Irene Dunne is not as famous now as she ought to be, considering how well-loved she was in her lifetime. She was the most bankable actress in Hollywood for years. Ironically, since her films were so popular, they are forgotten-- it’s because the more popular a film was the more likely it was to get remade, and all her best films were. Then the remaking studio bought the rights to the original, and withdrew it from distribution, so her best performances were unavailable until they came into public domain in the 1990s.
Deborah Kerr is strongly identified with her performances in An Affair to Remember, and The King and I. Those are both remakes of Irene Dunne films.
Yes, I know they are not “long-running,” but they are movies that back in the day got lots of TV play to a lot of fanfare.
Wow, does no one even remember the first Hulk movie? Yes, a legit Marvel film… the one with Eric Bana (and Jennifer Connelly). Directed by Ang Lee, with split screen shots instead of actual depth of characterization.
Nonsensical characterization, terrible visual effects, and a climactic final battle where you literally can’t see anything because for some inexplicable reason it was set underwater.
We mostly don’t remember it - but either way it’s not part of the MCU. I mean officially; not every movie about a marvel character is. (See: the Ghost Rider movies.) And even if it was part of the MCU, I consider Bana’s Banner a far poorer recreation of the character of Bruce Banner than Norton’s.
Well, I might as well add one more to this thread now that it is Christmas time (I know there is another thread on just this movie). The TV movie Waltons Homecoming had Ben Lawson and Bellamy Young playing the parents John and Olivia Walton, they were quite a contrast to Ralph Waite and Michael Learned in the series. But all of the children carried over to the series and basically grew up on TV in front of the country.
The Grandpa Walton character was also played by Edgar Bergen in the movie, who in the series was played by Will Geer.
You guys really disappoint me. Everyone knows that Albert Reed portrayed Grady Wilson on Sanford and Son before Whitman Mayo took over the role. Good goobly goo!
Most viewers (at least those below a certain age) only know the version of Mr. Belvedere played by Christopher Hewett on the eponymous 80s sitcom, but the character first appeared in a 1947 novel and was played in three movies by Clifton Webb.
Speaking of Generals Hammond (General Hammonds? Generals Hammonds?) Stargate SG-1 ran for ten seasons, starring Richard Dean Anderson as Jack O’Neill and Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson, characters originally played in the movie Stargate by Kurt Russell and James Spader respectively.
Father Mulcahy was not played by William Christopher in the first episode of MASH - he was played by George Morgan (if we count the movie, then Mulcahy was played by three different actors - but almost everyone would think of Christopher first).
Radio’s Johnny Dollar was portrayed by 8 different actors - but Bob Bailey (number 6) is the best known, I think.
A tricky case - Sherman Helmsley was the first and only actor to play George Jefferson. What’s that you say? You remember Mel Stewart playing Mr Jefferson, married to Louise? That was Henry Jefferson, George’s brother. Norman Lear always wanted Helmsley for the part of George, but Helmsley wasn’t available initially, so he created Henry Jefferson, a character who Louise initially pretended was George (but who she admitted later in the same episode was really George’s brother - George being unwilling to eat in the Bunkers’ home). A few episodes later, Henry moved out, and George appeared (apparently willing to at least yell at Archie).
I’ll raise you one. It’s actually based upon an earlier movie Spencer’s Mountain (1963) starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O’hara. The names and location were changed, but it’s still based upon the original Earl Hamner book. I think it’s close enough to fall into the purview of the OP. The main characters are Clay and his son Clayboy.
I’ll add in Dukes of Hazzard, which was based upon an earlier film called Moonrunners (1975). It even has Waylon Jennings as the narrator. The story of cousins, Grady and Bobby Lee Hagg, who run bootleg liquor for their uncle Jesse Hagg of Shiloh County, it even has a muscle car named after General Lee’s horse.
Side interesting trivia. There was a fad in the 70s 80s to create Saturday morning cartoons based upon popular TV shows or characters. Examples include Gilligan’s Island (in space), Brady Bunch Kids, Jackson 5, Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley (who joined the army with the Fonz) and so on. Dukes of Hazzard did one, but it was during the season that Tom Wopat and John Schneider were on strike so they used Coy and Vince. They also did some shorts with Inspector Clouseau to accompany the Pink Panther shorts but it was during the time Alan Arkin was playing the character, so the voice actor (Pat Harrington Jr of One Day at a Time) was playing him as Alan Arkin rather than Peter Sellars.
He’s the first Doctor I saw, so I always think of him fondly.
When re-watching Gaslight – the Anton Walbrook/Diana Wynyard version – the TCM host mentioned that MGM tried to have all copies of that version destroyed so their version (Charles Boyer/Ingrid Bergman) would be the only one available. Thank God they weren’t successful, because the Walbrook/Wynyard version was so much better.
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