In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.
When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!
At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his intention is to evict the black tenants and convert the building into a posh flat. But Elgar is not one to be bound by yesterday's urges, and soon he has other thoughts on his mind.
In this musical set in an all-Black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War.
A contemporary remake of "Cinderella"
Ben and Beatrice Chambers discover that their son Norman is gay and so Ben is intent on setting him right.
Peter Gunn, a connoisseur of beautiful women and cool jazz, is an ex-cop turned private eye who's caught in the middle of a dangerous gang war.
An ambitious farm girl rushes into marriage with a rich man, almost destroying four lives in the process.
Dozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (a show-business charity) are woven into a framework about two hopeful young ladies who come to Hollywood, exchange identities, and cause comic confusion (with slapstick interludes) throughout the Paramount studio.
When Larry Larkin's comic strip needs some freshening up, he calls in ghost-writer Francis X. Dignan to help him with the strip. Things get complicated when Francis rekindles his love for his ex-wife, who happens to be Larkin's secretary and soon-to-be wife.
Three sisters find romance in post-Civil War Indiana.
With the clock ticking and the body count rising, Homicide Detective Timothy Reynolds reluctantly volunteers to assist his former partner, Detective Alan Fryer, with the investigation to a slew of grisly murders left behind by a mission orientated killer during the Christmas holidays.
When Tubby the Tuba sets out to find a melody all of his own, his journey results in this enchanting and exciting musical tale. Tubby joins the circus and striving to be part of an orchestra, he travels to the Singing City where along the way he encounters many wonderful characters.
From those early days of black and white with Ed Ames' memorable Tomahawk toss, to Tiny Tim's Technicolor wedding, to Letterman and Leno's stand-up debuts; the first decade of The Tonight Show was filled with once-in-a-lifetime classic TV moments. This volume includes: Pearl Baily, Buddy Hackett, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Flip Wilson, Don Rickles, Dolly Parton and more!
12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams dreams of going away with her brother and his bride-to-be on their upcoming honeymoon. [Taped live in performance at the James K. Polk Theater, Nashville.]
Former Disney child star Hayley Mills returns to the Walt Disney Studio for a look at the techniques of animated film production, with various veteran Disney animators illustrating said techniques.
Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in with his intimate, laid-back voice and innate charm. Narrated by Stanley Tucci and directed by Robert Trachtenberg, this film explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a personality far more complex than the image the public had only thought they'd known.
Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and historians discuss the image of black America on television from Amos and Andy to the present day. The interviews accompany clips from groundbreaking shows and performances by entertainment pioneers that create a timeline of the portrayal of African Americans throughout TV history.
Will Handy grows up in Memphis with his preacher father and his Aunt Hagar. His father intends for him to use his musical gifts only in church, but he can't stay away from the music of the streets and workers. After he writes a theme song for a local politician, Gogo, a speakeasy singer, convinces Will to be her accompanist. Will is estranged from his father for many years while he writes and publishes many blues songs. At last the family is reunited when Gogo brings them to New York to see Will's music played by a symphony orchestra.
Combining rare original archive footage, home movies and authored by 40 intimate interviews with friends and celebrity fans this feature length film charts Nat "King" Cole's battle with racist 50’s America to become a superstar. An intimate portrait, it’s filled with music and accompanied the release of the album of the same name.
Relive the dazzling show stopping songs, dances and production numbers from some of your favorite Broadway musicals. Great Broadway Musical Moments from The Ed Sullivan Show brings you legendary musical entertainment performed by a galaxy of great Broadway stars like Ethel Merman in "Annie Get Your Gun," John Raitt in "Oklahoma!," Julie Andrews in "Camelot," and more! This exciting event includes exclusive interviews with legends Shirley Jones, Joel Grey, and Rex Reed.
"On Broadway" featured Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey, both red hot after their respective runs in the smash hit "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway. The special was filmed on the stage of the Wintergarden Theater in New York and originally aired on ABC in 1969. Together the theatrical legends playfully perform some of their most popular hits, including 'A Little Girl from Little Rock,' 'Little Green Apples,' 'If My Friends Could See Me Now,' and 'Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey.' Next, they perform an assortment of familiar showtunes including hits from "Guys and Dolls," "The Music Man," "Hello, Dolly!," and "Fiddler on the Roof." "On Broadway" is an entertaining step back in time.
A look at the making of the classic 1981 Disney film that saw the transition from Disney's Nine Old Men to the new guard who would usher in the Disney Renaissance.
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Musical comedy stars of the past and present bridge the musical generation gap as they perform their particular specialties and re-create some memorable moments in show business. Highlights include Broadway's two great "Dollies", Pearl Bailey and Carol Channing, performing the top songs from "Hello Dolly!"; Patti Andrews of the Andrews Sisters joining the Pointer Sisters in the runaway hit of 1937, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon"; the musical blending of the Mills Brothers and the Jackson Five.