Backdrop

The Comic

An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.

1969 |1h 35m |  Comedy, Drama

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Cast

cast

Dick Van Dyke

Billy Bright

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Michele Lee

Mary Gibson

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Mickey Rooney

Cockeye

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Cornel Wilde

Frank Powers

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Nina Wayne

Sybil Atlas

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Pert Kelton

Mama Bell

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Steve Allen

Steve Allen

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Barbara Heller

Ginger

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Ed Peck

Edwin G. Englehardt

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Jeannine Riley

Lorraine Bell

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Gavin MacLeod

1st Director

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Jay Novello

Miguel

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Paulene Myers

Phoebe

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Fritz Feld

Armand

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Jerome Cowan

Lawrence

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Isabel Sanford

Woman

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Jeff Donnell

Nurse

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Carl Reiner

Al Schilling

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Maurice Dallimore

Lord Faversham

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Mantan Moreland

Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)

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Lillian Adams

Old Lady (uncredited)

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Jack Berle

Minor Role (uncredited)

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William Boyce

Minor Role (uncredited)

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Peter Brocco

Minister (uncredited)

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Calvin Coolidge

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Billy Curtis

Lifeguard in Film (uncredited)

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Luis Delgado

Minor Role (uncredited)

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Lynn Fields

Mailbox Gag (uncredited)

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Paul Frees

Newsreel Narrator / Commerical Announcer / Man in Restaurant (voice)

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Leonard Frey

Talk Show Guest (uncredited)

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Suzie Kaye

Amanda Lou Phipps (uncredited)

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Kenner G. Kemp

Theatre Doorman (uncredited)

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Ethelreda Leopold

Restaurant Patron (uncredited)

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Howard Morris

Pedestrian Gag Man in 'Love Honor and Oh Boy' (uncredited)

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Ottola Nesmith

Housekeeper (uncredited)

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William H. O'Brien

Funeral Guest (uncredited)

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Ward Ramsey

Officer (uncredited)

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Mark Russell

Minor Role (uncredited)

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Paul Russell

Funeral Guest (uncredited)

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Cosmo Sardo

Pallbearer at Funeral (uncredited)

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Jeffrey Sayre

Pallbearer at Funeral (uncredited)

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Johnny Silver

Little Man (uncredited)

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Irene Tedrow

Billy's Mother in 'Forget Me Not' (uncredited)

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Johnny Weissmüller

Jungle Jim (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Jean Willes

Denise in Film Clip (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Dick Winslow

Organist (uncredited)

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Bill Zuckert

Prison Warden in Film (uncredited)

More Details

Status

Released

Language

English

Budget

-

Revenue

-