Rare or hard to find Movies to watch on youtube.

Oh yeah! Rare Rod Serling film presentation, thanks to listener Hank! in 1972 Rod Serling gave us The Man, a movie about the first African American President of the United States featuring a brief appearance by Jack Benny! Below is a link to the movie in it's entirety on youtube. If you like the West Wing, then you will love this!

Rod Serling's The Man 1972 - Starring James Earl Jones


My podcast about the film!




The Man is a 1972 political drama directed by Joseph Sargent and starring James Earl Jones. Jones plays Douglass Dilman, thePresident pro tempore of the United States Senate, who succeeds to the presidency through a series of unforeseeable events, thereby becoming the first African American president. The screenplay, written by Rod Serling, is largely based upon The Man, a novel by Irving Wallace.
In an interview with Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times that ran Jan. 16, 2009, four days before Barack Obama was inaugurated as president, Jones was asked about having portrayed the fictional first black U.S. president on film. He replied: "I have misgivings about that one. It was done as a TV special. Had we known it was to be released as a motion picture, we would have asked for more time and more production money. I regret that.

A Profound Film with a Profound Message
Author: celestr ([email protected]) from Bowling Green, OH
12 July 2004
As an African-American educator, I found this movie to be an extraordinary one. I hope to find a copy to show to my students who will participate in this year's Multicultural Career Institute, which is in its 13th year on our university campus. Situated in the Midwest, only 10 percent of the university's 22,000 students are students of color. The majority of the students come from small to large farming communities where few, and far too often, no persons of color live. One of the biggest fears that white America has always harbored is the insane notion that 1) only whites can lead this country and 2) if a person of color is elected to a high-ranking position, then white America will find itself the recipient of vengeance and payback for slavery, racism, etc. This film disputes these notions and allows the viewer to understand America in its truest form.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:

Presidential Succession and Bigotry
Author: sonny_1963 from United States
3 June 2005
The President of the US is killed. So is the Speaker of the House. The Vice President is ill and cannot accept the presidency.

Enter US Senator Douglass Dillman, who is president pro tempe of the senate. He is also black. He accepts the presidency to the discontent of many cabinet officials, especially the secretary of state. He would be president if not for Dillman.

Racial feelings are revealed among several politicians as Dillman sits in the oval office, determined to overcome the bigotry of those around him and to be as good a president as he can be.

An early vehicle for James Earl Jones, who as Dillman, is brilliant. Excellent performances by the supporting cast. Hopefully, this film will one day be on DVD or VHS. It's also a good potential historical lesson to be absorbed by Americans if this situation should ever happen.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:

Please get the story straight

Author: ricboyd2 from San Francisco, CA
27 October 2001
The premise of this film is about a man appointed to be President under unusual circumstance. The current President and Speaker of the House tour a building in Europe, which colapses and kills them both, the vice-president is ill and can't fullfill the office.

The Presidency falls to a surprizing fourth in line.

It's a great story and I don't understand why it isn't on video yet.

The only small flaw is that it is time dated with the premise of Apartied in South Africa. Everyone write to the studio and get them to put it out on video. It has appeared on TV but they cut it to ribbons and destroy the continuity. -ARBY

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:

Rare Treat

Author: preachingprince from United States
20 April 2006
Although dated this is an excellent movie with Jones as commanding as usual. One of the most intriguing phenomena to watch is how his character grows into the bold and confident president one would expect of one who has tasted the power of the office. The ubiquitous theme of racism is dealt with adroitly. Moreover the Rod Serling screenplay makes one wish the old master would have left a greater body of work along these lines. The Movie is however much different from the book but this was for me a very enjoyable find, especially after a near 30 year search. I recently got a fair copy from videogrill on Ebay. As of this date 4-20-6 there is another copy being offer through the same online group.

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11 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

Very Well Made TV-Movie
Author: Eric-62-2 from Morristown, NJ
10 May 2004
First off, the last reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about when he says the Constitutional fluke that makes James Earl Jones president is "fictional." It is indeed true that when the President, Vice-President and Speaker Of The House are all dead and/or incapacitated the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes President. The only stretch is that the job usually goes to the most senior member of the majority Party of the Senate, and not to someone as young as Jones' senator is.

Also, there is no assassination plot against the President in the movie.

As for the movie itself, despite the fact that it is penned by Rod Serling (from Irving Wallace's novel), it is remarkably less free of the kind of pretentious liberalism that marred his script for "Seven Days In May." In fact, what is remarkable for the film is how it falls much closer to the center of the spectrum politically in comparison to what Hollywood churns out today like "West Wing".

