‘Car 54,’ ‘Dick Cavett’ Head Up August Shout! Streaming
Summer isn’t over just yet! Shout! Factory TV is here to help beat the heat with a packed schedule of stay-inside, binge-worthy entertainment.
This August, Shout! Factory TV is pleased to showcase the digital premiere of all episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?, one of the most beloved shows of television’s golden era. Originally broadcast from 1961-1963, the classic sitcom follows the adventures of two NYPD officers at the fictional 53rd precinct assigned to Patrol Car 54.
Shout! Factory TV continues its devoted exploration of The Dick Cavett Show vault. This month brings the release of the comic legends collection. See the renowned host interview comedy’s best, with the likes of Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, and many more!
Lastly, Shout! Factory TV proudly presents the launch of its series, Backlot. Each episode grants an inside look at cult favorite series and films, covering everything from the Power Rangers to Roger Corman. Hosted by Shout! Factory’s Brian Ward, Backlot showcases interviews, behind the scenes footage, featurettes and much more from the pop culture classics you never outgrew.
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? (All 60 Episodes)
Car 54, Where Are You? stars Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, a lovably inept squad car team that patrols the Bronx. Muldoon plays the long-suffering voice of reason who invariably reins in his short stocky partner’s dimwitted schemes and patiently listens to his hilariously inane prattle. The perfectly cast ensemble of supporting actors includes Beatrice Pons as Toody’s domineering shrew of a wife, Al Lewis as the rubber-faced, irascible Officer Leo Schnauser, Charlotte Rae as Schnauser’s moody, hot-tempered wife and Paul Reed as the perpetually exasperated captain Block. Each episode was filled out with talent drawn from New York’s pool of seasoned film and TV veterans, borscht belt comedians and Broadway stage actors.
The show was the brainchild of Nat Hiken, already famous for his highly acclaimed Sgt. Bilko. Drawing on his 25 years of writing experience for top comedy shows on radio and television (Fred Allen, Milton Berle, Martha Raye), Hiken created a show rich with New York humor and offbeat characters in scripts that were polished jewels of comedy. Soon television would opt for more formulaic programming, and Car 54 Where Are You? was the last gasp of an early golden era of New York television.
THE DICK CAVETT SHOW: COMIC LEGENDS
Before there was Dick Cavett the talk show host, there was Dick Cavett the comedian. Cavett’s early career as a writer for Jack Paar and Johnny Carson naturally led him into the world of stand-up comedy, alongside legendary contemporaries that he would later welcome to “The Dick Cavett Show.” Cavett developed warm personal relationships with people like Groucho Marx, Bob Hope and Jack Benny. These great raconteurs and storytellers had some of their finest moments in Cavett’s studio, where they found a unique forum that didn’t necessarily require them to be funny.
Shout! Factory TV keeps up the monthly themed The Dick Cavett Show releases, curated for fans of rock icons, comic legends, and many more groupings of entertainment’s finest subjects. This August, Shout! Factory TV is streaming a collection of fourteen episodes (from 1969-1985) featuring iconic comedians Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Jerry Lewis and many more. In addition, never-before -released episodes debut on Shout! TV, featuring Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy.
SHOUT! FACTORY TV’S BACKLOT
Backlot – The Bob Newhart Show: Group Therapy Roundtable
Bob Newhart sits down with Peter Bonerz, Jack Riley, Bill Daily and Michael Zinberg.
Backlot – UHF: Comic Con Panel
Weird Al takes a look back at his career in this 2014 San Diego Comic Con Panel.
Backlot – Piranha: The Making of Piranha
Roger Corman, Joe Dante and many more talk about the special effects and go behind the scenes of Piranha.
Backlot – MST3K 25th Anniversary
In part one of the complete history of MST3K, Joel and the rest of the crew discuss the show’s origins and the DIY feel of the early seasons.
Backlot – The Doctor and the Devils: In Conversation
Interview with executive producer Mel Brooks, producer Jonathan Sanger and former Brooksline development executive Randy Auerbach.
