Elaine Stritch Movies

The fourth and final season of the British "culture-clash" sitcom Two's Company stars Elaine Stritch as Dorothy McNab, an overbearing, overtalkative American mystery writer living in Chelsea, and Donald Sinden as Dorothy's highly proper butler, Robert, who never lets his position get in the way of saying exactly what he thinks of his impossible employer. The first of this season's seven episodes is "The Club," in which Dorothy and Robert unite against unfair snobbery. "The Clergy" puts hero and heroine at odds with organized religion. "The Salesman" once more proves that the extravagant Dorothy can't be trusted with a farthing. "The Visiting Scots" is a haggis-baggis of zany ethnic humor, British style. "The Silence" finds Dorothy and Robert uncharacteristically speechless. "The Rolls-Royce" allows the viewers the vicarious pleasure of seeing the wealthy make fools of themselves. And the final episode, "The Friendly Aristocrats," thoroughly belies its title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back after a year's absence (save for the 1976 special "A Loving Christmas"), the British sitcom Two's Company still stars Elaine Stritch as Dorothy McNab, an abrasive and demanding American mystery writer living in Chelsea, and Donald Sinden as Dorothy's "veddy" proper butler, Robert Hiller, who makes no secret of his disdain for Dorothy's temper tantrums and has a delightfully wicked habit of speaking his mind at all times. The first of season two's seven episodes is "The Reluctant Traveller," wherein Dorothy is obliged to make a return trip to America -- but Robert's fear of flying may put a crimp in the journey."The Burglary" finds Robert the prime suspect when Dorothy's home is robbed. In "The Rubbish," Dorothy and Robert are at war again over household trivialities. Despite its title, the episode "The Honeymoon" is anything but. In "Robert's Record Player," Dorothy is sued for "noise pollution" as the result of Robert's devotion to Bach (at top volume). "The Guests" offers another choice example of Yankee boorishness colliding head-on with British propriety. And in "The Cleaning Ladies," Dorothy's peculiar habit of alienating anyone who works for her boomerangs disastrously -- and hilariously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the earlier Granada Television variety series of the same name, the British sitcom Two's Company was unveiled by London Weekend Television on September 6, 1975. American actress Elaine Stritch starred as Dorothy McNab, an acerbic Yankee writer who lived and worked on a country estate in Chelsea. Dorothy's prickly personality was offset by the cool unflappability of her "veddy" British butler, Robert Hiller, played by Donald Sinden. Although Robert could give back as good as he got when subjected to Dorothy's insults, a palpable mutual affection existed between the two protagonists. Created by Bill MacIlwraith, the 29-episode Two's Company ran until March 4, 1979. In America, the series was rebroadcast over the A&E cable network, and also spawned a 1981 remake, The Two of Us, starring Mimi Kennedy and Peter Cook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-television remake of a taut thriller from 1946 concerns a small-town psycho stalking disabled female victims, whom he shoots with a silencer pistol. His next intended prey is a poor young woman who cannot speak. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Unwilling to claw his way to the top of the corporate ladder, the college-educated Jonathan (Jordan Christopher) prefers the carefree life of a cab driver. A rebel, he vents his daily frustration by kicking pigeons in the park. The film's rambling plot encompasses such eccentric characters as a naive motorcyclist, a gay interior decorator and a parent-subsidized hippie who embarks upon a bumpy romance with Jonathan, whose lack of commitment proves his downfall. Very much a product of its times (psychedelic camerawork and all), Pigeons was originally released under the strenuously "hip" title Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shot on location in Manhattan during the mid-'60s, Who Killed Teddy Bear? is a startling piece of dramatic filmmaking. Juliet Prowse portrays Nora, a deejay and hostess at a sleazy midtown discothèque who starts to receive obscene phone calls. Nora dismisses them, until she crosses paths with Bill Madden (Jan Murray), a grim, obsessive police lieutenant specializing in sex crimes (his obsession, as he later reveals, derives from the fact that his own wife was assaulted and murdered while out alone one night); he manages both to offend and frighten Nora with his depth of knowledge and suspicions about the kinds of people who commit those crimes. They develop a close but wary relationship even as the caller, whoever he is, proves to know not only a great deal about her personal life, but also about events transpiring right inside her apartment. She goes about her life as best she can, attending auditions and making the rounds of theaters, and socializing with her co-workers at the club, including the bus boy, Larry (Sal Mineo), who seems lonely and has a very sweet younger sister who is mildly retarded. She looks to her club manager (Elaine Stritch) for help, but then rejects her when she suspects that the older woman is attracted to her -- and then Stritch is killed by the stalker, by mistake, outside Nora's building when she is seen wearing the girl's coat. Nora tries to relax and looks to Larry for friendship, only to discover that he is the stalker. Madden also makes the connection, and figures out how he was observing her inside her apartment, but he's too late to save Nora from being assaulted. Larry ends up on the run from the police, who are in hot pursuit as he flees through Manhattan's streets. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this frothy romantic comedy, a hard-working female Army shrink (Janet Leigh) devises the "perfect furlough" for battle weary men and convinces the brass to let her try it on selected men stationed at her base. According to her plan, selected men would be given three weeks, tailor made to fit their deepest desires. Her first test-case is a handsome ladies' man (Tony Curtis) who chooses to go to Paris with his favorite movie star. Naturally the psychologist chaperones. Romantic mayhem ensues and eventually the furloughed soldier and the shrink fall in love. The story is also titled Strictly for Pleasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Farewell to Arms is the second film version of Ernest Hemingway's World War One novel--and also the last film produced by David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind). Rock Hudson plays an American serving in the Italian Army during the "War to End All Wars". Jennifer Jones is his lover, a Red cross nurse. They have a torrid affair, which results in Jones' pregnancy. As the months pass, Hudson and Jones lose contact with one another, and Jones believes that Hudson has forgotten her. But a battle-weary Hudson finally makes it to Switzerland, where Jones is hospitalized. The baby is stillborn, and Jones dies shortly afterward, murmuring that her death is "a dirty trick." Filmed on a simpler scale in 1932 (with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes starring), A Farewell to Arms was blown all out of proportion to "epic" stature for the 1957 remake--so much so that its original director, John Huston, quit the film in disgust. Still, the basic love story is touchingly enacted by Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actor-dancer Ray Bolger and Elaine Stritch co-starred in this 1956-57 NBC-TV musical comedy variety series, set in lower Manhattan. Bolger portrayed himself as the manager of the Greenwich Village Inn. Other regulars in the hour-long episodes included Arnold Stang, Daniza Ilitsch, the Bil and Cora Baird Puppets, Rusty Draper, Jo Wilder, Kay Armen, and the Three Flames. First seen on Sunday afternoons before bouncing about to other time slots, the series ran on alternate weeks from 10/21/56 to 6/13/57. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide