David Burns Movies
American actor David Burns began his U.S. in the early '40s and became a well-known, reliable supporting player. He has also worked in films and on TV. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1971
- PG
Georgie Soloway (Dustin Hoffman) is an unbelievably successful composer of popular music. Just in the last year, he has written over 60 hit songs. That kind of output worries him, however. Now that he is getting to be middle-aged, he wonders if he will be able to keep the pace he has set. He also has a rich crop of neuroses, and his worries go way beyond what might seem reasonable. For instance, Georgie believes that someone named Harry Kellerman sabotaged each of his previous relationships, and he is worried about his current one with Alison (Barbara Harris), a singer. He seeks the aid of his psychiatrist (Jack Warden) but gets little satisfaction. He then tries to get comfort from his business associates (Dom De Luise and Gabriel Dell), but they don't have a clue about how to help him. Turning to home, he visits his mother (Betty Walker) and father (David Burns) but is further distressed when he learns that his father is dying. Still highly agitated, he takes to the air in his private jet. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
This humorless comedy finds Hiram Jaffe (Elliott Gould) earning a living as a pornography writer and dog walker to the rich in New York. When he and wife Dolly (Paula Prentiss) decide to move to a new apartment, the problems cause Hiram to blur the line between his fantasy writing and reality. John Larch is the mounted policeman who tickets Hiram repeatedly while remaining oblivious to continual and more serious criminal activity. Music is inflicted by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1967
Expanded from a two-character play by Murray Schisgal, this comedy stars Eli Wallach as Ben Harris, a disgruntled New York City mail carrier. Harris is fed up with being cheated by his landlords, the Kellys (Roland Wood and Ruth White), so he terrorizes them and the city's housing authority until they agree to give him a new apartment. Not satisfied, Harris "goes postal" by kidnapping a bored suburban housewife, Gloria Fiske (Anne Jackson) and taking her back to his apartment. To his surprise, he finds that Gloria also hates the world, and they become fast friends. He eventually lets her go but follows her home. When he tries to climb into her window, her husband Jerry (Bob Dishe) chases him away. Harris returns to his apartment building, where the Kellys invite him in to watch TV, and somehow this soothes his wrath. Dustin Hoffman has a small role as a hippie named Hap. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, (more)
Let's Make Love is a breezy comedy about an off Broadway musical production. Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) is the richest man in the world and looking for someone who loves him instead of his money. He reads in Variety he is to be satirized in the new production and tries out for the part. The producers hire him, unaware of his real identity. He hires Bing Crosby, Milton Berle and Gene Kelly to coach him for the role. Amanda (Marilyn Monroe) is the poor aspiring actress who lands a part in the play. Her opening number is the classic "My Heart Belongs To Daddy". Unaware of his fabulous wealth, she falls for the playboy billionaire during the rehearsals for the show. Tony Randall plays Montand's fussy public relations agent and tries to keep his boss from embarassment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, (more)
- 1958
Having gained a measure of TV fame by 1958, the nightclub comedy duo of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin decided to give movies a try with Once Upon a Horse. Dan and Dick play Dan Casey and Doc Logan, a pair of nitwitted cowboys who turn to outlawry because they can't make a go at any honest profession. Stealing a valuable herd of cattle, the boys' dreams of financial security are dashed when they're forced to raise money to feed their stolen bovines. Martha Hyer costars as Miss Amity Babb, a resourceful saloon hall owner who applies 20th century business methods to her 19th century operation. For nostalgia buffs, several western-movie favorites (billed as "Our Old Pals") make cameo appearances, including Tom Keene, Bob Livingston, Kermit Maynard and Bob Steele. Hal Kanter's screenplay is full of clever, satirical touches, most of which proved to be too smart for the room in 1958. A financial disappointment, Once Upon a Horse (aka Hot Horse) would be Rowan and Martin's last joint film effort until 1969's The Maltese Bippy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, (more)
- 1957
Long before he became entrenched in the public's consciousness as Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle USMC, Frank Sutton topped the cast of the minor juvenile-delinquent melodrama Four Boys and a Gun. Sutton plays Ollie Denker, a runner for a gang of bookies who gets into deep doo-doo when he rips off his bosses. To raise a lot of money in a hurry, Denker masterminds a boxing-arena holdup with three pals: Johnny Doyle (a very young James Franciscus), Eddie Richards (Tarry Green) and Stanley Badek (Bill Hinnant). When a cop is killed during the holdup, it is up to the district attorney (Otto Hullett) to determine which of the four conspirators fired the fatal shot. Four Boys and a Gun can be seen as a precursor to the bigger budgeted The Young Savages (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sutton, James Franciscus, (more)
