Dennis Christopher Movies
American actor Dennis Christopher's Italian upbringing served him well early in his career when he appeared fleetingly in Fellinis Roma (1972). Stage and TV work followed his graduation from Temple University, then several American movies, September 30, 1955 (1977) and A Wedding (1978). In Breaking Away (1978), Christopher dominated the proceedings as the Indiana-born teenaged bicyclist who adopted an Italian accent and mannerisms to draw attention to himself. Few of Christopher's subsequent film appearances were up to this level; when last heard from, he was starring in such direct-to-video potboilers as Dead Women in Lingerie (1991), with a few above-average assignments such as the made-for-TV Stephen King's It! (1991). Outside of Breaking Away, Dennis Christopher had at least one other "cult" film to his credit: Fade to Black (1979), in which he played a disturbed young cineast who murders his enemies while dressed up as famous movie villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1987
This Spanish horror movie steals ideas from at least three different major films including Alien, Predator, and The Andromeda Strain as it tells the story of three American teens on vacation in Spain who drive their RV into a tiny Spanish town where a large piece of Skylab has fallen and infected the town with a parasitic alien microbe that drives human beings insane and turns them into horrible mutants. At the same time, a scientist from NASA arrives to his agency's secret location beneath an ancient Spanish castle to meet with the member of the original team who survived the microbe. He shows the new scientist the ruined body of one of the men. During the examination, some of the dead man's blood gets on the survivor and suddenly he is infected. The scientist wants to use him to create a serum, but the victim panics and kills himself. The scientist finds the tourists, and then to test out his vaccine infects himself with the virus. He promptly orders the American military to fire-bomb the town so that none of the residents will escape and spread the horrible microbe. He then injects the youths with his serum and dies. Just before the military drops the deadly napalm, the youths in their RV manage to crash the blockades in the town. They make it to a gas station and there find themselves assaulted by a terrifying alien being who bursts from the chest of a dead attendant. The creature tries to scale the RV's windshield. Fortunately, the clever driver simply turns on his windshield wipers, knocks it to the ground and then runs it over several times. The survivors begin to celebrate, until they realize that their driver has a nose bleed. This means that he too has been infected and all is lost. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Martin Hewitt, (more)
- 1986
This romantic drama is about Adam, a young coal miner (Dan O'Shea) and Terry (Jennifer Runyon), the high-class model he falls for when she has a photo shoot at the mine where he works. Terry's mother and her sleazy agent would both prefer Adam stay away from her, while his job and his position in life are on a very different level than hers. But Adam still chases after the woman of his dreams; he ends up kidnapping her and they go on a lark to Hollywood, where more adventures are in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan O'Shea, Jennifer Runyon, (more)
An adventure tale for movie buffs, Jake Speed deftly lifts scenes from detective films of the '40s through the '70s to bring an added dimension to its spoof of the detective and adventure genres. When a family gets word that their daughter has been kidnapped in Paris, her father comments that they should get "Jake Speed" to find her. However, Jake is a comic strip character, and the reaction is that he might as well ask for Batman. But lo-and-behold, the other daughter Margaret (Karen Kopins) gets a message to meet Speed (Wayne Crawford) and his author, Remo (Dennis Christopher), and the men tell her they must go to Africa, where her sister is being held. After a certain amount of trial and error, they eventually find the nation where she's being held -- which happens to be in the middle of a revolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Crawford, Dennis Christopher, (more)
- 1985
A woman wearing a heavy veil shows up at the offices of the Blue Moon Detective Agency and hires David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) to locate a recently paroled convict named Frank Harbert (Joel Polis). It seems that, years ago, Frank had horribly disfigured the veiled woman's face, and now she wants to find him--and marry him! Inevitably, Frank turns up dead, prompting the detectives to launch a second search for the killer. The episode climaxes with a profusion of people wearing black veils, in a chaotic mistaken-identity sequence reminiscent of The Pink Panther--or at the very least, the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- PG
In this comedy, a Walter-Mitty-esque college youth creates a fabulous daydream world when he finds himself increasingly unable to relate to real life. In his own La-La land, he pretends that he commands a sailing ship. With a crew comprised of schoolmates, they set sail for many adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This is one of many versions of the fairy tale about a boy who trades his family cow for magical beans and soon finds himself on an adventure in a magical land. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- PG
