Charlie Callas Movies
Rubber-faced comedian and comic actor Charlie Callas appeared onscreen from the '60s. ~ Rovi
This low-budget (very low budget) sci-fi comedy is about three aliens who land in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In order to blend in, they morph themselves to look like the local women. Unfortunately, most of the local women look like hookers, and the three of them are continually hit upon by nerdy teenage boys. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1983
- PG
During the peak of the slasher-movie boom of the early '80s, there were numerous attempts at Airplane!-style horror parodies, all of which fell considerably short of their comic targets and vanished into cable-TV obscurity. Hysterical, an abortive vehicle for the questionable comic talents of the Hudson Brothers, is perhaps the weakest of the lot. Bill Hudson plays Fred Lansing, a writer vacationing at a rustic lighthouse in the deceptively idyllic Oregon fishing town of Hellview, where he is tormented by the apparition of Venecia (Julie Newmar), a local woman who killed herself one hundred years ago. The lovelorn Venecia wishes to use Fred's body as the vessel for the spirit of her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard Kiel, once again typecast as a great big guy), and isn't particularly interested in Fred's opinion on the matter. When Howdy apparently grumbles to life, several townspeople are subsequently murdered in ghastly ways, leading a pair of bumbling detectives (Mark Hudson and Brett Hudson) to investigate the horrific history of the Hellview lighthouse and generally make nuisances of themselves. Filled with insipid puns, tired sight gags, silly musical numbers, and unfunny cameo appearances from the likes of Bud Cort and Charlie Callas, this inept spoof has perhaps three genuine laughs scattered throughout its ninety-minute runtime, amounting to only one decent joke per half-hour of wasted film. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Hudson, Mark Hudson, (more)
- 1981
- R
- Add History of the World -- Part I to Queue Add History of the World -- Part I to top of Queue
Mel Brooks produced, directed, wrote, and starred in this episodic comedy in the spirit of Monty Python and the 1957 studio travesty The Story of Mankind. The film is divided into five sequences that play like blue-toned Eddie Cantor vaudeville sketches -- "The Dawn of Man," "The Stone Age," The Spanish Inquisition," "The Bible," and "The Future." Also included is a Brooksian depiction of The Last Supper and a long-winded sequence about the French Revolution. The film starts with a 2001: A Space Odyssey parody, narrated by Orson Welles, in which a collection of ape-men learn to stand erect (in more ways than one). The Stone Age reveals the origins of both the first homo sapien and homosexual marriages. Brooks then appears in an Old Testament sequence as Moses, descending from Mount Sinai with three heavy stone tablets bearing the 15 Commandments; after he drops one of these tablets, the laws of God become 10 Commandments. The Roman period picks up with Brooks as Comicus, attempting to get a gig as a "stand-up philosopher" at Caesar's Palace. The Spanish Inquisition is a musical production number with monks torturing Jews to lively Broadway musical strains. The final French revolution section is a broad parody of The Man in the Iron Mask story. The film closes with coming attractions of "History of the World, Part II" that features a rousing Star Wars parody (anticipating Space Balls) called "Jews in Space" that includes a jaunty theme song. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, (more)
Based on a story by Hollywood old-timers Seton I. Miller and S. S. Field, Pete's Dragon divides its time between its flesh-and-blood characters and an animated green dragon. Pete (Sean Marshall), a lonely orphan boy in turn-of-the-century Maine, runs away from his abusive foster family. He stumbles upon a lovable dragon named Elliot, and the two become inseparable companions. Elliot is visible only to Pete, leading the townsfolk to assume that the boy is a trifle tetched. Pete finally finds happiness with his "new" family, lighthouse-keeper Lampie (Mickey Rooney) and his daughter Nora (Helen Reddy, who sings and sings). British comic actor Jim Dale co-stars as the wacky dentist Dr. Terminus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, (more)
- 1977
- PG
This is Mel Brooks' spoof of over ten Alfred Hitchcock classics, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds (Brooks actually used the bird trainer from that classic suspense movie in making his film). Brooks plays Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke, a renowned Harvard psychiatrist with a concealed fear of heights, or High Anxiety. Thorndyke takes over as the newest director of the PsychoNeurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous after the last director dies under suspicious circumstances. He soon finds himself to be in the company of some very strange colleagues, including longtime Brooks collaborators Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman, with Madeline Kahn as Victoria Brisbane, the eccentric daughter of a patient at the institute and Thorndyke's love interest. Korman takes on the role of Dr. Charles Montague, a psychiatrist with a closeted habit of his own. Leachman plays Charlotte Diesel, a charge nurse with a dark sneer and tendency towards domination. As Thorndyke heads to a psychiatry conference, he is faced with saving the Institute, his reputation, and his own sanity. Although the film was not well-received by critics, it picked up a 1978 Golden Globe nomination for best picture (musical or comedy) and landed Brooks a nomination for best actor. The movie has a number of cameos, from a young Barry Levinson's spot as an unstable bellboy to a small part by Hitchcock's right-hand special effects man, Albert J. Whitlock, who plays Kahn's father. ~ Rachel Koetje, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, (more)
