During the 1950s, New York boasted a number of classy restaurants, including Sardi's, the Stork Club, and Toots Shor's. Kristi Jacobson's (Shor's granddaughter) feature-length documentary Toots not only tells the famed restaurateur's personal story, but also wonderfully recaptures the atmosphere of the time when Toot's great circular bar was the place where entertainers, sports stars, politicians, journalists, and mobsters congregated. Jacobson draws on archival footage and stills, excerpts from TV shows (such as Person to Person, What's My Line? and This Is Your Life) and films (like Sweet Smell of Success), recollections from public figures (including Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Frank Gifford, Peter Duchin, and Gay Talese), and eight hours of tapes that Shor recorded two years before his death in 1977, to trace Toots' ascent from a speakeasy bouncer during Prohibition to becoming the owner of the best-known watering-hole in Eisenhower-era Manhattan. Toots is studded with wonderful anecdotes involving Joe DiMaggio, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and especially Jackie Gleason (a special pal of Shor's), but doesn't shy away from recording its subject's sad final years (after selling the lease to his original restaurant in 1959, Shor reopened at a new location with disastrous results). Jacobson's film beautifully captures her grandfather's larger-than-life personality while also effectively offering a beguiling portrait of the Big Apple in the ‘50s. DVD extras include audio commentary by the director, extended interview excerpts, and an illustrated timeline. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Toots
(2008) 85 min. DVD: $24.95. Catalyst Films (dist. by IndiePix). Volume 24, Issue 1
Toots
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