While this movie isn't a classic by any stretch, it is very entertaining as I remember it. I saw it about 15 years ago on HBO and loved the movie. It was written by the same guy that wrote and directed "Arthur" and though it isn't as funny as that movie, it does show the potential that Steve Gordon reached with "Arthur".
16 Reviews
Love thyself .................
merklekranz24 September 2010
"The One and Only" is a movie that most likely had a difficult time finding an audience. It really is more a "chick flick" than a wrestling film. The first third relies on a lot of slapstick, but once Henry Winkler enters the ring, the frantic pace settles down somewhat. Quite a few character actors contribute, including Mary Woronov as a bar trollop, Henry Villechaize as a midget wrestler, and Gene Saks as a manager. The theme song "The One and Only" is quite good, as is the trip down wrestling's memory lane. Most of the laughs come from Winkler's enormous ego, and interactions with Kim Darby's Mother and Father (Mom and Tom). - MERK
Disappointing!
JohnHowardReid4 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Despite the wacky promise of its earlier scenes (Winkler disrupting the amateur play) and Saks' breezily crude performance, plus the presence of the dwarf from James Bond, the script soon reverts to the usual domestic misunderstandings, underscored by Carl Reiner's stiflingly uninventive close-up after close-up direction.
Even the climax is disappointing, forcing Winkler to eke out a weak script by gross overacting. And why is the movie set in 1951? To show off the producer's old TV set? There's certainly no other sense of period involved. True, the movie does garner a few laughs here and there, but it would undoubtedly be twice as funny with careful trimming.
Even the climax is disappointing, forcing Winkler to eke out a weak script by gross overacting. And why is the movie set in 1951? To show off the producer's old TV set? There's certainly no other sense of period involved. True, the movie does garner a few laughs here and there, but it would undoubtedly be twice as funny with careful trimming.
Hope it screened One and Only One Time
mercuryix4 September 2000
Warning: Spoilers
Possible Spoilers:
I saw One and Only when it first came out; I am a fan of Henry Winkler but this film almost turned me into an ex-fan; Winkler plays an obnoxious, self-absorbed acting student about to graduate with no job prospects. He does things like ruin his college play so his minor character can get a standing ovation, and try to rewrite scripts at auditions. Winkler tries to play the character as "brash", but it comes across as overbearing and obnoxious in the extreme. This movie came early in his career, and I don't think he would make the same acting choices now. He can't seem to get a job acting, and falls into professional wrestling as a way to fame. This is not developed to be as much fun as it sounds. His personality seems to fit the field, but success does not mellow out his character; towards the end he makes a charming statement to his fiance (who he stole with his winning personality from a pipe-smoking "nice guy" - big surprise): "If you don't stop thinking like that you're going to wind up an old single woman with a picture of JESUS on the wall!" said in absolute disgust. Even to an athiest this was an offensive moment in the film; it made one want to pour a bucket of water over this girl's head for being with this ass; and this is supposed to be a love story, with Winkler at the "hero". Creeps like this don't change; and girls keeping falling for them; though that's not the point of the film. If you can find the point, good luck. But there are 99.9% better films at Blockbuster, and all of Winkler's other films are better. Avoid - unless you like watching Herve Vellachez humping furniture. (Don't ask.)
Three out of ten stars.
I saw One and Only when it first came out; I am a fan of Henry Winkler but this film almost turned me into an ex-fan; Winkler plays an obnoxious, self-absorbed acting student about to graduate with no job prospects. He does things like ruin his college play so his minor character can get a standing ovation, and try to rewrite scripts at auditions. Winkler tries to play the character as "brash", but it comes across as overbearing and obnoxious in the extreme. This movie came early in his career, and I don't think he would make the same acting choices now. He can't seem to get a job acting, and falls into professional wrestling as a way to fame. This is not developed to be as much fun as it sounds. His personality seems to fit the field, but success does not mellow out his character; towards the end he makes a charming statement to his fiance (who he stole with his winning personality from a pipe-smoking "nice guy" - big surprise): "If you don't stop thinking like that you're going to wind up an old single woman with a picture of JESUS on the wall!" said in absolute disgust. Even to an athiest this was an offensive moment in the film; it made one want to pour a bucket of water over this girl's head for being with this ass; and this is supposed to be a love story, with Winkler at the "hero". Creeps like this don't change; and girls keeping falling for them; though that's not the point of the film. If you can find the point, good luck. But there are 99.9% better films at Blockbuster, and all of Winkler's other films are better. Avoid - unless you like watching Herve Vellachez humping furniture. (Don't ask.)
