The Comic *** (1969, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Cornel Wilde, Michele Lee) – Classic Movie Review 13,658

Carl Reiner’s lively Hollywood comedy-drama film The Comic has a lovely tailor-made role for Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright, a Buster Keaton-style silent comedian who falls into alcoholism.

Co-writer/ producer/ director Carl Reiner’s funny and appealing 1969 American Pathécolor labour of love comedy-drama film The Comic stars Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Cornel Wilde.

Carl Reiner’s lively Hollywood tragedy with laughs has a lovely tailor-made role for Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright, a drunken Buster Keaton-style silent comedian seen in flashback from rise to fall.

The sharp playing of Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney (as a Ben Turpin character called Cockeye) and the silent film pastiches help make this a treasure trove for fans of old movies or old comics.

The script by Carl Reiner and Aaron Rubin is warm, amusing and sympathetic, while Reiner shows unusual control in both the writing and direction (and he has a cameo as an agent, Al Schilling). Michele Lee also stars as Bright’s love interest, leading lady Mary Gibson, and Cornel Wilde plays the director Frank Powers. Van Dyke also plays Billy Bright Jr.

Dick Van Dyke recalled: ‘Very few people saw that movie, but we were proud of it.’

The cast: Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Cornel Wilde, Michele Lee, Pert Kelton, Nina Wayne, Jeannine Reilly, Steve Allen, Barbara Heller, Ed Peck, Gavin MacLeod, Jay Novello, Fritz Feld, Jerome Cowan, Carl Reiner.

Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke was born on 13 December 1925. His awards include six Emmys, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and a Tony. He turned 100 in 2025.

He will always be remembered as as Bert the cockney chimney sweep in Mary Poppins (1964), but his other films include Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and The Comic (1969).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,658

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