Angus MacKay Movies
Sometimes a family title, among the nobility of England, goes to the "collateral" heirs -- people not in the direct line of decent, like cousins, great-nephews and the like. On rare occasions, these people are not even aware that they are about to be elevated to the House of Lords, and they have been living more-or-less ordinary lives. In this comedy, the family which lacks direct heirs is the Royal Family of England -- as all of the likely heirs have died one after the other in swift succession. In this comedy, the "collateral heir" is an exuberant, fence-busting All-American slob (and pretty good rock n' roll musician) by the name of Ralph (John Goodman). Unknown to him, his grandmother had an affair with a royal prince. Ralph's a good guy, and eager to please. He recognizes the importance of the royal hoopla to England and works very hard to fit in as its new designated king. He is assisted by the ever-unctuous, very serious family factotum Willingham (Peter O'Toole). The trouble is, he doesn't have instincts for politics English-style, and he is constantly "putting a foot wrong," as they might say. The most difficult situation for him is when he develops a new love interest, and she's not "acceptable" to the upper crust. In addition to being hounded by the tabloids, he finds that "the good of the state" requires that he drop his new girlfriend. Things really come to a head just before Ralph's coronation as king. Reviewers generally loathed this feel-good comedy, but audiences seem to have enjoyed it tremendously, and it has done well in video and TV airings. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1990
- R
A hectic caper flick with farcical overtones, Bullseye! doesn't quite hit the....oh, you know. Government scientist Michael Caine and his titled pal Roger Moore plan to auction off a cold fusion formula to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, a pair of con artists-also played by Caine and Moore-impersonate the scientist and his friends in hopes of getting a piece of the action. This leads to an unending supply of comic complications, deadly encounters, wacky recurring characters and Sennett-style chases. Is louder and faster really funnier? You be the judge (but you'll have to catch the film on home video, since it never received a US theatrical release). Roger Moore's real-life daughter Deborah Barrymore shows up as a CIA agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Roger Moore, (more)
This unadorned biography of playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) charts his bawdy, dangerous relationships. Alfred Molina plays Orton's brutish lover, Kenneth Halliwell, a pathetic figure who becomes horrific and then tragic before the film is over. The hilarity of scenes from such Orton plays as Loot and What the Butler Saw is evenly balanced by the bleakness of the playwright's tormented (and tormenting) off-stage existence, which ended suddenly at age 34 with half a dozen blows to the head from a hammer. Prick Up Your Ears is based on the book by theater critic John Lahr, who is played in the film by Wallace Shawn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, (more)
John Cleese's knack for mining hilarity from the growing frustration of a dignified gentleman is fully exploited in the British comedy Clockwise. Cleese portrays Brian Stimpson, a perfectionist English headmaster who has been selected to make an important presentation before a group of his peers. When Stimpson sets out upon his journey, however, he finds himself facing a seemingly never-ending series of delays and inconveniences, which range from missing a train to becoming a fugitive from the police. The film goes no deeper than its farcical surface, but is nevertheless consistently entertaining, thanks to former Monty Python member Cleese's precisely tuned transitions from composure to complete collapse. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cleese, Alison Steadman, (more)
- 1985
- PG13
- Add National Lampoon's European Vacation to QueueAdd National Lampoon's European Vacation to top of Queue
Despite the many adventures they suffered in National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswold family decides to take another crack at having fun. This time, the doltish clan heads across the Atlantic for a whirlwind vacation after winning a game show. Will the monuments of Europe survive? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1983
In the second episode of the four-part story "Mawdryn Undead," the TARDIS is trapped in an orbital pattern around the earth, giving the Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall) ample time to plot vengeance against his old enemy, the Doctor (Peter Davison). To that end, the Guardian has recruited a young, innocent-looking lad named Vizlor Turlough (Mark Strickson) as a potential assassin. This episode features stock-footage "flashbacks" to several previous Doctor Who adventures, notably "The Three Doctors" and "Terror of the Zygons." Originally telecast on February 2, 1983, "Mawdryn Undead, Episode 2" was written by Peter Grimwade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, (more)
