If you like The Dick Van Dyke Show, or clips you may have seen from Sid Ceasar's shows, or if you are a fan of Peter O'Toole or if you are a fan of old swashbuckling movies, you will love this movie. This movie was made by alumni of the great Ceasar's shows and like the Dick Van Dyke show is a look at that era. In this case a week when an Errol Flynn -ish character came to co-star.
Synopsis:
We begin by following Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker)describing 1954, his favorite year that he spent as part of the writing staff of the King Kaiser comedy cavalcade and specifically the week his idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) was going to guest-star on the show. A major turning point for him, he says. We meet the other writers and see clips from Swann's alleged movies then we cut to Swann waking up next to a beautiful, very young girl and promptly going into a horrible hacking cough. We also meet the object of Benjy's affections, not thus far reciprocated, King Kaiser's secretary K.C. Downing (Jessica Harper). We meet producers, including the great songwriter and sometime actor, Adolphe Green. Then we meet the great King himself (Joseph Bologna) as he berates the head writer's monologue in front of the whole crew. Finally, the great Alan Swann shows up to set only to pass out. The decision is made to replace him but Benjy argues against it. King relents but assigns Benjy to watch him for the week, Swann has to be at every rehearsal, sober, or Benjy pays. That's when the fun really begins.
The key to this movie is the casting. With any actor less larger-than-life than Peter O'Toole it would be hard to believe that all that follows really could happen, but O'Toole makes you believe it. You believe his escapades and you believe his humanity. He not only takes Benjy on drunken hijinks throughout the city he dedicates himself to helping him win over K.C. and even agrees to dinner with Benjy's relatives in Brooklyn. We also learn some of the self-loathing that just may be part and parcel of the alcoholism - Swann, it seems has a daughter he has been unable to face for years. The final face-off comes the night of the show when Swann find out for the first time that the show is done live. He panics and leaves threatening everything that he and Benjy have built over the week. Mostly the movie is very, very, funny with each character cast perfectly. The director is the actor Richard Benjamin of Goodbye Columbus fame.
We really get the feel of early television and all that it entailed.There are little things that harken back to the Sid Caesar show specifically, for example, there is a writer that only whispers comments to his colleague who then voices them. This allegedly hearkens back to the behavior of Neil Simon on the Ceasar show who would speak so softly someone else would have to repeat them to the room. This type of inside baseball makes the movie all the more authentic and funny.
Director ............................................................Richard Benjamin
Writers .............................................................Norman Steinberg
...........................................................Dennis Palumbo
Alan Swann ......................................................Peter O'Toole
Benjy Stone ......................................................Mark Linn-Baker
K.C. Downing ..................................................Jessica Harper
King Kaiser ......................................................Joseph Bologna
Sy Benson ........................................................Bill Macy
Belle Carroca ...................................................Lainie Kazan
Alice Miller ......................................................Anne De Salvo
Herb Lee .........................................................Basil Hoffman
Uncle Morty ....................................................Lou Jacobi
Leo Silver .......................................................Adolph Green
Alfie Bumbacelli ..............................................Tony DiBenedetto
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