Themes: Rise and Fall Stories, Actor's Life, All Washed Up
Main Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee, Mickey Rooney, Cornel Wilde, Nina Wayne
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In The Comic, Dick Van Dyke plays Billy Bright, silent-era film comedian. The opening scene is at his funeral in which his sidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney) honors his partner's last request by hitting the preacher in the face with a pie. Van Dyke's voice then narrates the life story of the comic in flashbacks. Steve Allen plays himself and is the man who revives Billy's career towards the end of his life. Bright's life deteriorates as the bitter man becomes a drunk and abusive, alienating his wife Mary (Michele Lee). Van Dyke combines the characters of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel for his interpretation of the fictional character Billy Bright. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
Branching out from his television success with Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner crafted the story of Billy Bright, a brilliant silent-film comedian whose talent was overshadowed only by his ego and his thirst for alcohol. Billy's remembrances of his glorious past from his bottom-of-the-rung existence is the central plot of The Comic. Combining elements of Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the underrated Harry Langdon, and Stan Laurel, Billy is given life by the aforementioned Van Dyke in a very personal performance. Given his own troubles with alcohol, Van Dyke is perhaps the most natural choice for the role. He and Reiner re-create the silent-film era with remarkable accuracy and authenticity, and surrounding the story of Billy's life are many faux clips from his film career. It's a somewhat clichéd tale of a man who made a living being funny not being able to enjoy himself in the way that his audience could. Michele Lee plays the love interest and Mickey Rooney is along for the ride as an old sidekick, but the film really belongs to Dick Van Dyke. His ability to morph his body into a rubber band, plus his slight facial resemblance to Stan Laurel allow for a complete suspension of disbelief. However, despite it's title and the slapstick sequences, this film is very much not a comedy. It can be almost painful watching Billy sink into depths that can't possibly get much worse until they do. This descent is ultimately exemplified in a notorious (for 1969) scene in which Billy struggles to get himself out of his chair while morbidly watching some of his old films on television, and goes to use the bathroom, complete with sound effects. It's the capping statement on the character, but fortunately the film holds up better. ~ Dan Friedman, All Movie Guide
Guy C. Verhille - Costume Designer, Carl Reiner - Director, Adrienne Fazan - Editor, Jack Elliott - Composer (Music Score), Ben Lane - Makeup, Walter M. Simonds - Production Designer, W. Wallace Kelley - Cinematographer, Carl Reiner - Producer, Aaron Ruben - Producer, Morrie Hoffman - Set Designer, Butler-Glouner, Inc. - Special Effects, Les Fresholtz - Sound/Sound Designer, Arthur Piantadosi - Sound/Sound Designer, Jesse Wayne - Stunts, Carl Reiner - Screenwriter, Aaron Ruben - Screenwriter
Bright was a popular silent picture comedian in the era of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. He has difficulty making the transition to talkies, and sinks into despair and alcoholism. Bright's wife Mary (Michele Lee) becomes alienated by his drunk and abusive behavior.
Steve Allen (as himself) revives Bright's career towards the end of his life.
Production
In his autobiography, Carl Reiner said he intended this as a vehicle for Dick Van Dyke who had, on the set of their TV show, often expressed the wish that he had been working at the same time as comedy legends such as his hero Stan Laurel.[1]
Response
Dick Van Dyke said of The Comic: "very few people saw that movie, but we were proud of it."[2]
