Dick Van Dyke Movies

This entertaining vintage video offers up some very funny classic commercials from TV and movie personalities. Watch for "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and "You Bet Your Life." ~ All Movie Guide

A corpulent wind instrument finds excitement in this animated adaptation of a beloved children's story. The tale features the voices of Dick Van Dyke, Pearl Bailey, Jack Gilford and Hermoine Gingold. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This 90-minute Columbo episode casts Dick Van Dyke in the image-busting role of a cold-blooded murderer. Van Dyke plays a photographer who calmly shoots his hateful wife (Antoinette Bower) after binding her to a chair. He arranges the evidence to make it appear as though the wife had been kidnapped, and that her abductor/murderer was an ex-convict--who becomes Van Dyke's next victim. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) gathers clues in his usual shambling, off-the-cuff fashion, allowing Van Dyke to trip himself up at episode's end. Negative Reaction was first telecast October 6, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In The Comic, Dick Van Dyke plays Billy Bright, silent-era film comedian. The opening scene is at his funeral in which his sidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney) honors his partner's last request by hitting the preacher in the face with a pie. Van Dyke's voice then narrates the life story of the comic in flashbacks. Steve Allen plays himself and is the man who revives Billy's career towards the end of his life. Bright's life deteriorates as the bitter man becomes a drunk and abusive, alienating his wife Mary (Michele Lee). Van Dyke combines the characters of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel for his interpretation of the fictional character Billy Bright. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Jack Albany (Dick Van Dyke) is an actor in a television series who is mistaken for a real-life murderer Ace Williams (Jack Elam). Comedy ensues when gangster Leo Smooth (Edward G. Robinson) goes after Jack. Robinson reprises the role of the gangster tough guy he made famous in the 1930s. He leads a comical crew of criminals which include Ned Glass, Mickey Shaughnessy, Slim Pickens, Henry Silva and Tony Bill. Sally (Dorothy Provine) is the love interest who comes to the aid of the unhappy Jack. Jerry Paris, who starred as Van Dyke's neighbor in his highly successful television show of the 1960s, directs this Walt Disney-produced comedy. Disney had given the nod to the script and the production blueprints shortly before his death in 1966. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

An unhappy couple discover breaking up really is hard to do in this satiric comedy. Richard Harmon (Dick Van Dyke) and his wife, Barbara (Debbie Reynolds), are a typical married couple in American Suburbia -- which is to say they're not very happy with each other. After 15 years together, Richard and Barbara decide they've reached the end of their collective rope, and after several rounds of marriage counseling proves fruitless, they file for divorce. Between negotiating child custody, alimony, and finding new places to live, Richard and Barbara discover divorce isn't appreciably easier than being married; meanwhile, Richard makes a new friend in Nelson Downes (Jason Robards), a fellow divorcé who would love nothing more than for Richard to marry his former wife, Nancy (Jean Simmons), and take away the burden of alimony. Also featuring Van Johnson, Lee Grant, Shelley Berman, and Eileen Brennan in her first film role, Divorce American Style earned an Oscar nomination for Norman Lear and Robert Kaufman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dick Van Dyke stars as U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Robinson Crusoe in one of Disney's weakest comedies. Like in the Daniel Defoe story, Crusoe finds himself alone on a deserted island, but this time he arrives there after ejecting from his disabled plane on a mission in the South Pacific. He befriends a chimp who is part of the space program and long thought to be lost at sea. Soon he meets his girl Wednesday (Nancy Kwan), and the duo is chased by her tribal chieftain father (Akim Tamiroff) who wants his daughter to marry Crusoe. Only the popularity of Dick Van Dyke from his television show and his wonderful performance in Mary Poppins could attribute for the $8 million this misfire brought in at the box office. The highlights of the feature are the special effects. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Although the ratings of The Dick Van Dyke Show had diminished since the series' all-time high during its third season, the show was still among CBS' most popular offerings -- and one of the network's most prestigious efforts, with four Emmy awards and two Golden Globes to its credit. Even so, star Dick Van Dyke and series creator Carl Reiner were both of the opinion that the series had been taken as far as it could go, and to keep it on the air any longer might tarnish its luster. Thus, by mutual consent, star and creator agreed that the fifth season of The Dick Van Dyke Show would be its last. Not that they intended to go out with a whimper; indeed the season five episodes include some of the best half-hours ever produced for any series anywhere. The season opener is the classic, Emmy-winning "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth," in which Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore), the wife of "The Alan Brady Show"'s head writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), inadvertently informs the entire TV viewing public of America that the vainglorious Alan Brady (Carl Reiner) wears a toupee.

Subsequent superb episodes include "The Great Petrie Fortune," in which a "living will" left behind by Rob's Uncle Hezekiah (also played by Dick Van Dyke) yields an unexpected treasure; "Go Tell the Brids and Bees," wherein Rob and Laura's son, Richie (Larry Mathews), foments a mini-scandal by telling his school friends the facts of life -- which are nowhere near factual; "The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart," in which Alan Brady's long-suffering producer (and brother-in-law) Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) finally works up the gumption to tell Alan off -- and gets fired for his troubles; "Dear Sally Rogers," a showcase for Rose Marie as Rob's coworker Sally, who gets more than she bargained for when she advertises for a husband on "The Stevie Parsons Show;" "Buddy Sorrell, Man and Boy," a superb blend of hilarity and pathos as comedy writer Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) secretly prepares for his Bar Mitzvah, some thirty years late; and "Talk to the Snail," guest-starring Paul Winchell as an oddball ventriloquist to whom Rob goes for a job when he thinks he's been fired. Although the final episode to be telecast was the "clip show" "The Last Chapter," the last episode to be filmed was "The Gunslinger," an all-stops-out western spoof with an endless stream of quotable dialogue -- and the only Dick Van Dyke Show ever to feature an "exterior" filmed sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having reached its peak popularity during its third season on the air, The Dick Van Dyke Show faltered a bit in the ratings during season four, dropping to seventh place in the overall ratings. This, however, had absolutely no effect on the excellent quality of the series' writing, nor the stellar performances of leading players Dick Van Dyke (as TV comedy writer Rob Petrie), Mary Tyler Moore (as Rob's wife, Laura), Larry Mathews (as the Petries' son, Ritchie), Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam (as Rob's coworkers at "The Alan Brady Show," Sally Rogers and Buddy Sorrell). Among other highlights, this is the season in which series creator Carl Reiner finally appears full-face in the role of Rob Petrie's paranoid, dictatorial boss, comedian Alan Brady. This occurs in the episode "Baby Fat," which also features Strother Martin as a Tennessee Williams-like playwright.

