That Guy Dick Miller

Elijah Drenner's (AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE) movie is like a love letter to famed character actor Dick Miller. Seeing it a year after Miller's passing gives it even more poignancy. Miller racked up almost 200 film and TV credits over his six decade career, but, with rare exceptions early on, they were mostly in supporting and bit roles. Miller's ability to make his few minutes on screen memorable was both a blessing and a curse. His career sustained for all those years, but, it he relegated to the background. At one point, Miller is quoted as giving a backhand compliment to a "nice small" role. Emphasis on small. Miller reveals that at a low-point, he earned all of $1,500 one year. Even in the 60s, hardly a livable salary. Miller is extensively interviewed and doesn't reveal much bitterness, and seemed accepting of his lot in Hollywood. His co-star, literally, is his wife Lanie Halpern Miller. An actress herself, Lanie gives as good as she gets (she is still alive). Roger Corman testifies for Miller, and other interview subjects include filmmakers like Joe Dante, Jonathan Kaplan, Jack Hill, Jon Davison and Fred Dekker and they relate stories of how Miller always made his scenes (or scene, singular) count. Fellow actors Mary Woronov, Belinda Balaski, Corey Feldman, Robert Forster (who talks about being another "that guy" type) and others give insights from the in front of the camera POV. Miller's brothers, Leonard Maltin, Larry Karaszewski, Michael Schlesinger, Chris Walas and more provide additional commentary. Drenner's movie isn't a formal investigative Doc as such (Miller's wife is a co-producer), but it does highlight a lesser known aspect of Miller's career - that of a writer. Indeed, Miller intended writing to be his calling card with Corman, but, sort of 'fell' into acting. Still, Miller did get a few scripts produced including an ill-fated collaboration with Jerry Lewis (WHICH WAY TO THE FRONT). His script was drastically re-written and Miller had to fight to get a credit. Even though I know quite a few of the people interviewed here, I only got to personally meet Miller once - at a party at Director Fred Olen Ray's house (Ray is interviewed). When that door opened and in walked Miller, it definitely was...Look! It's THAT GUY DICK MILLER! RIP

Although it kind of meanders a bit and goes off on tangents, this is still a solid look at an actor everyone knows but might not be able to name. Nice to see the underdog/character actor getting some love, especially since Dick Miller was the best of the best!

Like the title of this documentary picks up on, Dick Miller is an actor that loads of people say 'hey it's that guy, from…something else'. Most people don't know his name but sure as hell know his face. That's because he appeared in loads and loads of films, mostly in smaller parts and tended to make an impression because he was always good value. Well, the good news is that now we have this film, so no one has any excuse for not knowing what this guy's name is again!

Miller started out acting for Roger Corman in the 50's, starring in cult classics like A Bucket of Blood, he carried on appearing in an array of exploitation flicks throughout the 70's, hit the mainstream in the 80's in the films of Joe Dante and has continued knocking them out until the present day. This good natured documentary recounts Miller's career and includes lots of clips from the films he starred in. It also focuses on the many people he worked with too. The clips are a lot of fun and showcase the variety of flicks Miller was involved in, his body of work is bound to include a several films you will have seen before and it certainly will also have a few you haven't even heard of. Miller himself is a great guy and someone who is a lot of fun to spend a little time with, he is accompanied mostly by his long term wife Lainie Miller, who I was shocked to discover played the stunningly gorgeous stripper in The Graduate…oh yes indeed. On top of this we have several contributions from an array of other folks such as Corey Feldman, Fred Olen Ray and Mary Woronov, amongst many others. Overall, this is a fun, charming film biography. Even if you don't know much about Dick himself, give it a whirl anyway, you'll have a good time. Who's that guy? It's Dick Miller of course.

Love for acting, love of life, and love for a beautiful, devoted partner. Dick's got it all, and this well-crafted documentary is a labor of love, too, having taken 3 years to complete. I saw it this evening in Toronto (Lainie Miller's hometown) with the Millers in attendance. If you have seen much of his work, you'll still be charmed by the lesser-know movies and TV appearances, all delivered with equal enthusiasm and panache by one of the greatest character actors ever. Lainie's contributions are not ignored, as she did acting and day jobs to support their family in dry spells. I had honestly not known she played the sexy stripper in The Graduate!

The film is also a pretty inclusive history of American B-movies, beginning with Roger Corman's initial run in the 50's, through New World and Joe Dante's films. Anyone with a love of this kind of movie-making will not be disappointed. Mrs. Miller produced the film and told us the upcoming DVD release (May 15) will have much more material, so put it on your shopping list.

THAT GUY DICK MILLER is a fitting career retrospective for long-term cult actor Dick Miller, who incredibly made his first movie in 1955 and hasn't looked back since. I've long been a fan of Miller and have seen him in plenty of classics like A BUCKET OF BLOOD, PIRANHA, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, THE TERMINATOR, plus all of those Joe Dante extravaganzas, so this was a case of 'filling in the blanks' for me.

What's most surprised about this documentary is how professional it looks for a film funded on Kickstarter. There's nary a slow moment as the film starts at the outset of Miller's career and goes through to the present day. The candid shots of an impossibly old Miller at home with his still beautiful wife and dog are wonderfully interspersed with clips illustrating his various movies: war films, westerns, horror flicks, comedies, sexploitation movies, they're all featured here. There's also a wealth of interview footage with famous faces who have worked with Miller, including a sprightly Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and many more, plus humour in spades. THAT GUY DICK MILLER is a fitting celebration of one of the screen's most underrated talents.