Enter Laughing

Enter Laughing is a 1967 comedy film, directed by Carl Reiner, based primarily on his autobiographical novel and the stage play of the same name. The movie starred Jose Ferrer, Shelly Winters and Elaine May. Reni Santoni played the primary personality. The film tells the tale about a young man from the Bronx trying to break into the theater. A thrusting actor gets a job with a broken-down theatre company. A modest but pleasant comedy based primarily on Carl Reiner's semi-autobiographical novel about how he got into show business.A one nice young Jewish boy David,from the Bronx ( played, oddly enough, by nice young Italian boy Reni Santoni ), is a delivery boy for a machinist, but aims to be an actor.

Eventually summoning up his bravery to answer an audition notice, he gets cast as the leading woman ( Elaine May ) thinks he is the cutest of the applicants, regardless of the dour misgivings of her actor pa ( the marvelously histrionic Jos Ferrer ). David's elders don't need him to do it ; his administrator doesn't need him to do it ; his fiance, though initially supportive, becomes envious of the number 1 woman. But David continues, leading to several diverting accidents on first night.

The actor Santoni has settled into a long career as a supporting personality, but the supporting cast of Enter Guffawing is pretty star laden ; as well as May and Ferrer, there's Shelley Winters ( as David's patient mom ), Michael J. Pollard, Don Rickles and even a cameo by Carl's boy, Rob, who went on to success as "Meathead" on TV's All in the Family and as director of flicks such as This Is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally.... This was Carl's first directorial outing.

He went on to larger success with Steve Martin's The Jerk and the person with 2 Brains, but Enter Giggling isn't without its charms, especially if you have got a taste for comedies about theater itself.