# Really Bad Movie - Really Large Famous Cast **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012 "2005-03-30T23:09:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/1 "2005-03-30T23:09:40Z")
My TIVO recorded _Cannonball Run II_ for some unknown reason. For some stranger reason, I found myself watching it in fascination. The movie was just as bad as I anticipated, but I could not believe the cast. What other movie could have Tim Conway, Frank Sinatra and Jackie Chan in the same film. I was wondering who could pursuade this many big names (at least at the time) to sign up for this dreck. Here is a partial cast list: Burt Reynolds Dom DeLuise Dean Martin Sammy Davis Jr Jamie Farr Telly Savalas Marilu Henner Shirley MacLaine (As a seriously disturbing “sexy fake nun” making out with Burt Reynolds ‘shudder’) Susan Anton Catherine Bach Foster Brooks Sid Caesar Jackie Chan (Whaaa? Well, I think he was pretty unknown in the US at the time) Tim Conway Tony Danza Jack Elam Richard Kiel (Of James bond villain fame - teemed up with the aforesaid “Mr. Chan”) Don Knotts Ricardo Montalban Jim Nabors (as, get this, Private Homer Lyle) Charles Nelson Reilly Frank Sinatra (Frank freakin’ Sinatra, did he lose a bet?) Joe Theismann Mel Tillis (In a car with Tony Danza and an ape) Abe Vigoda Arte Johnson and (wait for it) George “Goober” Lindsey Anyway - anyone else know any other movies you can’t understand how it was casted? Share ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/2 "2005-03-30T23:30:41Z")
I have noticed this phenomenon A LOT- unbelievably crappy movies with uber famous casts (and _after_ they’ve made it big). _Town and Country_, _Nothing but Trouble_, _Rat Race_ (to name a few). Either someone’s cashing in some favours or clashing egos turned everything sour. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/3 "2005-03-30T23:32:51Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about _Ocean’s 12_ ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/4 "2005-03-31T00:27:32Z")
> [@Cat Fight](#): > > _Rat Race_ Aw, c’mon! This has 3 1/5 Oscar winners in it: Whoopi Goldberg Cuba Gooding Jr. Kathy Bates and in the Roberto Benigni role - Rowan Atkinson! How could it miss? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/5 "2005-03-31T00:30:32Z")
The winner and all-time champion of oddball casing, as I’ve claimed before on the SDMB, is **The Story of Mankind** , a ruly whacko production with: Ronald Colman as the Spirit of Mankind Vincent Price as "Mr. Scratch, the Devil OK, this one makes sense) Peter Lorre as Emperor Ner Groucho Marx as Peter Minuit Harpo Marx as Sir Isaac Newton And a great many misplaced others. Hendrik van Loon’s book was serious, but I have no idea what the makers of the film were trying to do. As we’ve pointed out beforem, the late 1950s/early 1960s was the era of the Try-to-fit-in-as-many-cameos-as-you-can era: \*\*It’s a Mad. Mad, Mad, Mad World Casino Royale Around the World in 80 Days What a way to Go!\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/6 "2005-03-31T00:45:47Z")
_Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band_ The Bee Gees Peter Frampton George Burns Donald Pleasence Steve Martin Alice Cooper Aerosmith Earth Wind and Fire Billy Preston ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/7 "2005-03-31T00:48:38Z")
[The Madwoman of Chaillot](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064621/): Katharine Hepburn\*, Paul Henreid, Oskar Homolka, Yul Brynner\*, Richard Chamberlain, Dame Edith Evans, Donald Pleasence, John Gavin, and Danny Kaye [The Blue Bird](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074225/) : Elizabeth Taylor\*, Jane Fonda\*, Ava Gardner, Cicely Tyson, Robert Morley, Patsy Kensit, Will Geer, and Mona Washbourne (James Coco was also in the cast, but got sick and had to drop out). [The Story of Mankind](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051016/): credits order) Ronald Colman\*, Hedy Lamarr, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx (their last film together, though they didn’t appear together), Virginia Mayo, Agnes Moorehead (Endora on “Bewitched”), Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Charles Coburn\*, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Cesar Romero, John Carradine, Dennis Hopper, Edward Everett Horton, Franklin Pangborn, (very well-known character actor), Henry Daniell, and Francis X. Bushman (major silent film star) - Oscar winner ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/8 "2005-03-31T00:48:47Z")
