Joe McGann Movies
The oldest brother of the McGann brood and one of the four brothers who took up acting. Also part of a pop band with three of his brothers that is semi-popular in England. ~ All Movie Guide- 2002
Based on the best-selling novel by Irish comedian Spike Milligan, Puckoon is a political satire about a town cut in half by the partitioning of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1924. The action takes place in a town known as Puckoon where an ordinary fellow named Dan Madigan wakes up one day to find barbed-wire fences running right through his neighbors' houses. All at once, Madigan's friends begin altering their personalities to suit the side of the fence they've found themselves on. So it's up to Madigan, the last sane man in town, to restore order. Originally written in 1963, Puckoon is considered the forerunner of anti-humor comedy which became the staple of shows like Monty Python and Saturday Night Live. ~ Connor McMadden, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Hughes, Elliott Gould, (more)
- 1997
In this British-French co-production, assistant bank manager Alex (Richard E. Grant), a part-time theater instructor, decides to contact the original cast of a Twelfth Night production he directed years previously in a small English village. Alex plans to restage the production, and old romances are rekindled in the process. Shown at the 1997 Edinburgh and La Baule film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard E. Grant, Nathalie Baye, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
Many may not know that Ireland maintained its neutrality during World War II, so that any soldiers from that conflict who found themselves on Irish soil had to be kept in captivity until the war's end. For a variety of aeronautical reasons, quite a few Axis and Allied pilots found themselves having to bail out over Ireland. In this film, captives Miles Keogh (Bill Campbell), a Canadian pilot, and Count Rudolph von Stegenbek (Angus Macfadyen), a German pilot, are rivals for the affections of Mattie Guerin (Jean Butler), a local Irish girl. How this rivalry continues is just part of the story of this exciting and romantic film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Campbell, William McNamara, (more)
The four-part BBC1 miniseries The Hanging Gale was set in 1846, the year of the Irish potato famine. As starvation stared them in the face, a group of farming families banded together to survive. Among these hardy souls were the Phelan Brothers (played by the real-life McGann brothers), who struggled to save their family farm despite the persecution of a cruel British land agent. Filmed on-location in Ireland, The Hanging Gale was initially telecast from May 14 to June 4, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul McGann, Joe McGann, (more)
- 1990
The Upper Hand was the British version of the long-running American sitcom Who's the Boss? Taking over the Tony Danza role was Joe McGann as former football player Charlie Burrow. On his uppers, Charlie landed a job as housekeeper and "nanny" for businesswoman and single mom Caroline Wheatley (Diane Weston). Also on hand were Charlie's daughter Joanna (Kellie Bright), Caroline's son Tom (William Puttock) and her own spunky mom Laura West (played by former Avengers star Honor Blackman). By the time the series had run its course, Charlie and Caroline were husband and wife. Lasting an impressive seven seasons and 95 episodes (a rarity for an American derivation on British TV), The Upper Hand was carried by Central Television from May 1, 1990 to October 14, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
A moribund nightclub on the fringes of Liverpool's sprawl is the primary setting for this frenetic, dark, and confusing comedy done in a heavy regional "dialect" by director Peter Smith. Set on New Year's Eve, the film chronicles the rivalry between elderly Irish Catholic and Protestant attendees at a party held in a gritty pub in Liverpool. Mixed in with the warring oldsters are some shady types such as Billy the Beast, the killer of an Ulster terrorist. The club's new manager has a talent for dealing with mayhem and violence, but his first challenge lies in handling the punk rock band perversely scheduled to entertain the oldsters by the disgruntled former manager. After that challenge, he is faced with a magician on the verge of a nervous breakdown and other kinds of chaos that tear through the place. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Angelis, Avis Bunnage, (more)
