Movie Movie **** (1978, George C Scott, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons, Eli Wallach, Michael Kidd, Barbara Harris, Harry Hamlin, Barry Bostwick, Ann Reinking, Art Carney) – Classic Movie Review 10,675

Two 1930s film genres – boxing dramas and backstage musicals – are recreated with a mixture of affection, daft puns and delightful digs at Hollywood in director Stanley Donen’s delicious 1978 comedy Movie Movie. It plays as a spoof double feature of the era, even with trailers in the intermission, advertising Zero Hour, a World War One aviation drama

The first half, Dynamite Hands, is filmed in black and white and stars Harry Hamlin as a punchy boxer called Joey Popchik. But director Donen, a past master of MGM musicals, enjoys the second half more, Baxter’s Beauties of 1933, extracting a lot of fun from the Busby Berkeley parody. Michael Kidd choreographs the second half, and appears as the boxer’s dad in the first. George Burns introduces the ‘Coming Next’ trailers in the middle.

Main stars George C Scott, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons, Eli Wallach appear in both segments: Scott as Gloves Malloy (segment “Dynamite Hands”) / Spats Baxter (segment “Baxter’s Beauties of 1933”), Van Devere as Betsy McGuire (segment “Dynamite Hands”) / Isobel Stuart (segment “Baxter’s Beauties of 1933”), Buttons as Peanuts (segment “Dynamite Hands”) / Jinks Murphy (segment “Baxter’s Beauties of 1933”) and Wallach as Vince Marlowe (segment “Dynamite Hands”) / Pop (Segment “Baxter’s Beauties of 1933”).

RIP Ann Reinking, who died on 12 December 2020, aged 71. She makes her film debut as Troubles Moran (segment Dynamite Hands) in Movie Movie and the following year stars in the Bob Fosse biopic All That Jazz (1979). Perhaps her best performance was in her last film, Blake Edwards’s 1984 comedy Micki + Maude.

Movie Movie is directed by Stanley Donen, runs 107 minutes, is made by ITC, is released by Warner, is written by Larry Gelbert and Sheldon Keller, is shot by Chuck Rosher Jr, is produced by Stanley Donen, is scored by Ralph Burns, and is choreographed by Michael Kidd.

The cast are: George C Scott, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons, Eli Wallach, Michael Kidd, Barbara Harris, Harry Hamlin, Barry Bostwick, Ann Reinking, Art Carney, Jocelyn Brando, George Burns, Kathleen Beller, Clay Hodges, George P Wilbur, Peter Stader, and Jimmy Lennon Sr.

It was nominated for three Golden Globes but no wins.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,675

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