to convert into a summer theatre. Gloria DeHaven, a member of Kelly's troupe, also happens to be Garland's sister. Aware that the farm is having financial difficulties, DeHaven talks the recalcitrant Garland into allowing the troupe to set up shop in the barn. All sorts of romances wind their way through the summer air as Kelly mounts his production. In the long-anticipated finale, Garland herself steps into the leading-lady slot vacated by her petulant sister DeHaven, and of course the show is a smasheroo. To watch Garland joyfully perform such numbers as "Friendly Star," "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing," and her legendary "drag" specialty "Get Happy," you'd never suspect that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown (the film opened while Garland was recovering from a suicide attempt). Adding to the overall exuberance of Summer Stock are such dependable supporting players as Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, Marjorie Main and Hans Conried (cast as the troupe's resident romantic baritone!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The real Diamond Horseshoe was a Las Vegas nightclub created by impresario Billy Rose, which spotlighted old-time stars from the early 20th century recreating the songs and skits that had made them great. Rose allowed 20th Century-Fox to use the name "Diamond Horseshoe" for a Technicolor musical, but only on the proviso that Rose's name be included in the title. Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe does have the occasional old-timer specialty, but for the most part the plot concentrates on Betty Grable, a young entertainer who romances would-be songwriter Dick Haymes. The affair is frowned upon by Haymes' father (William Gaxton), the manager of the Diamond Horseshoe, who is determined that his son pursue a medical career. The predictability of the storyline is redeemed by Haymes' rendition of the song hit "The More I See You", and by the comedy turns of Phil Silvers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thousand and One Nights is an occasionally strident but generally successful satire of the popular Universal Jon Hall/Maria Montez epics. Cornel Wilde stars as a twentyish Aladdin, whose magic lamp yields two genies: Collosus-like Rex Ingram (repeated the role he played in 1940's Thief of Baghdad) and ravishing redhead Evelyn Keyes (who, like future TV genie Barbara Eden, was seemingly born without a navel). Wilde uses his new-found wealth and magical powers to woo princess Adele Jergens, but not without the opposition of villainous Dennis Hoey. Phil Silvers plays Wilde's comic sidekick, a man "born 2000 years ahead of his time" who wears glasses, spouts jive-talk ("Slip me some skin, Abdul!") and cracks anachronistic jokes. The final gag in Thousand and One Nights, in which the genie gives Phil Silvers the voice of Frank Sinatra, has been removed from many TV prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Cole Porter Broadway musical Something for the Boys was brought to the screen by 20th Century Fox with three new non-Porter tunes thrown in. The dated libretto (by Herbert and Dorothy Fields) involves a crumbling Southern plantation which is converted into a home for servicemen's wives. Running the operation are three cousins: Michael O'Shea, Vivian Blaine, and, from the South American branch of the family, Carmen Miranda. When money runs out, the threesome contrive to put on a fundraising show -- which of course looks far too expensive to break even, but since Carmen Miranda's in the picture, who knows. Perry Como makes his movie debut in Something for the Boys singing a handful of pleasant songs, while Judy Holliday shows up in a funny bit as a defense-plant welder with peculiar dental problems. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A game show provides the backdrop for this drama that centers on an earnest young husband who desperately needs $1,000 to pay for his wife's obstetrician. To get it fast, he brings his wife and best friend to a radio station where the game is broadcast. He is chosen for the show. Unfortunately, the prize is only $64. The good-hearted host sympathizes with the poor contestant's plight and so ups the prize considerably. The category in which the young man excels is the "Scenes from Famous Movies" category. Scenes from 27 Fox movies are then presented. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Manhattan working girl Jean Arthur bids goodbye to her three erstwhile suitors (Grant Withers, Hans Conried and Grady Sutton) to take a bus tour of the west. En route, she meets handsome rodeo-star John Wayne, whose bucking bronco hurls him directly into her lap. Stranded in a tank town with Wayne and his sidekick Charles Winninger, Arthur is introduced to the sort of frontier activities not covered by the tour books: gambling, boozing and brawling. Not surprisingly, Arthur wants to hightail it back to the East, but by now Wayne has fallen in love with her. Lady Takes a Chance was produced for RKO by Jean Arthur's then-husband, Frank Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide