| Your Show of Shows: A Laugh-Out-Loud
Weekend with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner
This
is an Egyptian Theatre Exclusive!
In the early 1950s, NBC's variety show YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS provided Americans with a weekly
dose of top-notch comedy and music, courtesy of Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and a group of
spectacular featured performers. The program also showcased the early work of some of the
best comedy writers in the business, including Neil Simon, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, who
would later re-create his experiences with his own "The Dick Van Dyke Show". The
Cinematheque is proud to present a selection of YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS sketches as well
as films inspired by the series (MY FAVORITE YEAR) and written and directed by its
most beloved artists, Carl Reiner (ENTER LAUGHING, THE JERK, DEAD MEN
DON'T WEAR PLAID, THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS) and Mel Brooks (BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG
FRANKENSTEIN, SILENT MOVIE, HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1).
Thursday, July 22 - 7:30 PM
MY FAVORITE YEAR, 1982, Warner Bros., 92 min.
Dir. Richard Benjamin. Mark Linn-Baker stars as Benjy Stone, junior writer on a 1950s TV
comedy-variety series who is assigned to keep alcoholic matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter
O'Toole) out of trouble during rehearsals and deliver him sober to the performance. Trailer
HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART I, 1981, 20th
Century Fox, 92 min. Mel Brooks is at his most inventive in this collection of sketches
that provides a comedic survey of man's past, including the inquisition (which provides
the basis for one of the funniest production numbers of the director's career) and the
stone age. Orson Welles narrates this parody of sweeping Hollywood epics, and the cast is
comprised of comedy legends: Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman,
Sid Caesar, and Henny Youngman, among others. Trailer | Discussion between films with Richard Benjamin. | Buy
Tickets
Friday, July 23 - 7:30 PM SOLD OUT
Double Feature: 10 FROM YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, 1973, 92 min.,
Dir. Max Liebman. A compilation of sketches from the comedy-variety series starring Sid
Caesar telecast live on the NBC television network from 1950 to 1954.
ENTER LAUGHING, 1967, Sony Repertory, 112 min. Dir.
Carl Reiner. Reni Santoni plays a young Jewish man who dreams of becoming a comedian
during the Depression. His parents think working in the family drugstore is a safer bet.
The supporting cast includes Shelley Winters, Elaine May, Jose Ferrer, Jack Gilford, Janet
Margolin and Michael J. Pollard. Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner in
person between films. | Buy
Tickets
Saturday, July 24 - 7:30 PM
Double Feature: THE
JERK, 1979, Universal, 94 min. Dir. Carl Reiner. Steve Martin plays the lovable
idiot Navin R. Johnson, who leaves his poor black family behind to see the world.
Bernadette Peters sings, dances, throws knives and plays the trumpet while M. Emmet Walsh
shoots and curses his way into film history. Trailer
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID, 1982, Universal, 88 min.
Dir. Carl Reiner. Steve Martin is a private eye who interacts with Humphrey Bogart,
Barbara Stanwyck and Alan Ladd thanks to gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and some
extremely creative editing. Discussion between films with Carl
Reiner. Trailer |
| Buy
Tickets
Sunday, July 25 - 7:30 PM
Walk of Fame 50th Anniversary! Double
Feature: BLAZING
SADDLES, 1974, Warner Bros., 93 min. Director Mel Brooks’ third film as
director took his politically-incorrect humor (with a screenplay co-written by Richard
Pryor) to new levels of hilarity. A corrupt politician appoints a black sheriff to cause
havoc in a Western town, but is surprised when the new lawman (Cleavon Little) becomes a
force to be reckoned with. With Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman. Trailer
SILENT MOVIE, 1976, 20th Century Fox, 87 min.
Director Mel Brooks plays a washed-up film director who sees a new silent film production
as the way to save both his career and Hollywood, and he enlists the aid of pals Dom
DeLuise and Marty Feldman. Discussion between films with Mel
Brooks. Trailer
| Buy
Tickets
Wednesday, July 28 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, 1974, 20th Century Fox, 105 min.
Dir. Mel Brooks. Gene Wilder (who co-wrote the script) stars as Dr. Frankenstein
struggling to breathe life into tap-dancing monster Peter Boyle, with help from hunchback
assistant Marty Feldman, lusty Teri Garr, neurotic Madeline Kahn and Frau Blucher herself,
Cloris Leachman. Trailer
| Buy
Tickets
THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, 1983, Warner Bros.,
93 min. Dir. Carl Reiner. Brain surgeon Steve Martin is saddled with a horrible wife
(Kathleen Turner), until he comes up with the perfect solution: transplanting the brain of
a sweet, romantic woman into his nasty spouse’s gorgeous body. Trailer | Buy
Tickets |
