Monday, July 13, 2009

The Endangered List (Case File #37)



ANOTHER NICE MESS (1972)

Written and directed
by
Bob Einstein

Produced by
Tom Smothers and Jonathan Haze

Starring

Rich Little
as
"Richie"

Herb Voland
as
"Spiro"


also starring
Bruce Kirby
Diahn Williams
Stewart Bradley
Bob Einstein

Running time: 66 minutes
A Film Films (Billy Fine) release
MPAA rating: PG


Review [from Boxoffice - October 23rd, 1972, p. 10]

"In the tradition of such political satires as MILLHOUSE: A BLACK COMEDY and THE PRESIDENT’S ANALYST, this Tom Smothers-produced film, written and directed by Bob Einstein, has been released just in time to add another log to the current political blaze. The title ANOTHER NICE MESS (YOU’VE GOT ME INTO) derives from the classic Oliver Hardy line. Unhappily, both Rich Little (who plays Richie the President, complete with V-finger signs and toothy grins) and Herb Voland (as the lumbering dim-witted Spiro, whose own idea of a peace sign is something altogether different) have ignored the fine art of slapstick developed by the Laurel and Hardy team. ANOTHER NICE MESS tells of the trials and tribulations of the President of the United States, beset by hostile demonstrators, secret service bodyguards disguised as plants, a vice-president who has a fixation for a certain portion of a secretary’s anatomy, and a rather silly sub-plot having to do with Hitler (who is alive and well in Washington). The result is that, as one theatre patron was heard to remark, if you see the first ten minutes of the picture you have seen it all. ANOTHER NICE MESS does boast a very good television ad campaign which, because of the quick flashes of two men who startlingly resemble their highly placed counterparts bonking each other, should attract the distaff."

6 comments:

Casey said...

You can buy this on eBay for dirt cheap. I find it interesting that this and several other Nixon spoofs (RICHARD, THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT) have disappeared without a trace. I would have thought they would come springing out of the woodwork after the release of FROST VS. NIXON!

Temple of Schlock said...

Man, I've been looking for this for a while, and I swear it wasn't on eBay a few weeks ago. Well, cool, thanks for the tip. I can mark it as "Found!"

Tim Mayer said...

Was there ever a movie version of "McByrd"?

Booksteve said...

I wrote about this a couple years back and it's been the rare movie from my old "Movies I Have Just Got to See" lists that I haven't found. Checking E-Bay now!

Casey said...

I hear you, Chris, who knew this would show up on eBay all of a sudden?? Someone reviewed it on IMDB a short while ago and mentioned that's where they got it. Lo and behold, several copies available for $3.99 apiece. Now if only RICHARD would turn up... Alan Abel has told me he is working on getting FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT OUT at some point.

Kris Gilpin said...

I didn't realize that Bob Einstein/Super Dave Osbourne/Albert Brooks's brother made this flick--cool! ;-)