Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Rewind: Mini-Episode #13: "Being There" & "The Mortal Storm"

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

In this series of topic-focused mini-episodes, Gilbert and Frank share their love of unheralded films, underrated TV shows, underappreciated pop songs and (often) unknown performers, discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures.  This week: Peter Sellers get robbed! Marcus Welby joins the Nazi party! And the tortured genius of Hal Ashby! https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/mini-ep-13-being-there-mortal-storm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And this is Gilbert and Frank's amazing colossal obsessions. I almost said colossal. And where we, whatever. We pick movies that you might be interested. Or might not have seen or might not know about her that flew under the radar. I guess I'm going to go first this week since you went first last week. And we've gone completely out of order, but who's paying attention? Another film from 1979, a year that I'm currently obsessed with that I want to talk about.

is a film made involving three, it was made by, and involving three tortured geniuses. The film is called Being There. Oh, yes. It's not exactly an obscure movie, but it was made, like I said, in the 70s. It's based on a novel by a guy named Jersey Kaczynski, who was a fascinating character,

who was a Holocaust survivor. He wound up committing suicide. I know that'll set you up for a bit. He died at 57. He was a fascinating guy. look him up. Yeah, he also wrote, and that was made into a movie with William Hickey, or Bill Hickey. Which one?

He wrote the painted bird, pinball. Oh, what was it where the lead characters like an astronaut or something? I have to get our crack research team on that one. Yeah. But an interesting man who came to a sad end, and this is, this movie is based on his book. It's a satire, a political satire of sorts, about how would you describe this plot? It's about a simpleton who is mistaken for a sage. He's a gardener who's been living in a mansion, who's been living a protected life, and has been sheltered away as a recluse. And just watching TV is only

connection. Yeah, and I mean, that's where the satire comes in. I mean, it's a political satire. It works on many levels. Part of it is a satire of television culture, of people who, uninformed people who only get their knowledge from pop culture. Like us. It's a wonderful, a smart movie directed by Trouble Genius Number Two, the great Hal Ashby. Oh, yes. And if you don't know about Hal Ashby, Google him. Another guy who died young at 59, burned out from drug use, directed many, many great American films.

The Landlord, Shampoo, Bound for Glory, the Last. detail. A little obscure picture called Harold and Maud. A terrific... I'm sure I'm leaving one or two out. A terrific director. And the third torture genius, of course, is Peter Sellers. Oh, yeah. Who died the youngest age of all three of them at 55? It's his last great role. He made... Sadly, it was not the film that he went out on.

He went out on the fiendish plot of Foumanchu. Oh, yeah. A year later. And I think that was also an embarrassment. Wasn't Sid Caesar in that? I think he was. Yeah, so I said and to two geniuses. Yeah, I think he was.

Being there was a departure for Sellers. I mean, it's not a broad comic role. Not a, not a... Well, Peter Sellers said, and you could see it in the performance, that he based a lot of it on Stan Laurel. That's right. That's right. I'd forgotten that.

Yeah. Yeah. So what the hell do I need you for? Once again, once again, I say, please, dear God, get me a new co-host. He doesn't know shit. Get me a new co-host. He won a slew of awards for this. National Board of Review, London Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Circle.

He won a Golden Globe. He was not an actor who was really considered a serious, dramatic actor. No. He was considered a comedian who dressed up and put on prosthetics and known for the Panther films, mostly to American audiences. Prostatics are what you wear when you don't want to get the girl pregnant? Exactly. Yeah, okay. And Shirley McLean's in it.

Melvin Douglas is in it. Richard Dysart, who just passed away. Yes. Yeah. Oh, this is the most important thing that you'll tell our audience. Melvin Douglas was a Jew. Really? And Peter Sellers was.

a Jew. That is correct. Yes. That is correct. See that much I knew. Peter Sellers and Melvin Douglas were Jews. Now Melvin Douglas played an anti-Semitic, played an anti-Semitic, he was anti-Semitic in the movie. He played an anti-Semite in I Never Sang for My Father. Oh, sure, with Gene Hackman. Yes. Right. That's right. That's right. We talked about that. And the last member of the cast I'll mention is your old co-star from Problem Child, Jack Warden. Oh, he was great. He plays the U.S. President. He was terrific.

He was Jewish and Irish, Jack Ward. But not an anti-Semite. Not an anti-Semite to the best part of those famous Jewish. Ben Gurian. Really? Really hated the Jews. You know that. That is a scoop.

So I don't want to say too much about it. Netanyahu. If you talk to him off camera, He goes, man, those Jews. Boy, they get off my nerves. He hates the Jews. You're sure you're not thinking of a current fall time? So I don't want to say too much about being there because it's really a surprise film.

