296:) refuses and Bright begins to storm off, but when his car rolls off a cliff he is forced to accept the terms. As soon as the cameras are rolling, however, he improvises (and sabotages) his way to becoming the hero of the scenario. His combination of acquiescence and audacity pays off, and before long he has become a major film comedy star in the 1910s and '20s, the silent picture era of
376:. The denouement of Bright's life, and the film, finds him in and out of the hospital and visited by his now-grown son Billy Jr. (also played by Van Dyke in a dual role), reduced to setting the alarm in his dingy two-room apartment, and catching airings of him and his former wife's old comedies at odd hours on TV — which he watches without a hint of a smile.
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clown Bright arrives on his first
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The film did poorly at the box office upon its release, but it was appreciated later as a movie about one silent star's rise and fall, patterned after the many silent stars who tried to make it and failed in later years.
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Discusses His Career in
Entertainment". Aired September 22, 2000.
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Some details parallel the experiences of silent comedians
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This article is about the 1969 film. For other uses, see
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era and, in part, by the life of silent film superstar
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708:trivia page
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506:Carl Reiner
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451:as Lorraine
427:Steve Allen
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310:Stan Laurel
254:silent film
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236:. It stars
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96:Narrated by
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68:Produced by
62:Aaron Ruben
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672:References
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588:Home media
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482:Fritz Feld
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415:Nina Wayne
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282:flashbacks
227:Pathécolor
198:94 minutes
181:1969-12-26
170:1969-11-19
135:Production
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478:as Phoebe
469:as Miguel
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371:detergent
367:slapstick
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114:Edited by
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891:The Jerk
875:Oh, God!
778:AllMovie
639:See also
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561:Response
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417:as Sybil
363:pratfall
340:sidekick
321:adultery
211:Language
124:Music by
78:Starring
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765:at the
710:at the
658:Chaplin
439:Ed Peck
423:as Mama
278:funeral
214:English
203:Country
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137:company
966:(1997)
958:(1993)
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942:(1989)
934:(1987)
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697:ISBN
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621:ISBN
609:OCLC
553:and
380:Cast
308:and
264:Plot
800:at
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