Artists and Models 1937 N/R, 97 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: Jack Benny, Ida Lupino, Richard Arlen, Gail Patrick, Ben Blue, Judy Canova, Cecil Cunningham, Donald Meek, Hedda Hopper, Martha Raye
Paula (Ida Lupino) pretends to be an "upper-cruster" in this film that is a showcase for music and specialty acts. Louis Armstrong's orchestra, Andre Kostelanetz and his orchestra, cyclers, jugglers, tumblers, etc., all make for an overall fun movie.
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Artists and Models Abroad 1938 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Jack Benny, Joan Bennett, Mary Boland, Charley Grapewin, Joyce Compton, Yacht Club Boys, Fritz Feld, Monty Woolley, G.P. Huntley
In this second of Jack Benny "Artists and Models" musicals, a musical company is stranded in Paris, but the boss (Benny) knows how to bail them out. Light and entertaining, even today.
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Beau James 1957 N/R, 105 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Melville Shavelson Cast: Bob Hope, Vera Miles, Paul Douglas, Alexis Smith, Darren McGavin, Joe Mantell, George Jessel, Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, Walter Catlett
Jimmy Walker's (Bob Hope) life as the flamboyant mayor of New York is the subject of this biography showing the corruption, scandal, and triumphs of the Roaring 20s.
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The Big Broadcast of 1937 1936 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama / Musical
Director: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ray Milland, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Benny Goodman, Irving Bacon, Jack Mulhall, Leonid Kinskey, Benny Fields, Sam Hearn, Frank Forest, Gene Krupa
Jack Carson (Jack Benny) owns a radio station and is having problems with sponsors. To solve the problem, he puts on a big show featuring big stars. George Burns and Gracie Allen star as the Platts who host "Platt Golf Ball," which presents more than a few problems because they just do not see eye-to-eye. Among others, musicians include Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa.
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Broadway Melody of 1936 1935 N/R, 110 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Una Merkel, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen, Paul Harvey, Frances Langford, June Knight, Vilma Ebsen, Nick Long Jr., Robert Wildhack, Harry Stockwell, Luana Walters
A feud between conniving newspaper journalist Bert Keeler (Jack Benny) and Broadway show producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) erupts when Keeler prints a story about one of Gordon's performers (Eleanor Powell) buying her way into a starring role in the show. This musical was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The good songs include "You Are My Lucky Star," "Broadway Rhythm," and Taylor's rendition of "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin."
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Charley's Aunt 1941 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Archie Mayo Cast: Jack Benny, Kay Francis, James Ellison, Anne Baxter, Edmund Gwenn, Reginald Owen, Laird Cregar, Richard Haydn, Arleen Whelan, Will Stanton
An Oxford student, Lord Fancourt (Jack Benny), pretends to be his roommate Charley's (Richard Haydn) Aunt Babbs Babberley. The deception is performed as a means to facilitate the romancing of Amy (Anne Baxter) and Kitty (Arleen Whelan).
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George Washington Slept Here 1942 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: William Keighley Cast: Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Percy Kilbride, Hattie McDaniel, William Tracy, Joyce Reynolds, Lee Patrick, Charles Dingle, John Emery, William Tracy
A New York couple (Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan) buys a "fix-me-up" home in Connecticut where they discover a letter that may be evidence that George Washington once slept there.
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The Great Lover 1949 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance / Musical / Thriller
Director: Alexander Hall Cast: Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, Roland Young, Roland Culver, George Reeves, Jim Backus, Richard Lyon, Gary Gray, Sig Arno, Jerry Hunter, Jack Benny, Paul Bryar, Fritz Feld, Norman Leavitt
Freddie Hunter (Bob Hope) chaperones a group of Boy Scouts on an ocean liner traveling to Europe. En route, they run smack into a series of adventures when they face gambler C. J. Dabney (Roland Young) who is also a murderer.
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Gypsy 1962 N/R, 149 min. Genre: Musical / Comedy / Drama
Director: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace, Betty Bruce, Parley Baer, Harry Shannon, Morgan Brittany, Ann Jillian, Jack Benny, Diane Pace, Faith Dane, Roxanne Arlen, Ben Lessy, George Petrie
This version of the Broadway musical production, based on the life of Louise "Gypsy Rose Lee" Hovick, stars Natalie Wood in the title role. Gypsy's mother, Mama Rose (Rosalind Russell), always wanted fame but never achieved it. So, she is determined to make vaudeville stars of her daughters June (Ann Jillian) and Louise. June bails out leaving an unwilling Louise to do Mama Rose's bidding. Vaudeville is on the wane, but Louise does get a booking in a burlesque house where she finds stardom as stripper "Gypsy Rose Lee." Songs include "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Let Me Entertain You," and "All I Need Is a Girl." The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Music, Cinematography, and Costume Design.