Three out of ten stars.
The One and Only
BandSAboutMovies18 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Gordon (who would direct his next script, Arthur, and then die at the age of 44), The One and Only has an unlikeable hero at its core. Andy Schmidt (Henry Winkler) is someone who thinks he's better than everyone at everything he does, out for only himself, even using bit parts as opportunities to ruin everyone else's work, as long as he gets noticed. He falls for Mary Crawford (Kim Darby), a college student who is already engaged. I have no idea why she falls for him, because there's nothing there, despite something that she sees below whatever surface Andy has. Somehow, they get married and she has to learn that being the wife of a starving actor is harrowing.
Yet Andy finds something he's good at. He may not have the build for it, but he's great at wrestling. He's brought into the business by little lothario Milton Miller (Hervé Villechaize) and starts working for Sidney Seltzer (Gene Sakes), who drops this knowledge on the audience: "There's two kinds of people, those who put lampshades on lamps and those who put lampshades on their heads."
Her parents -- William Daniels and another sitcom star who took over the show she was just a secondary character on, Polly Holliday, who played Flo on Alice -- don't approve. And eventually, she gives up on Andy while they come around on him. They even become wrestling fans when he gets on network TV. And he really learns nothing, being the same person no matter what.
The film is well-written -- Gordon was a sitcom veteran and writes wonderful dialogue -- but you end up caring more about the accouterments of the film more than its characters. That said, it has lots of wrestling cameos, including Hard Boiled Haggerty -- of course -- as Captain Nemo, Chavo Guerrero Sr. As Indian Joe, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr., Gene LaBelle -- of course again -- as the world champion, Ed Begley Jr. (not a wrestler, but still good in this) as Arnold the King and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as "Leatherneck" Joe Grady.
Throughout, Andy keeps trying to find a gimmick that works until finding The Lover, a man who believes that everyone should be in love with him. He understands what wrestler Raven preached about your character. It should be 80% you and 20% of the most idealized version of you, the you that you wish you could be. This movie gets a lot of pro wrestling right -- I wrestled for over 25 years in the lowest rungs on the independent wrestling periphery -- and the one part that it gets wrong is that most heels are the most giving and nicest people you'd ever meet. The faces, the good guys? They're usually Andy Schmidt.
What's amazing is that this movie came out at the height of Winkler's Happy Days fame and he played a character totally unlike the Fonz. That's brave and while not the best for this film's box office, it was for his career. We're still thinking about him today.
The working title of this movie was Gorgeous George, which makes sense, as "Gorgeous" George Raymond Wagner was a huge star in the early days of television, someone who was the kind of star that even casual non-fans would have known.
Winkler's parents Ilse Anna Marie and Harry Irving Winkle left Germany in 1939, as they were Jewish people worried about the Nazis. The star told The Wall Street Journal, "At the time, my father, Harry, told my mother, Ilse, that they were traveling to the U. S. on a brief business trip. He knew they were never going back. Had he told my mother that they were leaving Germany for good, she might have insisted on remaining behind with her family. Many in their families who stayed perished during the Holocaust." His Unlce Helmut was one of them. Knowing that, it's astonishing that Winkler dresses in a Nazi gimmick in this movie.
But that's very much in spirit of the carny roots of pro wrestling. It's heat. And heat draws money.
Oh man! I forgot the best part! Mary Woronov is in this and gets set up with Hervé!
Yet Andy finds something he's good at. He may not have the build for it, but he's great at wrestling. He's brought into the business by little lothario Milton Miller (Hervé Villechaize) and starts working for Sidney Seltzer (Gene Sakes), who drops this knowledge on the audience: "There's two kinds of people, those who put lampshades on lamps and those who put lampshades on their heads."
Her parents -- William Daniels and another sitcom star who took over the show she was just a secondary character on, Polly Holliday, who played Flo on Alice -- don't approve. And eventually, she gives up on Andy while they come around on him. They even become wrestling fans when he gets on network TV. And he really learns nothing, being the same person no matter what.
The film is well-written -- Gordon was a sitcom veteran and writes wonderful dialogue -- but you end up caring more about the accouterments of the film more than its characters. That said, it has lots of wrestling cameos, including Hard Boiled Haggerty -- of course -- as Captain Nemo, Chavo Guerrero Sr. As Indian Joe, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr., Gene LaBelle -- of course again -- as the world champion, Ed Begley Jr. (not a wrestler, but still good in this) as Arnold the King and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as "Leatherneck" Joe Grady.