Cooked up by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, It's Always Fair Weather could well have been titled On the Town Ten Years Later. Like 1949's On the Town (also a Comden/Green collaboration), this MGM musical follows the exploits of three servicemen buddies, played by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd. The difference here is that the threesome has just been discharged from service. The boys agree to get together again exactly ten years after their parting. Flash-forward to 1955: Kelly, who'd dreamed of being a show biz entrepreneur, is a small-time boxing promoter, heavily in debt to the Mob; Dailey has abandoned his plans of becoming an artist in favor of a stuffy, grey-flannel existence as an ad executive; and Kidd, who'd aspired to being a master chef, is running a modest diner. On behalf of TV-personality Dolores Gray, network-staffer Cyd Charisse contrives to reunite the three men on a This is Your Life style TV special, but all three are hostile to the notion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, (more)
- 1954
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody of the 1946 thriller Dead of Night, Kaye is unable to control the words coming out of his dummy, resulting in a near-nervous breakdown. On the advice of his manager (David Burns), Kaye seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, who turns out to be beautiful Mai Zetterling. But first, he heads to a local repair shop to pick up one of his dummies. What Kaye doesn't know is that a set of stolen blueprints for a top-secret weapon have been secreted into his dummy's head. Before he knows what's happening, our hero is up to his ears in spies, counterspies, and corpses. Falsely accused of murder, Kaye spends the rest of the film adopting one disguise after another to elude both the authorities and the various enemy agents roaming about. Filled to overflowing with musical and comedy highlights, Knock on Wood includes the famous "under the table" bit wherein Kaye finds himself literally between two warring spy factions, and a climactic ballet sequence reminiscent of (and superior to) the comic-opera finale of Kaye's Wonder Man (1945). And of course, the audience is treated to the tongue-twisting patter songs written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Mai Zetterling, (more)
Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. As a result, the film is overstocked with guest stars, performing such Romberg standards as "One Alone," "Lover Come Back to Me," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Will You Remember," and "Stout-Hearted Men." Among these celebrities are Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Kelly, the latter performing a dance duet with his seldom-seen brother, Fred. For all the heady competition, it is José Ferrer who renders the most memorable production number: a one-man presentation of the Romberg musical comedy Jazzboat, in which Ferrer assumes all the roles, from star Al Jolson's to the entire female chorus! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Helen Traubel, (more)
- 1940
In this British murder mystery, Scotland Yard investigates a puzzling killing of an Italian count. The Yard assigns a detective, who is to retire the next day, to solve the puzzle. Three people confess the crime. The late count's wife is the daughter of one of them. Apparently the count had abused her. Another of the confessors was in love with the girl. The third confessor's reason is unclear. Eventually the wife, who had been in hiding, steps forward and offers her own confession. Interestingly, none of the four are guilty. Fortunately, by the story's end, the real killer steps forward and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1939
In an unusual move for a mere program picture, RKO Radio filmed A Saint in London on location in England, using a largely British cast and crew. George Sanders makes his second appearance as suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer, aka The Saint. This time, Templar gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed a European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal (Gordon McLeod), who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan (David Burns) and dizzy socialite Penny Parker (Sally Gray). The Saint in London was directed by John Paddy Carstairs, who later worked on some of the episodes of the Saint TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Sally Gray, (more)
- 1939
A Girl Must Live is the philosophy of gold-digging chorus girls Gloria Lind (Renee Houston) and Clytie Devine (Lilli Palmer). Both feel that they could live most comfortably off the money inherited by the Earl of Pangborough (Hugh Sinclair) a handsome but unworldly nobleman. Despite the most strenuous efforts by Gloria and Clytie, it is sweet and demure chorine Leslie James (Margaret Lockwood) who claims the Earl as her husband. Robust comedy relief is provided by the venerable George Robey as a bibulous "sugar daddy". A Girl Must Live was one of three 1939 films directed by Carol Reed, still some distance removed from Odd Man Out, The Third Man and Oliver!. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Renee Houston, (more)
- 1939
The British I Killed the Count was based on the tricky stage puzzler by Alec Coppel. Cockney comedian Syd Walker plays it more or less straight as Scotland Yard inspector Davidson, at present trying to determine who murdered the much-hated Count Mattoni (Leslie Perrins). The dilemma isn't that Davidson is suffering from a lack of witnesses. In fact, four different people come forth to confess to the killing--each of them with plenty of motive and opportunity. Originally released in the US by Grand National in 1939, I Killed the Count was reissued the following year as Who's Guilty? by Monogram. The original Coppel play was later adapted as a two-parter on TV's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Syd Walker, Ben Lyon, (more)
- 1939
A wealthy man's valet, Blore, concocts a blackmail scheme about an attempted poisoning when his employer passes out at a party in this farcical comedy. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1939
