It is an interesting film because it has multiple sequences in it. Each of them was directed by different directors. John Landis directed the prologue and segment 1. Steven Spielberg directed segment 2, Joe Dante directed segment 3, and George Miller directed segment 4. The intro to each of sequences was narrated by the late Burgess Meredith whose voice fit perfectly. This movie is based upon the Rod Serling television series that aired years ago.
The tagline for this was “You’re travelling through another dimension. A dimension, not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”
The prologue opens with Dan Aykroyd as a Passenger and Albert Brooks as a Car Driver talking about the former television series among other things. Later the scene fades out and we are introduced to Vic Morrow playing Bill Connor in segment 1. Unfortunately, Vic died in real life while filming on the set. Apparently a helicopter crashed on him along with two children. His two close friends in this story are played by Doug McGrath as Larry and Charles Hallahan as Ray. Rainer Peets and Kai Wulff both play German Officers. Sue Dugan and Debby Porter both play waitresses. Steven Williams is a Bar Patron and Annette Claudier is a French Mother. Joseph Hieu and Al Leong appear as Vietnamese soldiers. Stephen Bishop plays the Charming G.I.; Thomas Byrd also appears as a G.I. Eddy Donno, Michael Milgrom, and John Larroquette play K.K.K clan members. Bill Connor is a racist character and learns a lesson the hard way.
Segment 2 starts off with the late Scatman Crothers playing Mr. Bloom and enters a retirement center where things may not appear what they seem to be. The late Bill Quinn plays Mr. Leo Conroy and the late Martin Garner is Mr. Weinstein. The late Selma Diamond is Mrs. Weinstein, The late Helen Shaw plays Mrs. Dempsey, and the late Murray Matheson is Mr. Agee. The late Peter Brocco plays Mr. Mute, and Priscilla Pointer is Miss Cox. Their younger counterparts are played by Scott Nemes as the Young Mr. Weinstein, Tanya Fenmore is Young Mrs. Weinstein, Evan Richards is the Young Mr. Agee, Laura Mooney is the Young Mrs. Dempsey, Christopher Eisenmann is the Young Mr. Mute, Richard Swingler appears as Mr. Gray Panther, Alan HaufrectisMr. Conroy’s Son, Cheryl Socheris Mr. Conroy’s Daughter-in-Law and Elsa Raven appears as Nurse No. 2.
Kathleen Quinlan stars in segment 3 as Helen Foley a school teacher who gets lost only to find a most unusual situation with a young boy named Anthony played by Jeremy Licht. His uncle is played by Kevin McCarthy as Uncle Walt. Patricia Barry plays his mother and William Schallert as his father. Nancy Cartwright also appears in this as Ethel. You might know her as the voice of Bart Simpson from the television series “The Simpsons”. Dick Miller appears as Walter Paisley the diner owner. Cherie Currie is Sara, Bill Mumy is Tim and Jeffrey Bannister is Charlie.
Final segment 4 is my personal favorite, and stars John Lithgow as John Valentine a passenger onboard an airplane. This is one of his best on screen performances in my opinion. Abbe Lane appears in this as the Senior stewardess, Donna Dixon is the Jr. Stewardess whose husband Dan Aykroyd also appears later at the end of this story as a Ambulance Driver. John Dennis Johnston is the Co-Pilot of the plane, Larry Cedar is the Creature, Charles Knapp is the Sky Marshal, Byron McFarland does the Pilot Announcement, Christina Nigra is the Little Girl onboard and her mother is played by Lana Schwab. Margaret Wheeler is the Old Woman and Eduard Franz is the Old Man. Margaret Fitzgerald is Young Girl, Jeffrey Weissman is the Young Man, Jeffrey Lampert is Mechanic No. 1, and Frank Toth is Mechanic No. 2, Carol Serling appears as a Passenger. Carol Vogel also appeared in this film but was uncredited for her role.
This entire series impacted many people and is still a standout science fiction television series today. There are re-runs of the show that sometimes air and the entire collection is available on DVD. I will say this certainly influenced a number of talented individuals and also helped different actor’s careers such as William Shatner, Dean Stockwell, John Carradine, Susan Cummings, Jackie Cooper, Barbara Baxley, and James Coburn among many others. I recommend this film to everyone, it is a classic sci-fi feature.
