the omega/london connection

the year: 1979
the genre: suspense...er, comedy
the cast: Jeffrey Byron (Luther Starling); Larry Cedar (Roger Pike); Frank Windsor (McGuffin)

the plot: An exciting adventure begins for a young American government agent when he witnesses the kidnapping of a noted European scientist in London. The only item left behind is a gold ring, inscribed with an address, that leads the agent into a massive conspiracy of international proportions. A baffling series of clues and a high-speed boat chase in the Port Of London add up to a superlative Disney mystery thriller!

Laney can probably vouch for the fact that this movie is a little corny...I mean, it's a DISNEY spy movie. Regardless, this was one of our favorites growing up - and always on the summer afternoon/green bean snapping list. This is definitely a hard-to-find gem...as evidenced by the fact that I could only find one - yes, one - pic related to this movie on the internet. But don't let that fool you. This is good clean fun...



count: how many vehicles the Scotland Yard detectives lose.

listen for: "I once had a cat named Luther!"

don't miss: the great ball bearing escape. And the cross-dressing escape.

also don't miss: the hot air balloon, the motorboat, the motorcycle with sidecar, the oceanliner, the tank...

Here's the opening scene - tell me this isn't the grooviest 70s spy movie music you've ever heard:

herbie goes to monte carlo

the year: 1977

the genre: comedy


the cast: Dean Jones (Jim Douglas); Don Knotts (Wheely Applegate); Julie Sommars (Diane Darcy); Jacques Marin (Inspector Bouchet)


the plot: Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally. Unbeknownst to Herbie's driver, thieves have hidden a stolen diamond in Herbie's gas tank, and are now trying to get it back.



don't miss: the bumbling henchmen Max and Quincy.



listen for: "You would not believe this. I would not believe this. No one would believe this."


extra bonus points: if you know what kind of car Herbie falls in love with.


did you know: At the time of the movie release, Baskin Robbins did a promotional ice cream flavor tie in called "Monte Carlo Crunch".

murder by death

the year: 1976

the genre: comedy


the cast: Eileen Brennan (Tess Skeffington); Truman Capote (Lionel Twain); James Coco (Milo Perrier); Peter Falk (Sam Diamond); Alec Guinness (Bensonmum); Elsa Lanchester (Jessica Marbles); David Niven (Dick Charleston); Peter Sellers (Sidney Wang); Maggie Smith (Dora Charleston); Nancy Walker (the Maid); Estelle Winwood (Nurse Withers); James Cromwell (Marcel); Richard Narita (Willie Wang)


the plot: Millionnaire Lionel Twain invites the five most brilliant private eyes to a dinner - and a murder. Exactly at midnight, a murder is set to take place, and Mr. Twain offers a million dollars to the one who can solve the murder. Will the most brilliant minds of our time be able to see through the elaborate set-up staged by a criminal mastermind?


listen for: "Oh, there. Voice come from cow on wall..." "Moose! MOOSE, you imbecile!"


did you know: the screaming doorbell uses Fay Wray's screams from King Kong.


extra bonus points: if you can name all the "real" fictional detectives that this movie spoofs.


don't miss: two of my favorite scenes here.


also listen for: "I don't hear nothin'. What do you hear?" "Double negative, and dog."

the sting

the year: 1973

the genre: dramedy


the cast: Paul Newman (Henry Gondorff); Robert Redford (Johnny Hooker); Robert Shaw (Doyle Lonnegan); Charles Dunning (Lt. Snyder); Ray Walston (J.J. Singleton); Eileen Crennan (Billie); Harold Gould (Kid Twist); Dana Elcar (FBI Agent Polk)


the plot: Johnny Hooker, a small time grifter, unknowingly steals from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when he pulls a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After his partner, Luther, is killed, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther's contacts, who is a master of the long con.



listen for: "What was I supposed to do - call him for cheating better than me, in front of the others?"


don't miss: the sting.




did you know: Robert Shaw injured his ankle and incorporated the resulting limp into his performance.



extra bonus points: if you know when Robert Redford finally saw this movie.


also listen for: "Sit down and shut up, will ya? Try not to live up to all my expectations."



did you also know: if you listen when Lonnegan (Shaw) first walks into "The Operation", you can hear over the P.A. that one of the horses running is called Steve McQueen.

man of la mancha

the year: 1972

the genre: musical


the cast: Peter O'Toole (Don Quixote de la Mancha / Miguel de Cervantes / Alonso Quijana); Sophia Loren (Dulcinea / Aldonza); James Coco (Sancho Panza / Cervante's manservant)


the plot: In the sixteenth century, Miguel de Cervantes, poet, playwright, and part-time actor, has been arrested, together with his manservant, by the Spanish Inquisition. They are accused of presenting an entertainment offensive to the Inquisition. Inside the huge dungeon into which they have been cast, the other prisoners gang up on Cervantes and his manservant, and begin a mock trial, with the intention of stealing or burning his possessions. Cervantes wishes to desperately save a manuscript he carries with him and stages, with costumes, makeup, and the participation of the other prisoners, an unusual defense--the story of Don Quixote.


don't miss: the great songs. Knight of the Woeful Countenance? A single tear.


listen for: "I can hear the cuckoo singing in the cuckooberry tree." "If he says that that's a helmet, I suggest that you agree."


did you know: Peter O'Toole recorded his vocal tracks for the film, but realized that his own singing voice was not good enough for the requirements of the music, so he assisted in the search for a voice double.



you can watch the movie in parts, starting here.

bedknobs and broomsticks

the year: 1971

the genre: musical


the cast: Angela Lansbury (Miss Price); David Tomlinson (Emelius Browne); Roddy McDowall (Mr. Jelk)


the plot: In August of 1940 in the English village of Pepperinge Eye, three cockney orphans are sent to live with Eglantine Price, who is studying to become an apprentice witch. When she receives a letter from the Correspondence College of Witchcraft in London, she and the children fly on a bed (by way of a magic bedknob) to London to meet the headmaster of the defunct school, Emelius Browne. The adventures begin from there.


don't miss: the soccer match.


extra bonus points: if you know which movie The Beautiful Briny Sea was originally written for.


listen for: "Now, I shall place the framed glass in this brown, unprepared - unprepared mark you ladies and gentlemen - unprepared brown paper bag."


did you know: the armor in the climactic battle with the Nazis was authentic medieval armor, previously used in Camelot and El Cid. When any item of armor was to be destroyed, exact fiberglass replicas were created and used.

fiddler on the roof

the year: 1971

the genre: musical


the cast: Topol (Tevye); Norma Crane (Golde); Leonard Frey (Motel); Molly Picon (Yente); Paul Mann (Lazar Wolf); Rosalind Harris (Tzeitel); Michele marsh (Hodel); Neva Small (Chava)


the plot: Tevye the Milkman is a Jewish peasant in pre-Revolutionary Russia, coping with the day-to-day problems of 'shtetl' life, his Jewish traditions, his family (wife and daughters), and state-sanctioned pogroms.


don't miss: Teyve's dream.



listen for: "Money is the world's curse." "May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover."



did you know: to get the look he wanted for the film, director Norman Jewison told Director of Photography Oswald Morris to shoot the film in an earthy tone. Morris saw a woman wearing brown nylon hosiery, thought "That's the tone we want," asked the woman for the stockings on the spot, and shot the entire film with a stocking over the lens. The weave can be detected in some scenes.


extra bonus points: if you know where Tevye's cart-horse came from.


also listen for: "A blessing for the Tsar? Of course! May God bless and keep the Tsar... far away from us!"


and for your sing-a-long pleasure - all together now: