Milton Berle Movies

Family, friends, and associates recall "The Chairman of the Board" in this compilation video that salutes the world renowned, sometimes controversial singer and celebrity Francis Albert Sinatra (1915-1998). Born in Hoboken, NJ, Sinatra became one of the world's most admired all-around entertainers. Besides making and breaking records (literally and figuratively), "Old Blue Eyes" made his mark as a radio star, an Academy Award-winning actor, and a quintessential Las Vegas act. His work in television was less celebrated, but he put in his time there as well, starring in musical variety shows for CBS and ABC, as well as numerous TV specials. Highlights of this video include archival performance footage and a clip of Sinatra being interviewed by the influential Edward R. Murrow. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

Fraser (Paul Gross) makes the acquaintance of exotic dancer Ida Banks (Lisa Engleman), who tells him that the Olympus Club, the strip joint where she works, has been targetted for a mob takeover. To make matters worse, Ida's mob-wannabe boyfriend Barry Pappas ( Nick Sandow) has confessed--in his sleep--that he has been dragooned into killing a rival club owner. The climax finds Fraser and Ray (David Marciano) trapped in the middle of a deadly turf war. Legendary comedian Milton Berle guest stars as Shelley Litvak. Originally broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on April 26, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This somewhat offbeat 30-minute cartoon special was originally part of Cinar's The Real Story of... anthology, wherein the histories of such popular songs as "O Christmas Tree" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" were recounted in a highly fanciful fashion. On this occasion, Milton Berle provides the voice of the evil Prince of Darkness, who despises sunlight and especially moonlight. Hoping to plunge the world into eternal night, the Prince casts a spell over Pierrot, guardian of the moon, sending the poor fellow into a deep, deep slumber. Pierrot's pal, Marvin, realizes that the only person who can save Pierrot and restore the moonlight is a young boy named Jamie -- who, alas, is so scared of the dark that he dares not venture from his home. First seen on Canadian television, Au Clair de la Lune made its U.S. cable bow via the HBO service on January 15, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The big news during The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's fourth season is the arrival of new cast member Daphne Maxwell Reid, replacing Janet Hubert-Whitten in the role of Vivian Banks, the wealthy but down-to-earth aunt of wise-guy West Philly transplant Will Smith (Will Smith). Otherwise, the rest of the main cast is pretty much the same, with Will continuing to enrich and sometimes complicate the lives of his rich Bel-Air relatives, including Vivian's lawyer husband Philip (James Avery), their mild-mannered son Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), their trend-conscious daughters, Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali), and their new baby son Nicholas (who would grow up real fast within the next year or so). Also on hand, as ever, is the Banks family's devastatingly sardonic butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell). It is during this season that Will and Carlton graduate from high school and begin attending the University of Los Angeles. To celebrate their "independence," the boys move into their new pad -- which turns out to be the pool house on the Banks family's Bel-Air estate. In another development, Will is reunited with his ex-girlfriend from West Philadelphia, Jackie Ames (Tyra Banks). An unusually high number of guest stars grace this season. Among them are Hugh Hefner in the episode "Fresh Prince After Dark," Branford Marsalis in "Sleepless in Bel-Air" and "Stop Will in the Name of Love," Robert Guillaume in "You'd Better Shop Around," Pam Grier in "M Is for the Many Things She Gave Me," Ben Vereen (as Will's long-missing father) in "Papa's Got a Brand-New Excuse," Donald Trump in "For Sale By Owner," and Dick Clark in "The Philadelphia Story." Though the last-named episode was originally intended as the series finale with Will leaving Bel-Air and returning home to Philadelphia, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was renewed for a fifth season at the very last moment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It probably takes an intimate acquaintance with East Germany's famously awful car, a smoky, noisy two-cylinder lawnmower on wheels, the Trabant 601, to fully appreciate the jokes in this celebrity-filled comedy. In the story, Gunther (German television star Thomas Gotttschalk) is an East German inventor who has journeyed with his homely car to an inventor's convention in Hollywood: he has figured out a way to get his Trabbi to run on turnip juice and zoom like a sports car. When his odd car is stolen, he tries to get it back, but L.A. and it's culture are alien to him and he is very much a fish out of water, despite the friendly advice he receives from Billy Dee Williams as a knowledgeable parking-lot attendant. Look for cameos by Milton Berle and Dom DeLuise, among others. This Trabbi film is a sequel to the enormously popular comedy Go, Trabi, Go. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This television documentary chronicles the career of Spike Jones, a talented musical satirist who had audiences of the '50s rolling in the aisles as he and his City Slickers committed inventive forms of musical murder on some of America's most beloved songs. Archival footage from performances during the early '50s, coupled with interviews of former band members and Jones' family, round out the show. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Co-written by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure marks the debut of director Tim Burton, who stamps the entire film with his quirky trademark style. The premise: Pee Wee (Reubens), an overgrown pre-pubescent boy sporting a molded Princeton cut, blush, lipstick, and a shrunken gray flannel suit, lives an idyllic life in his bizarre home (some have compared the remarkable set design to the expressionistic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) until someone nabs his most prized possession: a fire engine-red customized bicycle. He then embarks on an epic cross-country search to find his lost love, not to mention more than a little adventure. Along the way, he makes friends with various oddball characters, visits the Alamo, endures various hallucinatory nightmares, and has a supernatural run-in with a spectral trucker. In this reprisal of his popular standup routine, Reubens is wonderful as the nerdy man child; he plays it silly, yet he manages to imbue the role with some sensitivity without ever seeming maudlin. The score by Danny Elfman is terrific -- as is the case in nearly every film Burton has directed -- and the script is fresh and inventive. Some of the most memorable moments: the opening sequence involving Pee Wee's morning activities is a stroke of genius (note the bunny slippers and talking breakfast), as are the scenes at the truck stop, and the "Hollywood" version of Pee Wee's story at the end (starring James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild in surprise cameos). In all, Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a delightful film, enjoyable for children as well as adults. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi