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Leave It to Beaver producers wanted to focus on the situation, not the comedy, according to Tony Dow, who played big brother Wally on the series. “If any line got too much of a laugh, they’d take it out,” Dow told AARP Magazine, per MeTV. “They didn’t want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles.”

“It's an honest show,” agreed Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver. She told The Ledger-Star that “the situations are taken from real life, and we are not just trying for laughs. The laughs come naturally from the situations.”

“If you watch sitcoms today, a lot of them are what I call ‘joke shows,’ where people have setup, setup, joke,” Jerry “The Beaver” Mathers told For Women First. “And a lot of them really don’t have a lot of substance.”

But his sitcom was never a joke show, Mathers told the Television Academy. “Leave...

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, legendary film critic Pauline Kael grouped together a new generation of filmmakers by calling them The Movie Brats. Her grouping of young and influential filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Brian De Palma would come to define the shift in the movie-making sensibilities of Hollywood and herald the birth of the modern blockbuster with movies like Jaws and The Godfather.

One of the most impactful directors of the Movie Brats generation, Martin Scorsese, has been making complicated and entertaining films for more than 50 years. Many of his movies are considered the best of all time, and his most flawless movies are the ones that are able to beautifully and tragically capture the darkest sides of the human condition.

The Aviator Cemented Scorsese's Relationship With Leonardo DiCaprio

Many of Martin Scorsese's best works are based on real stories about tragic historical figures,...

Martin Scorseses Bringing Out the Dead didnt get the attention it deserved when it was released in 1999, but finally has a second chance. On its 25th anniversary, the underrated feature will get a 4K release paired with exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Based on the best-selling novel by Joe Connelly, the film is semi-autobiographical about the authors time as a New York City paramedic. Directed with the same enthusiasm as Scorseses landmark film Taxi Driver, Bringing Out the Dead tackles similar themes.

Cage has starred in over 100 films, but some like Bringing Out the Dead are overlooked gems. Bringing Out the Dead is a character study of a depressed paramedic, praised by critics. Despite being a box office flop, Cage defends the film as misinterpreted and worth revisiting.

In Nicolas Cage's vast acting career, several great films have been overlooked and underrated. Cage's career has been ongoing for over four decades, since his first role as a side character in the 1982 film Fast Times in Ridgemont High. During this career, Cage appeared or starred in over 100 movies across many genres and franchises. While many of these films are well-liked, several have unfortunately flown under the radar.

With Cage's retirement plan still up in the air, he continues to add to his extensive filmography and star in films into his 60s. Over the years, Cage has also been able to collaborate with many highly-regarded directors.

There’s a muzzle pressed to the back of your head. You’re suddenly forced to name Martin Scorsese’s single most underrated movie in five seconds or less. What is the first thing that comes to mind? Kundun? The Age of Innocence? Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore? Maybe The King of Comedy or After Hours? It’s a tough call, especially since the greatest living American filmmaker is so synonymous with New York crime movies like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Departed, you name it. Speaking of such flicks, one explosive charge in Scorsese’s canon always goes unnoticed, despite sharing an accoladed pedigree with Taxi Driver. That’s right, Scorsese reunited with screenwriter Paul Schrader on the criminally unheralded 1999 bleak, pitch-black crime-comedy Bringing out the Dead. The film marks the only time Scorsese worked with Nicolas Cage, Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew,...

This year we, as horror fans, are going to be gifted with a film from director Oz Perkins. That movie is Longlegs and stars Maika Monroe as well as the fascinating actor Nicolas Cage. As anyone may know, Cage has starred in many different types of films, especially horror, and here, he stars as a serial killer who gives off some very Ghepetto-esque vibes. Regardless, we here at JoBlo will be there opening day for the film. As stated a minute ago, we recognize that Cage is vast in various types of genres…but this wasn’t his first dip in the pool of horror. Today on Horror Revisited, we are exploring Martin Scorsese’s underrated film Bringing Out the Dead (watch it Here), which stars Nicolas Cage in one of his most honest, endearing and albeit best roles. So, turn on the sirens, strap in and let’s tour...

Prolific actor Nicolas Cage and celebrated director Martin Scorsese crossed paths in 1999 with the release of the feature film Bringing Out the Dead. After 25 years, the movie is back in the spotlight with its upcoming release on 4K Ultra HD.

From Paramount Home Media Distribution, Bringing Out the Dead is getting a Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray release on Sept. 17, 2024. While it was the first time Scorsese worked with Cage, it was the fourth collaboration with acclaimed writer Paul Schrader; the two previously made Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. Along with Cage in the lead role, Bringing Out the Dead also stars Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore.

Related A Quiet Place: Day One Director Was Hired Because of a Nicolas Cage Movie

A Quiet Place: Day Onedirector Michael Sarnoski says he was hired because of his debut feature film starring Nicolas Cage.

Martin Scorsese’s one of those rare directors who’ve made so many masterpieces that all too many of his films wind up being underrated just because maybe they don’t quite set the world on fire when they first come out. One such film is Bringing Out the Dead, starring Nicolas Cage as a New York City paramedic on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Hyped as a kind of companion piece to Taxi Driver, with it being written by that film’s Paul Schrader, it was rather coolly received in ’99. Why? Well, let’s not forget that year is one of the strongest in recent memory, and it got a bit overshadowed by movies like Fight Club, Three Kings, Magnolia, The Matrix, Being John Malkovich and a whole bunch of others as far as the cultural zeitgeist went.

However, looking back at the movie twenty-five years later, it...

James Wan developing horror series 1313, a darker reimagining of The Munsters. 1313 may return to original horror tropes, deviating from the original, light concept. Wan and Beer's horror expertise could lead to success of 1313 series.

James Wan is developing a reimagining of a classic 1960s TV series called The Munsters. The Munsters is a monster series about the adventures of a group of friendly monsters as they go on life journeys and try to understand how to fit into society. The series originally ran for two seasons from 1964 to 1966, and featured a leading cast including Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Yvonne De Carlo, Butch Patrick, Pat Priest, Beverley Owen, Chet Stratton, and Edward Mallory.

As per Deadline, Wan is now set to develop an adaptation of The Munsters. This adaptation will take the form of a television series titled 1313, which is in development from Wan and UCP. It will be a...

Quick Links What Is Bringing Out the Dead About? How Was Bringing Out the Dead Overlooked? What Makes Bringing Out the Dead Underrated Today? Why Fans Should Give Bringing Out the Dead Another Chance

Released in October 1999, Martin Scorsese's vastly underrated crime-thriller Bringing Out the Dead also ranks as one of Nicolas Cage's most overlooked movies. While marking the only collaboration between Scorsese and Cage thus far, Bringing Out the Dead reunites the all-world filmmaker with acclaimed screenwriter Paul Schrader 23 years after the two made Taxi Driver. Cut from similar cloth, Bringing Out the Dead follows the nightly duties of Frank Pierce (Cage), an exhausted paramedic haunted by the hellish violence witnessed in New York's Hell's Kitchen.

With Bringing Out the Dead poised to celebrate its 25th anniversary in October 2024, it's only right to reflect on the movie's merits, how it was overlooked at the time of its release,...

Imagine, if you will, a sleepy small town. The people who live there are hard-working, stubborn, and most of all, suspicious of outsiders. Enter one Bob Majors, a newspaperman from New York. Majors is a man of progress and change, but he's about to come up against a social wall the likes of which he's never seen. It's the kind of obstacle that can only be found in ... well, not "The Twilight Zone."

You might have read that description in the voice of famed "Twilight Zone" creator-narrator Rod Serling, but it's actually the premise of a totally different show in which Serling appeared — reportedly in his first non-narrator acting role — for just one episode in the early 1960s. The series was "Ichabod and Me," a poorly-received and short-lived series whose history is chronicled in David C. Tucker's book "Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television." The sitcom...

Nicolas Cage believes that Bringing Out The Dead is one of his best movies and deserves another look. The film was misunderstood and misinterpreted due to its misleading marketing as an action movie, when it was actually a moving character analysis. Despite its poor box office performance, Bringing Out The Dead received favorable reviews and could benefit from a new lease of life.

Nicolas Cage reminisces about his overlooked psychological drama film Bringing Out The Dead. Based on Joe Connelly’s novel of the same name, this Martin Scorsese-directed movie follows Frank Pierce, a burnt-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic who battles depression and insomnia following the stress of constantly rescuing lives and witnessing deaths. Nicolas Cage plays Pierce, and he’s joined by other names like Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore. Following Bringing Out The Dead’s theatrical release in 1999, it only grossed $16.8 million worldwide, against a production budget of $55 million,...

Renewed interest in Nicolas Cage’s career has led to many of the actor’s films being reappraised over the past few years, from ’90s blockbusters to off-the-wall indies. If Cage gets his way, the next film to ascend to classic status could be “Bringing Out the Dead.”

The 1999 film, which marked the final collaboration (to date) between director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader, stars Cage as a paramedic who endures a spiritual crisis when he begins to question the value of his vocation. It’s a quintessential Schrader script, weaving Biblical themes like faith, doubt, death, rebirth, and transcendence together against the secular backdrop of unforgivingly harsh New York streets.

In a new interview with Deadline, Cage opened up about his fondness for the Scorsese movie and the artistic risks it allowed him to take.

“Yeah, I love that movie, and I think it will stand the test of time,...

The National Treasure movies, while preposterous in plot, are actually quite good pieces of escapist entertainment. Who doesn’t want to see Nicolas Cage steal the Declaration of Independence or clear his family’s name of Lincoln’s assassination? Considering that the two movies collectively grossed over $800 million worldwide, it’s surprising that we never got a third entry. And it’s not just us that thinks so, but also Benjamin Franklin Gates himself.

Speaking with Deadline, Nicolas Cage championed the National Treasure movies as plenty of fun but was also blown away that Disney dropped the ball in building the franchise. “I mean, I enjoy them too, and I think Jon Turteltaub made a couple of classic films for the whole family. I’m still kind of amazed that Disney hasn’t wanted to make a third one. I thought the movies brought a lot of joy to the public,...

Where to Watch Powered by Leave It To Beaver was a key influence on The Munsters, with its portrayal of life from a kid's perspective and well-developed characters. The creators and writers of Leave It To Beaver went on to develop and produce The Munsters, drawing on their success and experience. Eddie's character in The Munsters, although an only child, shared similarities with the mischievous yet earnest dynamic of the brothers in Leave It To Beaver.

The Munsters star Butch Patrick reveals another classic sitcom that influenced his role as Eddie. Patrick played the werewolf-like Eddie and the only child of the Munster family in 71 episodes of the classic sitcom that aired from 1964 to 1966. Other than Patrick as Eddie, The Munsters cast and family also included Fred Gwynne as Herman, Yvonne De Carlo as Lily, Al Lewis as Grandpa, and Beverley Owen/Pat Priest as Marilyn.

During a recent interview with Remind Magazine,...

Butch Patrick turns 70 today, but he still exhibits the same youthful exuberance he brought to The Munsters as Eddie Munster from 1964 to 1966. From child actor to the classic series’ de facto delegate, I had the pleasure of speaking with Patrick about his unconventional career, The Munsters‘ legacy, and more at NorthEast Comic Con’s Collectibles Extravaganza.

Patrick stumbled into acting. While accompanying his little sister to a print modeling shoot, the photographer asked to take his photo as well. “He took some pictures of me afterward, and he put one in his window. About a month later, a producer and a director were walking by. They were casting a movie, and they still needed the youngest son of Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt. I wound up getting the movie. It was a great little B-movie called The Two Little Bears.”

He continues, “I went for an interview and got hired,...

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Tony Dow, the wholesome actor who portrayed “the perfect big brother” Wally Cleaver on the everlasting TV comedy Leave It to Beaver and its 1980s sequel, has died, his reps announced after a tumultuous day for his family. He was 77.

Dow died Wednesday morning with his family at his side at his home in Topanga. A post on his official Facebook page read: “We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.”

The post continued: “We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—’It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.

Tony Dow, the actor and director best known for playing the stalwart older brother Wally Cleaver to Jerry Mathers’ Beaver in the iconic series “Leave It to Beaver,” died Wednesday after it was incorrectly announced Tuesday that he had died. He was 77.

“We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey. We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man,” read the statement on his official Facebook page.

His son Christopher said in the Facebook statement, “Although this is a very sad day, I have comfort and peace that he is in a better place. He was the best Dad anyone could ask for. He was my coach, my mentor, my voice of reason, my best friend, my best man in my wedding, and my hero.

The highway of Classic TV shows is littered with the bodies of young actors who were either discarded by the industry that represented the only life they knew, were taken advantage of by parents who exploited them and stole all their money, or simply couldn’t cope with an existence outside of the cameras. Somehow, though, Jerry Mathers, who on Leave It to Beaver was the one that everything was left to, came through it all completely unscathed. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Jerry, born Gerald Patrick Mathers on June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa, has actually been acting since the age of two when he was a child model for a department store ad. This was followed by a TV commercial for Pet Milk, and then roles in the feature films This is My Love (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Seven Little Foys...

[1] Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Day today is Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Series DVD set [2] for only $89.99, 58% off the $200 list price. 37 discs, that's almost $1 per disc... Finally, The Complete Series! Beautifully Restored and Remastered on 37 Discs! Inspired by the real life experiences of creators Joe Connelly and Bob Moshers own children, Leave It To Beaver follows the hilarious everyday adventures of young Theodore 'Beaver' Cleaver and his older brother Wally. Whether at home, at school or playing around their suburban neighborhood, Beaver always manages to get himself into some kind of trouble, comically learning each valuable lesson life has to offer along the way. Alongside baseball and apple pie, Leave It To Beaver reigns supreme in the pantheon of Americana. Boasting 234 episodes, spanning six iconic seasons from 1957 63, no other series on television better exemplifies the purity of childhood and importance of family in America. As with...