Don Knotts 4 Movie Reluctant Hero Pack (The Ghost And Mr. Chicken / The Reluctant Astronaut / The Shakiest Gun In The West / The Love God?)
by Nat Hiken
from Universal Studios
He's one of the most popular and admired funnymen of all time, a master of comic timing and physical humor. Now four of the classic films starring the delightful Don Knotts are available on DVD for the first time in this fun-filled collector's set.
After catapulting to national fame as the often impossible but ever lovable Deputy Barney Fife on TV's The Andy Griffith Show, Knotts set out to conquer the silver screen in a series of unforgettable feature films. Now four of these hilarious farces are brought together in this amazing collection that keeps the laughs coming.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
from MGM (Video & DVD)
This fizzy musical was a Broadway smash in 1962, and boy, is it a product of its era. Executive washrooms, gray-flannel-suit businessmen, hip-swinging secretaries--they're all preserved in the movie's brightly colored amber. J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) is the window washer who climbs the corporate ladder in a few days, guided by a how-to book. The Frank Loesser songs are great fun, the Bob Fosse dances are very clever and mod, and the gaudy set design may have given Andy Warhol a few ideas. The jack-in-the-box performance of the elfin Robert Morse doesn't seem toned down from his Tony-winning stage turn; think Mickey Rooney doing Jerry Lewis. Still, Morse is a unique presence, and his mad little solo dance down a real Manhattan street is an interlude of sublime daffiness. Grand old crooner Rudy Vallee shines as the president of Worldwide Wicket, barking his beloved alma mater's fight song: "Groundhog! Groundhog!" --Robert Horton
Big business means big laughs as Robert Morse schemes and scams his way to the top in this bold and bawdy musical that celebrates the Great American Corporate Way and lampoons it at the same time. With musical supervision by the Legendary Nelson Riddle (Pal Joey) this tune-filled comic and The Company Way. Written produced and directed by David Swift (The Parent Trap) and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit this classic musical is bristling with humor romance and song (The Hollywood Reporter)!The story charts the meteoric rise of an ambitious window washer (Morse) who with the help of a simple guidebook gets the job gets the girl (Michele Lee) gets the raise and gets the attention of the Big Boss (Rudy Vallee) himself all by his second day at work! Now it's only a matter of hours before he goes from zero to CEO!System Requirements:Starring: Robert Morse Michelle Lee Rudy Vallee and Maureen Arthur. Directed By: David Swift. Running Time: 121 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 027616809520 Manufacturer No: 908095
The Love God?
by Nat Hiken
from Universal Studios
Fireball 500/Thunder Alley (Midnite Movies Double Feature)
by Richard Rush
from American International Pictures (AIP)
Fireball 500Frankie Avalon Annette Funicello and Fabian trade in their beach towels for monkey wrenches in this rip-roaring romance "set against a backdrop of hopped-up racecars bootlegging and morals" (Variety)! When Daytona-bound Dave (Avalon) stops in a small town to run some moonshine and race against a cocky local named Leander (Fabian) he not only gets noticed by Leander's girl (Funicello) but also by the Feds!Thunder AlleyFasten your seat belts for "action and speed" (LA Herald-Examiner) as Annette Funicello and Fabian star as two stock-car drivers on the thrill circuit who kick their mutual affection into full-throttle romance! But Tommy (Fabian) must first cure himself of his racing blackouts which may have caused the death of a fellow racer before they kill him and his Indy 500 dreams!System Requirements: Running Time 181 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 027616903006 Manufacturer No: 1006077
Off the Menu - The Last Days of Chasen's
by Robert Pulcini
from New Video Group
It has been said that when you are sick, nobody calls you, but when you die, everyone wants to come to the funeral. So it was with Chasen's, the legendary Hollywood restaurant that opened its doors in 1936. In its heyday, every night was like a premiere and every table was filled with stars. In more recent years, however, Chasen's was shunned by contemporary Hollywood who preferred trendier and hipper eateries. Finally, after more than six decades, it was sold to a strip-mall developer and, in April 1995, was slated to close. Suddenly, Chasen's was the hottest reservation in town.
A feast for film buffs, Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's chronicles in glorious archival footage and with interviews the glamorous history and bittersweet demise of one of the last bastions of a bygone era. The restaurant's frantic and tumultuous final weeks play out against the backdrop of poignant reminiscences of loyal patrons and the venerable staff. What Sam and Sasha were to Rick's in Casablanca, bartender Pepe Ruiz (creator of a drink called the Flame of Love), kitchen supervisor Raymond Bilbool, and irrepressible waiter Tommy Gallagher were to Chasen's. Pardon the pun, but they can really dish.
In Chasen's final days, Hollywood's elite tried to crash the party. Sylvester Stallone was turned away. One waiter remarks that Ed McMahon phoned him at home, called him by name, and asked if he could get McMahon a table. "It was the first time he ever called me 'Steve,'" the waiter laughs. "Usually he just called me 'waiter.'" From the star-studded film clips to such Tums-inducing sights as Rod Steiger eating lunch, memories--as Dean Martin croons on the soundtrack--are made of this. --Donald Liebenson
From the award-winning filmmakers behind American Splendor comes their debut film about the beloved Chasen's restaurant, a Hollywood mainstay where everyone from Charlton Heston to Madonna was served for over fifty years. Featuring a treasure trove of int
How to Commit Marriage
by Norman Panama
from Bci / Eclipse
Bob Hope and Oscar-winner Jane Wyman star as the perfect married couple with one minor exception: They are about to announce their divorce. However their daughter is getting married. And that's just the beginning. The young couple must deal with the trials and tribulations of the groom's father (Jackie Gleason) as he tries to stop the wedding. The film was quite fitting as Bob saw his own daughter Nora get married that same year. Taking the helm as director was longtime collaborator Norman Panama. Panama directed Hope in Road to Hong Kong (the final "Road" picture) wrote That Certain Feeling Monsieur Beaucaire Road to Utopia and supplied the story for My Favorite Blonde. He also directed Danny Kaye in The Court Jester and penned the classics White Christmas and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. The film also stars Tina Louise (Ginger of Gilligan's Island) Tim Matthieson (National Lampoon's Animal House) and Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun).System Requirements: Running Time 104 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 090096098791 Manufacturer No: 60987-9
How to Commit Marriage
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