A daredevil in New York
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A daredevil in New York |
| Original title | My Favorite Year |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1982 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Benjamin |
| script |
Norman Steinberg , Dennis Palumbo |
| production |
Michael Gruskoff , Joel Chernoff |
| music | Ralph Burns |
| camera | Gerald Hirschfeld |
| cut | Richard Chew |
| occupation | |
| |
A Daredevil in New York (Original title: My Favorite Year ) is an American comedy film from 1982.
action
In the early days of television in the 1950s, Benjy Stone worked as a gag writer for Stan Kaiser’s show. The well-known cinema actor Alan Swann is to appear as a guest star, but behind the scenes he turns out to be a roaring drunkard. Kaiser wants to throw Swann out of the show, but Benjy promises to get the star sober and clean in front of the camera within a week.
Benyi comes into contact with Swann. They both find out that they are hiding their families from the public. In Benjy's case, it's his Jewish mother, Belle, who married a Filipino boxer. The family also includes his rude uncle Morty. Swann hides the fact that he has a daughter, Tess, who is raised by one of his many ex-wives.
Kaiser is facing increasing problems. The corrupt union boss Rojeck resents the fact that Kaiser is constantly targeting him in his skits. Accidents increase during rehearsals. On the side, Benjy tries, with Swann's help, to arouse the attention of his colleague K. C. Downing. As the show is about to begin, Swann has a panic attack when he realizes that millions of viewers will see him live. In his films he usually takes several tries for a scene. Swann gets drunk, but he faces an angry Benjy, who always saw him as a movie hero.
At this point, Rojeck's men come on the show and hit Kaiser. The audience thinks they are seeing a new sketch. Swann, dressed as a musketeer for a later sketch, grabs a rope and swings between the men. In front of the astonished audience, he brings Kaiser to safety from the equally astonished thugs. Swann is now full of confidence and intends to visit his daughter the next day.
background
The film premiered on October 1, 1983. In Germany, the film was shown for the first time on October 23, 1987 as part of a television premiere on ARD .
The script draws parallels to the experiences of Mel Brooks , the film's co-producer, who worked as a gag writer for Sid Caesar . The character of Alan Swann refers to the guest star at the time Errol Flynn , who had already reached the zenith of his successful career in the early 1950s and was a womanizer and alcoholic. He died in 1959 of the consequences of his lifestyle.
For director Richard Benjamin it was the directorial debut.
The film served as the basis for a Broadway musical of the same name, which premiered on December 10, 1992 and ran over 36 screenings. Lainie Kazan played her film role in the musical and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical in 1993. Tim Curry , in the musical role of Alan Swann, also received a nomination for Best Actor.
Reviews
The lexicon of international film writes about the film: “A moderately amusing film tailored entirely to Peter O'Toole, full of trite booze and beating gags; the chance to satire on the American entertainment industry is completely wasted. "
Variety described the comedy as an enjoyable romp with an exuberant cast.
Awards
In 1983 Peter O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor . There was also a nomination for the Golden Globe . There the film was nominated for Best Picture and Lainie Kazan for Best Supporting Actress. The screenwriters Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo received another nomination for the WGA Award from the Writers Guild of America .
The film received two prizes, firstly the Golden Ribbon of the Motion Picture Sound Editors for dialogue editing, and secondly the Sant Jordi Award for Peter O'Toole in the category of best foreign actor.
Web links
- My Favorite Year in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A daredevil in New York. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 10, 2019 .
- ↑ See My Favorite Year . In: Variety , 1982.