The best Sammy Davis Jr.’s documentary movies
We present our ranking of the best Sammy Davis Jr.’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Sammy Davis Jr..
Night of 100 Stars
7.1/10
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers payed up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Dean Martin: King of Cool
7.8/10
Dean Martin had a laid-back charm that made him successful in everything from big-screen comedies to television variety shows to live acts in Las Vegas. Filmmaker Tom Donahue explores Martin’s varied career, including his complicated relationships with Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and others. We hear from admirers such as critic Gerald Early, actor Jon Hamm, and Hip-Hop artist RZA who testify to Martin’s enduring mystique.
That's Dancing!
7.2/10
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s 50s and 60s up to the break dance and the music videos from the 80s.
John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
6/10
The gripping story of legendary American actor John Travolta: his rise to stardom in the 1970s; his agonizing fall in disgrace in the 1980s; and his stunning artistic rebirth in the 1990s.
This Is Bob Hope...
7.9/10
During his career, Bob Hope was the only performer to achieve top-rated success in every form of mass entertainment. American Masters explores the entertainer’s life through his personal archives and clips from his classic films.
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 years of Laughter Volume 2
This Bob Hope Special called “Highlights of a Quarter Century” begins his 26th year with NBC in 1975 (he began with NBC radio in 1937) celebrating 25 years of Bob Hope Specials and the many celebrities that appeared on them The clips begin with his very first special, for Frigidaire, on April 9, 1950 and putting his way through the years to 1975
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and historians discuss the image of black America on television from Amos and Andy to the present day. The interviews accompany clips from groundbreaking shows and performances by entertainment pioneers that create a timeline of the portrayal of African Americans throughout TV history.
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
7.9/10
Music documentary directed by Patrick T. Kelly.
James Dean: The First American Teenager
7.9/10
Stacy Keach narrates this documentary that chronicles the abbreviated life and career of iconic brooding bad boy James Dean, from his obscure early days working in television to his rise to stardom in films such as Rebel Without a Cause. Clips from Dean's movies are intermingled with candid interviews with the star's friends and Hollywood colleagues, including Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dennis Hopper.
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 years of Laughter Volume 1
This Bob Hope Special called “Highlights of a Quarter Century” begins his 26th year with NBC in 1975 (he began with NBC radio in 1937) celebrating 25 years of Bob Hope Specials and the many celebrities that appeared on them The clips begin with his very first special, for Frigidaire, on April 9, 1950 and putting his way through the years to 1975
Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection
8.8/10
Collection of songs performed at the "Frank Sinatra Spectacular," a 1965 benefit by the various members of the Rat Pack.
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Gala tribute to the Chairman of the Board.
The Fall
6.9/10
"The Fall" depicts certain scenes in New York City between October 1967 and March 1968, shot by the independent filmmaker, Peter Whitehead. It is a very personal documentary, and Whitehead appears in a large number of scenes, and we hear his lengthy ruminations on the state of the United States and the war in Vietnam.
Save the Children
8.3/10
A concert film highlighted by performances from Marvin Gaye, Jerry Butler, and Roberta Flack.
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
7.6/10
A star-studded roster of interviewees (including Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.
Jazz Ball
7.6/10
A made-for-TV musical revue, compiled from soundies and film and TV performances by jazz greats from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
7.4/10
A retrospective of Chita Rivera's film, television and stage career, including interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, Carol Lawrence and others. Originally aired as Episode 2 of Season 43 of the PBS series Great Performances.
Let's Play, Boy
6/10
The history of Playboy magazine as told by Hugh Hefner.
Music According to Tom Jobim
7.8/10
Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.
Out of Shadows
6.9/10
An exposé on how Hollywood and the mainstream media manipulate the multitudes by spreading propaganda throughout their content.
