Review of Toys (1966) by Stuart K — 27 Apr 2014

Directed by Barry Levinson, who after the Oscar win for Rain Man (1988), got the opportunity to make whatever he wanted, one of them was Avalon (1990), and the other was this visually stunning comedic fantasy.

Levinson had wanted to make back in the early 1980's as his directorial debut, but no-one would fund it. The result is the sort of film that Hollywood would NEVER dare make now. Kenneth Zevo (Donald O'Connor), founder of Zevo Toys is dying, but he is unsure whether his son Leslie (Robin Williams) is responsible and mature enough to run the company, so he leaves it to his brother Lt.

General Leland Zevo (Michael Gambon). Leland is reluctant, but he accepts the ownership although he has no interest in any of the toys being made. He decides to make war toys, which upsets Leslie, as Zevo Toys have never made war toys, but Leland goes ahead, requesting space for his plans.

Leslie becomes suspicious by Leland's demand for space and the extra security, so he decides to investigate for himself. Toys is one of the most underrated films of the 1990's, and people didn't know what to make of it when it first came out.

While the film gives Williams perfect opportunities to ad-lib whenever possible, it has some absolutely staggering sets by Ferdinando Scarfiotti, which is well worth watching the film for.