The Busy Body (1967) Reviews

• Borscht Belt Hoods and Mr. Ryan

  theowinthrop2006-07-09

  This is definitely not the greatest film comedy, but it has it's moments. The plot has to do with mob boss Ryan's discovery of a large scale theft of cash that seemed about to be uncovered by his mob's bookkeeper, Bill Dana. Dana is killed in front of Ryan and his right hand gopher Sid Caesar while barbecuing (somebody tampered with the oil used on the barbecue grill). When the discovery is made, Ryan zeroes in on Caesar as the thief, and probable murderer of Dana. Caesar spends the film trying to 1) keep out of the hands of Ryan and his goons (Godfrey Cambridge and Marty Ingalls), 2) keep out of the hands of the police (Richard Pryor), 3) keep his meddlesome mother out of his hair (Kay Medford), 4) solve the mystery of the death of Dana and his disappearing corpse, 5) find out who, exactly, is trying to frame him, and 6) looking after Dana's newly made widow (Arlene Golonka) who is looking very appealing to Caesar. Actually the plot fits pretty well, but it is a so-so plot for all that. I think by the time the film is half-way through you will realize who the framer is. But it is the little shticks by borscht belt comics, Caesar, Jan Murray, Cambridge (with Ingalls), Dana (briefly), and with long time comedian Ben Blue and recent arrivals Richard Pryor and Dom DeLuis, that should hold one's attention. Blue is the perennial nervous nelly, a witness against Caesar who is confronted by him (not threatened by him, mind you, but confronted) and keeps collapsing in fear of being tortured. As mentioned in another comment on this thread, a woman tries to vamp a dummy that Caesar has left at a bus stop. You have to understand that Caesar introduced her to the dummy as his friend , Matthias Kreplach, who was rich. The woman leaves in a huff when Matthias just won't respond to her chatter - he just sits there like a dummy. I may add that while that scene is good, my favorite moment is the last scene involving Jan Murray and Anne Baxter as a larcenous husband and wife. He gets a final rise out of her that George Sanders did not achieve in ALL ABOUT EVE.

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• Hail Caesar

  jameselliot-12011-02-19

  Looks like I'm the only one here who really enjoys The Busy Body, a movie I've watched many times and love. Sid Caesar is really funny, prissy and nitpicky as an obsessive-compulsive, overly fastidious clothes horse (a parody of a GQ/Esquire reader) who is a deliveryman for the mob (like the boss's lunch). Sid's decision to play it straight, as opposed to a scaredy-cat type like Don Knotts, works. Robert Ryan's great, a tough as nails, quick igniting organized crime boss, a combination of Marine drill sergeant and hood. The interaction between these two makes BB the fun pic it is. I wish there had been more of it. The supporting cast is a true who's who of comedic geniuses, from Bill Dana and Dom DeLuise to Godfrey Cambridge and Marty Engels. An added bonus is a young Arlene Golonka in the prime of her stacked sexiness and sweet, ditzy personality. The Vic Mizzy soundtrack is a plus.

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• Sid Caesar, RIP

  lee_eisenberg2014-02-14

  Since Sid Caesar died a few days ago, I decided to watch one of his movies. "The Busy Body" makes no pretense about being silly. The characters are pretty much what we expect: Caesar is the nervous everyman mixed up in a murder case, Robert Ryan is the slimy exec, Arlene Golonka is the cleavage-flaunting blonde bombshell, and Kay Medford is the overprotective mother. The movie features the first appearance of Richard Pryor but he doesn't have much to do. I figure that an old-school director like William Castle wasn't about to let Pryor play the kind of character for which he eventually became renowned. In the end it's not any kind of comedy classic but funny enough for the brief period that it runs.

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• Enjoy with Low Expectations

  vox-sane2009-06-09

  "The Busy Body" has much working in its favor. First of all, it has a source book by comedy/crime writer Donald E. Westlake. I haven't read the original novel but the script has several amusing elements that perfectly fit Westlake's style. It also has that "Vic Mizzy sound." Mizzy did music for "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family" as well as Don Knotts vehicles. His work is more typically associated with rural or small-town atmospheres, and it's good to hear that it works just as well in an urban setting. He provides a memorable theme (though not in the way you think). "The Busy Body" has first-rate comedy line-up. Among those who get laughs are Godfrey Cambridge and Mary Ingles as a couple of inept hit-men; a young Dom DeLuis trying to make a name for himself in a thankless role; and comedy veteran Ben Blue. And Arlene Golonka is always worth watching. Bill Dana is unable to make much of his blink-and-you'll miss him part (the writers should have given him more business). Now comedic legend Richard Pryor, in his first major film role, does a creditable job playing it straight as a police officer. The script has many amusing plot twists (probably derived straight from Westlake). If you are bothered by graves, caskets, the funeral industry, and dead bodies in general, you won't enjoy this movie. If, however, desecrating graves, digging up corpses, and seeing live people trapped with dead people all suits your sense of humor, you'll be more inclined to enjoy this little comedy. The problems with the feature include its star, Sid Caesar. This is a part that might have been written for Don Knotts (or, in an earlier era, Danny Kaye). Caesar could be a funny man, though one is probably more prone to laugh at his shtick if one grew up with "Your Show of Shows" (I did not, coming along in the next decade). Caesar starred in few movies, and it was questionable whether he ever should have ever tried to carry a feature, since he can give such good support. Dick van Dyke would have been a happier choice for the lead -- or Knotts, who would at least give us his googly eyes. Robert Ryan's crime boss is played to the hilt -- and that's a bad thing. Don't expect Ryan to turn in the sort of part that would be offered to serious actors in movies like "Airplane" a decade later, where they were able to be serious yet spoofing. Ryan has one note and he seems far too serious and professional a crime boss to hire this gang. Caesar plays a young man who has just been made a Board Member of his Organization. Unfortunately, the organization is criminal; and when he loses one million dollars (that was a lot of money in those days -- think "Austin Powers") that may be buried with a friend, the crime boss tells him to recover it -- or else. But Caesar has various problems in locating the right body. At one time he has too few bodies; at another time, too many. The movie is helped by DVD -- on television it was always pan-and-scan, and that kills comedy. Director William Castle (a strange choice) doesn't really use the entire frame to full comedic effect, but it's nice to see the movie as it was intended. It's not one of the all-time great comedies and it's not a hitherto undiscovered classic. It's just a sweet little comedy about dead bodies and grave robbing and I like it.

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• Hey, If Jerry Lewis can, why not Sid?

  rudy-302002-12-18

  This comedy has all the elements of the type of comedies Don Knotts and Jerry Lewis were performing in during the 1960's. An ordinary man gets involved with murder (I forgot to mention Dick Van Dyke). The comedy was tailored around the talents of Ben Blue and Caesar, with the other comics filling time. It's a pleasant comedy, but don't go out of your way.

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