I was in the mood to watch an absolute classic. This is based off the Parker Brothers board game, originally created by Anthony E. Pratt titled “Cluedo”. It includes an extraordinary all-star cast playing each part and was directed by Jonathan Lynn. The story for the film was written by John Landis and Jonathan Lynn. If you have never seen this one before, I highly recommend it. This is a film you can enjoy with your family and friends while being entertained. Perhaps afterwards you could even play the board game.
This is a comedy, crime, mystery movie. So, it has different elements to it. I think you will find the ending scenarios interesting, as they explore different possibilities. It is a whodunit type film leaving you guessing who the actual killer was. In some ways; it is a parody and spoof of some older Hollywood classic detective films. Another example of this would be Trent’s Last Case (1913) this novel introduced the character Philip Trent, who gets everything wrong and goes to investigate a murder at an English millionaire’s home.
The cast of this film is by far one of the best assembled casts in movie history. I thought they complimented one another perfectly, and helped bring another dimension to the film.
Tim Curry takes the forward lead playing Wadsworth the butler. He recites a massive amount of dialogue throughout the film which leads to explanation about what might have happened. Wadsworth (Curry) also reminds each of them they have been given pseudonyms to protect their identities. Eileen Brennan plays Mrs. Peacock who is a senator’s wife that has taken bribes to deliver her husband’s vote. Mrs. White is played by the late great Madeline Kahn. She is there due to a scandal that happened in regards to the death of her husband, who was a Nuclear Physicist.
Professor Plum is played by the talented Christopher Lloyd, who is a psychiatrist that has had affairs with his female patients. Miss Scarlet is played by the lovely Lesley Ann Warren who apparently operates an illegal bordello (brothel). Colonel Mustard is portrayed by Martin Mull who is a war profiteer that made his money on the black marketplace. Mr. Green is played by Michael McKean who works for the state department with a secret of his own. Mr. Boddy is played by Lee Ving. Colleen Camp plays the French maid Yvette and the cook is played by Kellye Nakahara. There are three other visitors that appear at the estate which include: The stranded motorist played by Jeffrey Kramer, a police officer played by Bill Henderson, and the singing telegram girl played by musician Jane Wiedlin best known as the guitarist from the band The Go-Go’s.
The bottom line is this film is about six people and six murders. They all seem to experience quite an evening together while trying to make the most out of it.
The film was originally theatrically released on December 13, 1985 and it remains a classic film to date. Some critics enjoyed it while others didn’t “get it”. This one is a real treat to see. Check this one out for sure.
This is a hilarious film by director John Landis, which stars two former Saturday Night Live cast members Dan Aykroyd as Austin Millbarge and Chevy Chase playing Emmett Fitz-Hume. They work perfectly together in this comedic tale of the cold war scare back during the 1980’s. The two government agents are promoted to infiltrate the former Soviet Union; little do they realize what they are really sent there for. This leads to some remember able moments throughout the length of the film. You will also see Dan Aykroyd’s wife in this Donna Dixon – the former 1st runner-up Miss World USA 1977 once worked at the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency and was engaged to Paul Stanley from the rock group Kiss. She was introduced to Dan Aykroyd by her best friend Fran Drescher. In this film she plays Karen Boyer, and she does a great job putting up with the antics of Aykroyd and Chase.
There is a scene near the start of the film where they have to take an exam inside the classroom; it is really funny and a standout moment. The film is filled with many clever and witty scenes and it seemed like they enjoyed themselves while shooting this movie. I think this is a comedy classic from the 1980’s. There are more appearances by: Bruce Davison, Terry Gilliam, Steve Forrest, Charles McKeown, James Daughton, Jim Staahl, William Prince, Tom Hatten, and the lovely Vanessa Angel playing a Russian Rocket Crewperson. Film legend Ray Harryhausen also appears briefly in this as Dr. Marston. Also, keep your eyes open for Bob Hope making a very brief cameo appearance as a Golfer. If you are ready to laugh get this film, it was really entertaining. The film story was done by Dan Aykroyd and Dave Thomas. The screenplay was written by Dan Aykroyd, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.