I’m pretty sure that some of it is that having certain actors in a movie will guarantee big bucks at the box office, so someone is probably thinking “Hey, we have Tom Hanks in our movie, we’re gonna make tons of money! Script? What do you mean we need a script? We have Tom Hanks!” And of course, the more big names, the better. **Rat Race** is rather enjoyable as a brainless comedy, but nothing more. In general, the more big names, the more the movie is going to suck. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/9 "2005-03-31T00:52:51Z")
Bonfire of the Vanities, anyone? Tom Hanks Bruce Willis Melanie Griffith Kim Cattrall Morgan Freeman Kirsten Dunst F. Murray Abraham ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/10 "2005-03-31T01:11:25Z")
**Mars Attacks!** Jack Nicholson Glenn Close Annette Bening Pierce Brosnan Danny DeVito Martin Short Sarah Jessica Parker Michael J. Fox Rod Steiger Tom Jones Jim Brown Lukas Haas Natalie Portman Pam Grier Sylvia Sidney Jack Black Christina Applegate Joe Don Baker ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/11 "2005-03-31T03:28:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As we’ve pointed out beforem, the late 1950s/early 1960s was the era of the Try-to-fit-in-as-many-cameos-as-you-can era: > \*\*It’s a Mad. Mad, Mad, Mad World > > Casino Royale > > Around the World in 80 Days > > What a way to Go!\*\* How about The Longest Day? Eddie Albert Richard Burton Sean Connery Mel Ferrer Henry Fonda Gert Frobe Robert Mitchum Robert Ryan Rod Stieger John Wayne – and that’s just the A-list stars ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/12 "2005-03-31T03:51:20Z")
I actually love Mystery Men, but I wouldn’t call it a great movie by any standards. Still, it stars: Ben Stiller Janeane Garofalo William H. Macy Hank Azaria Geoffrey Rush Greg Kinnear Eddie Izzard Lena Olin Claire Forlani Paul Reubens Kel Mitchell Tom Waits Wes Studi ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/13 "2005-03-31T04:59:28Z")
One of the things that killed off the disaster movie genre was the godawful “When Time Ran Out,” an Irwin Allen movie about a resort island where a deadly volcano is about to blow. The cast included: Paul Newman Jacqueline Bisset William Holden Burgess Meredith Red Buttons Ernest Borgnine James Franciscus Veronica Hamel Edward Albert Alex Karras Barbara Carrera Pat Morita There have been very few worse movies, and very few movies with more stellar casts. Finding a worse movie with a better cast will be a challenge! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/14 "2005-03-31T05:50:10Z")
There’s nothing really surprising about the cast for _Cannonball Run II_: Burt Reynolds Dom DeLuise - frequent Reynolds costar, from first movie Dean Martin - Rat Pack, from first movie Sammy Davis Jr - Rat Pack, from first movie Jamie Farr - from first movie Telly Savalas Marilu Henner - _Taxi_ cast member, frequent Reynolds costar Shirley MacLaine - Rat Pack Susan Anton Catherine Bach - frequent Reynolds costar Foster Brooks Sid Caesar Jackie Chan - from first movie Tim Conway Tony Danza - _Taxi_ cast member Jack Elam - from first movie Richard Kiel Don Knotts Ricardo Montalban Jim Nabors - frequent Reynolds costar, _Gomer Pyle_ cast member Charles Nelson Reilly Frank Sinatra (Frank freakin’ Sinatra, did he lose a bet?) - Rat Pack Joe Theismann Mel Tillis - frequent Reynolds costar. from first movie Abe Vigoda Arte Johnson George “Goober” Lindsey - _Gomer Pyle_ castmember This is basically most of the cast of the first movie, a group of Burt Reynolds’s pals, some former cast members from _Taxi_ and _Gomer Pyle_ who knew the Reynolds pals, and the