Throughout, Andy keeps trying to find a gimmick that works until finding The Lover, a man who believes that everyone should be in love with him. He understands what wrestler Raven preached about your character. It should be 80% you and 20% of the most idealized version of you, the you that you wish you could be. This movie gets a lot of pro wrestling right -- I wrestled for over 25 years in the lowest rungs on the independent wrestling periphery -- and the one part that it gets wrong is that most heels are the most giving and nicest people you'd ever meet. The faces, the good guys? They're usually Andy Schmidt.
What's amazing is that this movie came out at the height of Winkler's Happy Days fame and he played a character totally unlike the Fonz. That's brave and while not the best for this film's box office, it was for his career. We're still thinking about him today.
The working title of this movie was Gorgeous George, which makes sense, as "Gorgeous" George Raymond Wagner was a huge star in the early days of television, someone who was the kind of star that even casual non-fans would have known.
Winkler's parents Ilse Anna Marie and Harry Irving Winkle left Germany in 1939, as they were Jewish people worried about the Nazis. The star told The Wall Street Journal, "At the time, my father, Harry, told my mother, Ilse, that they were traveling to the U. S. on a brief business trip. He knew they were never going back. Had he told my mother that they were leaving Germany for good, she might have insisted on remaining behind with her family. Many in their families who stayed perished during the Holocaust." His Unlce Helmut was one of them. Knowing that, it's astonishing that Winkler dresses in a Nazi gimmick in this movie.
But that's very much in spirit of the carny roots of pro wrestling. It's heat. And heat draws money.
Oh man! I forgot the best part! Mary Woronov is in this and gets set up with Hervé!
Caustic comedy with leering, mean-spirited asides...
moonspinner5517 December 2006
Two years before he wrote and directed "Arthur", Steve Gordon had a minor hit with his screenplay for this crackpot comedic vehicle for Henry Winkler, then-star of TV's "Happy Days" as the Fonz. A 1950s college thespian (and all-around jerk) woos a co-ed and gets married without any employment prospects on the horizon; to make ends meet, he turns to the flamboyant world of wrestling, eventually becoming a "Gorgeous George"-like celebrity. Turning likable Winkler into an obnoxious goof-off probably sounded like an interesting idea at the time (and a sure way to separate him from his television alter-ego), but the jokes and situations are often wrong-headed and mean, staged rather sloppily by director Carl Reiner. Particularly crude is a wincing bit involving Hervé Villechaize (of "Fantasy Island") putting the moves on Polly Holliday (Flo from "Alice"). As Henry's beloved, Kim Darby looks a little out of her element--particularly when surrounded by all these TV hams--rendering the romance aspect of the script inconsequential. *1/2 from ****
dated grappling flick
DJJOEINC20 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The One and Only -This 70s flick about a full blown ham who can't choose between being a wrestler or married.Henry Winkler charms his way thru this Carl Reiner flick about a young man that settles for wrestling when he can't succeed as an actor in the Big Apple in the fifties.Chavo Classic makes a brief appearance as Indian Joe and Roddy Pipper has a non-speaking role as Leatherneck Joe Brady and Gene Labell,Herve Villachez,William Daniels round out the cast.Gene Saks does a good job as the old school agent/manager type-all borscht-belt schtick and lots of fun.Winkler seems to be channeling a less neurotic Woodie Allen in this flick- sure he is charming- but sometimes you feel like he is blind to the world around him.A fun look at wrestling in the beginning of television- but the movie is less about wrestling and more about Winkler's character's desire to be loved by strangers.A decent time capsule-this dated movie will be a good curio for rasslin' fans.The DVD does not provide any extras. C+ Jobber Joe-Roundtable Wrestling Radio
One of the best professional wrestling films period.
