$9.99 | iTunes
Released: 2005
Judy Holliday re-creates her Broadway role of flibbertigibbet telephone operator Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing. Ella works for Susanswerphone, a hole-in-the-wall answering service run by her cousin Sue (Jean Stapleton). Our girl Ella can't help but become involved in the lives of her customers, which bring her to the attention of a dimwitted police detective, Barnes (Dort Clark), who suspects that Susanswerphone is a front for a house of ill repute. The cop is so obtuse that he never notices the story's genuine criminal, a flamboyant German bookie (Eddie Foy Jr.) who poses as a record executive and uses the names of composers as code for the various racetracks around the country. To avoid Barnes' wiretapping, Ella goes around New York in person to minister to the needs of her clientsmost notably playwright Jeffrey Moss (Dean Martin), who is in danger of becoming an alcoholic if he can't come up with a good idea for a play. Assuming a false identity, Ella prattles on about some of her other clients, notably a dentist (Bernie West) who composes pop songs on his air hose. Moss is inspired by Ella, and eventually falls in love with her. Because she will not reveal who she really is to Jeffrey, Ella decides that her relationship is founded on lies, and walks out of his life. But Moss, together with the other Susanswerphone customers who have been "rescued" by Ella, show up at Ella's doorstep for a happy ending.
$$$ | Netflix
Released: 1977
Charles Grodin and Marlo Thomas star as a neurotic New York City couple on the outs. Martin and Sally Cramer grew up on the hardscrabble Lower East Side, where Sally still teaches; meanwhile, Martin's the head of a fancy private school. Romantic dalliances with others convince them that they're meant to be together despite their differences -- a decision that's cemented, oddly enough, by an over-the-top argument that draws the police.
$9.99 | iTunes
Released: 1968
One of the most popular movie musicals ever made! FUNNY GIRL follows the early career of stage comedienne Fanny Brice, a role that earned Barbra Streisand the 1968 Oscar® for Best Actress. As the film opens, only her mother believes Fanny can make it in show business. When she gets her first break at Keeney's Music Hall, her hilarious debut as a roller-skating chorus girl gets her hired as a comedienne. A year later Fanny is working for Florenz Ziegfeld in his famous Follies and brings the house down with an outrageous and unplanned number. Fanny becomes a star, falls in love and marries NickArnstein (Omar Sharif), a handsome gambler whose luck doesn't hold up. The film's many memorable songs include "Don't Rain On My Parade" and the Streisand classic "People."
$$$ | VUDU
Released: 1968
Barbra Streisand's debut film won her the Academy Award(r) for her performance as singer-comedienne Fanny Brice. Nominated for seven other awards, this classic musical film contrasts Fanny's onstage antics with her offstage romance with dashing gambler, Nicky Arnstein (Omar Shariff).
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