Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #20: The Harder They Fall & The Verdict

Episode Date: July 30, 2015

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures. This week: Bogey takes his final bow! Sidney Lumet takes to the road! And Paul Newman takes on the Prince of Darkness! If you've got a car and a license, put 'em both to work for you and start earning serious, life-changing money today. Sign up to drive with Uber. Visit http://www.DriveWithUber.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing TD Insurance for Business, with customized coverage options for your business. Because at TD Insurance, we understand that your business is unique, so your business insurance should be too. Contact a licensed TD Insurance advisor to learn more. This episode is brought to you by FX's The Bear on Disney+. In Season 3, Carmi and his crew are aiming for the ultimate restaurant accolade, a Michelin star. With Golden Globe and Emmy wins, the show starring Jeremy Allen White,

Io Debrey, and Maddie Matheson is ready to heat up screens once again. All new episodes of FX's The Bear are streaming June 27, only on Disney+. Hey, you like making money, right? Here's a really cool opportunity I had to share with you.

Driving with Uber. Uber's that popular smartphone app that connects riders with drivers. I take an Uber a bunch. I love them. And in chatting with the different drivers, some of them have really interesting stories as to why they drive with Uber. Like, they love being their own boss. They earn great money. It's easy to start. You just need a car and a license. Driving with Uber is great for anybody who needs flexibility. Like parents, this is a really

easy way to work around your family schedule. Students, you can make extra money in between classes. Now's the prime time to cash in on driving with Uber, you'll thank me for telling you how to get paid every week. I could be getting in your car right now with Uber. Okay, you got a car and a license? Put them to work for you and start earning serious, life-changing money today. Sign up to Drive with Uber. Visit drivewithuber.com. That's drivewithuber.com. Drivewithuber.com. cop. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. And this is Gilbert and Frank's amazing, colossal obsessions. I love the way you say that. I think we need a theme song, a separate theme song for this show.

What do you think? We never got a theme song. No, no. Maybe get Paul Schaefer or somebody to cook us something up. Oh, an original composition. Yeah, we'll work on that. Maybe we'll put it out to our listeners. Yes.

And see if anybody wants to come up with a theme song for the amazing Colossus. And while you're coming up with a theme song. Uh-oh. A new co-host. I know where this is going. Any recommendation. I don't care if he's ever worked in radio before. How about Omar Sharif?

He's out, right? Cross Omar off the list. Believe me, I'd prefer him. So what do we got this week? Okay, who wants to go first? You go first. Oh, all what do we got this week? Okay, who wants to go first? You go first. Oh, all right. I pick, and it's funny because we were talking to Max Bayer Jr.

Yes, we were. Whose father was, of course, the great prize fighter, a Jew prize fighter, I should say. That's right. He was Jewish on his father's side. Yes. If that counts. Yeah. And he boxed

with a star of David on his trunks. That's right. And beat Max Mellon. Correct, which we talked about. But his father, Max, yeah, Max Bayer, appeared in this movie, basically playing himself. And the movie was Humphrey Bogart's last film. And it was called The Harder They Fall.

And it was written by Bud Schulberg. Yeah, Bud Schulberg. Yeah. Who, of course, wrote. Well, Requiem for Heavyweight, and on the waterfront. Yeah. And, yeah, it's Bogart's last.

Rod Steiger is in it. And so it shows a weird mixing of old Hollywood and then actors like Rod Steiger, who were the new Hollywood, the method actors. And I always wondered how the two of their styles clashed. But it was a very interesting film.

Bogart, since it was his last film, he was dying. He was sickly. He had throat cancer. And he, so there were points where he couldn't be understood. And the great voiceover artist, Paul Freese. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Did some looping.

Yeah. He was the voice of Boris Batinov, as well as a million other. Paul Freese, look him up. Cartoons. He was also the Cyclops in The Cyclops with Lon Chaney. Right. I think that came up during our anniversary episode. And so he was called the man of a thousand voices. Before Mel Blanc. Yeah, he was a great

voice. And so he was dubbing in, he would do a Humphrey Bogart imitation for the parts of the movie where you couldn't make out Bogart's voice. I never knew that. It's like when Anthony Hopkins was called into loop, I think it was Olivier. Yeah. Yeah. When they re-released Spartacus. Yeah. Yeah. And what's the picture about? And, oh, it's about an hour and a half.

Thank you. Thank you. Remember to tip your waitresses. Bogart's a sports writer. Yeah. It's basically like on the story of this Primo Carnera. Right, who we talked about with Max. Who Max Baer won the heavyweight title from. Yeah, and I think Primo Carnera was basically, I could have beat him in a fight.

He was one of those kind of fighters. And the mob owned him. You mean he was like a palooka? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, exactly. Yes. A bum.

Like Jerry Cooney. Yeah. And the mob owned him. Correct. And they used to have him like either win or take a dive. Right. They would. And so Bogart gets involved with Rod Steiger, who's the head gangster.

