Evil Roy Slade

Director: Jerry Paris Jerry Paris

Overview

Overlooked when it first aired February 18, 1972, the made-for-TV Evil Roy Slade has gained a loyal and protective cult following in the past 20 years. The film was the second pilot for a never-sold TV western spoof created by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, Sheriff Who?. Actually, it was the second and third pilot, since Evil Roy Slade has been cobbled together from two hour-long films. John Astin is terrific in the title role, playing an outlaw so repulsive that, when he was orphaned and left stranded in the desert as a baby, even the wolves didn't want him! As an adult, Evil Roy Slade can't resist "going the extra mile" in his nastiness: while robbing a bank, he stops to pilfer a fountain pen chained to one of the desks, and the next shot shows Slade riding off into the sunset, dragging the desk behind him. Attempting to reform for the sake of pretty schoolmarm Betsy Potter (Pamela Austin), Slade simply cannot curb his crooked tendencies, so it's up to Dick Shawn as singing Sheriff Bing Bell ("Will somebody please answer that door?") to bring the criminal to justice. Shawn previously appeared in the original 1967 Sheriff Who? pilot as the "fastest interior decorator in the West"; in both films, he's almost unbearably funny. The Marshall/Belson script is full of hilarious running gags and throwaway jokes. Our favorite bit concerns railroad magnate Mickey Rooney's legendary stubby index finger: "They still sing about it around campfires at night," claims Rooney--and indeed, they do. The supporting cast includes such never-fail laughgetters as Milton Berle, Henry Gibson, Dom DeLuise and Edie Adams; also, keep a lookout for John Ritter and Penny Marshall in unbilled bits.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/08/2008
UPC:	0011301635648
Original Release:	1971
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	22,126

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Astin	Evil Roy Slade
Dick Shawn	Marshal Bing Bell
Mickey Rooney	Nelson L. Stool
Dom DeLuise	Logan Delp
Edie Adams	Flossie
Luana Anders	Alice Fern
Pamela Austin	Betsy Potter
Leonard Barr	Crippled Man
Milton Berle	Harry Fern
Pat Buttram	Narration
Milton Frome	Foss - Telegrapher
Henry Gibson	Clifford Stool
Larry Hankin	Snake
Penny Marshall	Bank Teller
Jerry Paris	Souvenir Salesman
John Ritter	Minister
Connie Sawyer	Aggie Potter
Pat Morita	Turhan
Ed Begley Jr.	Actor
Jerry Riopelle	Composer
Stuart Margolin	Composer
Murray MacLeod	Composer

Technical Credits

Garry Marshall

Jerry Belson

Garry Marshall	Producer,Screenwriter
Jerry Belson	Producer,Screenwriter
Jerry Paris	Director
Howie Horwitz	Executive Producer