Dapper musical comedy favorite Jack Buchanan is practically the whole show in The Gang's All Here. Buchanan plays John Forrest, top investigator for the Stamford Insurance Company. Retiring from the firm, Forrest intends to devote the rest of his life to writing detective fiction, but this plan goes out the window when his former employers are robbed of $1,000,000 in jewels belonging to foreign potentate Prince Homouska (Walter Rilla). With the help of his befuddled brother Treadwell (Edward Everett Horton), Forrest follows the trail of clues to American gangster boss Alberni (Jack LaRue), capturing his quarry with a variety of slapsticky subterfuges. Released in the US by PRC Pictures, The Gang's All Here remains one of Jack Buchanan's best-loved vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buchanan, Googie Withers, (more)
- 1939
This comedy is based on George M. Cohan's popular play and centers on an American businessman and his family who journey to England to meet a prominent English lord. It is an important meeting complicated by the fact that neither men care for each other's nationality. Unfortunately, their children have no such bias and they end up falling in love, forcing the two men to reconcile their differences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Drayton, Robertson Hare, (more)
- 1939
American leading lady Gertrude Michael tops the cast of the British Just Like a Woman. Reprising her misbehavior in Hollywood's The Notorious Sophie Lang, Michael plays jewel thief Ann Heston, who purloins a string of valuable pearls right from under the long noses of the law. She is then pursued halfway around the world by insurance investigator Tony Walsh (John Lodge), who doesn't know what the audience does-that Ann is actually the daughter of his boss. Predictably, Ann is revealed to be operating with the best of intentions, allowing for a satisfying romantic finale. Perhaps inspired by the film's "Yankee" leads, the British cast members of Just Like a Women adopt mid-Atlantic accents throughout most of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gertrude Michael, John Lodge, (more)
- 1938
After befriending talented dancer and pickpocket Libby (Vivien Leigh), street performer Charles (Charles Saggers) strikes up a partnership with the gifted young performer and invites Libby to join his act. With Libby's graceful moves steadily drawing an audience to Charles' dramatic act, the performers soon catch the eye of theater magnate Harley (Rex Harrison), who is so mesmerized by the performance that he invites Libby and her fellow performers to a post-play party. When Libby arrives at the party alone, her career rapidly ascends, as Charles and the rest of the performers remain behind to toil amongst the famished masses. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh, (more)
- 1938
This British comedy pokes fun at Chicago gangsters as it chronicles the rivalry between to gangs battling it out aboard an ocean liner over the kidnapping of a millionaire's son. The gangs are thwarted by a porter, an ex-teacher. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy, (more)
- 1938
A loving mother sacrifices all for her son in this drama. She is an artist's model who finds herself financially drained by a dead-beat artist when she falls in love with a younger man, marries him and bears a son. When her beloved husband dies in the war, the old artist tries to win her back. When that doesn't work, he lures her into his studio and pulls a gun on her. During the ensuing struggle, she accidentally shoots him and ends up spending 15 years in jail. Upon her release she heads for America to keep her son from discovering the truth. In the States, she gets involved with a gambler, but then returns to England and discovers her son is being flimflammed by gamblers. She then saves him from losing it all, but the ungrateful son only has eyes for his lover and his mother slowly fades from view. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Arthur Margetson, (more)
- 1937
In this detective comedy, set in London, an intrepid detective and his wife must discover the criminals behind a series of jewel heists. The two follow the robbers' trail to a barber shop that is the front for a jewel fencing operation. To check it out, the detective literally sticks his neck out and goes in for a shave. It is very nearly his last, but he is saved before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph, (more)
- 1937
Star Jack Buchanan shared directorial credit with cinematographer Lee Garmes for the breezy British musical comedy The Sky's the Limit. Buchanan and opera star Mara Loseff star as bankrupt couturier Dave Harber and his equally cash-less partner Mme. Isobella. With the spring season approaching, our hero and heroine desperately search for a dress designer who will save their business from ruin. Their prize catch is Teddy Carson (David Hutcheson), who turns out to be more trouble than he's worth. Though the plot is as thin as gossamer, Jack Buchanan carries the picture on sheer charm power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buchanan
- 1937
Raised by her wealthy relatives, young October (Constance Cummings) balks when her guardians hand-pick her prospective husband (James Arnold). In a fit of pique, she declares that she'd sooner marry a hobo, which serves as a cue for the appearance of "gentleman tramp" Quigley (Hugh Sinclair). Forced to go through with the wedding, October is marching down the aisle when Quigley, who's been plied with liquor by the jealous bridegroom, shows up unexpectedly. The groom mockingly asks October if she still prefers the inebriated Quigley; she does, and as luck would have it, Quigley is really a nobleman in disguise. A cousin of the jilted bridegroom hires a couple of American thugs (Noah Beery, David Burns) to knock off Quigley, whereupon the film veers towards its unexpectedly melodramatic denouement. Strangers on Honeymoon is based on the equally schizophrenic Edgar Wallace yarn The Northern Tramp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Cummings, Hugh Sinclair, (more)
