Morey Amsterdam Movies

Three giants of early television--Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Danny Thomas--combine their talents in the made-for-TV Side by Side. Berle and Caesar play a couple of 65-year-olds who've just been forcibly retired; Thomas portrays a widower, who's been aimless and lethargic since the death of his wife. The trio gains a new lease on life when they team up to manufacture a line of clothing exclusively designed for senior citizens. Their zeal intensifies when Berle's old boss Richard Klein spitefully develops a rival wardrobe line. Marjorie Lord, who'd played Danny Thomas' wife on TV in the late 1950s and early 1960s, is here cast as Sid Caesar's spouse. Side By Side first aired on March 6, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the wacky satire When Nature Calls, an urban family moves to the country in order to get back to nature. Set as a film within a film, the movie mocks a number of film and television cliches with an exaggerated glee; it also features cameos from a number of celebrities. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Rudolph is again a hero when he comes to the rescue of Baby New Year (otherwise time would stand still!). This animation/puppet combo features the talented voices of Red Skelton and Frank Gorshin. ~ All Movie Guide

Alice (Linda Lavin) manages to land an extra job as a nightclub singer. Unfortunately, our heroine's foray into moonlighting takes its toll on her day job at Mel's Diner. Before long, the other staffers must cover for Alice, who can barely stay awake long enough to walk across the floor. Legendary "joke machine" and Dick Van Dyke Show regular Morey Amsterdam appears as Herman in this episode, in which star Linda Lavin sings "But Not For Me". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trying to make Danny (Danny Bonaduce) feel better about his pre-pubescent clumsiness, the family convinces him that he's a natural born comic. This well-meaning gesture backfires when Danny, determined to break into the Big Time as a stand-up comedian, hires broken-down gag writer Ziggy Shnurr (Morey Amsterdam) to provide him with a "sure-fire" act. Jackie Coogan, who would later replace Ray Bolger in the recurring role of the Partridge kids' grandfather, is here seen as a no-nonsense nightclub owner who must break the news to Danny that he's approximately as funny as a crutch. Song: "Somebody Wants to Love You". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unfortunately, the comedy in this film is just about as crummy as its title. On the bright side, it does feature a number of veterans from popular TV sitcoms. It is set in a run-down diner where a bumbling short-order cook and a klutzy waitress work. They are so terrible at their jobs that they soon lose them. Next the two go to help a pal run her recently inherited bookstore. There they found trouble when a Russian spy mistakenly identifies the former cook as a defecting cosmonaut. Meanwhile, two would-be bank robbers are secretly sneaking 'round the bookstore trying to tunnel into the bank vault next door. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

Professor Bob Cummings is an anthropologist who uses a telescope to study the mating habits of teenagers, namely Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. However, Cummings' secretary Dorothy Malone wishes that his boss would get his mind off bikinis and surfers. Meanwhile trouble brews when Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) tries to abduct Annette. Watch for cameo appearances by Vincent Price and Elizabeth Montgomery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The best thing that ever happened to The Dick Van Dyke Show was The Beverly Hillbillies. After languishing in a low-rated Tuesday night slot throughout its first season, Dick Van Dyke was moved to Wednesday during season two -- with Hillbillies, CBS' number one attraction, as its lead-in. Though ratings did not immediately skyrocket, "word of mouth" helped to build a large and loyal audience for Dick Van Dyke -- and by the time its second season had ended, the series had climbed to the number nine berth in the overall ratings. In many ways, the most exciting aspect of the series' first season had been the matriculation of co-star Mary Tyler Moore from just another pretty ingénue to gifted comic actress in the role of Laura Petrie, the wife of TV comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke). By the time season two rolls around, Moore is as poised and confident as any of her more experienced co-stars, who in addition to Dick Van Dyke include Rose Marie as Sally Rogers, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell, and Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley.

The Dick Van Dyke Show's second season is an embarrassment of riches, yielding some of the series' all-time best episodes. Among these are "Never Name a Duck," in which Rob and Laura Petrie can't convince their son, Ritchie (Larry Mathews), to give up his ever-growing pet duck, Stanley; "My Husband is Not a Drunk," a tour de force for Dick Van Dyke as he deftly switches from cold sobriety to falling-down inebriation and back again as the result of a post-hypnotic suggestion; "What's in a Middle Name," wherein Ritchie is given a long, convoluted, but ultimately logical explanation as to why his middle name is "Rosebud"; "It May Look Like a Walnut!," an outrageous Twilight Zone-esque affair capped with a guest appearance by the series' executive producer, Danny Thomas; "Give Me Your Walls!," featuring the inimitable Vito Scotti as an extremely eccentric house painter; "I'm No Henry Walden!," in which series creator Carl Reiner cameos as a pretentious poet named Yale Summers; and "When a Bowling Pin Talks, Listen," the story of how an innocent suggestion from Ritchie nearly results in a major lawsuit for "The Alan Brady Show." Best of all is "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals," a showcase for the musical talents of the principal players, topped by a classic Laurel and Hardy imitation with Dick Van Dyke as Stan and Henry Calvin as Ollie. Nominated for Emmy Awards in four categories during its second season, The Dick Van Dyke Show copped an "outstanding directing" statuette for John Rich. ~ 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

This true crime story was hardly "ripped from today's headlines," since the events took place some 20 to 30 years before the movie was released. Still, Murder, Inc. is not afraid to name names, notably those of syndicate boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter (David J. Stewart) and killer Abe Reles (Peter Falk), who squeals on the Mob to earn immunity. The activities of Buchalter's murder-for-hire operation are played against a fictional story about a nightclub singer (Stuart Whitman) and a dancer (May Britt). Murder, Inc. has a queasy, unsettling quality, due in part to some offbeat casting: TV comedian Henry Morgan co-stars as a dead-serious federal agent, while "human joke machine" Morey Amsterdam shows up as a cabaret entertainer who is stabbed by the Mob. The film was a major boost for the career of Peter Falk, who very nearly managed to parlay his Murder, Inc. supporting role into an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide