My Favorite Year (1982)

Regisseur:

Richard Benjamin

Drehbuchautoren:

Dennis Palumbo (screenplay)
Dennis Palumbo (story)

Premierendatum:

1. Oktober 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Komödie

Plot:

A dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show.

Plot Keywords:

Fire Hose Used As Rope | Aging | Television | Alcoholic | Brooklyn New York

Filmpreise:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

A Perfect Film Comedy!

Besetzung

Peter O'Toole	...	Alan Swann
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Benjy Stone
Jessica Harper	...	K. C. Downing
Joseph Bologna	...	King Kaiser
Bill Macy	...	Sy Benson
Lainie Kazan	...	Belle Carroca
Anne De Salvo	...	Alice Miller
Basil Hoffman	...	Herb Lee
Lou Jacobi	...	Uncle Morty
Adolph Green	...	Leo Silver
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Alfi Bambacelli
George Wyner	...	Myron Fein
Selma Diamond	...	Lil
Cameron Mitchell	...	Karl Rojeck
Jenny Neumann	...	Connie

Alternativ:

My Favourite Year (UK)
Draufgänger in New York, Ein (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

92 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Metrocolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Altersfreigabe:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Drehorte:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Firma:

Brooksfilms

Dies und das:

Joseph Bologna's character, "King Kaiser," was based on "Your Show of Shows" (1950)' Sid Caesar.

Pannen:

Anachronismus: In the street scene following the "hot dog" shot, the block Benjy and Swann are walking in is a real NY street dressed for 1954. The next block behind them and the skyline including the long-gone Astor Hotel is a matte shot. Watch under the marque over the left sidewalk and see several modern buses and an RV go by.

Dialogzitate:

Swann: [looking at a smashed liquor bottle] That's a sad sight!

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in "Saturday Night Live: Joan Rivers/Musical Youth (#8.17)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

How High the Moon

A Perfect Film Comedy!

Have you ever watched a film and wished it wouldn't end? Where you loved all the characters, adored each scene, and laughed at every joke, even after you'd seen the film so many times that you could quote the dialog? MY FAVORITE YEAR is that kind of movie!

Directed with gusto by Richard Benjamin, the film is both a loving tribute to Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Show', and the remarkable talents that brought it together each week, and a sincere homage to Errol Flynn, whose antics and larger-than-life persona, in the waning years of his life, still had a kind of magic that could enthrall a shy young fan, or make a woman swoon.

Three dynamic performances dominate the film. Mark Linn-Baker, as Benjy Stone, based on the young Mel Brooks, is a shy kid who hides his insecurities behind a rapid-fire wit. The dazzling young star in a staff of comedy 'pros', Stone suffers from an unrequited love from fellow staffer K. C. Downing (Jessica Harper), and has an inspiration, inviting legendary swashbuckler Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) to appear on the show. As King Kaiser, star of the hit series, Joseph Bologna captures much of Sid Caesar's legendary physical 'presence' and irreverence to authority. When threatened by gangsters over a 'too close to home' series of parodies about crime boss Karl Rojeck (portrayed with brute menace by veteran actor Cameron Mitchell), Kaiser 'thumbs his nose' at them, mimicking the gangster mercilessly. "I'll KEEP doing it!" he taunts. "Why? Because it's FUNNY!"

Then there is Peter O'Toole's 'Alan Swann'. With his own career a roller coaster ride of alcoholism, resulting in the near destruction of his health, no actor could have 'channeled' Errol Flynn better. Just as Flynn, by the 1950s, was a nearly burned-out roué, his classic good looks long gone, O'Toole's matinee-idol appearance, after years of self-abuse, had aged into a gaunt mask, making Benji Stone's film montage of 'classic' clips more poignant. What Flynn still had, in abundance, were charm and a ready wit, and O'Toole's 'Swann' is so enchanting a personality that you can't help but love him, and root for him to succeed.

From the opening nostalgic strains of Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Stardust', through Benjy's futile effort to attempt to keep Swann sober (Red Skelton loved to tell how he kept Flynn sober on his program...he emptied all of the actor's bottles of vodka, replacing it with water...and Flynn couldn't tell the difference!), to a riotous Swann dinner with Benjy's family, to the near-disastrous broadcast, with Swann developing stage fright, and Kaiser brawling with mob enforcers...MY FAVORITE YEAR has one glorious scene after another, each unforgettable!

One of the AFI's '100 Greatest Film Comedies', MY FAVORITE YEAR will bring a tear to your eye, even as you laugh. It was a time of legends, and heroes who would live up to boyhood dreams.

Film comedy doesn't get any better than this!