Jerry Goldsmith's score is the best work he ever did for a TV-movie and hopefully some day it will find its way to CD as many other obscure TV scores of his have.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:

Irving Wallace's - THE MAN

Author: Paul Hill (PRHill100) from Sterling, VA
27 March 2006
I was interested in reading the comments on the message boards at the base of the IMDb listing for THE MAN.

This is only one of several novels written by Irving Wallace that has been transferred to "the big screen." Irving Wallace did NOT like the treatment that THE MAN received in the translation from his written words to the screen. In that I agree.

I have read ALL of his books and found each one to be a "page turner" regardless of how many times I have read them over the years. He was a superb writer and I'm only one of a legion of his fans.

I was very disappointed in the screen adaption of THE MAN. The novel was approximately 800 pages in length and the screen version covered about the first 150 pages. The other 650 pages were lost to Rod Serling's abilities. Very unusual for Serling and I find it very disappointing to say the least.

I agree, this movie should be released on DVD. It's an excellent movie even taking into consideration the "adaption" to the screen. I also happen to be a great fan of James Earl Jones and for that reason alone I think it should be released.

As a side point, every novel written by Wallace had been opted for screen or mini-series treatment. Unfortunately, he died in 1990 and I do recall him saying that as a result of ABC's treatment of THE MAN he would not allow any of his novels to be made into motion pictures unless he was in control of the process. He died - unfortunately. I was so looking forward to the CBS mini-series on his novel THE MIRACLE! If you can find any of his books I highly recommend that you buy and read them. Every one of them was a "page turner" and you won't be disappointed.

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Here is another not on DVD.

Fool's Parade form 1971 starring Jimmy Stewart and Kurt Russel
Fools' Parade is a 1971 crime drama film directed by Andrew McLaglen, and stars James Stewart, George Kennedy, Kurt Russell and Strother Martin. It was based on the novel of the same name by Davis Grubb. The film is also known as Dynamite Man from Glory Jail.



17 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

A gripping entertainment…

Author: Righty-Sock ([email protected]) from Mexico
10 August 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Though not technically a Western, the picture, with an early-Thirties West Virginia setting, had all of a Western's action and plot situations… Once more, Andrew V. McLaglen directed Stewart in an ambivalent, morally reprehensible characterization…

In an uneasy blend of melodramatic themes, Stewart is a convict who squirrels away $25,000… A murderer, he has done all the hard prison jobs and has been a model prisoner… He gets out of prison with bankrobber Strother Martin and rapist Kurt Russell, and having paid their collective debt to society, they set out to make their fortune as civilians once more… But corrupt prison officer George Kennedy and banker David Huddleston are out to relieve Stewart of his nest egg…

Baxter, whose houseboat is doing part-time bordello duty, wants Stewart's money too…

The film remains a curious admixture of comedy, adventure and violence from James Agee, author of "The Night of the Hunter."

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16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Very Entertaining and Fun

Author: Karahde Khan from Pofesional Ville (so called)
31 January 2001
I had quite low expectations for this little known film, since I saw it was directed by the usually awful Andrew V. McLaglen, who directed the worst movies of the late John Wayne and the larger-than-life MST3K classic "Mitchell". However, I was pleasantly surprised with this fun story of three ex-convicts led by James Stewart who only try to start a new life by opening a store, and are pursued by their ex-jail keeper (George Kennedy) who wants to steal the money that Stewart earned by working for forty years. Based on a novel by Davis Grubb (the author of The Night of the Hunter), who seems to have a thing for evil religious characters: villain Kennedy is the local religion teacher, and one of his sidekicks is a young shooter that has no problem in killing anyone... as long as they're Atheists. This character propiciates one of the funniest scenes in the movie by interacting with Stewart and his glass eye. The other best moment features Anne Baxter as an ambitious and very patriotic aged prostitute. The humor and irony is what makes this movie so special. Never miss it if you catch it on TV or video! (and it's also a chance to see a very young Kurt Russell in a non-Disney movie).

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:

Timeless example of public corruption, moral hypocrisy and the victims it creates.