Rat Pack. It’s actually quite similar to the Rat Pack movies, where you always suspected that the Rat Pack members were having more fun making the film than you were in watching it. Throw in some current hot TV babes, some TV comedian character actors, some down-on-their-luck TV actors, and a random sports star and you’ve got a typical Burt Reynolds movie of that era. The very laziness of the casting is one of the reason it was no good and was pretty much the end of Reynold’s time as a major movie star. What would have been surprising would be if it were to have Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Meryl Streep, Woody Allen, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Jack Nicholson, Donald Sutherland, Robert DeNiro, or any major European actor of the time in the cast. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/15 "2005-03-31T07:06:20Z")
I once watched the movie “A Bridge Too Far” without knowing a thing about it. It is an OK movie, but nothing particularly outstanding. Not “really bad” as the OP, but definitely middle of the pack for WWII movies. Directed by Richard Attenborough. Starring (among others): James Caan Michael Caine Sean Connery Elliot Gould Gene Hackman Anthony Hopkins Ryan O’Neal Laurence Olivier Robert Redford Maximilian Schell Liv Ullman John Ratzenberger So next time you were looking for a movie with both Cliffy and Sir Laurence Olivier, that’s your movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/16 "2005-03-31T07:55:44Z")
[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0075436/combined) Bruce Dern Madeline Kahn Art Carney Phil Silvers Teri Garr Morey Amsterdam Billy Barty Edgar Bergen Milton Berle Rory Calhoun John Carradine Cyd Charisse Jackie Coogan Yvonne De Carlo William Demarest Stepin Fetchit Zsa Zsa Gabor Shecky Greene Sterling Holloway Tab Hunter George Jessel Fernando Lamas Dorothy Lamour Peter Lawford Victor Mature Ethel Merman Ann Miller Ricardo Montalban Dean Stockwell Johnny Weissmuller Henny Youngman Plus a whole mess more who have imdb listings going back into the 20’s and 30’s. Were the studios cleaning out stockroom or something? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/17 "2005-03-31T08:00:32Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > How about The Longest Day? > > Eddie Albert > Richard Burton > Sean Connery > Mel Ferrer > Henry Fonda > Gert Frobe > Robert Mitchum > Robert Ryan > Rod Stieger > John Wayne > > – and that’s just the A-list stars The Longest Dat is a Bad movie? Sure, it may not be as intense as “Saving Private Ryan”, but it’s still pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/18 "2005-03-31T19:40:59Z")
People will probably disagree with me but: The Ten Commandments Charlton Heston Yul Brynner Cedric Hardwicke Anne Baxter Vincent Price Edward G. Robinson Martha Scott Yvonne DeCarlo Judith Anderson John Derek John Carradine Nina Foch Henry Wilcoxon Debra Paget and a cast of thousands, including members of the Egyptian army, and according to rumor, Fidel Castro ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/19 "2005-03-31T20:02:59Z")
**Shark Tale.** I mean, Will Smith I can see, and probably Angelina Joliee. But Robert De Niro? Martin Scorsese? Renée Zellweger? Either they were really slummin’, or hard up for cash… ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012/20 "2005-03-31T20:46:19Z")
You people have a hard time telling a truly bad movie like _Sgt. Pepper’s LHCB_ from one that just may not be your cup of espresso. _The Ten Commandments_ was one of the best comedies of all time. “Mother of Mercy! Is this the end of Dathan?” Anne Baxter in Betty Page bangs, hot-cha-cha! What? Hmm, my irony meter must be stuck again. _SgtP’sLHCB_ did suck pretty badly and did nearly kill the careers of several musicians in it but they weren’t actors to begin with. _Cannonball Run II_ had the suck knob turned all the way up (and it goes to eleven) but the huge cast had a lot of folks on the down slope of their careers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movie-really-large-famous-cast/297012.md?page=2)