- 1976
- PG
Silent Movie is just that: a totally nonverbal comedy, save for one single line. Director Mel Brooks stars as a once-famous comedy director, who with his faithful assistants Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman return to Hollywood with plans for a comeback. Brooks wants to return to the good old days by producing a silent movie (he explains this via subtitle). Producer Sid Caesar is agreeable, provided Brooks can line up top stars. In a series of vignettes better seen than described, Brooks persuades Burt Reynolds, Liza Minelli, Paul Newman, James Caan and Anne Bancroft (Brooks' real-life wife) to star in his project. The only holdout is mime Marcel Marceau, who after a few moments of walking against the wind shouts the film's solitary line: "No!" Meanwhile, the crooked executives of the Engulf and Devour conglomerate want to take over Caesar's studio and are worried that Brooks' film might be so huge a hit that Caesar won't be interested in selling. To prevent this, the conglomerate dispatches sexy Bernadette Peters to lure Brooks into drink and ruination. The film's climax is lifted from the 1943 Olsen and Johnson film Crazy House). Featured in brief comic cameos are Harry Ritz as the man with half a suit, Charlie Callas as the blind man, Dom DeLuise's wife, Carol Arthur, as the incredibly pregnant woman, Fritz Feld as the headwaiter (whose trademarked "Pop" is conveyed on a subtitle) and Henny Youngman as the diner with a fly in his soup. Co-writers Ron Clark, Rudy DeLuca and Barry Levinson also show up on screen as three of the Engulf & Devour minions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, (more)
Switch was the pilot film for a tongue-in-cheek adventure series that ran on CBS from 1975 to 1978. Robert Wagner stars as Pete Ryan, an ex-con sent up for being a "scam" artists, and Eddie Albert as Frank McBride, an ex-cop turned private investigator. Working as a team, Pete and Frank devote themselves to conning other confidence artists and returning the ill-gotten gains to the rightful owners. It is therefore necessary for Pete to teach Frank how to be a crook, and for Frank to teach Pete how to be honest. In this pilot, Charles Durning guest stars as another former policeman, a two-time loser who has been framed for a jewel robbery. If we are to believe the print ads for this film, its original title was The Switch, which was probably shortened to avoid the inevitable comparisons to The Sting. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Eddie Albert, (more)
- 1972
First telecast December 16, 1972, The Snoop Sisters was the pilot for a Richard Levinson/William Link detective series. Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick play a couple of mystery writers who happen to be siblings. With the help of their pragmatic chauffeur (Art Carney), the Snoop Sisters take it upon themselves to solve real-life mysteries. In this instance, the ladies try to uncover the truth behind the murder of reclusive film star Paulette Goddard. The highlights of The Snoop Sisters include a slapstick car chase and an extended vignette from Ms. Goddard's 1940 feature film The Ghost Breakers. Also worth noting is the early supporting-cast appearance by Jill Clayburgh. When packaged for local syndication, The Snoop Sisters was retitled Female Instinct. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Jerry Lewis is aptly cast as The Big Mouth in this production (he also served as producer, director and cowriter). As bad luck would have it, Lewis is the exact double of a notorious gangster. The bad guys who think they've disposed of the gangster are taken aback when they see Jerry strolling about, while several other disreputable characters chase after Lewis in the mistaken assumption that our hero knows the whereabouts of a cache of stolen diamonds. Charlie Callas provides some good moments as a hit man who is so unnerved by Jerry's "resurrection" that he turns into a babbling idiot (so what else is new?) There's also a cute bit involving a Kabuki dance troupe. Overall, however, The Big Mouth suffers from the Curse of Jerry: too much repetition, too many pointless gags (will someone explain why Colonel Sanders makes a guest appearance?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Harold J. Stone, (more)
- 1966
In order to please Davy's grandfather (Ben Wright), the other Monkees create the impression that their British compatriot is a rich and successful superstar. Alas, the awful truth comes out, whereupon Grandpa insists that Davy return with him to merry old England. Comedian Charlie Callas has a cameo as an ice-cream man. Songs: "I Wanna Be Free" and "Sweet Young Thing". First telecast on October 17, 1966, "Success Story" was written by Gerry Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Bernie Orenstein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
To teach Eddie (Butch Patrick) a lesson about the evils of gambling, Herman (Fred Gwynne) places a bet at the race track, fully expecting to lose his money. Instead, Herman wins big--and keeps winning big the more bets he makes. This brings our hero into close and none-too-comfortable proximity with a Runyonesque mobster by the name of Big Roy (Barton MacLane). Featured as Roy's flunkey Vic is Sammy Shore, the father of comedian Pauly Shore. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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