The Dick Van Dyke Show: The “Big Max Calvada” Episode (November 20, 1963) Is Film Noir Played for Laughs

I have to be honest: I have always enjoyed every episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. But I picked the “Big Max Calvada” episode for the Eleventh Annual Favorite TV Show Blogathon because it’s a humorous tribute to film noir. And it is a favorite of mine, just like all the episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show!

Nothing about this 1960s sitcom is the least bit noir. But “Big Max Calvada” is one episode that plays film noir for laughs. Carl Reiner, the series creator, and Sheldon Leonard, the series producer, created a very funny homage to film noir. The episode is also a humorous send-up of Sheldon Leonard’s many roles in film noir in which he played gangsters and other ne’er-do-wells before turning to television and producing.

“Big Max Calvada” starts with television writers Robert (Rob) Petrie, Buddy Sorrell (“That’s with two l’s”), and Sally Rogers trying to come up with a new idea for The Alan Brady Show, the television variety show that they write material for. They are interrupted by a phone call from Marge, the office receptionist, who announces that Maxwell Calvada has arrived to see Rob. Rob has no idea who he is, so he tells Marge to have Calvada wait.

The writers try to go back to work, but Buddy wants to know why the name Maxwell Calvada sounds so familiar. The three of them start speculating: Is Calvada on television? Does he work for the government? No, Buddy says, he is Big Max Calvada, the man who was on the witness stand recently because he was being prosecuted by the federal government for his role in organized crime. Rob immediately regrets making Calvada wait. He rushes to the office door and opens it to look for Calvada, but he is already standing outside the door, waiting with his assistant, Bernard.

(This article about the television episode “Big Max Calvada,” from The Dick Van Dyke Show, contains a few spoilers.)

Calvada is very familiar with Rob’s, Sally’s, and Buddy’s writing. He is an admirer of their work, which explains why he is at their office. He wants them to write a nightclub act for his nephew Kenny Dexter. They try to come up with every possible reason why they cannot accept Calvada’s offer: They have a job writing for Alan Brady, they have a contract that they cannot break, they don’t have time to take on another job. Calvada has an answer for all of them: Money is no object, Alan Brady already knows Calvada and will be happy to accommodate him, Calvada will give them two weeks instead of one to write Kenny’s act.

And in case they still have any doubts, Calvada has already taken the time to find out all he can about the friends and family of his “associates,” including Rob’s lovely wife Laura and their son Ritchie. To emphasize his point, he picks up Rob’s photo of Ritchie and then slams it face down on the writers’ desk. Rob, Sally, and Buddy agree: They will write the act for Kenny.

Kenny Dexter is a teenager with no talent. The only person who seems to be a fan is Bernard, who never once cracks a smile but insists, on more than one occasion, that “the kid breaks me up.” Kenny desperately wants to go into show business, and his Uncle Max does what he can to help, including hiring the best comedy writers and booking a night at the Diamond Club, the top nightspot in New York City. The pressure is already on Rob, Buddy, and Sally. To make matters worse, Kenny cannot tell a joke or sing. Kenny’s aunt (Max’s wife, “Mrs. Calvada”) is the only one who says what everyone else is thinking: “He stinks.”

The three writers try to make the best of it. They don’t want to anger Big Max Calvada because they fear the consequences, and Calvada is very intimidating. He threatens Rob’s family; he schedules his nephew’s night at the Diamond Club by arranging for the scheduled performer to be conveniently sick for that one night. When Kenny starts singing at his nightclub debut, Calvada leans across the table and, in front of Rob, Laura (Rob’s wife), Buddy, Sally, and Mrs. Calvada, asks Bernard in an ominous stage whisper to make a note about speaking to Kenny’s voice teacher.

Kenny Dexter’s nightclub performance is a flop, and this disaster leads to a last meeting between the Alan Brady Show writers and Big Max Calvada. Calvada takes over the office of the Diamond Club’s owner and shuts the door on him, then asks Rob, Buddy, and Sally to sit while the faithful Bernard stays on hand to take notes. It’s the last act, the final showdown.

Big Max Calvada and his direct and implied threats are the source of great anxiety for Rob, Sally, and Buddy. Their reactions in each instance, including the last act, are the source of humor and laughs for viewers. Sheldon Leonard doesn’t have to be funny at all. He plays Big Max Calvada straight, much like he would have played a gangster in film noir.

But The Dick Van Dyke Show is a sitcom; it goes without saying that Rob and his cowriters will get out of trouble without a gun being fired or any bullets flying. But how that happens is a surprising and humorous twist that I won’t divulge here. And Sheldon Leonard is the one to deliver it—without stepping out of character. It's a clever resolution, and, as I recall, I didn’t see it coming the first time that I saw “Big Max Calvada.”

That first viewing was a long time ago, when I didn’t know what film noir was and had never heard of Sheldon Leonard or his contribution to noir. I don’t remember anymore how surprised I was by the ending of “Big Max Calvada.” I have seen the “Big Max Calvada” episode (really all the episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show) dozens of times since then. What I do know is that I still laugh as though I have never seen each episode before.

This article about the The Dick Van Dyke Show episode “Big Max Calvada” is my entry for the Eleventh Annual Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon hosted by Terry at A Shroud of Thoughts. Click here for the complete list of blogathon participants and links to their blogs. The list is updated each day of the blogathon, from March 21 to March 23, 2025.

November 20, 1963, broadcast date  •  Season 3, Episode 9; Episode 71 of the series overall  •  Directed by Jerry Paris  •  Written by Bill Persky, Sam Denoff  •  Edited by Bud Molin  •  Cinematography by Robert De Grasse  •  Opening theme song by Earle Hagen  •  Series created by Carl Reiner

Dick Van Dyke as Robert Petrie  •  Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie  •  Rose Marie as Sally Rogers  •  Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell  •  Sheldon Leonard as Maxwell Calvada  •  Arthur Batinides as Bernard  •  Jack Larson as Kenny Dexter  •  Sue Casey as Sylvia Calvada  •  Johnny Silver as the waiter  •  Tiny Brauer as Louie, owner of the Diamond Club

Produced by Calvada Productions  •  Broadcast by CBS