- The Comic
Infobox Film
name = The Comic
image_size =
caption = VHS cover
director =Carl Reiner
producer =Carl Reiner Aaron Ruben
writer =Carl Reiner Aaron Ruben
narrator =Dick Van Dyke
starring =Dick Van Dyke Mickey Rooney Michele Lee Cornel Wilde Nina Wayne Pert Kelton Jeannine Riley
music =Jack Elliott
cinematography =W. Wallace Kelley
editing =Adrienne Fazan
distributor =Acre Enterprises Inc. Columbia Pictures Corporation
released = Premiere: flagicon|USA19 November 1969
runtime = 94 min.
country =USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:10495
imdb_id = 0064179"The Comic" is a 1969 drama/
black comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed byCarl Reiner . It starsDick Van Dyke as "Billy Bright" (the original title).Plot
Billy Bright (
Dick Van Dyke ), a silent-era film comedian, narrates this film which begins at his character'sfuneral and tells his life story inflashback s. At the funeral hissidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney ) honors his last request by hitting thepreacher in the face with apie .Bright was a popular silent picture comedian in the era of
Buster Keaton ,Charlie Chaplin andStan Laurel . He has difficulty making the transition totalkies , and sinks into despair andalcoholism . Bright's wife Mary (Michele Lee ) becomes alienated by his drunk and abusive behavior.Steve Allen (as himself) revives Bright's career towards the end of his life.Production
In his autobiography,
Carl Reiner said he intended this as a vehicle forDick Van Dyke who had, on the set of their TV show, often expressed the wish that he had been working at the same time as comedy legends such as his heroStan Laurel . "My Anecdotal Life " byCarl Reiner (St. Martin's Press ; 2003, hardcover, ISBN 0312311044). Quoted on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064179/ "The Comic" trivia page] at theInternet Movie Database .]Response
Dick Van Dyke said of "The Comic": "very few people saw that movie, but we were proud of it." [On "Larry King Live ", "Dick Van Dyke Discusses His Career in Entertainment". Aired September 22, 2000. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0009/22/lkl.00.html]Availability
"The Comic" was produced on a
VHS tape published byRCA /Columbia Pictures Home Video (Burbank, CA ) in 1986 (OCLC|17939307).Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment also released a VHS edition the same year (ISBN 0800132823).Cast
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Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright
*Michele Lee as Mary Gibson
*Mickey Rooney as Cockeye
*Cornel Wilde as Frank Powers
*Nina Wayne as Sybil
*Pert Kelton as Mama
*Steve Allen as Himself
*Barbara Heller as Ginger
*Ed Peck as Edwin G. Englehardt
*Jeannine Riley as Lorraine
*Gavin MacLeod as 1st Director
*Jay Novello as Miguel
*Craig Huebing as Doctor
*Paulene Myers as Phoebe
*Fritz Feld as ArmandFootnotes
External links
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