Author: richlisagood from United States
19 September 2006
I was 10 years old when Fools Parade was filmed in my hometown of Moundsville, West Virginia, and I remember vividly all of the excitement we felt as we observed the actors at work in various locations. Kurt Russell couldn't go anywhere without a crowd of adoring young females screaming for his attention. I made it to the front of the crowd just once as he was ushered into a limo that would drive him to the days shoot. As I stood on the other side of the car window, my 10 year old face twisted with the emotional devastation of just missing the chance to touch him, he looked directly at me and flashed a brilliant, "I'm sorry" smile that made my day! Jimmy Stewart was very friendly and often took time to converse with the locals. My mother remembers a having conversation with him in which he demonstrated his use of the glass eye. To answer an earlier question - I believe the glass eye was called, "Tye".

Fools Parade was the second Davis Grubb novel to be filmed in Moundsville (Davis Grubb's hometown), the first being, Night of the Hunter. Both novels (and movies) explore the hypocritical, mindless nature of the "herd mentality" that can be so easily manipulated by rotten leaders & officials - especially through the use of religion and labeling. Those who see through it end up being society's outcasts, while those who follow it (in mindless hopes of acceptance and salvation) foolishly cut off their own noses to spite their faces. It's a scenario that plays out again and again in human history and is especially relevant today. A thoughtful viewer will easily see how these themes of labeling, discrimination, and fear of rejection have played out in forming the personal values of each character and boxing them into specific life circumstances - from the pathetically self-serving, desperately patriotic Cleo, to the train attendant with the tormented conscience who must choose between doing the right thing or keeping his job (and being able to feed his family during the depression).

I don't know why this movie is not easily accessible, but I have heard that it has something to do with legalities involving the Ann Baxter estate. It has, however, played on late night TV occasionally and I have a low quality video recording from quite a few years ago.. I hope it will eventually come out on DVD.

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:

Biggest Fan

Author: richnkerry ([email protected]) from United States
21 July 2005
It has been since the early 70's and as a young teenager since I have seen this movie, but will always remember it and be in my heart also. You see I was born in W. Virgina at the location this movie was filmed (at least parts of it). Without taking from a great movie and great stars in it (Jimmy can do no wrong),I enjoyed seeing the different and familiar locations and knowledge of what they were then and to what they are presently, you would be surprised. The prison during the filming was in full use then, but now it is closed with tours in it. The railroad station is there still but with houses and trailers around it and a huge bridge crossing the Ohio river almost over top of it now A very good movie, funny and great acting, this movie is on my mind very often and wish I someday can get a copy of this, it would be in my top 5 for sure

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:

Stewart's Thrilling Sleeper (But A Must See!)
Author: Bryan E. Hall from United States
4 August 2007
*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It was Stewart's most compelling role when I saw it as an 11 year old boy. The idea that an old released convict explosives expert could have a glass eye and $25000 that George Kennedy (Doc Council) wanted to steal from him was a simple setup but really caught my attention.

Stewart was the kind of old man any young kid would want to hang out with, and I identified with Kurt Russell, his young sidekick who had served in prison with Stewart. Russell was a naive devotee of Stewart and he aspired to join Stewart in an honest, simple career, opening an general store.

George Kennedy and his evil gang was the only thing standing in the way of Stewart going straight, and we see Kennedy in his best villain role as an unshaven, foul, redneck who wore a dirty white suit and hat and canvas Keds. God, I hated him good in this film and will never forget it.

Spoiler- The biggest thrill of the film was when Stewart quotes from the Bible that God would "pluck out the eye" of a man who offended him, in order to freak out a guy who was brandishing a gun on Stewart. As Stewart finishes the quote, he plucks out his eye and holds it out in the face of the enemy, who then becomes vulnerable to be disarmed.

It is a shame this film is impossible to see nowadays, not yet on DVD.

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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:

I saw this great movie as a kid, but never after that...
Author: walk_the_walk from United States
4 March 2006
My Dad grew up in WV and took my brother and I to see this movie at the theater when it came out in 1971. It was a great film! I have waited for 35 years to see it again, with no luck.

The beginning of the movie was set and filmed in Moundsville, WV in the early 30s. Jimmy Stewart played a character with a glass eye, who had served some 30 or 40 years in prison and was headed to the WV capitol to cash his check for funds owed to him for his prison labors. The conflict in the movie is the evil warden type, played by George Kennedy, who is out to kill Stewart and his two buddies, one of which is played by Strother Martin. The Strother Martin character wants to open up his own grocery store with the help of the Jimmy Stewart character.

This is a wonderful film, somewhat similar in style to The Film Flam Man, and of the same vintage. I would love to get a copy of it, or see it again on TCM or another channel.

