Side by Side

Today was a boring cloudy day, and I just happened to see this gem on AMC TV. Three retired men convince their bank to finance a dream of theirs for a sports shop selling articles for adults. What a laugh riot it was for me to enjoy my old favorites Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Danny Thomas, and Morey Amsterdam. Even Marjorie Lord was in it. I had seen Berle and Caesar before but did not know they had made this film as one of their last. They have left us a fine film legacy. 6/10

"Side by Side" is a very enjoyable TV movie made with three of the biggest names in early TV in the U.S. The plot and script are quite good, and the acting is wonderful. The supporting cast does a great job as well.

If you're a modern-day film buff, be forewarned that this is not an adrenalin charging movie. Rather, its "action" is very slow, purposeful and amusing. Older folks (those of us who watched these TV icons in the 1950s and later) should enjoy this film. And anyone who just likes a good story about people should enjoy "Side by Side."

In their early TV days, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Danny Thomas were great comedians. Berle and Caesar could be saucy for their time, but they were never vulgar. Their shows and brand of humor was clean and decent, and they could bring uproarious laughter out of everyday situations. These three performers all have had long lives. In 1988 when this TV movie was made, Berle was the oldest at 80. Thomas was 76 and Caesar was 66. Berle lived to 96, Thomas to 79 and Sid Caesar is still alive at 91 at the time of my writing this review in February 2014.

This film united for the first time Mr. Television, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, and Danny Thomas. They play three men who retired from the garment district who decide to make a line of sports clothes with senior citizens in mind. The three leads are all uniformly great. It was strange to see Thomas' TV wife Marjorie Lord as Caesar's wife, but it was great to see her and Thomas on the TV screen together again. Also there's Morey Ansterdam as their friend who runs the neighborhood deli, at one point he brings out his cello and plays, just like on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

An interesting footnote to this film, is the Summer after it premired on CBS, Berle, Thomas, and Caesar went on tour together. I saw them in Atlantic City and they were great. I'm glad I got to see these three giants together in person, but if this film shows up on some cable station, watch it, it's a lot of fun.

I purchased this on DVD a few years ago, with the film _How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000)_ (qv) was on the other side of the DVD. One of the things I liked about "Side by Side" was that it was funny, with the old fogeys poking fun at themselves and each other, and the main bit that really surprised me was the believability that two of the characters, Abe Mercer (Milton Berle) and Frances Mercer (Edith Fields) made you honestly believe that they could be married in real-life as well as being on-screen spouses. I particularly liked it when they tried to speak Russian (very badly!) to fool a news guy into thinking they were really Russian.