Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Robin Williams: Comic Genius
Robin Williams, one of the most gifted and versatile comedians of his generation, surfaced for the general public on the popular television series “Mork & Mindy” (1978-1982). Eleven episodes of that show (including the two-part pilot) are accounted for in this box set, but as much of the material collected here shows, Williams’ métier wasn’t necessarily playing to the camera but performing for a live audience.
Among the gems in Comic Genius are Williams’ five HBO specials (1978-2000), where his amicable brashness generated cascades of laughter through improvising with audience members. Although some of his characterizations wouldn’t fly today, he was already onto the fraught subjects of race and class as far back as the late ’70s. Then, he often wore a smile that seemed to conceal a secret. Comic Genius is comprised of 22 DVDs, including previously unreleased concerts (USO shows among them) plus original interviews and mini-documentaries.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
The seamy, “Hollywood Confidential” side of movieland was long suspected and is now well documented. Adding to the narrative is this documentary on Scotty Bowers, who ran a hustling enterprise out of an L.A. gas station that primarily serviced gay men in the closeted 1940s-’50s. Among his clients: Cary Grant and George Cukor. According to Bowers, their appetites were voracious. Business was brisk but dangerous in an age when one false move could end a career.
Mr. Capra Goes to War: Frank Capra’s World War II Documentaries
Two days after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military came to Hollywood looking to mobilize the movie industry for the war effort. In response, beloved director Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) helmed a series of “information films” intended to instruct American servicemen on the reasons behind the war. Working with modest budgets, Capra made effective use of found footage to depict Axis villainy and promote the Allied cause. Film historian Joseph McBride provides commentary.