Right. And he starts to find out how they're using and abusing this fighter that they have and how he gets no money. He gets totally screwed on everything. He gets no money. He gets totally screwed on everything. Oh, the great character actor. What? Oh, geez.

Give me a hint. What was he in? Oh, geez. That's the problem. He was in this. Aldo Ray. Nehemiah Persoff. Oh, Nehemiah Persoff. Yeah.

He's in it, and he plays Leo, the accountant. And when Steiger's asking, how come all this money isn't going to the fighter? He goes, well, you'll have to ask Leo that, but don't argue with Leo. He's never wrong. Oh, I like it. I like your Steiger. It's a little like your Olivier. Yes.

Nehemiah Persoff. And I remember Steiger has a great part where Bogart goes, well, you know, I'll print this. It'll be in all the papers. The people will find out. And Steiger goes, oh,

the people, the people, the little people who drink beer and fall asleep in front of their television sets. That's good. I never heard you do Rod Steiger in all the time we've been doing this. It's well worth it. The harder they fall.

Yeah, yeah. Okay. And we were talking to Max Bear Jr. about his father. His father had a lot of roles. His father they fall. Yeah, yeah. Okay. To see this movie. And we were talking to Max Baer Jr. about his father. His father had a lot of roles. His father did a fair amount of acting. He had an onion roll, a cinnamon roll. And he would work with a guy named Slapsy Maxy Rosenblum. Yes, yes. Who we didn't get to mention.

And I remember every comedian on TV when I was growing up. Right. If they would play, do a joke with a punch-drunk fighter, it was basically... It was Slapsy Maxie, yeah. They would always talk like that. Does he show up in the movie, Slapsy Maxie, or is it just... He might.

I don't know. I think he definitely shows up in Requiem for a Heavyweight. Right, okay. But, yeah, no, he's... And also, it's one of those films that's very depressing. I haven't seen it. I know of it. I've read about it.

Oh, and another great character actor who I wish we could have interviewed. Who's that? Edward Andrews. Oh, Edward Andrews. Yeah. Oh, he was in a lot of stuff. Yeah. And most people would remember him as the uncle in 16 candles edward andrews

that's right yeah that's right he was loads of things yeah he was and he was like he was kind of like james caron he had one of those careers that just went on and on and on you couldn't name a movie he was in you couldn't name him but right you said that was that guy right yeah speaking of slapsey maxi rosenblum i think he's referenced in a Honeymooners episode. Oh, yes! In the TV. Yeah. Where they buy the TV,

and Ralph and Ed are trying to decide what to watch, and Ralph's going through the TV guide, and he says, Slapsy Maxi Rosenblum versus Kingfish Levinsky. Do you remember this? And Norton wants to watch Captain Video. Oh, yes. I think I misspoke. I think, and Dara just

passed out. Dara, I think I misspoke. I think that Rod Serling may have written Requiem for Heavyweight. Yes. So, I said Bud Schulberg. Official Space Helmet on Captain Video! My movie is one that you know. And I'm going to steal your favorite director this week.

You've been talking about Sidney Lumet. Yes. In previous weeks, we talked about By Braverman. The Pawnbroker. The Pawnbroker. We talked about a couple of things. Oh, God. The Prince of the City.

Right. Those are three that you picked. Yeah. And I watched one last night, The Verdict. Yes. Which is just a terrific movie from the 80s with Paul Newman in a major role. I talked about Paul Newman in two previous picks. I picked The Hudsucker Proxy and Road to Perdition, but those were both small Paul Newman roles.

This was a starring role. And it's important to remember, Paul Newman's Jewish. That's right. That's right, he was. You sure you don't want to change the title of these shows going forward? And also in The Verdict. In The Verdict, he plays an Irishman from Boston. And it's got one of my co-stars from Problem Shop.

Jack Warden. Jack Warden. Also, Irish-Jewish. Really? Jack Warden. Jack Warden. Also, Irish-Jewish. Really? Jack Warden. And I'll tell you else who turns up. Edward Binns. Oh, my God, yes.

Turns up in The Verdict playing the Cardinal. Edward Binns was in Night Moves with Gene Hackman. That I recommend. That's right. But he was also juror number six to Jack Warden's juror number seven in 12 Angry Men. Oh my god, yes! So there you go. Was he the advertising exec?

I think so. I'm trying to remember. Wasn't Robert Webber? Oh, it could have been Robert Webber. Robert Webber was the... Who was a favorite of Blake Edwards? Blake Edwards, yeah. That's right. Because he's the gay songwriter in 10. Oh, yes. Yeah, we love Robert Webber, too. So a little bit about the verdict.

I mean, Newman's great. He plays a drunk Boston lawyer who's got one last shot. It's a redemption story. One last shot at making a name for himself. And it's a malpractice suit. And it's a terrific film. I don't want to give too much of it away. There's so much to like about it.

