Chris Langham Movies
British multi-hyphenate Chris Langham achieved fame and success over the course of four decades, as an actor, screenwriter, and occasional director, almost always in the comedic vein. Langham first cropped up during the early '70s, with guest appearances on at least two Spike Milligan specials and bit parts in such vehicles as The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Sink or Swim (1977). He netted broader recognition at the tail end of the decade, as a multi-role player in the Monty Python biblical spoof The Life of Brian, as one of the regulars on the seminal U.K. comedy series Not the Nine o' Clock News (1979), and one of the occasional scripters on Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. By the mid- to late '80s, the actor branched out into occasional dramatic turns, such as the 1985 telemovie Silas Marner and the 1988 docudrama Apprentice to Murder, but he continued to make greatest impact on U.K. television, in such popular series as Kiss Me Kate, Clive Anderson Talks Back, and Help. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2008
- Add The Art of Soccer With John Cleese to QueueAdd The Art of Soccer With John Cleese to top of Queue
Comic legend John Cleese hosts this documentary that offers a look at the history of football, the world's most popular sport. In addition to a number of the greatest highlights in the game's annals, the fimmakers include interviews with some of the greatest players, as well as celebrities who are avid fans of the game. One section of the film also analyzes how soccer has permeated the popular culture in various ways. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cleese
Craig Ferguson, best known to American audiences as Mr. Wick, the conniving boss who loves to fire people on The Drew Carey Show, co-wrote and starred in this mock-documentary about Crawford Mackenzie, Scotland's leading hairdresser. When Crawford receives an invitation to Los Angeles for the World Freestyle Hairstyling Championships, he eagerly hops the first flight to America, with a camera crew in tow to record his triumphant debut in the States. Once he arrives, he learns that he was invited to attend and observe but not to compete. Crawford is at first dejected, but he refuses to take the humiliation lying down; one way or another, Crawford is determined to show off his talents for the greater glory of Scottish hair styling. The supporting cast includes Mary McCormack, Sara Gilbert, Larry Miller, and Charles Napier; director Kevin Allen previously helmed the offbeat Scottish comedy Twin Town. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Ferguson, Frances Fisher, (more)
- 1995
Created by John Cleese of Monty Python fame, the twice-weekly TV series Look at the State We're In was a hilariously satirical spin on the British judicial and legislative system. Cleese was joined by a stellar cast of British comic talents in the series' six 25-minute episodes, which skewered such topics as bureaucracy, "good old boy" favoritism, the fallacy of open public debate, and the dirty little secrets locked up within governmental walls. The series was shown by BBC2 from May 20 to June 4, 1995, with an additional 45-minute "special" telecast on June 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
In this last gasp of the "Carry On" series, minus most of the "Carry On" players, Jim Dale plays Spanish map-maker Christopher Columbus, who has a plan to navigate a new route to India, bypassing the Sultan of Turkey (Rik Mayall) and his sky-high tributes. He convinces King Ferdinand of Spain (Leslie Phillips) and Queen Isabella (June Whitfield) to finance his trip, and he sets off for points east with a cabin boy in tow. But what Columbus doesn't realize is that his cabin boy is, in fact, a cabin girl. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Dale, Bernard Cribbins, (more)
- 1991
The made-for-cable Bejewelled stars Emma Samms as a museum curator. Entrusted with collection of valuable jewels, she heads to London. Here she is obligated to fend off any number of potential thieves. It is also up to her to determine whom she can trust and whom she can not. Dennis Lawson, Jade Maigri, Aeryk Egan, Dirk Benedict costar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
We're told that Apprentice to Murder is a true story. If so, we'll steer clear of the film's Pennsylvania Dutch locale in the future. A series of murders occur in a sleepy community, and suspicion immediately falls on the local "character": a self-styled faithhealer and mystic. Donald Sutherland plays this worthy, while Chad Lowe is cast as his nonplussed assistant. Though set in Pennsylvania, Apprentice to Murder was actually shot in Norway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Chad Lowe, (more)
- 1985
Another effort from the prolific Australian firm of Crawford Productions, this weekly comedy-drama series focused on young Tam and Steve Henderson (Nadine Garner, Paul Smith) who (briefly) lived with their peripatetic foster father Walter Mullins (Michael Aitkens) in the town of Haven Bay. As Walter sought out a lucrative business in which to invest, the kids were left to their own devices, and their own circle of friends (and enemies). During the series' third season, the title was changed to The Henderson Kids II; having spent two years traveling all over Australia, the family again settled down, this time in the harbor town of Westport. Henderson Kids debuted in 1985, while Henderson Kids II first aired in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Garner, Paul L. Smith, (more)
- 1982
- R
The highlights of two benefit concerts staged in support of Amnesty International are collected in this British performance film, which features ample helpings of both music and comedy. The members of the Monty Python comedy troupe serve as headliners, performing live variations on some of their most famous sketches. Additional humor is provided by such luminaries as Peter Cook, while the musical segments include performances by Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and Sting, amongst others. While all of the performers deliver the goods, the film's overall effectiveness is unfortunately limited by the purely functional direction and often poor image quality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pete Townshend, Rowan Atkinson, (more)
On a midnight clear 2,000 years ago, three wise men enter a manger where a babe is wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is an infant called Brian...and the three wise men are in the wrong manger. For the rest of his life, Brian (Graham Chapman) finds himself regarded as something of a messiah -- yet he's always in the shadow of this other guy from Galilee. Brian is witness to the Sermon of the Mount, but his seat is in such a bad location that he can't hear any of it ("Blessed are the cheesemakers?"). Ultimately, he is brought before Pontius Pilate and sentenced to crucifixion, which takes place at that crowded, nonexclusive execution site a few blocks shy of Calvary. Rather than utter the Last Six Words, Brian leads his fellow crucifixees in a spirited rendition of a British music-hall cheer-up song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." The whole Monty Python gang (Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam) are on hand in multiple roles, playing such sacred characters as Stan Called Loretta, Biggus Dickus, Deadly Dirk, Casts the First Stone, and Intensely Dull Youth; also showing up are Goon Show veteran Spike Milligan and a Liverpool musician named George Harrison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, (more)
- 1976
- PG
- Add The Pink Panther Strikes Again to QueueAdd The Pink Panther Strikes Again to top of Queue
Most Inspector Clouseau fans regard The Pink Panther Strikes Again as the best of the clumsy Parisian detective's "comeback" films of the 1970s. Driven insane by the stupidities of Clouseau (Peter Sellers), ex-inspector Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom) transforms into a master criminal. Kidnapping the inventor of a death ray, Dreyfuss threatens to use the demon device indiscriminately unless Clouseau is offered as a "sacrifice." A hunted man, Clouseau is forced to adopt one transparent (but hilarious) disguise after another. He is rescued from being incinerated by Dreyfuss when Soviet spy Olga (Leslie Ann Down) falls in love with him and strives to protect him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, (more)