Backlot – Power Rangers: Mad Props
Power Rangers cast and crew talk about the vast collection of props used in the iconic series.
Backlot – A Boy and His Dog: In Conversation
Director L.Q. Jones and author Harlan Ellison discuss making A Boy and His Dog.
FILM COMMENTARIES
A Boy and His Dog (with commentary)
(Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton)
Directed by L.Q. Jones and based on the award-winning novella by acclaimed science-fiction author Harlan Ellison, A Boy and His Dog is a dark and often wickedly funny trip through a post-apocalyptic world, where the friendship between a boy and his dog is the only currency that matters.
World War IV lasted only five days but has ravaged Earth, leaving its survivors to battle for food, shelter and companionship in a post-atomic wasteland. This celebrated sci-fi tale follows the exploits of a young man, Vic (Don Johnson), and his sardonic telepathic dog, Blood, as they struggle through the barren wilderness in search of food and women. In the midst of their meager existence, Vic and Blood encounter Quilla June (Susanne Benton), a dubious young woman who lures them into a surreal city deep beneath the earth’s surface. Initially elated to find a colony of survivors, Vic and Blood quickly learn this city is not what it seems.
Audio commentary with director L.Q. Jones, John Arthur Morrill and Charles Champlin.
Aguirre, The Wrath of God (with commentary)
(Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo)
Shout! Factory TV is proud to present visionary filmmaker Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Featuring a seething, controlled performance from frequent collaborator Klaus Kinski, this masterpiece from Herzog is an unforgettable portrait of madness and power.
In the mid-16th century, after annihilating the Incan empire, Gonzalo Pizarro (Allejandro Repullés) leads his army of conquistadors over the Andes into the heart of the most savage environment on earth in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature, and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), “The Wrath of God,” is consumed with visions of conquering all of South America and revolts, leading his own army down a treacherous river on a doomed quest into oblivion.
Audio commentary with Werner Herzog, moderated by Laurens Straub.
Kentucky Fried Movie (with commentary)
(Evan C. Kim, Bong Soo Han, Bill Bixby)
The original take-off cult classic from the highly successful team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (Airplane, The Naked Gun), this “uproariously funny [film]” (TV Guide) launched a thousand laughs and serves as a precursor to the raunch-fests of the ‘80s and the blockbuster success of the Farrelly Brothers films. Directed by the legendary John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers), The Kentucky Fried Movie features a lewd, loosely connected collection of skits that spoof blaxploitation films, news shows, porno movies, TV commercials, kung fu flicks and more!
Including well-known stars such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, George Lazenby and Henry Gibson, this one-of-a-kind film features over 22 gut-bustingly hilarious segments including “Cleopatra Schwartz,” “The Wonderful World Of Sex,” “Catholic High School Girls In Trouble,” “A Fistful Of Yen,” and more!
Audio commentary with director John Landis, writers Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and producer Robert K. Weiss
Knightriders (with commentary)
(Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini)
The members of a traveling Renaissance Faire, who saddle up on motorcycles instead of horses, ride from town to town to stage medieval jousting tournaments with combatants in suits of armor and wielding lances, battle-axes, maces and broadswords. The spectacle of this violent pageant soon garners national attention, much to the dismay of the current king of this Camelot. A challenger to his throne arises as they try to maintain their fairytale existence in a world wrought with corruption.
Written and directed by George A. Romero (The Night Of The Living Dead series) and starring Romero regulars Ed Harris (Creepshow), Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead), John Amplas (Martin), Patricia Tallman (Monkey Shines) and Ken Foree (Dawn Of The Dead), this “vastly underrated elegy to idealism and rugged individualism” (TV Guide) offers “a compelling reworking of Arthurian legend [and] remarkable action scenes in the process” (The Onion A.V. Club)!
Audio commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, John Amplas, and film historian Chris Stavrakis.
