Special Guests: Timothy Galfas, Albert S. Ruddy, Gary Morgan, Elliott Gould Guest Co-Hosts: Cullen Gallagher, Mike Sullivan
Paul Gallico's 1970 novel Matilda told of a male boxing kangaroo who becomes an unlikely heavyweight contender, upending the worlds of sports promotion and organized crime. Producer Albert S. Ruddy, fresh from his Oscar-winning triumph with The Godfather, acquired the rights and brought the story to the screen in 1978, co-writing with Timothy Galfas.
The resulting G-rated family comedy stars Elliott Gould as Bernie Bonnelli, a small-time talent agent who discovers the boxing kangaroo and sees his ticket out of obscurity. Clive Revill plays Billy Baker, Matilda's devoted owner and former British boxer, while Robert Mitchum turns up as Duke Parkhurst, a manipulative sportswriter, and Harry Guardino heads the mob contingent scheming to control the outcome of Matilda's fights. The kangaroo himself was portrayed by Gary Morgan in a $30,000 suit.
Mike talks with co-hosts Cullen Gallagher and Mike Sullivan about the film, then brings in interviews with actors Gary Morgan and Elliott Gould along with two posthumously-released interviews with producer Albert S. Ruddy and screenwriter Timothy Galfas,
Special Guests: Paula Prentiss, Elliot Gould Guest Co-Hosts: Mike Sullivan, Emily Intravia
Mike White is joined by Mike Sullivan and Emily Intravia to take a long-overdue look at Move (1970), the surreal, seldom-seen New York comedy directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Fresh off his success in M*A*S*HElliott Gould stars as Hiram Jaffe, a would-be playwright stuck writing porn and walking dogs while waiting for the movers who never arrive. As his mundane reality refuses to budge, Hiram plunges into a chaotic interior world filled with absurd fantasies, sexual misadventures, and psychological spirals.
Adapted from Joel Lieber’s novel (and screenplay), Move attempts to blend urban anxiety, dream logic, and dark comedy—resulting in a disjointed but oddly fascinating time capsule of early ’70s male neurosis. Paula Prentiss co-stars as Hiram’s patient wife, while Geneviève Waïte plays a mysterious blonde who may or may not exist. The film mixes scenes of everyday tedium with dreamlike sequences involving rogue movers, hallucinated frogs, and even a fantasy duel, never quite committing to whether it's satirizing New York life or the fragile male ego.
Our hosts dive into the film’s tonal shifts, its place in Gould’s post-M*A*S*H career arc, and why it remains overlooked despite its stacked cast and studio pedigree. The episode also features brand-new interviews with stars Elliott Gould and Paula Prentiss, who reflect on the film’s production, reception, and what it means to them in hindsight.
Special Guest: Elliott Gould Guest Co-Hosts: Jonathan Melville, Cullen Gallagher
Noirvember 2021 kicks off with a look at Daryl Duke’s The Silent Partner. Released in 1978, it was from a screenplay by Curtis Hanson and based on the book Think of a Number by Anders Bodelsen. The film stars Elliott Gould as Miles Cullen, a rather mild mannered bank teller -- and keeper of the vault -- who figures out that his bank has been targeted for a robbery. With this piece of information he decides to rob the bank himself and let the robber (Christopher Plummer) take the fall.
Special Guest: Elliott Gould Guest Co-Hosts: Terry Frost, Eric Cohen
We wrap up #Noirvember and our Philip Marlowe journey for the year with Robert Altman's
The Long Goodbye (1973). Adapted by Leigh Brackett, one of the two main writers from Howard Hawks’s The Big Sleep, the film stars Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe, a man now out of time with the world.