Editorial Review of Hermie : A Common Caterpillar, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway, courtesy of Amazon.com
So what’s so bad about being a common caterpillar? Just ask Hermie-or his friend, Wormie-and they’ll tell you. No splashy stripes. No stand-out spots. Not even a cool house like the snail or super-strength like the ant. Compared to the rest of God’s beautiful creation, they just feel ordinary. Unimportant. A little out of place. But God sees past their plainness, and plans an incredible surprise to show them just how special they are.Read More »Hermie: A Common Caterpillar
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo has three major plots running through it. First is Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) attempting to resuscitate his racing career. With the help of his mechanic Wheely Applegate (Don Knotts) at a race in Europe. Hence the ‘Monte Carlo’ of the title. In addition, a pair of thieves (played by Bernard Fox and Roy Kinnear) have stolen a large diamond from a museum, and hide the stolen jewel in Herbie’s gas tank to escape detection …
And providing motivation for them and police inspectors to chase Herbie on the prolonged race route. Complicating these two is Herbie himself falling in love with another car, a Lancia. It (she?) is owned by a beautiful female race driver (Julie Sommars), whom Jim Douglas begins falling in love with. Is it the highlight of 20th-century cinema? No. Is it an enjoyable family film? Absolutely! The race scenes are fun, as are the interactions between the cast members, with Don Knotts playing his nervous everyman character to the hilt, Dean Jones is as enjoyable as ever, and Herbie actually shows off his personality. It’s an enjoyable movie, and I hope that you and your family enjoy it. I rate it 3 clowns out of 5.
Review of Don Knotts Reluctant Hero Pack (The Ghost And Mr. Chicken / The Reluctant Astronaut / The Shakiest Gun In The West / The Love God?) (1969)
A collection of four of Don Knotts movies from the 1960’s—the best known is The Ghost and Mr. Chicken but all four provide solid laughs. The most unusual is The Love God? – a satire on American culture’s preoccupation with sex, the so-called sexual revolution, and American society.
Product Description of Our Hospitality, courtesy of Amazon.com
Our Hospitality – Like his 1926 film The General, this elaborate historical comedy broadened the boundaries of slapstick and proved that Buster Keaton was not just a comedian, he was an artist. Keaton stars as youthful dreamer Willie McKay, who travels westward on a rickety locomotive to claim his birthright, only to find that his inheritance is a shack. And he learns that the object of his affection (Keaton s real-life wife, Natalie Talmadge) is the daughter of a man with whom his family has been engaged in a long, violent feud. McKay s personal struggles are punctuated by brilliant slapstick set pieces that involve an exploding dam, raging waterfalls, and a primitive steam engine. Keaton supervised the design and construction of the train, which he revived two years later for the short The Iron Mule (in which he appears without credit as an Native American chief).
This definitive edition of OUR HOSPITALITY features an exquisite orchestral score by Carl Davis, performed by the Thames Silents Orchestra; a documentary on the making of the film; and a rare alternate cut entitled Hospitality . SPECIAL FEATURES: Music composed and conducted by Carl Davis, performed by The Thames Silents Orchestra (in 5.1 Surround or 2.0 Stereo), Musical score compiled by Donald Hunsberger (2.0 Stereo), The Iron Mule (1925, 19 Min.), with music by Ben ModeL, Original documentary on the making of the film, written by film historian Patricia Eliot Tobias with David B. Pearson, Hospitality, a 49-minute alternate cut of the film, with an explanatory introduction, and an organ score by Lee Erwin, 2 Galleries: Photos & Snapshots
Walt Disney’s The Apple Dumpling Gang, starring Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Bill Bixby, Susan Clark – DVD review
Many people who were children during 1975 will remember Walt Disney’s The Apple Dumpling Gang with fondness. The basic plot involves three orphans, who become the responsibility of Russell Donovan (played by Bill Bixby), a bachelor and small-time con artist who wants nothing more than to be free of them. After spending time trying to foist the children upon someone else, it’s found out that they own the deed to a gold mine, formerly thought to be worthless, but that produced a sizable nugget of gold after an earthquake.
The Andy Griffith Show season 3 episode guide (1962-1963)
The Andy Griffith Show season 3 continues with the existing cast – Andy, Opie, Barney, Floyd and the rest. And they make a very important addition — Andy’s future love interest, Helen Krump!
Dear God — starring Greg Kinnear, Tim Conway, Laurie Metcalf, Hector Elizondo
I have to admit being pleasantly surprised by Dear God. Originally I was only going to review it for completeness’ sake, as part of the Tim Conway reviews. I picked it up at my local Wal-Mart for only $4.00. I figured that even a little bit of Tim Conway was worth $4.00. Even if the rest of the movie was a waste. It wasn’t, for several reasons.
Editorial Review of McHale’s Navy, Season One (1962) starring Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway, Joe Flynn—courtesy of Amazon.com
Something of a cross between M*A*S*H* (it’s set in wartime) and Sgt. Bilko (the emphasis in on ensemble acting, with a ringleader and his band of merry pranksters), McHale’s Navy isn’t on a level with those two immortal sit-coms. But this amiable show, debuting on DVD with all 36 black & white episodes from its first season (1962-63) on five discs, stands the test of time surprisingly well.
Editorial review of The Saphead (1920) starring Buster Keaton, courtesy of Amazon.com
In his first starring role (and the film that launched his career), Buster Keaton stars in The Saphead as Bertie Van Alstyne, the spoiled son of a powerful Wall Street financier. Unable to escape the wealth and comfort that are foisted upon him, he pursues individuality in a series of comic misadventures in the speakeasies of New York, at the altar of matrimony, and even on the floor of the American stock exchange. The Saphead was instrumental in establishing Keaton as a bona fide star and greatly influenced his formulation of the Buster persona: a lonely, stone-faced soul thwarted by circumstance yet undauntedly resourceful and indefatigable in his struggle for love and survival within a chaotic world.