Burt Reynolds in Dan August (1970)

Yesterday I featured the TV movie, The House on Greenapple Road (1970), which served as the pilot for this series. Playing the lead, Dan August was Christopher George. When the series was cast, they replaced him with up-and-coming tough guy, Burt Reynolds. Each week August would solve a crime in his home town of Santa Luisa, California, frequently encountering people he knew growing up. Also in the cast was Normal Fell. Guest stars included Anne Francis, Ricardo Montalban and Donna Mills.

This series has never made it to DVD, and can be hard to find. The only online video of it I could locate was the opening credits, which are above, uploaded to YouTube by PIMannix.

Obscurity factor: 10 (not on DVD, hard to find, largely forgotten)

Burt Reynolds & Dom DeLuise in The End

In this dark comedy, Sonny Lawson (Reynolds) is diagnosed with a terminal blood desease and after consulting with an adolescent priest (Robby Benson), speaking with his lawyer (David Steinberg) and spending some time with the people in his life - his mistress (Sally Field), ex wife (Joanne Woodward) and daughter (Kristy McNichol) - decides to commit suicide. He wakes up in an asylum after an unsuccessful attempt, only to be confronted by Myron Borunki (DeLuise), a paranoid schizophrenic who, upon hearing Sonny's sad story, cheerfully, repeatedly and homicidally offers him help to achieve his goal.

MoviePosterShop.com

This is, arguably, the film I've written up so far that least deserves its status as obscure. It's full of pithy insight into human nature, outrageous comedy and even a few honestly sincere moments of sentiment. DeLuise gives a really hilarious, laugh-out-loud performance and Reynolds, who also directs is as charming as ever. It's wonderful to see the cameos by star after star, including Myrna Loy, Pat O'Brien, Norman Fell and Carl Reiner. Top that off with a Paul Williams theme sung by Glen Campbell that I'm rapidly becoming obsessed with and you have a terrific package.

This film is available on DVD and can be watched instantly on Netflix. The trailer above was uploaded to YouTube by MovieTrailerMonkey.

Obscurity factor: 5 (has small legion of fans, though largely unknown to general public, on DVD, available on Netflix Instant)

Burt Reynolds & Goldie Hawn in Best Friends (1982)

Obscurity factor: 5

This is one of my favorite early 80's comedy films. Screen writers Richard Babson (Reynolds) and Paula McCullen (Hawn) live together, work together and love each other, so when they decide to get married after many years it should just be a rubber stamp for their relationship. But it's funny, how a little word can change everything. After their civil ceremony they board a train headed back east for a honeymoon trip to visit their families (Perhaps their first mistake?). Paula has commitment issues, feeling like marriage is one step toward death and she doesn't want to get caught in the trap of the traditional role of wife. Visiting the traditional suburban homes of their youth just ads fuel to the fire of her discontent, with hilariously touching results.

MoviePosterShop.com

This bitter-sweet romance directed by Norman Jewison is a beautiful character study of modern partners with charming performances by the two stars. Burt Reynolds is deft with the comedy, lightening heartfelt scenes with his charm. The pace is leisurely and comfortable and the beautiful score by Michel LeGrand with two touching songs sung by James Ingram and Patti Austin, produced by Quincy Jones strikes just the right note. Look for great turns by Jessica Tandy, Barnard Hughes, Audra Lindly and Keenan Wynn as the in-laws, Ron Silver as their boss at the studio and Richard Libertini as the wacky officiate at their wedding.

This film is available on DVD and can be watched in full on YouTube, thanks to an upload by ClassicRocknRolla1. Part one is above. I highly recommend it.

Obscurity factor: 5 (on DVD, available on YouTube, not well know)