Two plays by William Saroyan portraying writers stymied, inspired, frustrated, excited, listful, wistful, slothful, awed, unnerved, perhaps corrupted and perplexed by the promise and let-down writing holds for them.
A flying saucer hidden in a Red Chinese peasant village is sought by teams from the United States and U.S.S.R. On finding it, they band together to explore the saucer and take a trip into space.
It's silliness on the high seas as two sneaky sailors race across the South Pacific in this fast-paced and campy comedy. The fun begins when one bets the other $20,000 that he, with an all girl crew, be the first to Tahiti in a sailboat race. The other, not to be outdone, has a few monkeyshines up his sleeve and actually wins the race. The beaten bettor then makes the claim, that he can beat the victor to the mainland using a crew comprised of baboons. That is too much to resist for the other and the race is on.
A British colonial policeman in Africa, circa 1900, pursues a band of escaped killers across territory so wild, it lies just "one step to hell."
Feature version of the 1943 serial "The Masked Marvel", q.v., edited for television syndication and 16mm rental only.
An orchestra puts on a symphony.
Curious penguins investigate an abandoned cabin, heedless of their mother's warning that "curiosity killed the cat."
A collection of animals goes to school; their teacher, a goose, asks them several questions, during which time an ape, sitting behind an elephant, keeps tormenting the elephant. The teacher leaves the room, putting a turtle in charge. While she's gone, things go fine for a while, but the ape starts an all-out book tossing brawl. As the teacher returns, everyone suddenly stops, and although the room is a shambles, she congratulates them on behaving and dismisses them for the day.
These dueling one-act comedies highlight the work of playwright John Mortimer. In "The Dock Brief," an ill-prepared attorney is put to the test when his client confesses to killing his wife. In "What Shall We Tell Caroline?" a father with good intentions tries to protect his wife and daughter from the bad things in life.
Jack and Jill Rabbit get hitched in this classic Fleischer Studios cartoon (made a year before Bugs Bunny hit the scene).
An undercover cop infiltrates a major heroin ring. He soon finds himself in a position to take $2 million without anyone knowing about it, a situation made all the more tempting because of his girlfriend's griping about their constant struggles to make ends meet and their need to change their lives for the better.
In this acclaimed production of John Steinbeck's classic morality tale, award-winning actress Colleen Dewhurst stars as Mordeen, a wife driven to desperate measures to give her aging circus performer husband a child. Dana Elcar, Donald Madden and Tony Award winner Myron McCormick round out the talented cast of this televised Broadway Theatre Archive production, produced by Lewis Freedman and Henry Weinstein.
