arthur_itis Reviews

Kraft Suspense Theatre: The Long Ravine (1965) Season 2, Episode 24

I didn't know Jack Lord could act!

[7/10 · 23 April 2011]

This is another good episode from this series, much like the others due to decent acting and a good story. To be fair, I qualify the acting as "decent" because I think it's really good for the time period it's from, and holds up well today. I won't give any spoilers here, the reason I felt like writing this review was to say one thing:Jack Lord can actually act! I admit I'd only seen him in Hawaii 5 0. He had the charisma of a dead moth in that series. Here he played a character with many dimensions and pulled it off. The other actors were good as well. If you're a fan of vintage television shows you should check out this series, it's very well made for its' era, and all of the episodes are in color which was not standard for the early 1960s, a sign that the network that originally aired it gave it full support. It also helps that many of the stories are quite good for an anthology series.

Quincy M.E.: Slow Boat to Madness: Part 2 (1981) Season 7, Episode 4

Quincy meets Love Boat with a medical theme

[5/10 · 15 December 2010]

I'll write this in Pt 2 to cover both parts of this story. The plot is decent, involving Quincy and his love interest taking a Tahitian cruise. Everything seems Love Boat perfect until a man commits suicide and another man becomes homicidal and dies from a mystery illness. Now it's up to Quincy, his doctor girlfriend and the crew to find out what the illness is and stop it from infecting all of the passengers and themselves.

The subplots in this are slightly interesting but disappear once the pressure is on to save everyone, making me wonder why the writers bothered to put them in to begin with. I assume there just wasn't enough run time to fit them in. Also some of the acting by the guest cast is awful and cartoonish, a sign of the later seasons of this show. I realize that it helps to view this show as something made 30 years ago, so take it for what it is.

Norman's Corner (1988 TV Movie)

Gilbert Gottfried humor with Larry David's writing=Interesting

[7/10 · 12 March 2006]

This one-off pilot/vehicle for Gilbert was written by Larry David with Gilbert's own material added in. It is based in Manhattan where Gilbert runs a stand that sells papers, magazines, snacks, etc. Of course, being Gilbert, he constantly has funny and neurotic things to say about his customers and work at the stand, including a rant about how he loves to make change, and his price for Lifesavers candies is part of a massive conspiracy when a man considers the price to be too high. Of course their is a supporting cast of characters as well, the best being Arnold Stang, who has been in various movies and TV shows. The most interesting thing about this pilot is the fact that it has all the basic elements of what would later be Seinfeld. It's got a very New York sensibility to it, with characters talking about nothing, and doing it in a very funny way. There is also no warm fuzzy sentiment or resolution to the story, something that later would be the backbone of the Seinfeld show. So, if you don't like Gilbert, you might find this hard to watch, but might find it interesting because it's a prototype of Seinfeld, arguably the greatest sitcom made to date.

The Day the Clown Cried (1972)

If only the film was available for public viewing....

[11 March 2006]

I've noticed that there are some comments here that indicate some of the posters have never even read the script. I obtained one 6 years ago and have read it like many other people, but none of us have actually seen the rough cut of the film, only a few of Jerry Lewis' friends and apparently Harry Shearer and the other people mentioned in Zardoz12's comments. It seems that the premise of the story could work, and was well meaning, but the way Mr. Lewis went about it with the script is horrible, well-intentioned, but horrible. One thing that people should be aware of is Helmut, the clown, isn't a Nazi, nor does he want to trick Jewish children into going into a gas chamber. He is a self absorbed, miserable has-been, who finds a sliver of relief from his imprisonment through entertaining little Jewish children who are detained in a camp next to his own, with a fence between them. All of his fellow prisoners despise him after he tells them how he's a great performer, and then entertains them unsuccessfully, so he is encouraged by the children's' attention. When the camp officers discover his rapport with the children, they force him to become the fatal pied piper by threatening his life. He doesn't march children into a gas chamber repeatedly through the movie, which is the impression some people seem to have. This happens only once, with an ending that I suppose I won't give away(unless someone else already did and I didn't notice). The most laughable thing about the script that I received was the cover, which I assume is a reproduction of the real thing. There is an image of Jerry Lewis as the clown, looking very downtrodden. Below it, he has a comment about how "this is a family film for the summer of 1973"! FAMILY FILM!?!?! If this script was different, like all the pages were ripped out and a new script put in it's place, it might work.

Guide to Golf Style and Etiquette (1995 Video)

Classic Rodney humor!!

[7/10 · 11 March 2006]

Like the other comments here, I think it's fair to say that if you like Rodney's humor style, you'll like this. First, you get a short film of Rodney and his bimbo wife playing doubles with a snooty couple at a country club golf course(which looks very nice by the way), with Rodney breaking every rule of golfing etiquette, and delivering some great one-liners. Obviously, the golfing setting is a nod to Caddyshack, with Rodney acting like Al Czervik again. Then two sketches from a cable special are added, which are entertaining. If you think Caddyshack is one of the greatest comedy films ever, you'll like this. If you think it's unfunny and crude, stay clear. If you're politically correct, don't bother. RIP Rodney, we miss you!!