






Fledgling comic Benjy Stone can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann, gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.
Acting
O'Toole's Oscar-nominated, barely-fictionalized self-portrait
Writing
Dennis Palumbo's autobiographical 1950s TV chaos
Costume
Swann's ridiculous capes and Benjy's sad suits

Director
Richard Benjamin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes