Story of a brilliant silent-film comic whose talent is overshadowed by his ego.Story of a brilliant silent-film comic whose talent is overshadowed by his ego.Story of a brilliant silent-film comic whose talent is overshadowed by his ego.
Isabel Sanford
- Woman in Detergent Commercial
- (as Isabell Sanford)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile starring in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Van Dyke called up Stan Laurel to ask for permission to do a Laurel & Hardy bit in an episode. Laurel told him that neither he nor Hardy's heirs owned the rights to the characters. Van Dyke and Reiner were horrified that Laurel didn't even own the rights to his own face, and this picture is the result.
- GoofsWhen Billy and Cockeye are walking along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, they are on Vine Street near the intersection of Selma Avenue. However, the stars' markers they point out are not in a row, or even near each other at that location.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Passerby at Billy's Funeral: Who checked out?
Hearse Driver: An old-time movie actor.
Passerby at Billy's Funeral: What's his name?
Hearse Driver: Billy Bright.
Passerby at Billy's Funeral: Billy Bright? Billy Bright?
Hearse Driver: Yeah, he was... back in the silent movies.
Passerby at Billy's Funeral: Oh, Billy Bright! I thought he was dead?
- ConnectionsFeatures The Best Mouse Loses (1920)
- SoundtracksYes! We Have No Bananas
Written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn
Performed by Dick Van Dyke
Briefly sung by Billy Bright in voiceover and used as a leitmotif throughout the film
Featured review
classic recreation
This film was obviously made to use the comic talents of Dick Van Dyke and they did. He was always pulling faces and doing pratfalls on stage and TV and has always had a strikingly strong resemblance to a young Stan Laurel. It had been said in early magazines that Van Dyke felt he was born in the wrong era. With this film he gets to fulfill his dream. Even the dialog scenes play and read like a silent movie and the comedy timing is priceless, especially in scenes with Mickey Rooney who did the eye tricks with no computer help. Michelle Lee is there, for her looks mostly, plus a lot of great cameo comedy bits by the likes of Pert Kelton, Jeannine Riley and even Carl Reiner himself. This film will not be remembered as any great classic, but it does remain a classic in capturing Van Dyke's talent and the memories of Hollywood days gone by.
helpful•202
- capricorn9
- Aug 13, 2006
- How long is The Comic?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Billy Bright
- Filming locations
- Blondie Street, Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA(Wedding scene & various silent film scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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