I watched it with my wife last night, and she said, you know, it really takes its time getting to where it's going. It's long. Yeah. And it's deliberate. It's just like a great three-act play written by a playwright, David Mamet. A smart film. This you'll find interesting, that everybody was attached to this film when Richard Zanuck and David Brown

bought the rights to the novel. Supposedly, Frank Sinatra offered to play the part of Frank Galvin for no money. Oh, wow. Now, I don't know if this is true, so we'll do a little deep research into it. But everybody was attached to it. Roy Scheider wanted to do it.

Dustin Hoffman wanted to do it. Robert Redford had it for a while. Sidney Pollack was going to do it. Arthur Hiller was going to do it. It was one of these movies that had a journey and wound up with Lumet and Paul Newman. And as the villain playing the Prince of fucking Darkness, to quote Jack Ward and James Mason.

Oh, yes. James Mason was great in that. In one of his last films, because he died two years later. And I think, was that yet another film? Like, I know Heaven Can Wait. They originally wanted Cary Grant, I think. Cary Grant was supposedly discussed for this. Yeah.

According to what I found on IMDb, but it's a little... He died, I think, I think he was dead by 86. And that made it difficult. Well, this was 82. He died, I think, I think he was dead by 86. And that made it difficult. Well, this was 82, and I can't imagine that, and Grant wasn't acting, hadn't acted since the 60s. So I don't know if that's true. Charlotte Rampling turns up. Oh, and Milo O'Shea.

And Milo O'Shea's great. He's the evil judge. He's the corrupt judge. Don't want to give too much of the plot away. Sadly, Newman, who's great in the role, lost the best actor to Ben Kingsley that year. And Hoffman was also lost, starred in Tootsie that year. They both lost to Ben Kingsley.

A smart film, just an absorbing film that you actually can't pull yourself away from. Dustin Hoffman and Ben Kingsley are Jewish. And that's important to know. And Jack Warden, what, half a Jew? Yeah, half a Jew. I understand Milo O'Shea, also Jewish.

Yes, yes. He was circumcised. By way of county cork. He wouldn't work on Saturdays. And they had a close production because it was Yom Kippur, and Milo O'Shea refused to work. I want you to know, how many podcasts in the world? What are there now, Darren?

Six, seven, ten, thousands of podcasts? How many podcasts? Are there any podcasts that mention both James Mason and Slapsy Maxi Rosenblum? I'm a punch drunk fighter. Go ahead, punch me in the face. Now, I think Slapsy Maxie. Yeah, he was in the Monsters. Yeah, but wasn't he also in a movie that was very similar?

It was basically almost like a ripoff, trying to be like Arsenic and Old Lace. Ooh. With Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. Oh, my God. I got to look that one up. It was with Slapsy Maxi and the Raymond Massey part. I think Slapsy Maxi was in it. Yeah.

But it was like playing up like people killing people as a comedy. Right. Oh, God. They used to show that on TV. We'll Google it after we record this. Slapsy Maxi was probably getting the parts Mike Mazurki turned down. Yes. Yeah.

Another name you can look up. I remember him in the Munsters. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he always played the punch-drunk fighter or the palooka or the bank robber or the guy that was basically, you know, because Max Bear died young and Slopsy Maxie got his parts. So this week. Maxie Maxie got his parts. So this week.

The two movies, my pick was The Harder They Fall with the great Humphrey Bogart and Rod Steiger about the fight racket. And your film, of course. The Verdict. Yeah. And we'll keep bringing up, I think Sidney Lumet's going to keep coming back. And this is interesting because this is one of the Sidney Lumet films not in New York. That's right. Yeah.

That's right. Set in Boston. Yeah. Yeah. But a terrific film. And Newman was never better. So see this one and I will actually watch The Heart of They Fall. You know, after Problem Child came out, the reviews were, Gilbert Gottfried's never been better. Really?

Yeah. That was in the street news, right? Yes, yes. That review. He's certainly never been better. We've seen everything else he's done, and we can assure you, he's never been better. They call you a young Edward Binns? Yes. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. internet. The folks behind the Sideshow Network have launched a new YouTube channel called

Wait For It. It's got interviews with comedians like Reggie Watts, Todd Glass, Liza Schleichinger, Slicing, driving friends with her for 10 years. One of the funniest people out there, and I still have a hard time with the last name, Liza. Our very own Owen Benjamin, that's me, takes you on a musical journey down internet rabbit holes and much more. You don't have to wait any longer. Just go to youtube.com slash waitforitcomedy. There's no need to wait for it anymore.

Because it's here. And it's funny. And I love you. A few days ago, Brooke Tudine posted an inspirational quote on her wall that got 17 likes and 3 comments. Thumbs up, Brooke. Geico also wants to make a comment. In just 15 minutes, you could save hundreds of dollars on your car insurance by switching to Geico.

And nothing says inspiration better than saving money. Well, except for those posters that say things like teamwork, excellence, and make it happen. Hashtag keep climbing. Hashtag savings. GEICO. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.