An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.
Acting
Dick Van Dyke's unhinged physical comedy and crushing vulnerability.
Direction
Carl Reiner's surprisingly dark love letter to forgotten legends.
Writing
Dead narrator from his own funeral — structurally unhinged in the best way.
Director
Carl Reiner
Dick Van Dyke
Billy Bright
Michele Lee
Mary Gibson
Mickey Rooney
Cockeye
Cornel Wilde
Frank Powers
Nina Wayne
Sybil Atlas
Pert Kelton
Mama Bell
Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Barbara Heller
Ginger
Ed Peck
Edwin G. Englehardt
Jeannine Riley
Lorraine Bell
Gavin MacLeod
1st Director
Jay Novello
Miguel
Paulene Myers
Phoebe
Fritz Feld
Armand
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Buster Keaton himself consulted on the film but hated the final product, finding it too dark. He lived to see his own tragedy fictionalized.
Released months before Easy Rider, this was Old Hollywood's eulogy for itself — before the New Hollywood boom buried it completely.
US
