Customer Reviews

One & Only, the

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An excellent comedy that will sure to make your sides ache. This is about an actor (Henry Winkler) that is out of work and cannot find an acting job. He meets, falls in love with, and marries a beautiful girl (Kim Darby). He finally does find work that is kind of along the lines of acting: he becomes a professional wrestler. There are the hillarious challenges of him having to explain not only to his wife, but also to his inlaws, the nature of his employment. You will enjoy The One And Only.

When I had learned that it was the legendary "Gorgeous George" (George Raymond Wagner, 1915-1963) and his wife Betty who inspired those behind this movie, I was very eager to acquire and view this sweet little film on DVD. Well, the model that Gorgeous George set for the title role of Andy Schmidt (played by Henry Winkler) in "The One and Only" (which is what Andy likes to call himself, in the ring or in any other entertainment venue) is far removed in details from the real Gorgeous George. Andy is an eccentric fake as a wrestler, physically unfit for genuine wrestling; Gorgeous George, on the other hand, while not particularly imposing as a ring athlete, was, indeed, a skillful wrestler as well as a very amusing showman.

My familiarity with Gorgeous George`s way of professional fighting comes from the years of seeing him in the ring when my family (parents, siblings, and, on other occasions, my paternal step-grandfather, too) used to watch Gorgeous George on TV during the late 1940s onward. The film only approximates that milieu, but it is very amusing on its own terms.

Gorgeous George`s first wife Betty was a publically visible (and very pretty) part of his public persona, but Mary Crawford, Betty`s parallel in the film (played by Kim Darby) is shy, retiring, and of rather homely looks, rather than the publically visible companion to a celebrity wrestler as Gorgeous George`s lovely wife (née Betty Hanson) had been to some extent. Darby`s performance in the film, however, is almost as comical as Winkler`s, so, cinematically, it does not matter that much, does it? Andy`s trainer, the hilarious and philandering midget, Milton Miller (himself, in the film, a comedy wrestler, played by the diminuitive actor and painter, Hervé Villachaize) "steals the show" grandly, surely the funniest actor in this talented cast! The scene in which Milton flirts seductively and with grotesque inappropriety with Mary`s genteel mother, who finds the dwarf`s attentions utterly revolting, while both of Mary`s parents are visiting the young couple, is the single most side-splitting scene in what is withal a very hilarious film.

There certainly is room for a genuine bio-film on Gorgeous George, the memory of whose career deserves to be honoured in that way, but for those who have any liking for wrestling (and I have to admit that my own interest only centred narrowly on Gorgeous George, a man of real class, however amusing, the others leaving me indifferent, especially the ring buffoons who came after him) and who have a strong hankering for film comedy (which I like a lot more widely!), this movie will likely be in their video machines rather often! It would have been desirable to include some "extra features" for this product (Legend Films LR-00210, as available in the U. S. of A. and Canada) that would make the background to "The One and Only" clearer to viewers too young to recall George Wagner, but, naturally, it is the motion picture itself that determines most buyer`s decision to purchase or to pass by on. It is the absense of special features on the DVD that results in the review`s rating of four rather than in five stars, but I still say, buy it and savour it!

As always the order was delivered in excellent shape and in a very timely manner... The DVD is in near new condition and no issues found when playing the disc.

I saw this one ages ago on a TV. I vagely remember it being a simple and warm comedy with a rather sobering ending. The reason it deserves a five-star grade is probably the best quote I've ever seen in any movie. There's this scene where his agent is trying to teach the main character (Winkler) some sense and he goes: Look, there are two kinds of people in this world: there are people who put the lamp- shades on lamps and the others who put the lamp-shades on their heads. You're in the second group.