Simon Wiesenthal. Really? Hated the Jews. Oh, no shit. Are you going to use that as a segue? Oh, yes. Anyway, being there, 1979, Peter Sellers, a wonderful film. He lost the best actor to Dustin Hoffman. Kramer versus Kramer, which made me sad at the time.

But it's a terrific film. It's a sweet film, one of Ashby's best. It might be Ashby's last great film. Check it out. And I remember Jersey Kaczynski, well, he did that one with William Hickey, which was a television movie. William Hickey, I think, of Pritzie's Honor. Yeah, and I worked with him on wings. Oh, that's right.

That's right. And he also did a movie. where the lead, a famous book of his, where the lead character's Billy Pilgrim. And it's, I remember, he's a guy who's travels back and forth in time.

You're talking about the Vonnegut story? Yeah. Oh, this is the Vonnegut story. The guy should go fuck myself. That's okay. Let me go fuck myself. That's the Vonnegut story. I'll go fuck myself.

That's okay. Why don't you tell us? I'm going to, can you, can, what? Oh, okay. What's your movie? Since we're talking about Jews and I can never go like one episode without talking about films with Nazis. Right. Those are the, those are the Uber motifs of this podcast.

Giant celebrity schlongs and Nazis. So this is an odd film. Some people didn't like it. But I was fascinated, especially because it was made like I think in 1940 when America wasn't going to go into World War II. And this was called The Mortal Storm. And it starred Jimmy Stewart. I know this one. And they're just, and it's about the Hitler coming into power.

And also in it is. Frank Morgan, best known as The Wizard of Oz, and Robert Stack and Robert Young. A young Robert Stack. Yes, a young Robert Stack and a young Robert Young, who would later be Marcus Welby. And Father knows best. Yes. Right, right. And it deals with the whole what's happening and how Hitler's coming to power.

Frank Morgan is described in the film as a non-Aryan. Uh-huh. Yeah, they don't want to say Jew back then. And Frank Morgan, an Irishman. Yes, yes. So Irish. He's the Wizard of Oz, folks, for those of you that don't. See, because Milo O'Shea wasn't available.

And Barnard Hughes was out of town. Barry Fitzgerald wanted too much money. It's hilarious. And so he plays a non-Aryan. Oh, yes. Yeah. That's how it's described in the film. Yeah.

And they have to, uh, uh, Jimmy Stewart and, oh, what's the actress playing his wife? Give me a hint. What was she in? Oh, God. I forget her name. Okay. We'll get a cry. We got a crack's theme.

The Mortal Storm. Was it Marino Haram? Marino Sullivan. Another Jew. Yeah. She was, yes. Ha, ha, ha. The Mortal Storm.

I haven't seen it in many, many years, and I probably didn't see it all the way through. Margaret Sullivan. Margaret Sullivan. And it's a pretty fascinating film. The Mortal Storm. Yes. Okay. And yeah.

And it shows that Robert Stack, no, well, both of them, but Robert Young is the one who decides to follow the teachings of him. Hitler and his back and forth. I found it really interesting, especially because it was pre-World War II. And what is Stewart's character? Oh, Stuart, he's the lead, and he and Margaret Sullivan are trying to escape to Austria, because I guess back then, Austria, the Nazis weren't in or something. and yeah, so it's, yeah, that one I recommend. I'd like to keep a running total of how many Nazi films you've endorsed on the short.

Oh, I've got more. I've got more. So this week, being there, directed by Hal Ashby, with the great Peter Sellers and The Mortal Storm. Yes. Anything else? When I hear that title, I think of Morty Storm. You're in comic. Oh, yeah.

You want to hear a sad story. I heard. Do we have time for a story? Okay. Quick. I heard if someone told me that they brought in Morty's Storm. Yeah. Oh, is this a Letterman story?

Yes. Yeah, tell it. And they wanted to come up with a character, much like Larry Bud Melman, a recurring character that they call the worst comic in the world, the worst comedian in the world. And he would every now and then go,

ladies and gentlemen, worst comedian in the world, they'd come out, say a bunch of dumb jokes, and go off stage. And they asked Morty's storm about this. And he jumped up and said, fuck you.

You want the worst comedian in the world? Get Freddie Roman. Maybe we can't use that. Okay. It's interesting. So, we were talking about Morty Storm. Who cut it off this before you got to the story. That was the version of the mortal storm that Jerry Lewis starred in.

Hi, it's the Morty Storm. Oh, hi. I'm always the person with the thing. Oh, hi.