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Hollywood Canteen 1944 N/R, 124 min. Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: Delmer Daves Cast: Bette Davis, John Garfield, Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Dane Clark, Janis Paige, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Eddie Cantor, Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Peter Lorre, Theodore von Eltz, Eddie Marr, Many Guest Stars
Cpl. Ed "Slim" Green (Robert Hutton), a soldier on sick leave during World War II, visits the famous U.S.O. Hollywood Canteen founded by Bette Davis (Herself) and John Garfield (Himself). Slim gets a kiss from Joan Leslie (Herself) who is the woman of his dreams. He returns to the Canteen and, this time, wins a date with Joan when he is named the Canteen's millionth visitor. Does romance lie ahead?
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The Hollywood Review of 1929 1929 N/R, 130 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Charles Riesner Cast: Conrad Nagel, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Bessie Love, Marion Davies, Marie Dressler, Jack Benny, Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore, Buster Keaton
This was the premier for a series of films starring Hollywood production company stars. Silent-screen M.G.M. stars appear in speaking roles, and musical numbers contribute to the film.
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The Horn Blows at Midnight 1945 N/R, 78 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: Jack Benny, Alexis Smith, Dolores Moran, Allyn Joslyn, Reginald Gardiner, Guy Kibbee, Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont, Robert Blake, Paul Harvey
A musician (Jack Benny) dreams he is the angel Athanael whose trumpet, when blown at midnight, will result in the Earth's destruction.
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The Man 1972 G, 93 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph Sargent Cast: James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, Burgess Meredith, Lew Ayres, William Windom, Barbara Rush, Janet MacLachlan, Jack Benny, Patric Knowles, Anne Seymour
Based on Irving Wallace's novel, this is Rod Serling's film adaptation of the story of a presidential assassination and the vice president's (James Earl Jones) ascent to power as America's first black president.
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The Medicine Man 1930 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Scott Pembroke Cast: Jack Benny, Betty Bronson, Eva Novak, E. Alyn Warren, Billy Butts, Adolph Milar, George E. Stone, Tom Dugan, Vadim Uraneff, Dorothea Wolbert, Caroline Rankin
The Medicine Man, Dr. John Harvey (Jack Benny), meets Mamie (Betty Bronson) and her brother, Buddy (Billy Butts), when they attend his medicine show as it passes through their town. Mamie's abusive father, Goltz (E. Alyn Warren), tries to force her into a marriage for money, and, when she asks Harvey for help, he comes to her aid.
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That's Entertainment!, Part III 1994 G, 113 min. Genre: Family / Documentary / Musical
Director: Bud Friedgen, Michael J. Sheridan Cast: June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Howard Keel, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller, Esther Williams, Joan McCracken, Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Ray Bolger, Jeanette MacDonald
This third version of "That's Entertainment" is every bit as good as the previous ones. This time, out-takes are included in the film clips of M.G.M. classics from 1929 to 1954.
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To Be or Not to Be 1942 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman, Tom Dugan, Miles Mander, Tom Dugan
Shakespearean actors Joseph and Maria (Jack Benny and Carole Lombard) help the Polish underground aid families of escaped Polish aviators. This was Carole Lombard's last film.
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Without Reservations 1946 N/R, 107 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, Don DeFore, Anne Triola, Phil Brown, Frank Puglia, Thurston Hall, Dona Drake, Cary Grant, Jack Benny
Kit (Claudette Colbert) is an authoress looking for a man to play the leading role in the film version of her book when she meets returning World War II soldiers on a train and is determined to turn one of them (John Wayne) into the needed actor.
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| 1. Artists and Models (1937)
2. Artists and Models Abroad (1938)
3. Beau James (1957)
4. The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936)
5. Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)
6. Charley's Aunt (1941)
7. George Washington Slept Here (1942)
8. The Great Lover (1949)
9. Gypsy (1962)
10. Hollywood Canteen (1944)
11. The Hollywood Review of 1929 (1929)
12. The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
13. The Man (1972)
14. The Medicine Man (1930)
15. That's Entertainment!, Part III (1994)
16. To Be or Not to Be (1942)
17. The Unknown Marx Brothers (1993)
18. Without Reservations (1946)
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