Tower Block (with commentary)
(Sheridan Smith, Jamie Thomas King, Jack O’Connell)
The residents of Tower Block 31 are terrified after witnessing the brutal murder of a young man. The case is left unsolved, due in large part to their collective silence. A year later, with their building marked for demolition, the witnesses begin to find themselves picked off one by one by a mysterious sniper out for justice. Pitted against not only the sniper’s deadly traps, but also each other, the residents must figure out a way to escape their own building…or die trying.
Featuring critically hailed performances by Jack O’Connell (300: Rise Of An Empire) and Sheridan Smith (Quartet) and co-starring Ralph Brown (Stoker), and Russell Tovey (BBC’s Being Human), Tower Block is a pulse-pounding thriller that delivers gritty action and relentless suspense!
Audio commentary with writer James Moran.
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
This August, Shout! Factory TV presents two classic MST3K episodes available exclusively month-long!
Multiple Emmy®-nominated and Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) is a true cult classic. Its high-camp rendition of B-movies from every genre to the small screen makes it one of the most memorable pop culture shows of our time. Brimming with laugh-out-loud commentaries from caustically hilarious space travelers Joel Robinson, Mike Nelson and their robot pals Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, MST3K was a genuine phenomenon. Its popularity spawned an MST3K fan following that numbers over hundreds of thousands of fans world-wide.
MST3K: Devil Fish [EXCLUSIVE]
When Dr. Stella Dickens concludes the recent string of grisly deaths and demolished boats can’t be the result of any known marine creature, she sets out to capture the beast, a genetically created bio-weapon that must be kept secret . . . at any cost. One thing’s for sure, however: The fish are biting!
Beware the dolphins, after Mike and the crew of the Satellite of Love decide to mock their intelligence! Meanwhile, Pearl is forced to convince unexpected visitors that the castle’s actually a luxurious cruise liner! No one’s safe — least of all, Devil Fish — in this episode from Mystery Science Theater 3000’s ninth hysterical season!
MST3K: The Atomic Brain [EXCLUSIVE]
What happens when a fiendish tale of postnuclear scientific hubris and lust for youth collides with a bunch of actors, a rolling camera and no budget?
The luckless captives aboard the Satellite of Love know – and let’s just say it ain’t pretty. Join Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot as they riff-isect with comic precision this 1964 horror flick about an old woman’s quest for eternal youth and the weird guys on her payroll who make it happen.
But first you’re treated to some masterful mockery of the 1955 short film What About Juvenile Delinquency? wherein a teen gang member rethinks his career path after his father is mugged. All this and a sneak peek at Tom and Crow’s poignant and whimsical off-SoL play, Love Letters.
Other notable series and movies also streaming on Shout! Factory TV now include:
· THE RED SKELTON SHOW (Episodes 1-30) (Red Skelton, David Rose, Art Gilmore)
· SAPPHIRE & STEEL: Season 5 (David McCallum, Joanna Lumley, David Collings)
· AN AMERICAN SUMMER (Michael Landes, Brian Austin Green, Sherrie Austin)
· BLACK MAGIC (Orson Welles, Nancy Guild, Akim Tamiroff)
· BORN INNOCENT (Linda Blair, Joanna Miles, Allyn Ann McLerie)
· BUSHIDO MAN (Mitsuki Koga, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Masanori Mimoto)
· CIRCLE OF IRON (David Carradine, Jeff Cooper, Christopher Lee)
· KUNG FU GOLD (Kuan-Hsiung Wang, Lan Chi, Fei Lung Huang)
· LADY ICE (Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O’Neill, Robert Duvall)
· THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLASH
· ROBINSON CRUSOE (Dan O’Herlihy, Jaime Fernandez, Felipe de Alba)
· OBLIVION (Richard Joseph Paul, Jackie Swanson, Andrew Divoff)
· WOOCHI (Yun-seok Kim, Su-jeong Lim, Dong-won Kang)
· THE STRANGE CASE OF ALICE COOPER (narrated by Vincent Price)
Discover, experience and binge-watch thousands of hours of culture-defining entertainment for free on Shout! Factory TV by visiting ShoutFactoryTV.com on your desktop or through a mobile browser.