The season gets off to its customary flying start with the episode "My Mother Can Beat Up My Father," in which petite Laura Petrie inadvertently humiliates her muscular husband Rob in public (twice) with her ju-jitsu skills. Other topnotch episodes include the wild and wooly horror spoof "The Ghost of A. Chantz;" "The Man From Emperor," in which Rob is offered a job by the publisher of a magazine that bears a very close resemblance to Playboy; "The Lady and the Babysitter," with Eddie Hodges as a moonstruck teenager who develops a crush on Laura; the two-part "4.5" and "The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail," guest-starring Don Rickles as hilariously unrepentant petty crook Lyle Delp; another two-parter, "Stacey Petrie," with Dick Van Dyke's brother Jerry Van Dyke appropriately cast as Rob's brother Stacey; "Pink Pills and Purple Parents," a flashback episode in which Laura takes the wrong "nerve pills" just before meeting Rob's parents; "Brother, Can You Spare $2500," featuring Gene Baylos as a bum who holds a lost copy of "The Alan Brady Show"'s script for ransom; "The Redcoats are Coming," a lampoon of Beatlemania featuring rock stars Chad and Jeremy; and "Never Bathe on Saturday," the one in which Laura gets her toe stuck in the faucet of a hotel bathtub. (Initially, Mary Tyler Moore balked at appearing in this episode because she was off-screen for the most part, but was eventually convinced that the end result would be hilarious.) Season four of The Dick Van Dyke Show was capped by Dick Van Dyke's second Emmy Award win in a row. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lavishly produced, big-budget comedy (it cost $20 million in 1964 dollars) stars Shirley MacLaine as Louisa, a widow who is worth $200 million dollars. However, she's convinced that her fortune is cursed, and she wants to give all her money to the IRS. As she explains her sad tale to her psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanson (Robert Cummings), it seems that when Louisa was young she had the choice of marrying rich playboy Leonard Crawley (Dean Martin) or poor but decent Edgar Hopper (Dick Van Dyke). She chose Edgar, but soon he became obsessed with providing a fine home and fortune for her; he got rich but worked himself to death in the process. Despondent, Louisa flies to Paris, where she strikes up a romance with expatriate artist Larry Flint (Paul Newman). When Larry invents a machine that creates paintings based on sounds, he becomes wealthy and famous -- and dies. Louisa returns to America, where she figures to break her streak by marrying Rod (Robert Mitchum), a business tycoon who already has lots of money. He resolves to take life easier and becomes a farmer, only to die in a strange accident with a bull. Louisa is drowning her sorrows one night at a sleazy night spot when she falls for second rate entertainer Jerry (Gene Kelly). They marry, and a now-wealthy Jerry develops a relaxed, carefree quality to his act that makes him a huge star, which leads to his being crushed by a mob of his biggest fans. What a Way to Go! boasted a screenplay by Betty Comdon and Adolph Green that featured many amusing film parodies and a score by Nelson Riddle; it also marked the final screen appearance of comic actress Margaret Dumont, best remembered as Groucho Marx's straight woman in several films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Matriculating from noble failure to major success during its second season on the air, The Dick Van Dyke Show sailed into its third season without a ripple on the water. Though it is surely unnecessary by now, it is hereby noted that the series' main cast still consisted of Dick Van Dyke as Rob Petrie, head writer for "The Alan Brady Show;" Mary Tyler Moore as his wife, Laura; Larry Mathews as their chipmunk-cheeked son, Ritchie; Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam as Rob's wisecracking coworkers Sally Rogers and Buddy Sorrell; and, on occasion, Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley, "The Alan Brady Show"'s long-suffering producer; and Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert as the Petrie's next-door neighbors, Jerry and Millie Helper. Season three is launched with one of the series' most famous episodes, "That's My Boy?," in which Rob recalls the time shortly after Richie's birth that he became convinced that his baby son had been switched with an infant belonging to a Mr. and Mrs. Peters. The episode's unforgettable punchline was not only one of the best-kept secrets of the 1963-1964 season, but also yielded one of the longest and most sustained laughs from the studio audience (and in the bargain, it struck a major blow on behalf of racial equality on American television).

