Ernie Pintoff Movies
Trained in graphic design at Syracuse University, American animator Ernest Pintoff had no experience in the cartoon world when he was signed by UPA Animation Studios in 1956, as part of a new talent pool for UPA's first weekly TV endeavor, The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show. The neophite Pintoff was given an unprecedented contract allowing him carte blanche as a writer, director and designer of such three-minute filler cartoons as Fight on for Old and The Lion Hunt. His modernistic, satirical style attracted the attention of Gene Deitch, the new head of animation at Terrytoons. Pintoff directed one memorable cartoon for Terrytoons, Flebus (1957), before setting up his own production company, principally devoted to TV advertising work. Pintoff's independent theatrical-cartoon output includes The Violinist (1960), The Interview (1961), and best of all, The Critic (1962), a sidesplitting sendup of avant-garde filmmaking narrated by Mel Brooks. A jazz trumpeter, Pintoff has expressed his fondness for progressive music in most of his animated shorts. His first live-action feature was 1966's Harvey Middleman, Fireman, which largely retained his surreal, cartoony sense of humor. Most of Ernest Pintoff's subsequent feature work has been along the more conventional lines of St. Helens (1981) a prosaic recreation of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Ernest Pintoff--jazz trumpeter, painter, animated cartoonist, film theorist--directed his first dramatic feature, Harvey Middleman, Fireman, in 1965. Since that time, Pintoff has refused to be stylistically pigeonholed, turning out everything from comedy concerts (Dynamite Chicken) to spoofish T&A exploitation (Lunch Wagon Girls). St. Helens takes Pintoff into the realm of docudrama, using film clips of the May 18, 1980 eruption of the eponymous volcano to lend credibility to his dramatic re-enactments. Art Carney plays Harry Truman--not the President, but a real-life stubborn old codger who refused to leave his St. Helen's vacation cabin despite the oncoming natural disaster. Carney brings so much vitality to the proceedings that it seems a shame Pintoff couldn't alter the facts and provide Truman with a happy ending. Appearing fleetingly in St. Helen's are Ron "Superfly" O'Neal, Albert Salmi and Nehemiah Persoff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Carney, David Huffman, (more)
- 1981
- R
A trio of unemployed beauties inherit a lunch wagon, only to run afoul of bank robbers in this sex comedy also known as Lunch Wagon Girls and Come 'N' Get It. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Karate champion Joe Lewis stars as a special agent on a worldwide mission to put the skids on a drug cartel. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Lewis, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1979
Veteran stock-car racer/designer and NASCAR champ Cale Yarborough appears as himself in this episode. The Duke boys (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) are thrilled when their idol Yarborough reveals his plans to test a new secret turbocharger in an upcoming race. Likewise thrilled, but for less savory reasons, is Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), who promptly arrests the Dukes for breaking parole so that he'll be able to conspire with the crooked Jethro brothers (Tom McFadden, William Watson) to steal the turbocharger without any interference. This is the episode in which the lucky viewers are treated to the sight of not one, not two, but THREE "General Lee"s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
There's been an attempted political assassination at a golf course, and the evidence indicates that a notorious international hit man has arrived in New York. In his effort to track down the killer, Kojak (Telly Savalas) is stymied by a jealous rival police lieutenant, George O'Mara (Kenneth McMillan). Things come to a head in New York's Koreatown district, where the deranged assassin is planning a revenge-driven "hit" of his own making. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this comedy, inspired by Oh, God! and designed as a pilot for a TV series, an ambitious young angel persuades the Almighty to allow seven days to find six good people in Las Vegas. If he cannot, God will destroy the whole town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Season Hubley is cast as Sister Maria, a young nun whose sister has been killed in a highly suspicious auto accident. Vowing vengeance against the airline executive whom she holds responsible for her sibling's death, Sister Maria formulates a plan to see that justice is serve--and ulitmately finds herself in the middle of a dangerous war of wills between Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) and the Mob. Among the supporting players is Holland Taylor, who later won an Emmy for her portrayal of oversexed judge Roberta Kittleson on TV's The Practice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Joseph Hindy guest stars as Vince Pomerantz, a veteran New York cop with a serious gambling problem. Faced with ever-mounting debts, Pomerantz decides that the only way to save himself is to go "on the take." Unfortunately, he is now indebted to a mobster who demands that Vince square himself immediately--by murdering Lt. Kojak's (Telly Savalas) assistant, Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson). Featured in the cast is a pre-Who's the Boss? Judith Light. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Travelling from New York to the small Nevada town of Cory, Kojak (Telly Savalas) and Crocker (Kevin Dobson) set about the task of extraditing mob witness Arnold B. Saxler (Vincent Baggetta). Unfortunately, several hired thugs are already in the vicinity, with loaded guns at the ready. The remainder of the episode is devoted to a grueling gantlet, with Kojak never entirely sure who the good guys and bad guys really are. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Dependable character actor John Marley is afforded a rare starring role in Blade. Marley plays the title character, a world-weary private eye currently working on a murder case as a favor for a friend. The victim was the daughter of prominent conservative politico William Prince, whom Blade "knew when." While hunting for clues, Blade is bombarded by one disillusionment after another. The prime suspect turns out to be someone very, very close to Prince-who may have thought that, by eliminating his daughter, he was doing Prince an enormous favor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
Death of a Hooker was the spell-it-out alternate title for Ernest Pintoff's unorthodox murder mystery Who Killed Mary Whats'ername. At first, Red Buttons seems an illogical choice for a hero, especially since he plays a diabetic ex-boxer who isn't all that quick on the uptake. But Buttons gradually grows on the audience as he investigates the murder of a Greenwich Village prostitute whom he barely knew. With the help of his daughter Alice Playten, Buttons unearths a great many clues that we either overlooked or ignored by the cops. The film ends abruptly and somewhat tragically, which may have resulted in poor word of mouth when it was first released. Only after it became a Late Late Show perennial did Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? finally find its audience. The largely New York-based cast includes Sylvia Miles, Sam Waterston, Conrad Bain and, in an uncharacteristically repulsive "heavy" role, David Doyle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
This film contains a collection of commercials, interviews, and music featuring Joan Baez, Richard Pryor, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Lenny Bruce, Andy Warhol, and Allen Ginsberg. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1967
A couple with marital problems hopes to find new spirit living in a haunted house in this arcical comedy. Pasquale (Vittorio Gassman) and Maria (Sophia Loren) are a couple who are married, but not at all happily; he's a chronically unemployed musician, she can't stand her husband, and they've both decided they'd be better off dead. However, when their suicide pact goes wrong and both are still alive, Maria decides to pay a visit to Alfredo (Mario Adorf), who ran the orphanage where she was raised. Alfredo has had a lustful eye on Maria ever since she was a teenager, and he sees the current turn of events as a perfect opportunity to break up her marriage. Alfredo offers to "help" the couple by having them housesit at an old mansion which is said to be haunted; unknown to them, Alfredo has secreted himself away in the house in order to drop clues that ghosts walk. Adding to the confusion, Pasquale decides to make some extra money by renting out one of the rooms to a streetwalker, Sayonara (Margaret Lee), which leads Maria to suspect that her husband is either the new lodger's customer or her pimp. Marcello Mastroianni also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, an even-tempered fireman with a happily tepid life, finds his peaceful world disrupted when he becomes infatuated with the woman he saved from a burning building. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eugene Troobnick, Hermione Gingold, (more)
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. This volume features a number of cartoons starring animal characters, including "I Had a Bird," "Three Horned Flink," "Miserable Pack of Wolves," "The Sad Lion," "Pee-Wee the Kiwi Bird," and "Prehistoric Horse." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. This volume features a number of cartoons, including "Punch & Judy," "Follow Me," "The Ballet Lesson," "The Violin Recital," "Alphabet Song," "Average Girafe," and "The Two Musicians." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. This volume features a number of cartoons, including "The Unenchanted Princess," "Three Little Boys Who Ran Away," "Turned Around Clown," "Matador and the Troubadour, " and "The Freezee Yum Story." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. This volume features a number of cartoons, including "Lion on the Loose," "The Bear Scare," "The Five-Cent Nickel," and "The Elephant Mystery." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. The fifth volume of this series features a number of cartoons, including "Meet the Artist Shakraku," "The Invisible Mustache of Raoul Dufy," "Meet the Artist Henri Rousseau," and "Day of the Fox." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This animated feature is a collection of shows taken from the very first televised cartoon program. This volume features a number of beloved stories, including "The Little White Duck," "Old McDonald," "Two by Two," "Alouette," "A Little Journey," and "Good Ole Country Music." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
