Atlanta Film Festival 2008 : To My Great Chagrin: The Unbelievable Story of Brother Theodore

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To My Great Chagrin: The Unbelievable Story of Brother Theodore

Jeff Sumerel 2007

Categories: Documentary Feature

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Rated 3.037416483290956/5 Stars

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Run time: 72 min. | U S A

In 1947, the Los Angeles Daily News described him as Boris Karloff, Salvadore Dali, and Nijinsky all in one. He was Brother Theodore, a former millionaire playboy who endured the sobering loss of his entire family, his fortune, and his own identity, as a survivor of Dachau concentration camp. Shipped to America destitute, Theodore yearned to reclaim his high-status and wealth. As a displaced foreigner, and continually haunted by his decisive loss, he eventually outwitted despair to re-invent himself as an acclaimed performer who unleashed his extraordinary brand of existential philosophy and dark humor. As a result, Theodore became one of America’s most respected humorists and monologists garnering the attention and admiration of Woody Allen, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Harlan Ellison and others.

6 pictures

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Screenings

time	venue	calendar	tickets
5:15 PM Sun, Apr 13	Landmark Midtown #4	+ add to cal	buy tickets
2:45 PM Wed, Apr 16	Landmark Midtown #8	+ add to cal	buy tickets

About the film

Cast & Crew

director	Jeff Sumerel

Cast	Theodore Gottlieb

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Rated 3.037416483290956/5 Stars

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Rated 3.0/5 Stars 1 2 3 4 5 kfrogg 10:27 AM		Finally! Someone has documented the beyond-obscure pop-culture footnote that is Brother Theodore. There's obviously not much media in existence of this guy, but director Jeff Sumerel employs deft editing of archival video and even puppetry -- that's right, puppetry, but not too much -- to convey the arcane strangeness of this unsung performer. A labor of love AND good study for documentarians on how to make a compelling experience from limited source material.