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Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965)

Director: Ernest Pintoff

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From Time Out Film Guide

In animator Pintoff's first live-action feature, Harvey is a fireman with a nice wife, nice children, nice house. He rescues a girl, falls in love with her, has attacks of conscience, and cools it; whereupon the girl stages another fire, falls into the arms of another fireman, and Harvey goes happily back to his domestic routine. At first this simple story is used as a peg for very effective humour derived from the contrast between the mundane, frightening 'normalness' of Harvey's daily routine, and the pride in it which he confides to camera in a series of monologues. But the film changes direction, and what started as sharp, subtle satire on a 'normal' American ends up as little more than standard domestic comedy, complete with pat happy ending.

Author: JC 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Ernest Pintoff

Producer: Robert L Lawrence

Cast: Gene Troobnick, Hermione Gingold, Patricia Harty, Arlene Golonka, Will Mackenzie, Charles Durning full cast

Genre(s): Comedy

Duration: 76 mins


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