memberofwo28 June 2000
The One and only was a great film. I had just finished viewing it on EncoreW on DirecTV. I am an independent professional wrestler, and I thought this was a good portray of what life is like as a professional wrestler. Now this film was made 4 years before I was born, but I don't think the rigors of professional wrestling traveling has changed all that much. Sad, funny, and all around GREAT!!! **** 10+
A Diamond In The Rough
rdi21014 March 2005
This movie is a perfect example of a film that divides people into 2 groups.. Those who get the joke and those who don't. People usually attack what they don't understand. This film has a comic style and charm that has been unparalleled since. It's a GREAT comedy.. and a GREAT romance. It's a perfect date movie. A perfect movie for someone who wants a good lighthearted laugh. And if your perspective is too tense, maybe this movie isn't for you, and you may need counseling. It is an injustice that Paramount has kept this film on the shelf since the early 80's, having never seen the light of day on DVD. Yet they feel an Urban version of "The Honeymooners" is a good idea. I find it odd that my two alltime favorite romantic comedies have never been released on DVD. The other being Gene Wilder's "The World's Greatest Lover" which Fox has sat on since the early 80's as well... Yet, "From Justin To Kelly" is in nearly every video store in the country. There is no Justice in the world. Maybe those who took the time to bash this will enjoy "From Justin To Kelly", I'm sure that one is watered enough for them to "get". Sometimes with age people lose their sense of humor... Or sometimes it just goes stale and they find comic satisfaction in reruns of "Full House".
What was I thinking??
lopingbuzzard29 August 2002
When this film hit the theaters in 1978, I saw it three times. But when I watched it again recently on video (a video that I BOUGHT), I couldn't believe that I at one time LIKED this movie. Winkler plays a totally unlikable character who never gets any better. Darby plays a dopey girl who, for reasons not addressed in this movie, falls for the obnoxious egocentric jerk.
I chuckled maybe twice during the whole movie. The rest of the time I was wondering how anyone could fall in love with someone who cares about no one on earth except themselves and how Carl Reiner got mixed up in this mess.
I was embarrassed to admit to my wife that in the late 70's I actually paid to sit through this tripe... three times! Foolish youth.
I chuckled maybe twice during the whole movie. The rest of the time I was wondering how anyone could fall in love with someone who cares about no one on earth except themselves and how Carl Reiner got mixed up in this mess.
I was embarrassed to admit to my wife that in the late 70's I actually paid to sit through this tripe... three times! Foolish youth.
The whole cinema was in uproar with laughter
bill-roy8 January 2006
I saw the film twice in the space of one week, both times the at a cinema in Orpington, Kent, UK. The place was packed both times and people had to be turned away. From the start of the film with Henry Winkler getting 'injured' on the football field the whole audience was in uproar with laughter, laughter that lasted until the credits.
For those who love American wrestling this film is a must, but be ready to see Henry Winkler as you have never seen him before. Also look out for a very well known actor whose trademark wrestling move is a head-but!
If you get a chance watch this movie and it is family comedy entertainment at its best!
For those who love American wrestling this film is a must, but be ready to see Henry Winkler as you have never seen him before. Also look out for a very well known actor whose trademark wrestling move is a head-but!
If you get a chance watch this movie and it is family comedy entertainment at its best!
Not only a great movie about wrestling, but about the people in it
batman_0947010 March 2005
...I saw this on cable back in the late 1980's as I was a big wrestling fan since 1986. I saw this on VHS in a 'for sale' bin and bought it.
In 1998, I started training as a wrestler after the Air Force and would always go back to watching this to see how it was a very accurate portrayal of people that are involved with wrestling ( families and friends that wouldn't understand us, the travel, the heartbreak, etc. ). Henry Winkler is funny and sometimes sad to watch as nobody else can understand what a genius he is creatively. A great way to separate himself The Fonz character he played on Happy Days at the time. Plus, look at the cast...William Daniels ( Knight Rider ), Polly Holiday ( Alice ), and wrestlers Roddy Piper and Chavo Guerrero Sr. If you get a chance, watch it.
In 1998, I started training as a wrestler after the Air Force and would always go back to watching this to see how it was a very accurate portrayal of people that are involved with wrestling ( families and friends that wouldn't understand us, the travel, the heartbreak, etc. ). Henry Winkler is funny and sometimes sad to watch as nobody else can understand what a genius he is creatively. A great way to separate himself The Fonz character he played on Happy Days at the time. Plus, look at the cast...William Daniels ( Knight Rider ), Polly Holiday ( Alice ), and wrestlers Roddy Piper and Chavo Guerrero Sr. If you get a chance, watch it.
I'm gonna go with classic
Mr. Superbad17 November 1999
Well I guess it supposedly not a classic because there are only a few easily recognizable faces, but I personally think it is... It's a very beautiful sweet movie, Henry Winkler did a GREAT job with his character and it really impressed me.