Could anyone guess why this movie has never been made available since its original release? I would sure like to know...

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

Why has this movie been so forgotten?

Author: larryhughes1413 from Marietta, Ohio
20 June 2006
I too have been waiting for my chance to see this little gem again. I took a date to see this movie in the theater in 1971. I was in high school at the time and happy to be going on a date. Half way through the movie, just as I got the nerve to put my arm around my date and get comfortable, a severe storm rolled through the area, knocking out power to the theater and surrounding area. We hung around for a while until it was determined that the power wasn't coming back on any time soon. The theater operator gave everyone a "rain check". We went back the next night to finish the movie, so I got two dates out of one movie, a guys dream! I loved the movie with its humor, great story line, and great actors looking like they were having fun. It's a mystery to me as to why it is so hard to find this movie anywhere. I looked it up in Leonard Maltin's book and he calls it a "bomb". I haven't liked him since.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

I loved it!
Author: heather-arlen from Canada
6 June 2004
I haven't seen this movie for at least fifteen years, but have never forgotten it...if it were released on video I'd probably buy several copies for friends, because it is such a good story to start with, and so well-done as a movie. James Stewart, George Kennedy, and Kurt Russell give memorable performances, and there is never that sense that you sometimes get with movies that it doesn't matter whether you watch it or not, you know how it will turn out...not with this one! George Kennedy is excellent as the villain, and the whole reversal of roles (the ex-con as the good guy, and the Sunday School teacher/prison official as the bad guy) make the movie one to remember. I highly recommend it!

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13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Sadly not on vhs/dvd in US!James Stewart/Kurt Russell Rules!!

Author: william from USA
5 September 2002
In this superb but little known 1971 film starring Jimmy Stewart,Kurt Russell playing ex-convicts trying to cash a check in a corrupt town that won't let them.Based on the book "Fools Parade" by Davis Grubb whose other book"Night of the Hunter" was also made into a movie 1955-starring Robert Mitchum,Shelley Winters and both movies filmed in West Virginia.Unfortunately like so many other great movies"Fools Parade"has never been released on vhs/dvd in the US which hopefully will change someday.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

It's a Film That Needs to be Seen

Author: sasquatch27 from United States
14 November 2006
If you've found your way to these comments then know that you've found in me a true fan of this film. I got here in an attempt to find a source for buying this film. Alas, it was not to be! The 1971 movie features great dramatic performances by James Stewart, Strother Martin, George Kennedy and Kurt Russell. It's a pretty fair example of a road movie that features, I believe, West Virginia as a backdrop in the mid 1930's. It's great entertainment, fun, exciting and suspenseful, too.

Hopefully it will be available someday. I believe it could be productively marketed as a rather important DVD release considering the cast and over all quality of the movie.

So it's now 13 months after I've originally posted and the question is, When is this movie going to be released on video/DVD?

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I saw Zero Effect, a cool whodunit with Ben Stiller in a dramatic role, on youtube. It has a real twist at the end and a few plot holes, but it's a lot of fun and the female lead is not gorgeous, but she is sexy. I saw it recently on pay per view and rentedit for the wife.

and of course Skidoo (ugh) is on youtube

 

Skidoo is available on DVD and maybe blu? Regardless, between Youtube, DVD, and possibly blu that is 4 options too many!

 

Here's a good place to find a bunch of other such things - http://www.reddit.com/r/fullmoviesonyoutube/

 

WORD.

 

lol I don't care what anyone says, Groucho will always be God to me!

 

saw skidoo in its original release and thought it was great. Shows how dumb teenagers are.

Just watched American Hot Wax on YouTube. 1978 with no video release, probably due to rights issues. Even better than I remembered. One of the better 1970s 50s revival flux. I think I prefer it to American Graffiti.

 

Music rights and it didn't do well when released. Jay Leno early in his career as an actor. Chuck Berry, Screaming Jay Hawkins and Jerry Lee Lewis as themselves.

 

And Fran Drescher, nasal as ever.

One I am looking for still: CISCO PIKE (Kris Kristofferson's first movie, with Gene Hackman).

 

needed more Hawkins and less "planotones." Solid film though. Leno and Drescher had real chemistry; very funny. Music was nonstop, nice mix of original recordings and covers.

Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis were starting to slow down by then. Let the Good Times Roll, a few years earlier, caught the fifties acts when they still had some energy left.