Robert Lindsay Movies

This play gets its title from the name of a British holiday called Midsummer Day, the feast of John the Baptist, celebrated on June 24 with merrymaking. On Midsummer Night, witches, goblins, and fairies materialized to hold a festival of their own. Shakespeare's play capitalizes on the magic of the occasion. Set in Athens, it begins when Duke Theseus orders gala ceremonies for his coming marriage to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. But domestic strife intrudes upon the gay atmosphere when one of the duke's subjects, Hermia, chooses Lysander as her future husband over her father Egeus' choice, Demetrius. Theseus reminds Hermia of a law requiring her to obey her father or face death or banishment. Hermia and Lysander then escape to the woods. There, tradesmen are rehearsing a play for the duke's wedding. Demetrius, the rejected suitor, searches the woods for Hermia, while another young lady, Helena, follows him, praying that he will bestow his love on her instead of Hermia. Also in the woods are fairies gathered to bless the duke's wedding. Oberon, the fairy king, argues violently with his queen, Titania, after she refuses to give him a boy he wants as a servant. In retaliation, Oberon orders a fairy named Puck to concoct a potion of flower juice, which, when squeezed on Titania's eyelids, will enamor her of the first creature she sees -- whether animal or man. Witnessing the love problems of Helena and Demetrius, Oberon decides a dose of flower juice will do them good. But because of mischief and mixups, Puck's potion anoints indiscriminately, and everyone temporarily falls in love with the wrong person. Titania ends up with bumpkin Bottom, a tradesman wearing the head of an ass. Eventually, remedial magic rights the wrongs and a triple wedding takes place. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Tony award-winning British musical comedy star Robert Lindsay makes his first important American film appearance in Bert Rigby, You're a Fool. Lindsay, of course, plays the title character, a coal miner who dreams of becoming a big showbiz star. Only problem is, there's very little demand for Bert Rigby's impersonations of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly. Undaunted, Bert heads to Hollywood, where, while working as a butler in the household of movie mogul Jim Shirley (Corbin Bernsen), he must fend off the advances of Shirley's hot-to-trot wife, Meredith (Anne Bancroft). Befitting the old-fashioned nature of Bert Rigby's behavior and tastes in entertainment, director Carl Reiner adopts a "retro" approach to his material; at times, the film looks as though it was made in 1939 rather than 1989, despite its R-rated sex, profanity, and body-function jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Keith Carradine, Valentina Yakunina, and Anthony Quayle star in this drama about a former member of the Irish Republican Army who finds himself working with a musician from Russia in order to stop an attempt on the life of the pope. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

On the eve of near-future Northern Ireland's first general election, well-marketed reformer Michael Brinn (Robert Lindsay), a shoo-in for prime minister, has newspaper columnist Dan Starkey's dander up. Working the election beat alongside visiting Boston Globe writer Charles Parker (Richard Gant), Starkey (David Thewlis) watches his pointed barbs slide off Brinn's Teflon-coated backside. Drowning his troubles in drink in a Belfast park, Starkey invites beautiful art student Margaret (Laura Fraser) to a friend's party, unaware of her ties to both the IRA and to Brinn's political party. When Starkey's wife (Laine Megaw) catches him canoodling with Margaret, she kicks Starkey out and he ends up in Margaret's bed. When the girl turns up mortally wounded a mere day later, mouthing the words "divorcing Jack" just before her death rattle, Starkey finds himself a suspect in the murder. Donning a ridiculous wig and going on the lam, he must fend off a nationwide manhunt while tracing the connection between Margaret's death and the upcoming election. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, this British/French co-production marked director David Caffrey's feature debut. Irish writer Colin Bateman adapted his own novel, one of several to feature Starkey as a protagonist. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

British helmer Stephen Poliakoff, the man responsible for 2003's acclaimed The Lost Prince (about a young British monarch whom the regents locked away to hide his epileptic fits), returns with the feature Friends and Crocodiles, starring Damian Lewis (An Unfinished Life), Jodhi May (The House of Mirth), and Robert Lindsay (Bert Rigby, You're a Fool). The film opens in the early '80s, with Lewis as Paul Reynolds, a slightly indulgent succès d'estime in the business world who presides over a mansion full of hyper-eccentric artistes. Reynolds hires a secretary, Lizzie (May), to manage his affairs and keep his houseguests in reasonable order. The drama then traces the emotional landscape of Paul and Lizzie's employer/employee relationship (their ups and downs) over the following two decades, which myopically reflect the changes in the larger British corporate landscape. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Many years before, police commissioner Otto Schatz (Robert Lindsay) was an ardent participant in the Nazi experience, and he still cherishes a profound (and secret) affection for Hitler. Now it is 1958, and all that is over and done with. He just does his job in a small Bavarian town in an ordinary way. Lately, however, he has been having some strange experiences. In fact, he's getting quite a taste for such classic kosher dishes as chopped liver and gefilte fish. It seems that he is being haunted by the ghost of a Jewish ventriloquist named Genghis Cohn (Anthony Sher) whose anti-Nazi routines earned him an early visit to the gas chambers. Together, this unlikely pair sets out to solve a serial killing. This odd comedy is based on the novel The Dance of Genghis Cohn by Romain Gary. One highlight of the film is lively performance by Diana Rigg as a man-hungry matron with lofty cultural pretensions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the novel of British writer C.S. Forester, Hornblower is the story of a 17-year-old novice, Horatio Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd), who becomes one of the most formidable figures in naval history once he is over his first experience of getting seasick while on a boat docked in a harbor. Little by little, Hornblower proves himself daring and inventive, until no battle or adventure is big enough for him. Presented as four two-hour episodes, Hornblower is an action, adventure drama that would find its best audience among teenage boys. Ioan Gruffudd received the FIPA d'Or (Golden FIPA) for "Best Actor" for his role as Hornblower at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA) 1999 in Biarritz, France. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

A Pair of Ragged Claws, an episode of the mystery series Jericho, stars Robert Lindsay as the 1950s Scotland Yard Inspector. This time he investigates the murder of a Jamaican. The investigation forces the inspector to confront the fact that the society is changing in ways that are upsetting to him. The police force is also accused of many unsavory actions because of the investigation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Shakespeare's tragedy, made for British television, is given a full-blooded rendition here with the great Laurence Olivier in the title role and a stellar cast to support him, in the tale of a king torn apart by the ambition and treachery within his family and by his own pride. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide