Carl Reiner Movies
Carl Reiner knew he wanted to be an actor -- preferably a Shakespearean actor -- from the time he was wearing knee pants. Trained in New York's Works Progress Administration Dramatic Workshop, he spent the war years touring with Maurice Evans' G.I. Hamlet, appearing with another young hopeful, Howard Morris. After the war he accumulated scores of stock company and Broadway credits, then in 1948 made his television debut in the short-lived series Fashion Story. While starring in NBC's 54th Street Revue, he was hired as one of the regulars on Your Show of Shows, appearing on a weekly basis with Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, and old pal Howie Morris. During the scripting sessions for Show of Shows, Reiner became friends with a bombastic staff writer named Mel Brooks, with whom he improvised a number of wild stream-of-consciousness comedy bits which would eventually crystallize as the classic "2000 Year Old Man" routines. An Emmy winner for his work on the various Sid Caesar programs, he entered films as a character actor in 1959. That same year, he wrote, produced, and starred in the pilot episode for a proposed series about a comedy writer named Rob Petrie, titled Head of the Family. The network executives liked the concept, but vetoed Reiner as the star; swallowing his pride, he retooled the property with another leading man, and that's how the Emmy-winning Dick Van Dyke Show was born. During the series' five-year run, Reiner made innumerable cameo appearances on the program, most memorably as Rob Petrie's mercurial TV-comedian boss Alan Brady. In 1967 he made his film directorial debut with Enter Laughing, an adaptation of his own semi-autobiographical 1958 novel (the book had already been transformed into a Broadway play with Alan Arkin as star). Reiner's later directing assignments included The Comic (1967), a bittersweet farce based on the lives of Stan Laurel, Harry Langdon, and Buster Keaton; the black comedy cult favorite Where's Poppa? (1970); the whimsical fantasy Oh, God (1977); and a popular series of Steve Martin vehicles, among them The Jerk (1978) and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). His film output decreased in number and quality in the l980s and 1990s, though critics enjoyed his offbeat 1989 working-class comedy Bert Rigby, You're a Fool and his 1997 Bette Midler starrer That Old Feeling. In 1995, he earned yet another Emmy award for his revival of the Alan Brady character on a memorable episode of TV's Mad About You. Carl Reiner is the father of directors Rob Reiner and Lucas Reiner; his wife Estelle has enjoyed a latter-day career as a night club singer and as a cameo performer in her son Rob's films (she's the lady who says, "I'll have what she's having!" in When Harry Met Sally). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In 1961, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner cut a comedy record entitled The 2000 Year Old Man. Largely ad-libbed, the routine consisted of an interview, conducted by Reiner, of the world's oldest living man, played by Brooks. Their freewheeling conversation covers such topics as the earliest known language ("basic Rock"), the discovery of women, the invention of laughter, the creation of the Cross (it was easier to put together than the Star of David), and the 2,000-Year-Old Man's relationship with Robin Hood ("He stole from everybody and kept everything -- he just had a good press agent") and Joan of Arc ("Know her? I went with her!"). The routine was peppered with such observations as "I have 25,000 children...and not one of them ever writes!" At the height of Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles-generated movie popularity, a half-hour animated cartoon utilizing the original "2000 Year Old Man" recording as its soundtrack was produced by Leo Salkin films and Crossbow/Acre Enterprises. This TV cartoon special first aired January 11, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ed Stander (Robert Morse), with the help of an all-star cast, teaches Paul Manning (Walter Matthau) the fine art of philandering in A Guide for the Married Man. Paul, happily married to sexy Ruth (Inger Stevens), has no burning desire to cheat, but Ed makes the prospect sound very attractive. Finally taking the "big step" with a glamorous brunette after months of careful preparation, Paul finds that he loves his wife way too much to betray her -- while the ever-careful Ed ends up in divorce court. Among the myriad of "advisors" peppered throughout Guide for the Married Man are Art Carney, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Jayne Mansfield, Terry-Thomas, and Carl Reiner. The best guest-star vignette features Joey Bishop as a man caught in bed with another woman by his wife -- whereupon he calmly puts on his clothes, straightens up the room, and quietly responds to his wife's outrage by saying "What bed? What girl?" Adapted by Frank Tarloff from his book of the same name, Guide for the Married Man was directed by Gene Kelly, who makes a cameo "appearance" of his own as a voice on a TV set. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, (more)
- 1966
Francois, the magical mouse of France, entertains Alice on an adventure to meet the country's storybook characters as The Frowning Prince, Anatole and Madeline. ~ All Movie Guide
On her deathbed, mean-spirited millionairess Lily Tomlin has her will amended so that her soul will pass into the body of young, healthy Victoria Tennant. Thanks to a mix-up in transmutation, Tomlin winds up instead trapped in the body of upright (and uptight) attorney Steve Martin. The plot involves the fragility of male-female relationships, the importance of making commitments, and the antics of goofy guru Richard Libertini. As ridiculous as it sounds, All of Me is completely credible, thanks to Steve Martin's remarkable "body language" when conveying the notion that he's two different people with two different sets of emotions and gestures. Though the circumstances of the plot won't allow Martin to connect with the lovely Tennant, in real life things were different: the two costars were married shortly after filming wrapped. Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek adapted the script from Ed Davis' novel Me Too. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, (more)
- 1989
- R
Tony award-winning British musical comedy star Robert Lindsay makes his first important American film appearance in Bert Rigby, You're a Fool. Lindsay, of course, plays the title character, a coal miner who dreams of becoming a big showbiz star. Only problem is, there's very little demand for Bert Rigby's impersonations of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly. Undaunted, Bert heads to Hollywood, where, while working as a butler in the household of movie mogul Jim Shirley (Corbin Bernsen), he must fend off the advances of Shirley's hot-to-trot wife, Meredith (Anne Bancroft). Befitting the old-fashioned nature of Bert Rigby's behavior and tastes in entertainment, director Carl Reiner adopts a "retro" approach to his material; at times, the film looks as though it was made in 1939 rather than 1989, despite its R-rated sex, profanity, and body-function jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lindsay, Cathryn Bradshaw, (more)
- 1994
Taped live at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium and shown on HBO and Comedy Central in 1994, this video documents the sixth Comic Relief live charity benefit for America's homeless. Hosted by Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal, this program features performances from luminaries of the comedy world, including Garry Shandling, Paula Poundstone, Dennis Miller, Jason Alexander, Richard Belzer, Brett Butler, and more. The video also includes profiles of people in need, and of those who have already benefited from these performers' generosity. The organization Comic Relief has gone on to raise and distribute nearly 50 million dollars, providing direct health care services to homeless men, women, and children throughout the United States. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 2008
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Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest features a number of performances by some of the most talented comics of their day performing for a charity that collects money for the homeless. Among the performers who appear on this release are Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black, Jon Stewart, and David Cross. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
In this post-modernist exercise, star/writer Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner spoof the film noir yarns of the '40s with Martin playing gumshoe Rigby Reardon, who interacts with a legion of Hollywood greats -- including Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Edward Arnold, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Bette Davis, Lana Turner and Joan Crawford -- in a succession of intercut clips from seventeen vintage Hollywood films. Rigby is a low-rent detective (his fee is $10 per day) sitting in his office, waiting for something to happen. That something happens when the voluptuous Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) arrives in his office and faints dead away at the sight of a newspaper that reports on her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced that her father was murdered and offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Upon searching Mr. Forrest's office, he comes upon a list of names under the headings "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." As the two delve deeper into the mystery and its requisite deceptions, they encounter an "exterminator," Juliet's surly Nazi butler, Field Marshal Von Kluck (Carl Reiner) and an overly helpful Mexican friend, Carlos Rodriguez (Reni Santoni). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, (more)
- 1966
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
- Starring:
- Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, (more)
- 1967
Carl Reiner's semi-autobiographical novel Enter Laughing makes a largely successful transition to the screen. Reni Santoni plays the Reiner character, here named David Kolowitz. A machinist's apprentice in Depression-era New York, David dreams of becoming the new Ronald Colman. Defying the wishes of his parents (Shelley Winters, David Opatoshu), David lands a nonpaying job in a seedy theatrical production directed by broken-down ham Marlowe (Jose Ferrer). That the young aspiring actor knows nothing about his "craft" is evident the moment he speaks his first stage direction--"Enter Laughing"--as if it were a line of dialogue. Helped along by Marlowe's sex-starved daughter Angela (Elaine May), David manages to survive the rehearsal period, but his first public performance threatens to become a disaster when he can't find the entrance to the set. Still and all, David makes it through the play, cheered along by his now-supportive parents. Blessed with a marvelous supporting cast--including Jack Gilford, Don Rickles, Janet Margolin and veteran black comedian Mantan Moreland--Enter Laughing is a riot, especially for those viewers who have ever participated in amateur theatricals themselves. Only Reni Santoni fails to ring true as David Kolowitz (a role played on stage by Alan Arkin), though he has a few choice scenes, especially his impromptu performance on a subway. Watch for Rob Reiner in his film debut as a clumsy, self-conscious actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Reni Santoni, (more)
Paul Reubens is the troublemaking title character in this installment of Faerie Tale Theatre. Carl Reiner stars as Gepetto, the lonely woodcarver who wishes for a son and creates a wooden marionette named Pinnochio as a substitute. One night a good fairy pays a visit and brings Pinnochio to life, but not without a catch -- he must behave himself and never lie or else his nose will grow. This charming adaptation also features James Coburn as a sly gypsy and a scene-stealing Lainie Kazan as the outrageous Blue Fairy with a hilariously exaggerated Italian accent. ~ Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide
Fatal Instinct is an Airplane-style spoof of the late-'80s, early-'90s cycle of erotic crime thrillers. Setting the plot in motion is a kinky murder. Armand Assante plays the cop assigned to the case; he's also the prosecuting attorney; the "Sharon Stone" part is essayed by Sean Young. A dash of Body Heat is thrown in the pot as Assante's wife Kate Nelligan plots her hubby's demise. Tony Randall has a bit as a judge, while the film's semi-mocking jazz score is provided by Clarence Clemmons -- who shows up on screen to toot his sax at various crucial plot junctures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
- 2004
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It is not generally known that the CGI-animated NBC sitcom Father of the Pride was the second cartoon program inspired by the spectacular career of Vegas-based illusionists Siegfried and Roy. The first, a four-part miniseries titled Siegfried & Roy: Masters of the Impossible, was seen in off-network syndication in 1996. Ironically, the title of the earlier series provides the acronymic name "Sarmoti" for one of the principal characters on Father of the Pride! The NBC series took us backstage and into the private lives of two of the white lions employed in Siegfried and Roy's act: Larry (voiced by John Goodman) and his wife Kate (voiced by Cheryl Hines). Despite their fame and fortune, the two lions had to endure the usual trials and tribulations of sitcom-style domesticity. Kate's father Sarmoti (voiced by Carl Reiner) was a loudmouth who insisted upon arguing with Larry over anything and everything, while Larry's best pal, a gopher named Snack (voiced by Orlando Jones), was forever hatching idiotic schemes that got everyone in big trouble. Add to this several dashes of toilet and sex humor, and you had an animated "funny animal" series that was far better suited for grown-ups than for kids. Produced by DreamWorks SKG Animation as NBC's answer to such popular cutting-edge cartoon efforts as Fox's The Simpsons and Comedy Central's South Park, Father of the Pride was in production in late 2003 when magician Roy (aka Roy Horn) was seriously injured when he was mauled on the stage of the Mirage Inn by one of his trained lions. For a while, the network balked at introducing the CGI series, worried that it might suffer from the publicity surrounding Roy's injuries. Once the magician was off the critical list, however, Father of the Pride began its 11-week NBC run on August 31, 2004 (two of the thirteen episodes would not be seen until the series was released on DVD). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Cheryl Hines, (more)
- 1993
Frasier's conniving agent, Bebe Frazer (Harriet Sansom Harris, in her first series appearance), arranges a big-bucks deal for her favorite client. All Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) has to do is "subtly" endorse a few commercial products as part of his call-in radio show. Trouble is, Frasier wants nothing to do with at least one of these products -- nor is he keen on delivering advertising copy that will make him sound like a buffoon. Fearful of his reputation as a psychiatrist, yet eager to fatten his bank account, our hero finds himself mired in yet another of his many ethical dilemmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Time for Giving is the British title for the American comedy film Generation. This exercise in late-sixties "mod"-ness is based on William Goodhart's Broadway play, which originally starred Henry Fonda. David Janssen takes over Fonda's role as the harried father of rebellious daughter Kim Darby. It was bad enough when Darby married kooky Peter Duel and moved to Greenwich Village. Now Darby is pregnant, and she and her husband insist upon partaking of that new hippie craze known as "natural childbirth," dispensing with the aid of an obstetrician. Fortunately for the Establishment status quo, Darby's husband gets cold feet, and loyal family doctor Carl Reiner is brought in when the kid is ready to come out of the chute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Janssen, Kim Darby, (more)
