Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #13: Being There & Mortal Storm

Episode Date: June 11, 2015

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- 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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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a Michelin star. With Golden Globe and Emmy wins, the show starring Jeremy Allen White, Io Debrey, and Maddie Matheson is ready to heat up screens once again all new episodes of fx's the bear are streaming june 27 only on disney plus Hi, I'm Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions. I almost said colossal. Uh-huh.

And where we, uh, whateveral obsessions. I almost said colossal. And where we, whatever. We pick movies that you might be interested in. Or might not have seen, or might not know about, or 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 Jerzy 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 or Bill Hickey. Which one? He wrote The Painted Bird, Pinball. Oh, what was it? Where the lead character's like an astronaut or something? We'll have to get our crack research team on that one. Yeah. But an interesting man who came to a sad end, and 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 his 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, smart movie directed by Tr 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 Maude, 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 Fu Manchu. 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 uh being there was a departure for for Sellers I mean is it not a broad comic role not not a not a well uh 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 did. And known for the Panther films. Mostly to American audiences. Prosthetics are what you wear when you don't want to get the girl pregnant. Exactly. Yeah, okay.

And Shirley MacLaine's in it. Melvin Douglas is in it. Richard Dysart, who just passed away. Yes. Yeah. Oh, this is the most important thing that we'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-Semite, an anti-Semitic.

He was anti-Semitic in the movie. anti-Semite, an anti-Semitic. He was anti-Semitic in the movie. He played an anti-Semite in I Never Sang for My Father. Sure, with Gene Hackman. Yes. Right, that's right. But he was a Jew. 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. Plays the U.S. President. He was terrific. He was Jewish and Irish, Jack Warden. But not an anti-Semite. 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 anti-Semites. Ben Gurion.

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 sure you're not thinking of Kurt Ball time? So I don't want to say too much about being there because it's really a surprise film. Simon Wiesenthal 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 for Kramer vs. 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 Pritzy'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 is Billy Pilgrim. And it's, I remember, he's a guy's travels back and forth in time. You're talking about the Vonnegut story? Yeah.

Oh, this is the Vonnegut story. The Billy Pilgrim. I should go fuck myself. That's okay. Let me go fuck myself. That's the Vonnegut story. I'll go fuck myself. Why don't you tell us?

I'm going to. Can you? What? Oh, okay. What's your movie? I'm going to, can you, 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 uber motifs of this podcast. Giant celebrity schlongs and Nazis. Yes. So this is an odd film. some people didn't like it uh but i was fascinated especially because it was made like i think in 1940 when 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 it's about Hitler coming into power, and also in it is, well, 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. What's happening and how Hitler's coming to power. Frank Morgan is described in the film as a non-Aryan. Yeah, they don't want to say Jew back then. And Frank Morgan, an Irishman.

Yes. So Irish. And 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. Hilarious. And so he plays a non-Aryan.

Oh, yes. Yeah, that's how it's described in the film. And they have to, 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. I've gone senile. We'll get our cracks themed.

The Mortal Storm. Was it Marino Harrow or Marino Sullivan? Another Jew. Yeah. Marino Sullivan. Yes. The Mortal Storm. Yeah. Rita Sullivan. Yes. The Mortal Storm. Yes.

I haven't seen it in many, many years, and I probably didn't see it all the way through. Margaret Sullivan. Margaret Sullivan. Margaret Sullivan. Right. 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 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? especially because it was pre-World War II. And what is Stewart's character?

Oh, Stewart, 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. 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 would come. Oh, yeah. You want to hear a sad story now i heard do we have time for a story okay quick i i heard if uh someone told me that they brought in uh uh morty storm yeah um oh is this a letterman story yes yeah tell it yes 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. Right. Come out, say a bunch of dumb jokes and go off stage. And they asked Morty Storm about this. I know this story. 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. Because Freddie Roman is listening. So we were talking about Morty Storm. We'll cut it off before you got to the story. That was the version of the mortal storm that Jerry Lewis starred in.

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