Make 'Em Laugh (The Funny Business of America)
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Featuring Moe Howard (Solo)
93 min. (Feature Film)
An evil magician has the power to transfer souls from one body to another. He has lived for over a thousand years by mastering this skill, and will bring the dead back to life... for a price. Fred Saunders loses his wife in a car accident, and becomes obsessed with bringing her back to life. After trying several spiritualists who are discovered to be fakes, Fred encounters Dr. Death who promises to find a new soul to reanimate Mrs. Saunder's body. Once Fred sees that the doctor's method requires the murder of a "donating" soul, he terminates the contract. But Dr. Death refuses to accept failure, and with his mute henchman Thor (Leon Askin), begins a murder spree to find a soul that Mrs. Saunders' corpse will accept... eventually discovering Saunders' new girlfriend.
Moe appears as an audience volunteer at one of Dr. Death's reincarnation ceremonies.
Leon Askin played 'General Burkhalter' in HOGAN'S HEROES (1965 - 1971), and avid Mel Brooks fans know him as the "scenes-deleted" probate lawyer from YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974).
Uncredited, the film's financial backer was Barry Gordy of Motown.
John Considine
Dr. Death
Barry Coe
Fred Saunders
Jo Morrow
Laura Saunders
Leon Askin
Thor
Cheryl Miller
Sandy
Stewart Moss
Greg Vaughn
Sivi Aberg
Venus
Florence Marly
Tana
Peter Gonneau
Harry
Barbara Boles
Alice
Jim Boles
Caretakeer
Athena Lorde
Spiritualist
Moe Howard
Volunteer in audience
Robert Ball
Wizard
Patrick Dennis-Leigh
Old man
Lin Henson
TV watcher
Anna Bernard
Girl in phone booth
Larry Rogers
Young man in park
Denise Denise
Girl with flat tire
Eric Boles
Man at seance
Leon Williams
Man at seance
Larry Vincent
Strangler
Jeffrey Herman
Man wanting new body
Eddie Saeta
Director
Eddie Saeta
Producer
Sal Ponti
Associate Producer
Sal Ponti
Screenplay
Emil Oster
Director of Photography
Kent Wakeford
Director of Photography
Tony DiMarco
Film Editor
Ed Graves
Art Director
Gordon Day
Sound Recording
George Maly
Sound Recording
Richard LaSalle
Music Composer & Conductor
Thomas Dawson
Costumes
Siegfried Gelke
Makeup Supervisor
Irby Smith
Assistant Director
Red Fletcher
Property Master
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