Amazingly, the third season manages to uphold the level of brilliance of its opener. "The Masterpiece" guest stars Howard Morris (who directed several other episodes) as a zany art critic who goes into conniptions when the Petries purchase an "original Artanis." "Laura's Little Lie" and "Very Old Shoes, Very Old Rice" comprise a two-part story in which the Petries discover that their marriage may not be legal; and in another two-parter, "The Pen is Mightier Than the Mouth" and "My Part-Time Wife," Laura fills in at the office while Sally guest-stars on "The Stevie Parsons Show," much to Rob's dismay. "Big Max Calvada" features Sheldon Leonard, executive producer of The Dick Van Dyke Show, as a gentlemanly ex-gangster who -- er -- persuades the "Alan Brady Show" staff to write a comedy routine for his untalented nephew. "The Life and Love of Joe Coogan" sets Rob up for a big surprise when he expresses jealousy towards Laura's former boyfriend. Series creator Carl Reiner shows up as flamboyant artist Serge Carpetna, who paints an extremely revealing portrait of the unwitting Laura, in "October Eve." And in "The Return of Edwin Carp," "The Alan Brady Show" nostalgically plays host to three old-time radio favorites: Richard Haydn, Arlene Harris, and Bert Gordon. Mention must also be made of the series' second full-out musical show, "The Alan Brady Show Presents," in which the entire cast -- including little Richie -- perform in a Yuletide special. The Dick Van Dyke Show enjoyed its best-ever ratings during season three, finishing at third place in the Nielsens. As a bonus, Emmy awards were bestowed upon both Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is now part of TV folklore that the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for the series' creator, Carl Reiner. In the pilot episode "Head of the Family," filmed in New York in 1959, Reiner played TV comedy writer Rob Petrie (then pronounced "pea-tree"), who divided his time between his job as a head writer on "The Alan Sturdy Show" with co-workers Buddy Sorrell (Morty Gunty) and Sally Rogers (Sylvia Miles) and his home life in New Rochelle with his wife, Laura (Barbara Britton) and son, Ritchie (Gary Morgan). Potential sponsors and networks liked the premise but not the cast...or to be more blunt, no one wanted to buy a series with Carl Reiner as star. Swallowing his pride, Reiner limited himself to the jobs of producer, director, and writer. He retooled "Head of the Family," and recast the property with Dick Van Dyke as Rob, Mary Tyler Moore as Laura, Larry Mathews as Ritchie, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy, and Rose Marie as Sally; the rest, as they say, is history.

Debuting October 3, 1961, on CBS, The Dick Van Dyke Show, as mentioned, top-billed the titular star as Rob Petrie, who was now head writer for "The Alan Brady Show" During the series' first few seasons, Alan Brady (a brash, dictatorial character reportedly inspired by Reiner's former boss and colleague Sid Caesar) was seldom seen -- and when he was, it was only from the back. It was an open secret that Carl Reiner himself played Brady, though he did not take screen billing. Only in the series' fourth season was Brady's face actually seen, and only then was Reiner credited on-screen as the actor playing the part. Other recurring characters included Richard Deacon as Alan Brady's producer (and beleaguered brother-in-law) Mel Cooley, Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert as the Petries' next-door neighbors Jerry and Millie Helper (he was a dentist, she was Laura's best friend), future director Bill Idelson as Sally Rogers' erstwhile boyfriend, Herman Glimpshire, and Joan Shawlee as Buddy's ex-showgirl wife, Pickles.

Although the series was distinguished by the high level of wit in its writing and its wonderful physical-comedy set pieces, the strong suit of The Dick Van Dyke Show was the warm rapport among its principal players. Indeed, only a handful of TV sitcoms have been so perfectly cast, making one wonder how the series would have fared with its original cast members. Incredible though it may seem today, The Dick Van Dyke Show was not an instantaneous hit. Indeed, the series fared so poorly opposite its first season competition, Bachelor Father and Laramie, that CBS canceled the show outright, sending out notices to the cast members on the last day of shooting. The series might have been just another one season wonder had not one of its sponsors picked it up for a second season, insisting that CBS find a better time slot than Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. Thus, the show was moved to Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. -- fortuitously right after CBS's biggest success of the 1962-1963 season, The Beverly Hillbillies.

Although The Dick Van Dyke Show's somewhat higher ratings still did not set the world on fire, the series received a great deal of word-of-mouth buzz during its second season, and its audience grew steadily throughout the remainder of its run. The fact that the series picked up several Emmy Awards along the way was the icing on the cake. After five seasons, star Dick Van Dyke and producer Carl Reiner opted to quit while they were ahead -- a rare move in the mid-'60s (and even rarer four decades later). Thus, The Dick Van Dyke Show concluded its nighttime run on September 7, 1966, though reruns continued to air on CBS's daytime schedule until 1969. Thereafter, the series entered off-network syndication, where its has continued to flourish mightily well into the 21st century. And in 2003, the surviving cast members were reunited for a two-hour special, The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide