Never a Dull Moment (1968)

Director: Jerry Paris

Writers: John Godey, AJ Carothers

Composer: Robert F. Brunner

Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Edward G. Robinson, Dorothy Provine, Henry Silva, Joanna Moore, Tony Bill, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, Ned Glass, Richard Bakalyan, Mickey Shaughnessy, Philip Coolidge, James Milhollin

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Meet the mob that set crime back 100 years!

Plot: Second-rate actor Jack Albany finds himself mistaken for fiendish killer Ace Williams and whisked off to master gangster Leo Smooth's fortified mansion. He is forced to continue with the charade what with all the rough-looking hoods around, even when he finds he is to play a deadly role in an art theft. But at least there is lovely art teacher Sally who could become an ally - if she ever believes his story.

My rating:6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

It seems like it's been ages since I saw one of these live action Disney pictures from the 60s/70s.  I grew up on these forty something odd years ago.  I need to dig up some of the ones Kurt Russell did back then.  That'll be a fat trip down memory lane.  Anyway, just look at the cast.  There are lots of great character actors in this, some of whom are my favorites.  I've now taken the time out to know this guy's name.

It's Richard Bakalyan and I've seen this guy in tons of movies.  He reminds me a lot of Dick Miller, another character actor that's been in lots of pictures.  Bakalyan worked a lot in Frank Sinatra's pictures and he also had roles in CHINATOWN (1974), and TONS of TV shows that you've likely seen if you've been around for at least 30 years.  The cast of NEVER is loads of fun.  The main reason I watched it was for going through one of my favorite actor's catalog, Edward G. Robinson.  He's in full on charming-as-hell-mob-boss-that's-got-a-caper mode and he's delightful.  He played that type of role a lot late in his career but he was so good at it. Dick Van Dyke is funny as shit.  The first 5 minutes during the credits had me in stitches.  He's hilarious throughout the picture as he tries to act tough when he clearly isn't.  This flick isn't trying to be anything than light family entertainment and on that level it succeeds.  I was there for the cast alone but I didn't expect it to be this funny.