Sandy Johnson Movies

From its opening multi-language titles (that sure looks like Swedish) to the closing arrest of the entire Dark Ages cast by modern-day bobbies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail helped to define "irreverence" and became an instant cult classic. This time the Pythonites savage the legend of King Arthur, juxtaposing some excellently selected exterior locations with an unending stream of anachronistic one-liners, non sequiturs, and slapstick set pieces. The Knights of the Round Table set off in search of the Holy Grail on foot, as their lackeys make clippety-clop sounds with coconut shells. A plague-ridden community, ringing with the cry of "bring out your dead," offers its hale and hearty citizens to the body piles. A wedding of convenience is attacked by Arthur's minions while the pasty-faced groom continually attempts to burst into song. The good guys are nearly thwarted by the dreaded, tree-shaped "Knights Who Say Ni!" A feisty enemy warrior, bloodily shorn of his arms and legs in the thick of battle, threatens to bite off his opponent's kneecap. A French military officer shouts such taunts as "I fart in your general direction" and "I wave my private parts at your aunties." Rabbits are a particular obsession of the writers this time around, ranging from the huge Trojan Rabbit to the "killer bunny" that decapitates one of the knights. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin collaborated on the script and assumed most of the onscreen roles, while Gilliam and Jones served as co-directors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Maybe your folks never did, but we bet that Grandpa or Uncle Louie whispered a few of these. Anyway, you've heard most of these racy knee-slappers before. The film is little more than a series of blackouts, concentrating on anatomical humor. And oh, yes: there's lots of buxom females. This 82-minute pastiche is in the same vein as If You Don't Stop It, You'll Go Blind and Can I Do It...Till I Need Glasses? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not exactly meant for intellectuals or feminists, this juvenile comedy-drama centers around the competition between a decaying, old-fashioned gas station and that of a sleek, modern version across the street. Neither Uncle Joe (Huntz Hall) nor his station are doing well. So niece June (Kirsten Baker) comes to the rescue, enlisting three buxom friends with names like April (Sandy Johnson) and January (Rikki Marin) who help fill out the rest of the calendar year, and occasionally fill up tanks when not disco dancing in the garage. Using the only weapons they have, the young women wear as little as possible to distract the competition, to attract customers, to distract the gangsters sent over to teach them a lesson, and to distract attention away from the script. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This comedy concerns two buddies trying to make a go of it. Ritchie Lee (Lenny Henry) is the owner of an ice cream van that serves as a place to store his disco equipment, used to play music for parties and other events. John Carloff (John Shea) is an American soldier who is AWOL from a U.S. military base in England. When John arrives in Liverpool and meets Ritchie, the two team up, their bond fostered by John's good collection of Motown sounds. After a few misadventures, the ice cream truck breaks down, and when they take it in to be fixed, the crook who sold it to Ritchie stashes some counterfeiting plates inside. As soon as the van is up and running, the protagonists are chased across England by two nasty killers who want those plates. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Mel Brooks does it again with this send-up of vampire films. That Leslie Nielson plays the great blood-sucking count gives viewers a good idea as to what they are in for. This Dracula takes himself very seriously despite the fact that he's a bit of a klutz with a tendency to slip in the bat guano that adorns his castle floor. Staying very close to Bram Stoker's original story, Brooks also pays sly homage to other major vampire film classics, including Nosferatu. Though silly but subtle gags abound in this outing, Brooks has taken great care to recreate the late 19th-century atmosphere in rich detail and harkens back to Hammer horror movies popular during the '50s and '60s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide