My Favorite Year (1982)
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100% of critics liked it
(22 reviews) -
83% of users liked it
(4,516 ratings)
In Richard Benjamin's directorial debut, Mark Linn-Baker stars as Benjy Stone, junior writer on the popular 1950s TV comedy/variety series The King Kaiser Show. Kaiser (Joseph Bologna)'s guest star this week is Hollywood matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), a swashbuckling Errol… More In Richard Benjamin's directorial debut, Mark Linn-Baker stars as Benjy Stone, junior writer on the popular 1950s TV comedy/variety series The King Kaiser Show. Kaiser (Joseph Bologna)'s guest star this week is Hollywood matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), a swashbuckling Errol Flynn type, right down to his indiscriminate womanizing and fondness for mass quantities of booze. Stone is assigned to keep the actor out of trouble during rehearsals and deliver him sober to the performance. Becoming fast friends, Stone and Swann alternate baby-sitting responsibilities: Swann takes the young writer to the Stork Club and on an early-morning jaunt through Central Park with a "borrowed" police horse, while Stone takes Swann to his home, where the star is fawned over by Benji's mom (Lainie Kazan) and asked embarrassing questions about his love life by Uncle Morty (Lou Jacobi). Despite a few anxious moments, all goes well until Swann, panicking at the discovery that King Kaiser's show will be telecast live and not on film, walks out just before airtime. Shamed by Benjy into honoring his committment, Swann makes a spectacular, timber-smashing entrance, saving the show and rescuing Kaiser from being rubbed out by a gangster (Cameron Mitchell) whom the comedian has offended. The film co-stars Jessica Harper, Gloria Stuart and Selma Diamond, a real-life comedy writer for Sid Caesar. My Favorite Year was converted into an unsuccessful Broadway musical in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Richard Benjamin
- Written By
- Dennis Palumbo
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Oct 1, 1982 Wide
- Studio
- MGM Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Peter O'Toole received an Oscar nomination for playing an eccentric womanizer and boozy star (modeled on Errol Flynn) in this charming comedy set in the 1950s.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An excellent vehicle for O'Toole to shine in a tour de force performance.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Wildly enjoyable comedy with great O'Toole performance.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Peter O'Toole
as Alan Swann
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Mark Linn-Baker
as Benjy Stone
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Jessica Harper
as K.C. Downing
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Joseph Bologna
as King Kaiser
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Bill Macy
as Sy Benson
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Lainie Kazan
as Belle Carroca
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Anne De Salvo
as Alice Miller
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Basil Hoffman
as Herb Lee
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Lou Jacobi
as Uncle Morty
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Adolph Green
as Leo Silver
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Tony di Benedetto
as Alfie Bumbacelli
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George Wyner
as Myron Fein
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Selma Diamond
as Lil
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Cameron Mitchell
as Karl Rojeck
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Rex Benson
as Makeup Man
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Corinne Bohrer
as Bonnie
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Richard Brestoff
as Stage Manager
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Stanley Brock
as Mr. Berkowitz
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Philip Bruns
as Fed. Marshal Holt
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Nick Dimitri
as Thug #4
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Teresa Ganzel
as Dumpling
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Martin Garner
as Mr. Cantor
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Howard George
as Artie
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Ted Grossman
as Marris
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Karen Haber
as Vivian
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Archie Hahn III
as Delivery Boy
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Fox Harris
as Curt
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Barbra Horan
as Lady Eleanor
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Denver Mattson
as Thug #1
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John Medici
as Scalfoni
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Jed Mills
as Member #1
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Jenny Neumann
as Connie
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George Marshall Ruge
as Lord Drummond
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Vincent Sardi
as Policeman
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Pearl Shear
as Mrs. Kessler
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Richard Warwick
as Technical Director
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John Welsh
as Cubby Brown
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Norman Steinberg
as Sandy
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Phil Adams
as Stagehand #1
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Richard Butler
as Stagehand #2
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Priscilla Kovary
as Priscilla
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Ramon Sison
as Rookie Carroca
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George Fisher
as Thug #2
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Gloria Stuart
as Mrs. Horn
- Barbara Horan
- Tony DiBenedetto
