Oddball Hall

Last updated
Oddball Hall
OddBallHall.jpg
Film poster
Directed byJackson Hunsicker
Screenplay byJackson Hunsicker
Produced byAlan Munro
Harry Alan Towers
Starring Don Ameche
Burgess Meredith
Cinematography Avi Karpick
Music by William T. Stromberg
Production
company
Distributed byRavenhill Productions
Release date
April 19, 1991
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Oddball Hall is a 1991 comedy film directed by Jackson Hunsicker, who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Don Ameche, Burgess Meredith, and Bill Maynard. It was released direct-to-video and has received negative reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot

Four elderly jewel thieves, on the run from the law, disguise themselves as a local chapter of the "Odd Balls" in order to hide out at an African village.

Production

Oddball Hall was written and directed by Jackson Hunsicker. [1] The film had a budget of $1.5 million. [2] It was produced by Alan Munro and Harry Alan Towers. [1] [3] Oddball Hall stars Don Ameche and Burgess Meredith as the two jewel thieves. [1] The supporting cast includes Bill Maynard, Tullio Moneta, and Tiny Skefile. [4] Cinematography was done by Avi Karpick, and William T. Stromberg did the music. [5]

Release

Oddball Hall was released directly to video on April 19, 1991. Though it was advertised as being similar to The Gods Must Be Crazy , Sandra Brennan of AllMovie felt the two films shared little resemblance. [6] Critical response has been negative. Film reviewer Leonard Maltin criticized Oddball Hall and gave it two stars; while he wrote that the film was good-natured and simplistic, he felt that it was not funny. [4] Author Mick Martin, in his book Video Movie Guide, called the film a "flat comedy of mistaken identities." [7] Kevin Thomas of The New York Times wrote that the film was "complicated" and "unfunny" despite starring Meredith and Ameche. [8] Keith Bailey, of The Unknown Movies, wrote that "Oddball Hall is...well...odd. That may be why the major studio that picked this up never, to my knowledge, theatrically released this. Though odder is the question why they picked it up in the first place. While there are few actively bad sequences, the whole exercise is slow, uneventful, and largely unfunny." [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Maltin</span> American film critic and film historian (born 1950)

Leonard Michael Maltin is the go-to American film critic and film historian for the major film industry studios in Hollywood, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published annually from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has appeared regularly on Turner Classic Movies, and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies. He has written articles for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Variety, Playboy and TV Guide. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry.

<i>National Lampoons Class Reunion</i> 1982 film by Michael Miller

Class Reunion is a 1982 American black comedy film produced by National Lampoon as the third film from the magazine. It was the second film released; although National Lampoon Goes to the Movies was filmed in 1981, it was delayed and not released until 1982.

<i>The Contract</i> (2006 film) 2006 film by Bruce Beresford

The Contract is a 2006 German-American action thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by television writer Stephen Katz and John Darrouzet. The Contract stars Morgan Freeman as professional assassin Frank Carden and John Cusack as a teacher who gets entangled into his latest assignment during a camp trip with his son. Released direct to video in the United States and Europe, The Contract received little critical notice despite its high-profile cast.

<i>The Bonfire of the Vanities</i> (film) 1990 film by Brian De Palma

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1990 American satirical black comedy film directed and produced by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Kim Cattrall, and Morgan Freeman. The screenplay, written by Michael Cristofer, was adapted from the bestselling 1987 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe.

<i>Bombers B-52</i> 1957 film by Gordon Douglas

Bombers B-52 is a 1957 American drama film produced by Richard Whorf and directed by Gordon Douglas. The film stars Natalie Wood and Karl Malden, and co-stars Marsha Hunt and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It was adapted from a Sam Rolfe story by screenwriter Irving Wallace. Leonard Rosenman composed the score.

<i>Leonard Maltins Movie Guide</i> Book by Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally called TV Movies, which became Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide, and then Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide, before arriving at its final title. Film critic Leonard Maltin edited it and contributed a large portion of its reviews.

<i>The Last Chase</i> 1981 dystopian science fiction film

The Last Chase is a 1981 Canadian-American dystopian science fiction film directed by Martyn Burke who was also the producer on the film, produced for Argosy Films. The film stars Lee Majors, Chris Makepeace and Burgess Meredith in a futuristic scenario about a former racing driver who reassembles his old Porsche car and drives to California in a world where cars and motor vehicles of all kinds have been outlawed by the authorities.

<i>Gullivers Travels</i> (1977 film) 1977 film by Peter R. Hunt

Gulliver's Travels is a 1977 British-Belgian film based on the 1726 novel of the same name by Jonathan Swift. It mixed live action and animation, and starred Richard Harris in the title role.

Space Rage is a 1985 American space Western film directed by Conrad E. Palmisano.

<i>The Savage Is Loose</i> 1974 film directed by George C. Scott

The Savage Is Loose is a 1974 American drama film produced and directed by George C. Scott. It stars Scott, Trish Van Devere, John David Carson and Lee H. Montgomery.

<i>Bulldog Drummond at Bay</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Sidney Salkow

Bulldog Drummond at Bay is a 1947 American adventure crime mystery film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Ron Randell for the first time as the British sleuth and adventurer Bulldog Drummond. The cast also includes Anita Louise, Patrick O'Moore and Terry Kilburn.

<i>Six Bridges to Cross</i> 1955 film by Joseph Pevney

Six Bridges to Cross or 6 Bridges to Cross is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Tony Curtis, George Nader and Julie Adams. Six Bridges to Cross is based upon the famous 1950 Great Brink's Robbery of Boston, Massachusetts in which the thieves made off with roughly $2.5 million.

<i>Frank McKlusky, C.I.</i> 2002 American film

Frank McKlusky, C.I. is a 2002 comedy film directed by Arlene Sanford and written by Mark Perez. Dave Sheridan plays McKlusky, a safety-conscious insurance claims investigator investigating the murder of his partner Jimmy, played by Kevin Farley. Randy Quaid and Dolly Parton play McKlusky's parents, “Madman” McKlusky, Frank's daredevil father, and Edith, Frank's over-protective mother.

<i>The Lone Wolf and His Lady</i> 1949 film by John Hoffman

The Lone Wolf and His Lady is a 1949 American mystery film directed by John Hoffman and starring Ron Randell, June Vincent and Alan Mowbray. It is the 15th and final Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures, and was written by Edward Dein and Michael Stuart Boylan.

<i>The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date</i> 1940 film by Sidney Salkow

The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1941) is the sixth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Warren William, in his fourth appearance as the title character Lone Wolf, and Edward Gargan, Lester Matthews and Don Beddoe as the film's antagonists. The film was directed by Sidney Salkow and written by Salkow and Earl Felton.

<i>Incident at Midnight</i> 1963 British film

Incident at Midnight is a 1963 British crime film directed by Norman Harrison and starring Anton Diffring, William Sylvester and Justine Lord. It was made at Merton Park Studios as part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, in this case adapted from one of Wallace's short stories.

<i>Clay Pigeon</i> (film) 1971 film

Clay Pigeon is a 1971 American action film directed by Lane Slate and Tom Stern and written by Ronald Buck, Jack Gross, Jr. and Buddy Ruskin. The film stars Tom Stern, Telly Savalas, Robert Vaughn, John Marley, Burgess Meredith and Ivan Dixon. The film was released on August 1971, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Double Nickels</i> 1977 American film

Double Nickels is a 1977 car chase action-comedy starring Jack Vacek, Patrice Schubert, Ed Abrams, George Cole, Michael "Mick" Brennan, and Tim "Tex" Taylor. Vacek also wrote, produced, and directed the film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Willis, John A. (1992). John Willis' Screen World. Applause Books. p. 155. ISBN   9781557831354.
  2. Debates of Parliament: Hansard, Volume 9, Issues 16–18, p. 8322
  3. The Hollywood Reporter, Volume 312, Issues 18–34. 1990. p. 122.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. 1 2 Maltin, Leonard (2011). Leonard Maltin's 2012 Movie Guide . Penguin Group. p.  1018. ISBN   978-0451234476.
  5. "Oddball Hall – Full Credits". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  6. Brennan, Sandra. "Oddball Hall". Allmovie . Allrovi . Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  7. Martin, Mick (1994). Video Movie Guide 1995. Ballantine Books. p. 348. ISBN   034539027X.
  8. Thomas, Kevin (4 September 1994). "Prime-Time Flicks". New York Times .
  9. Bailey, Keith. "Oddball Hall – The Unknown Movies". The Unknown Movies. Retrieved 5 October 2013.