Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

best movie i've ever seen.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I read about this one years ago, and it has FINALLY come to DVD! Fans of the Dick Van Dyke show will be happy to see (part of) the cast from that show united here. That series ended mid 1966, and Dick V. and Mary T. were on to film careers, so you won't see them in the film. Written and produced by Morey Amsterdam, which makes sense. According to wikipedia, he had started in vaudeville in the 1920s, and worked with his brother in Al Capone's saloon. At the open, the gang works in a diner. A HILARIOUS scene where Mel Cooley, I mean actor Richard Deacon, reads his supply order, and it is intertwined with a couple saying romantic things to each other. Tons of one liners and set-up punchline, set-up punchline. Charlie (Amsterdam) is mistaken for someone else, a missing cosmonaut. After getting fired, he and Annie (Rose Marie) leave the diner and go find their friend Magda (January Jones). She runs a bookstore, but strange things are going on, and Charlie tries to figure it all out.Some great cameos ... Uncle Milty, Steve Allen, Moe Howard, Carl Reiner (Still doing the hairpiece gag), Danny Thomas. And of course, Irene Ryan, still playing Granny. One of the customers in the diner is Percy Helton... played in SO many things back in the day. Did he do the voice of winnie the pooh? sounds like like it to me! Deacon plays two roles, Peter Sellers style. This one is so under-rated. Granted the plot is a bit thin, and the opening diner scene is only added on to get those vaudeville bits in. If you liked the Dick Van Dyke show, you'll probably get a kick out of this, as long as you see it for the low-brow fun that it is. and I think the title is Genius. Directed by Harmon Jones, who was nominated for EDITING Gentleman's Agreement. Directed mostly television for the last ten years.

This movie is like a "make a wish" grant for a dying child. In this case, the producers of the Dick Van Dyke show must have felt sorry for Morey Amsterdam as they killed the last big job he'd ever have when then ended the Van Dyke series.Consider the relatively sophisticated humor coming on television at this time, much less the movie. Addams Family, Munsters, Batman, etc. All with loads of adult based double entendre humor that would make kids giggle, yet make adults think twice.And these shows used many celebrity cameos like this movie does, but the other shows understood the point of having the celebrities make fun of themselves. This movie just parades stars through like they all took numbers at the studio cafeteria and were waiting in line.I've never been a big fan of Amsterdam's version of vaudeville humor (consider the Marx brothers were from the same era and how much bawdy and funnier they were), so jamming it into a full length movie doesn't make it any better.I have a feeling that Amsterdam was a great ad-libber on the Dick Van Dyke show, and they kept him around to sweeten scripts, but he wasn't really much of a performer - Dick Van Dyke could have done the show by himself.This movie IS fun to run in the background just to see how many performers whored themselves out for a few seconds of screen time, but other than that, this movie has little entertainment value.

I believe this movie represents the last gasp of vaudeville. Shot in beautifully clear black-and-white, on a set that is so obviously a set and not at all realistic, this film presents a stage on which we see the last great vaudeville act for the very last time.It's all about slapstick physical humor where the victim is hurt only for the length of the shot. It's all about one-liners, where the straight-man responds by making an exasperated face or rolling his or her eyes.And gimmicks stolen from other acts (e.g. Get Smart) that are familiar to the audience.And the long pauses between action moments -- giving time for the folks in the back of the theater to realize what just happened and start laughing before the people in front have stopped laughing.And the walk-on cameos of famous performers to keep the people interested, lest they realize that there is no plot worth caring about.Apparently many people watched the film (based on the rash of reviews) on its single showing on TCM. Robert Osbourne did not introduce the film, which is regrettable. I really would like to have seen how he characterized this piece of work.Fans of the The Dick Van Dyke Show (like me) may remember episode 40, "The Secret Life of Buddy and Sally" in which Morey Amsterdam's character and Rose Marie's character create and put on their own show at a club on the weekends. Well, this film is what would happen if Buddy and Sally sneaked off to make a movie on a long weekend, and Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon's character) actually produced and directed it. Vaudeville, filmed in noir, on the cheapest set money could rent.No offense to any of the terrific veteran actors in the movie -- most of them had great roles elsewhere. But you do need a cup of strong coffee and a curious mind to enjoy what they were attempting in ... whatever its title was.

This had a long reputation as one of the worst movies ever made, though few had actually seen it. It took me until the winter of 2007 to catch up with this one, and while by no means a good movie, it is at least an interesting one. I understand that the backstory behind this low budget production was that The Dick Van Dyke Show was wrapping up, and a few of its stars put together an independent movie. Morey Amsterdam produced, co-wrote, and starred, along with Rose Marie and Richard Deacon. As insurance, he filled his script with jokes, and filled his movie with cameos. Its plot about spies and espionage does not hold together, but now, after 40 years, the movie works on another level. The plot is dated, the stars and cameos are very much from another era of showbiz, and the jokes are of the irresistibly corny variety that have also faded into memory. So now the film is a quirky little cultural artifact of sorts. It is not good cinema, but in the wake of the Police Academy series, Dude Where's My Car, and Freddy Got Fingered, it can hardly be called among the worst movies ever made. It is offbeat, silly, dated, and, if you're in the right frame of mind, rather fun, especially if you have an interest in the era, or fond memories of it.