Putting the early 1950s under Pro Wrestling Microscope
redryan6431 October 2014
FOLLOWING HIS SUCCESS as show stealing character, "the Fonz" in the hit ABC Television Series HAPPY DAYS, Henry Winkler embarked on a series of starring motion vehicles. Taking a break from the more dramatic, Henry chose to do this Carl Reiner directed affectionate look at the early video days of guys with names like Gorgeous George, Count Billy Varga and Lou Thesz.
DURING THIS PERIOD and for some years to follow, the mere mention of the Pro Wrestling game would never fail to bring a smile to the face of whomever one was conversing. The appeal of the medium where sport & athleticism intersected the dramatic & theatrical had a very wide degree of aficionados from the blue collar to professional, from the laborer to the MD.
SO JUST WHO are these guys who get into the "business"? As in most rackets, there is no one single answer. There is not one single slot in which the "typical" grappler fits. Any attempt to pigeon hole the pro wrestler will find himself unhappily frustrated.
THE STORY LOOKS at how guys with disparate backgrounds are united in their interest and pursuit of success as a performer. Some are athletic, some are not. Some were football players, others dancers. Bodybuilders and the physically unusual all join with some who have no obvious outstanding bodily attributes. Some were even the products of a solid background in Amateur Wrestling!
OUR MOVIE UNITES Henry Winkler (Andy Schmidt) with Miss Kim Darby (Mary Crawford). The two do indeed make for an interesting couple; and it is a pleasure to see Kim Darby in any film; as she has done precious few ever since TRUE GRIT (1969).
IN THE PARTICULAR case of the Winkler character, he's an out of work actor and not much of an athlete. He is certainly not a subject who fits the 'ruffian' mode that so many exponents of the pro game.
ULTIMATELY, AT FILM'S end, we are all smiling-if not belly laughing; for in spite of some great and truly funny situations & gags tailored to the storyline, it is a call for inclusion o everyone in the family of man.
AND, MY DEAR friend, Schultz, that includes even people who wrestle for a living!
DURING THIS PERIOD and for some years to follow, the mere mention of the Pro Wrestling game would never fail to bring a smile to the face of whomever one was conversing. The appeal of the medium where sport & athleticism intersected the dramatic & theatrical had a very wide degree of aficionados from the blue collar to professional, from the laborer to the MD.
SO JUST WHO are these guys who get into the "business"? As in most rackets, there is no one single answer. There is not one single slot in which the "typical" grappler fits. Any attempt to pigeon hole the pro wrestler will find himself unhappily frustrated.
THE STORY LOOKS at how guys with disparate backgrounds are united in their interest and pursuit of success as a performer. Some are athletic, some are not. Some were football players, others dancers. Bodybuilders and the physically unusual all join with some who have no obvious outstanding bodily attributes. Some were even the products of a solid background in Amateur Wrestling!
OUR MOVIE UNITES Henry Winkler (Andy Schmidt) with Miss Kim Darby (Mary Crawford). The two do indeed make for an interesting couple; and it is a pleasure to see Kim Darby in any film; as she has done precious few ever since TRUE GRIT (1969).
IN THE PARTICULAR case of the Winkler character, he's an out of work actor and not much of an athlete. He is certainly not a subject who fits the 'ruffian' mode that so many exponents of the pro game.
ULTIMATELY, AT FILM'S end, we are all smiling-if not belly laughing; for in spite of some great and truly funny situations & gags tailored to the storyline, it is a call for inclusion o everyone in the family of man.
AND, MY DEAR friend, Schultz, that includes even people who wrestle for a living!
Charming... if not new
axeldahl21 November 2011
Caught this on the french cable a few weeks ago and instantly felt "at home" with this films' characters and story. As I gradually found out, there's a reason for this : The One and Only is a straight retake of Fred Coe's A Thousand Clowns (1964), one of my favorite films ! Two of the original actors were even imported : Gene Saks and William Daniels, the latter having been in the original cast of the Herb Gardner play (if I remember correctly).
The global plot and situations are altered but the result is the same : how to (try to) keep youth spirit in a grim and conventional world... and make it alive ! Not as memorable as the original film (or the play) but just as lovely.
The global plot and situations are altered but the result is the same : how to (try to) keep youth spirit in a grim and conventional world... and make it alive ! Not as memorable as the original film (or the play) but just as lovely.
Finally a Winkler movie comes along thats better than Nightshift
apes_a_poppin15 April 2003
Ah gees...well so many fantastic words you could use to describe The One & Only. Words such as.....er....um...ah..well atleast it's better than Nightshift. Look out for a surprise appearance from none other than Tom Bosley - as the bad guy wrestler Mr.C
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