- Movie Movie
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Movie Movie
Theatrical release posterDirected by Stanley Donen Produced by Stanley Donen Written by Larry Gelbart
Sheldon KellerStarring George C. Scott
Trish Van Devere
Red Buttons
Eli Wallach
Barry Bostwick
Harry Hamlin
Barbara HarrisMusic by Ralph Burns Cinematography Charles Rosher Jr.
Bruce SurteesEditing by George Hively Distributed by Warner Bros. / ITC Entertainment Release date(s) November 1978 Running time 105 minutes Country United States Language English Movie Movie is a 1978 musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen. Movie Movie consists of two short films, both starring the husband-and-wife team of George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere, with a fake movie trailer sandwiched in between them. The film was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival.[1]
Contents
Plot summary
At the start of the film, George Burns tells us that we are about to see an old-style double feature. In the old days, he explains, movies were in black-and-white, except sometimes "when they sang it came out in color."
The first feature, Dynamite Hands, is a throwback to boxing-ring morality plays such as Body and Soul. It's about a young man named Joey Popchik from a poor family, who dreams of one day becoming a lawyer. His sister is losing her eyesight, so he becomes a boxer to raise the money to have her cured. Along the way, he gets seduced by fame and fortune, and runs afoul of a crooked boxing manager. In the end, his sister is cured and Joey, so that "poetic justice could be served," races through law school to become the prosecutor who puts the villain behind bars, spouting corny courtroom aphorisms such as "a man can move mountains with his bare heart."
The trailer is for a flying-ace movie set in World War I.
The second feature, Baxter's Beauties of 1933, is a throwback to musical extravaganzas such as 42nd Street. Legendary theatrical producer Spats Baxter learns he's dying. To support the daughter he's never known after he's gone he plans to create one last Broadway smash. A young ingenue with dreams of performing on Broadway arrives to audition. Baxter's accountant is at heart a genius songwriter. Baxter's star is a spoiled actress who almost destroys the entire production with her drunkenness and reckless spending of the show's money. In the end the ingenue must go on in her place, becomes a star, and learns that Baxter is her long-lost father. As the curtain falls, a dying Baxter tells her, "One minute you're standing in the wings, the next minute you're wearing 'em."
Cast
- George C. Scott - Gloves Malloy / Spats Baxter
- Trish Van Devere - Betsy McGuire / Isobel Stuart
- Red Buttons - Peanuts / Jinks Murphy
- Eli Wallach - Vince Marlow / Pop
- Harry Hamlin - Joey Popchik
- Ann Reinking - Troubles Moran
- Jocelyn Brando - Mama Popchik / Mrs. Updike
- Michael Kidd - Pop Popchik
- Kathleen Beller - Angie Popchik
- Barry Bostwick - Johnny Danko / Dick Cummings
- Art Carney - Doctor Blaine / Doctor Bowers
- Clay Hodges - Sailor Lawson
- George P. Wilbur - Tony Norton
- Peter Stader - Barney Keegle (as Peter T. Stader)
- Jimmy Lennon Sr. - The Announcer (as James Lennon)
- Barbara Harris-Trixie Lane
- Charles Lane-The Judge-Mr.Pennington
Notes
In the theatrical release, as George Burns leads us to expect in the film's prologue, Dynamite Hands and the mock film trailer were in black-and-white, while the musical Baxter's Beauties of 1933 was in color. However, the black-and-white segments are (insensibly) colorized in most home-video editions as a result of the controversial colorization craze of the 1980s.
References
- ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Movie Movie". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077952/awards. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
External links
- Movie Movie at the Internet Movie Database
- Movie Movie at AllRovi
Films directed by Stanley Donen 1940s On the Town (1949)1950s Royal Wedding (1951) · Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) · Singin' in the Rain (1952) · Fearless Fagan (1952) · Give a Girl a Break (1953) · Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) · Deep in My Heart (1954) · It's Always Fair Weather (1955) · Funny Face (1957) · The Pajama Game (1957) · Kiss Them for Me (1957) · Indiscreet (1958) · Damn Yankees (1958)1960s Once More, with Feeling! (1960) · Surprise Package (1960) · The Grass Is Greener (1960) · Charade (1963) · Arabesque (1966) · Two for the Road (1967) · Bedazzled (1967) · Staircase (1969)1970s 1980s Saturn 3 (1980) · Blame It on Rio (1984)Categories:- American films
- English-language films
- 1978 films
- 1970s comedy films
- 1970s musical films
- American musical comedy films
- Films directed by Stanley Donen
- ITC Distributions
- Warner Bros. films
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