This heartwarming tale of courage and devotion is set during the Vietnam war and centers upon a young medic who makes extra money on the side dealing drugs. His life is forever changed when he meets an Army doctor who persuades him to help her save a group of war orphans. First she appeals to his sense of guilt; then she blackmails him into assisting. The children are cared for by a few Vietnamese nuns. The doctor and the medic bring them badly needed food and supplies. To do this, the brave duo must face enemy bombs and the resistance of the US government. This is based on a true story and though wrenching, it is not syrupy or sentimental. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Susan Saint James, (more)
- 1982
An impressive cast drives this early episode of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre. Dennis Christopher -- best known from the 1979 sleeper hit Breaking Away -- is Jack, a boy who acquires a handful of magic beans in exchange for his poor family's cow. His mother, Soap's Katherine Helmond, is furious and throws the beans into garden beside the house. However, the beans grow overnight into a magnificent beanstalk that reaches into the clouds. Jack climbs the beanstalk only to find that it leads directly to the castle of a fierce yet wealthy giant. Elliot Gould and Jean Stapleton star as the giant and his equally gigantic wife. ~ Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide
Based on a true story, Chariots of Fire is the internationally acclaimed Oscar-winning drama of two very different men who compete as runners in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a serious Christian Scotsman, believes that he has to succeed as a testament to his undying religious faith. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), is a Jewish Englishman who wants desperately to be accepted and prove to the world that Jews are not inferior. The film crosscuts between each man's life as he trains for the competition, fueled by these very different desires. As compelling as the racing scenes are, it's really the depth of the two main characters that touches the viewer, as they forcefully drive home the theme that victory attained through devotion, commitment, integrity, and sacrifice is the most admirable feat that one can achieve. (Ian Holm was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in his role as Abrahams' coach), and this powerful film ended up with four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Danny Travis (Richard Harris) is a kindly Irish inventor and widower whose projects leave his family in a constant state of near poverty. He takes on the system when the city slates his apartment building for demolition. Danny uncovers a plot hatched by the scheming Governor Davis (Biff McGuire) that will line the politician's pockets under the false pretense of an urban renewal project. Danny holds a sheriff hostage as television reporter Paula Herbert (Karen Black) leads to a media frenzy that sparks public sympathy for Danny and his fellow residents. The always dependable Martin Landau plays Captain Garrity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, Karen Black, (more)
- 1980
This is one of many versions of the fairy tale about a boy who trades his family cow for magical beans and soon finds himself on an adventure in a magical land. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- R
An interesting, introspective variant on the '80s slasher formula, this low-key psychological thriller details the troubled life of obsessed movie junkie Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), whose love of old movies extends far beyond his job at a film distributor's warehouse and endless late-night film screenings in his bedroom. His singular obsession eventually rounds the bend into psychosis after he crosses paths with a Marilyn Monroe look-alike (Linda Kerridge), who becomes the physical embodiment of his cinematic desires. When stood up on what he believed would be their first date, Eric becomes homicidally unbalanced, transforming himself into a gallery of classic movie characters -- including Dracula, The Mummy, Hopalong Cassidy, and Norman Bates -- and sets out to destroy his oppressors, starting with his crotchety wheelchair-bound Aunt Stella (Eve Brent Ashe), then targeting a boorish co-worker (a very young Mickey Rourke), and eventually working his way toward Kerridge. The film begins with a groovy concept, but loses something in the execution -- the horror and comedy elements fail to gel completely, and Christopher's performance is too creepy to generate much empathy. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Linda Kerridge, (more)
- 1979
- G
The first volley in the never-ending "Presley movie" blitzkrieg, the made-for-TV Elvis: The Movie stars Kurt Russell as the King, Season Hubley as Priscilla, Pat Hingle as Col. Parker, Shelley Winters as Elvis' mom, and Bing Russell (Kurt's real-life father) as Elvis' dad. The film recounts Presley's life from age ten to his 1969 Vegas comeback. Presley imitator Ronnie McDowell expertly dubs in Kurt Russell's renditions of "Love Me Tender," "Heartbreak Hotel," et al. When first telecast on February 11, 1979, the ratings for Elvis: The Movie went through the roof, even beating out a competing telecast of Gone With the Wind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1979
- R
T.T. (Dennis Christopher), a Midwesterner, has traveled to the beaches of California for a dose of the surfin' life. He believes that the people he finds there are glamorous and knowledgeable. They reject his Midwestern nerdiness, make fun of him, and generally give him a hard time for not fitting in and wanting to. However, eventually he figures out that they are no wiser than he is, and that their lives are surprisingly empty. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glynnis O'Connor, Seymour Cassel, (more)
Dennis Christopher stars as a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who is caught with his friends -- Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley -- coasting between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives. The four friends are snobbishly looked down upon by the college students of the town as "cutters," since they were born in Bloomington and their parents worked in the local limestone quarries that built the university. Dennis Christopher's character Dave wants to be a champion bicycle racer and he idolizes the Italian racing team -- so much so that he speaks, thinks, and acts Italian, all to his father's (Paul Dooley) forlorn exasperation. Dave falls for a college girl (Robyn Douglass), but is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Dave is particularly excited when his heroes -- the Italian racers -- come to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep Dave from winning a race against them. After that ordeal, Dave throws away his false identity and convinces his friends to enter the university's "Little 500" bicycle race against the college students. This light-hearted and heartwarming tale was a surprising word-of-mouth success at the box-office and won several awards, including an Academy Award for "Best Screenplay." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, (more)
Robert Altman's over-frenetic satire on American marriage rituals and hypocrisy concerns the upper-crust marriage between Dino Corelli (Desi Arnaz Jr.) and Muffin Brenner (Amy Stryker). As the film begins, a senile bishop forgets the lines to the wedding ceremony and Nettie Sloan (the groom's grandmother) drops dead in an upstairs bedroom. Nettie's death is not disclosed to the two families who converge at the wedding reception. As the two sets of in-laws slam into each other, the bride and groom disappear in the ensuing whirlwind of chaos as both extended families vie for sexual favors and try to keep hidden never-discussed family secrets. Regina Corelli (Nina Van Pallandt) is revealed to be a drug addict, while Luigi, is endeavoring unsuccessfully to keep his Mafia connections under wraps. Meanwhile, the bride's family, although more down to earth, are revealed to be no better. Tulip Brenner (Carol Burnett) begins to flirt with one of the wedding guests, Mackenzie Goddard (Pat McCormick), while Snooks Brenner (Paul Dooley) acts like a lout and drinks heavily. And flying around the edges of the action like Tinkerbell is Buffy Brenner, the Brenners' youngest daughter, who is pregnant by the groom. As other characters bang into each other -- sexual degenerates, hard-nosed radicals, raw-boned emotional wrecks -- the wedding reception heads for its inevitable nuclear explosion. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, (more)
- 1977
This film, aired on television as 24 Hours of the Rebel, delves into the hero-worship aura that surrounded James Dean following his tragic death. This stars The Waltons' Richard Thomas (getting a break from his usual "goody-goody" roles), who, as character "Jimmy J," is stunned by Dean's death and gathers his friends in a drinking foray where the stupor comes more from their turbulent emotions than from the suds. Quite respected for its real-life glimpses, this film is the debut of Dennis Quaid. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
Many observers consider the 60-minute Bernice Bobs Her Hair to be the best-ever filmed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Bernice (Shelley Duvall), a shy retiring girl of the Roaring 20s, yearns to be popular. On the advice of her flapper cousin Marjorie (Veronica Cartwright), Bernice cuts her unfashionable long hair into a short bob, begins dressing more stylishly, and learns the Most Valuable Rule: "When you're with a man, there are only three topics of conversation: you, me and us." Bernice Bobs Her Hair first aired on PBS' American Playhouse on April 5, 1977. It was telecast in tandem with a dramatization of Sherwood Anderson's oft-adapted I'm a Fool. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Duvall, Bud Cort, (more)
- 1971
- PG
In this youthful drama, teenagers grow into young adults. The story centers on a young woman who falls in love with one of her teachers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Gloria Grahame joined the list of aging Hollywood stars who bloodied their hands in the wake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with this sick, effective horror film about nasty doings at a private orphanage. Grahame gives a wonderfully grotesque performance as Mrs. Dorothy Deere, a crazy widow who bilks the county out of money by running a home for wayward youths. If any of her tenants happens to run away, the wino handyman Tom kills them with a meat-cleaver and throws them into a deep-freeze in the cellar. Into this unsavory situation comes young Ellie Masters (Melody Patterson of TV's F-Troop), whose prostitute mother was viciously murdered with a claw-hammer while in bed with a john. Ellie witnessed the killer leaving the burning bedroom, and is warned by helpful cop Carruthers (Vic Tayback) that he could still be around. This film looks absolutely horrible considering the names involved, with an air of cheapness pervading even the most minor elements of the production. Nevertheless, it works because of the performances. Grahame brings a deadpan madness to her character that is a welcome and chilling change from the fright-wigged harridans of similar films, and Len Lesser exudes considerable menace as the murderous Tom. It might also amuse some to see a young Dennis Christopher as the nerdy Pete. The "shock" ending is pretty silly, but director Philip Gilbert manages to maintain a fairly skillful tone of depravity and madness until that point, making this an atmospheric (if ratty) treat. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Grahame, Melody Patterson, (more)
