The Comic

In The Comic, Dick Van Dyke plays Billy Bright, silent-era film comedian. The opening scene is at his funeral in which his sidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney) honors his partner's last request by hitting the preacher in the face with a pie. Van Dyke's voice then narrates the life story of the comic in ...more

Branching out from his television success with Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner crafted the story of Billy Bright, a brilliant silent-film comedian whose talent was overshadowed only by his ego and his thirst for alcohol. Billy's remembrances of his glorious past from his bottom-of-the-rung existence is the central plot of The Comic. Combining elements of Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the underrated Harry Langdon, and Stan Laurel, Billy is given life by the aforementioned Van Dyke in a very personal ...more