- 1983
The four-part Doctor Who adventure "Mawdryn Undead" begins on a seemingly arbitrary note, as a pair of juvenile delinquents go for a joyride in the Brigadier's vintage automobile. After the inevitable crash, one of the boys, actually a space alien named Vizlor Turlough (Mark Strickson), is recruited for a daunting assignment. The recruiter is the Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall); the assignment is to kill the Black Guardian's sworn enemy -- the Doctor (Peter Davison). Originally telecast on February 1, 1983, "Mawdryn Undead, Episode 1" was written by Peter Grimwade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, (more)
Low-brow British humor abounds in this farcical account of Edwin Anthony, the first man to receive a successful penis transplant. Anthony becomes quite attached to his new appendage and even gives it the title name. The alleged humor comes in when Anthony and Percy set out to investigate the life of the latter's former owner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This science fiction/fantasy is loosely based on a story by John Wyndham (best known for The Day of the Triffids). Scientist Collin (Tom Bell) stumbles across a parallel world in which President Kennedy is not shot, Vietnam hasn't happened, and Ottilie (Joan Collins), the woman he loves, dies unexpectedly of a heart condition. While he is happy enough with the rest of his new world, he can't stand by and let his true love die in his original world, and he determines to return to his own place and time to save her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
This dark drama unfolds in an unnamed community outside of London, where a beleaguered and grief-stricken tavern owner named Jim Radford (James Booth copes with the rape and murder of his young daughter. The remainder of his family shares his distress, and in time, it begins to rip the clan apart. When the young man who is being tried for the crime is let off thanks to paltry connecting evidence, Jim grows desperate and teams up a buddy of his named Harry (Ray Barrett) whose daughter suffered from a like fate - presumably, though not definitively, at the hands of the same killer. The two hone in on the young man who they believe is responsible, kidnap him and torture him in a number of ways. Unfortunately, the youth will not talk and ends up dead. Moreover, in time it becomes apparent that this might not have been the correct individual. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
A classic 1960's cult film in the British "angry young man" tradition, the hero of this film from Czech director Karel Reisz is more lunatic than agitator. Morgan Delt (David Warner) is an artist from a working class background, married to Leonie (Vanessa Redgrave), a woman far above him in social standing. Given to a rich fantasy life to begin with, Morgan goes off the mental deep end when Leonie informs him that she's asking for a divorce and taking up with art dealer Robert Stephens (Charles Napier), a man more befitting her class. Thoroughly gone around the bend, Morgan enacts a series of bizarre gags and stunts in a campaign to win Leonie back, including putting a skeleton in her bed and crashing her wedding dressed as a gorilla. His antics eventually get Morgan arrested and committed to an asylum, where he embraces his mother's ardent communist beliefs. Redgrave was Oscar nominated for Best Actress for her role, her feature film debut. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, David Warner, (more)
Julie Christie won an Oscar for her portrayal of a bored, amoral fashion model in this cynical melodrama from director John Schlesinger. Following the break-up of a teenage marriage, Diana Scott (Christie) drifts into the world of modeling and acting, where she meets a television news reporter, Robert Gold (Dirk Bogarde), who leaves his family for her and introduces her to a more powerful and wealthy set. Soon Diana meets somebody more attractive: public relations mogul Miles Brand (Laurence Harvey). After briefly leaving and then drifting back into Robert's life, experiencing an orgy and even getting an abortion, Diana eventually leaves the swinging London scene behind and settles down to an unfulfilling if comfortable life as the wife of millionaire Italian widower Cesare (Jose-Luis deVillalonga). Shocking in its day, Darling (1965) won Oscars for its costumes and script from Frederic Raphael. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, (more)
- 1964
In the tradition of Kind Hearts and Coronets (49), Nothing But the Best is a sparkling British "comedy of murders." Alan Bates stars as a lowly real estate clerk who wants to crash the British upper class. To that end, Bates hires down-and-out gentleman Denholm Elliott to "train" him for the noblesse. The clerk is a fast learner, and is soon wooing the daughter (Millicent Martin) of his blueblood boss. