Robert Staats Movies
- 1989
- R
Fans of movie industry satire will want to see That's Adequate, an all-star production which spoofs the popular series of documentary films honoring MGM's musical comedies, That's Entertainment. Narrated by Tony Randall, this mock-history chronicles the film output of the second-rate "Adequate Film Studios" during its six precarious decades of existence. At times the humor gets very broad, including a fair amount of vulgarity. We see clips from such Adequate Studios monstrosities as "Singing in the Synagogue," and "Sluts of the South." Some of the stars enlivening these parodies are Bruce Willis, Robert Downey, Jr., James Coco, Anne Meara, Professor Irwin Corey, Jerry Stiller and Robert Vaughn. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Randall, James Coco, (more)
- 1982
In this comedy a producer of "B" movies makes a film featuring a has-been cowboy star in the hopes that he can bring back his failing studio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck McCann, Robert Staats, (more)
In this bawdy musical, a prince is pressured to procreate in order to keep his kingdom going. Unfortunately, he is a picky fellow and refuses to do his royal duty with anyone but the exquisite, enigmatic "Princess Beauty," whose picture hangs in the royal hall. He enlists the aid of a learned friend to help him make it to Fairyland to find her. Many erotic adventures ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1976
It was open season on disgraced former President Richard Nixon back in 1976. One of the most vicious broadsides levelled against Tricky Dick was the faux documentary The Faking of the President. Famed Nixon imitator Richard M. Dixon appears in newly-filmed scenes, which are then strategically placed in context with existing news footage. In this pastiche, the audience is treated to a full confession from a tearful Nixon, not to mention such vignettes as the ex-president stealing flowers from the grave of Fala -- Franklin D. Roosevelt's scotch terrier -- and placing them on the tombstone of Checkers! Also making cameo appearances are actors pretending to be Ron Ziegler (dressed as a Nazi) and Donald Segretti. Filmmakers Jeanne and Alan Abel reportedly assembled this "mockumentary" for less than $100,000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marshall Erwin Efron, Robert Staats, (more)
This offbeat comedy finds a rotund, daydreaming projectionist (Chuck McCann) who fantasizes that he is the super hero Captain Flash. He imagines his nemesis to be Renaldi (Rodney Dangerfield), whom the projectionist refers to as "the Bat." Renaldi demands the lobby floor to be so clean he can eat off it. The film uses superimposition of older films, the first to employ such techniques. The projectionist imagines Rinaldi to be in league with the forces of evil like Hitler, Mussolini and space aliens. He is under the delusion that he must save a female co-worker (Ina Balin) from the clutches of the evil Bat. The projectionist summons such heroes as Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper and the US Marine Corp to save her from imagined danger. This is the first feature length film for director Harry Hurwitz, who also appears as an usher. This also marks the film debut for Rodney Dangerfield, who had recently changed his name from his given name of Jack Roy and opened a nightclub. The film premiered at the Rochester Film Festival in 1969. It has earned cult status over the years and is in the archives of the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck McCann, Ina Balin, (more)
After several years working along the margins of the underground film scene in New York, director Robert Downey broke through to wider recognition with the arthouse hit Putney Swope, a wildly irreverent satire of race and advertising in America. Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson) is the token African-American executive at an otherwise all-white advertising agency when the chairman of the board unexpectedly drops dead. Through a fluke in the chain of command, Swope becomes the new head of the firm, and decides its time to do things his way. He fires nearly all the staff (except for his one token white employee), renames the agency Truth and Soul, Inc., and announces they'll no longer accept accounts advertising tobacco, alcohol, or war toys. The ads they do produce -- for acne remedies and breakfast cereal, among other things -- are wildly successful, and the iconoclastic ad agency (which only accepts payment in cash) is targeted by government operatives as a threat to the national security. Antonio Fargas and Allen Garfield lead the supporting cast; Mel Brooks makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Gottlieb, Allen Garfield, (more)
