In Walt Disney’s The World’s Greatest Athlete, a down-on-his-luck coach ends up signing the world’s greatest athlete to salvage his career. But, his adoptive father — the witch doctor — isn’t happy with that.
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When Andy, brother of a Yugoslavian soccer hero, brings Gus, a field goal-kicking mule, to the United States as halftime entertainment for a losing Atoms football team, laughs and lasting fame follow. Gus’s intelligent, almost human interactions with his Yugoslavian ball holder and the devious duo intent on stifling Andy and Gus’s success are amusing and entertaining. An extended mule chase through a busy supermarket and Gus’s drunken acceptance of an award on “Gus Day” are only two examples of the slapstick comedy that pervades this 97-minute film. Talents Edward Asner, Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Gary Grimes, Dick Enberg, and Tom Bosley enliven the somewhat predictable plot of this 1976 Disney film. Other notable appearances include real-life football players Dick Butkus and Johnny Unitas. This is fun, wholesome entertainment for children ages 3 and older. —Tami Horiuchi
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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
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.
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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.
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.
Don Knotts and Tim Conway co-star in The Private Eyes. It’s a silly little comedy where they spoof the murder mystery in general, and Sherlock Holmes in particular. Called from Scotland Yard, Inspector Winthrop (played by Don Knotts), and his bumbling assistant Dr. Tart (played with mindless abandon by Tim Conway) to solve the murder of Lord Morely.
In The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Amos and Theodore (Tim Conway and Don Knotts) the two bumbling outlaw wannabees from The Apple Dumpling Gang are back. They are trying to make it on their own. When they arrive at the town they are going to, all sorts of things go awry. They accidentally subdue the town’s legendary lawman, Wooly Bill Hitchcock thus enraging him into tracking them down. They also are accused of bank robbery. And they “enlist” in the army, and burn down the fort. Amid all this, the army is besieged by someone stealing their supplies.
The Prize Fighter is a very funny, very sweet comedy. Set in depression-era America, Tim Conway stars as Bags Collins who has a perfect record as a boxer – twenty fights, twenty knockouts—and twenty losses. His manager, Shakes, is the ‘brains’ of the team, played by Don Knotts. However, his luck starts to change, and Bags starts to win against other ‘loser’ boxers and eventually gets a shot at the title in his weight category. Unfortunately, this is when they find out that the fight has been rigged …
If you’re like me, you consider Tim Conway and Harvey Korman to be one of the classic comedy teams, and wish that they had worked together beside The Carol Burnett Show. Thankfully, they did! The Longshot is an independent film written by Tim Conway, co-starring Tim Conway, Harvey Korman (as well as Jack Weston, Ted Wass, and Jonathan Winters). The basic plot is that a group of four life-long losers decide to take a chance for once in their lives, and place a large long-shot bet on a broken-down horse. With borrowed money. Borrowed from the mob. Read More »The Longshot [Tim Conway, Harvey Korman]