- 1961
This second film in the "Gidget" series stars Deborah Walley as Francie Lawrence, better known as Gidget. After being disappointed in love by surfin' dude Moondoggie (James Darren), Gidge joins her parents (Carl Reiner, Jeff Donnell) on a Hawaiian vacation. Complications ensue when Moondoggie likewise arrives in the islands, only to find Gidget "that way" about local beach stud Eddie Horner (Michael Callan). In general, Gidget Goes Hawaiian isn't up to the standards of the original Gidget, though there are a few bright moments, including a satiric dream sequence. Once more, the film proved successful at the box office, spawning even more sequels and no fewer than two weekly TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Darren, Michael Callan, (more)
For his debut feature, John Hoffman wrote and directed this effects-heavy family film based on the story Dogs from Outer Space by Zeke Richardson. Produced by Jim Henson Productions, Good Boy! presents the idea that dogs are actually an intelligent alien species sent to earth thousands of years ago to spy on humans in preparation for a full-scale invasion and takeover. But when the spies stop reporting back to the home planet, Canid 3942 (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is sent to earth to investigate. Once there, Canid 3942 encounters Owen Baker (Liam Aiken), a young boy who runs a dog-walking service. Owen befriends the space-dog, renaming him Hubble. When it becomes obvious that the dogs of earth have forgotten their mission, Hubble enlists the help of Owen to get them all into shape before The Great Dane arrives to inspect. If they fail, all of earth's dogs will be recalled to their home planet of Sirius. With Kevin Nealon and Molly Shannon as Owen's parents, Good Boy! also features the voice talents of Brittany Murphy, Carl Reiner, Megan Mullally, and Donald Faison. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Liam Aiken, (more)
- 1959
In this comedy, a married couple is deeply embarrassed when their daughter reveals her father's indiscretions on a national TV show for children. It is doubly embarrassing when it is revealed that none of the allegations are true. It seems the child overheard a slightly inebriated conversation during her parent's thirteenth wedding anniversary in which the father disclosed that he and his wife had slept together before their marriage. This leads the daughter to believe that they are about to be divorced. Fortunately, the whole mess is straightened out in the end, and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Mitzi Gaynor, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
This romantic comedy is based on a true story that happened in California in 1944. Sonny Wisecarver (Patrick Dempsey) is 15 year old who has an affair with his older neighbor Judy (Talia Balsam). The two run off and get married, but a stern judge has the union annulled. Sonny is hauled before the same judge when he gets involved with another older woman (Beverly D'Angelo), and the publicity makes him the object of affection for millions of young women who believe Sonny has something special. Michael Constantine and Betty Jinnett play Sonny's concerned parents. Carl Reiner is the uncredited narrator, and the real-life Elliott "Sonny" Wisecarver has a cameo appearance as a mailman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1963
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With this all-star Cinerama epic, producer/director Stanley Kramer vowed to make "the comedy that would end all comedies." The story begins during a massive traffic jam, caused by reckless driver Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), who, before (literally) kicking the bucket, cryptically tells the assembled drivers that he's buried a fortune in stolen loot, "under the Big W." The various motorists setting out on a mad scramble include a dentist (Sid Caesar) and his wife (Edie Adams); a henpecked husband (Milton Berle) accompanied by his mother-in-law (Ethel Merman) and his beatnik brother-in-law (Dick Shawn); a pair of comedy writers (Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney); and a variety of assorted nuts including a slow-wit (Jonathan Winters), a wheeler-dealer (Phil Silvers), and a pair of covetous cabdrivers (Peter Falk and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson). Monitoring every move that the fortune hunters make is a scrupulously honest police detective (Spencer Tracy). Virtually every lead, supporting, and bit part in the picture is filled by a well-known comic actor: the laughspinning lineup also includes Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Arnold Stang, Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, and The Three Stooges, who get one of the picture's biggest laughs by standing stock still and uttering not a word. Two prominent comedians are conspicuous by their absence: Groucho Marx refused to appear when Kramer couldn't meet his price, while Stan Laurel declined because he felt he was too old-looking to be funny. Available for years in its 154-minute general release version, the film was restored to its roadshow length of 175 minutes on home video; the search goes on for a missing Buster Keaton routine, reportedly excised on the eve of the picture's premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, (more)
