Movie Movie is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen.[3] It consists of two films, Dynamite Hands, a boxing ring morality play, and Baxter's Beauties of 1933, a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. A fake trailer for a flying-ace movie set in World War I entitled Zero Hour (also starring Scott) is shown between the double feature.
Barry Bostwick, Red Buttons, Art Carney and Eli Wallach also appear in both segments, with Harry Hamlin, Barbara Harris and Ann Reinking featured in one each. The script was written by Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller.
Plot[]
The film is introduced by George Burns, who tells viewers that they were 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."
Dynamite Hands[]
Joey Popchik, a young man from a poor family, 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."
Baxter's Beauties of 1933[]
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. Kitty Simpson, a young ingenue with dreams of performing on Broadway arrives to audition. Baxter's accountant is at heart a genius songwriter Dick Cummings. Baxter's star, Isobel Stuart, is a spoiled actress who almost destroys the entire production with her drunkenness and reckless spending of the show's money. In the end Kitty must go on in Isobel's place. Kitty 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
- Rebecca York - Kitty
- 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 - The Announcer (as James Lennon)
- Barbara Harris - Trixie Lane
- Charles Lane - The Judge / Mr. Pennington
Release[]
The film premiered at the Sutton Theatre in New York City on November 22, 1978.[1] In the theatrical release, as George Burns leads us to expect in the film's prologue, Dynamite Hands and the mock film trailer (for Zero Hour, a flying-ace movie set in World War I) were in black-and-white, while the musical Baxter's Beauties of 1933 was in color. Some home video editions featured the original color version of Dynamite Hands which was printed on black and white film stock during its theatrical release.
Lew Grade liked the movie so much that he commissioned Larry Gelbart to write a sequel. However the movie failed at the box office. Grade blamed poor distribution from Warner Bros.[4]
Awards and honors[]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Screenplay | Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller | 3rd place |
| Best Music | Ralph Burns | 3rd place | ||
| National Board of Review | Top Ten Films | Won | ||
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actor | Barry Bostwick | 3rd place | |
| Best Screenplay | Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller | 2nd place | ||
| 1979 | Golden Globe Award | Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy | George C. Scott | Nominated | ||
| Best Motion Picture Acting Debut - Male | Harry Hamlin | Nominated | ||
| Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | Stanley Donen | Nominated | |
| National Society of Film Critics | Best Supporting Actor | Barry Bostwick | 4th place | |
| Best Screenplay | Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller | 3rd place | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen | Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller | Won | |
| 1980 | David di Donatello | Best Foreign Music | Ralph Burns | Won |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Movie Movie at the American Film Institute Catalog
- ↑ A JUNKET, JUNKET TO 'MOVIE, MOVIE' Taylor, Clarke. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]10 Dec 1978: r65
- ↑ "Movie Movie".
- ↑ Lew Grade, Still Dancing: My Story, William Collins & Sons 1987 p 251
External links[]
- Movie Movie at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Movie Movie at AllMovie
Movie Movie at the Internet Movie Database
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Movie Movie. The revision history lists the authors. The text on Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki and Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). |
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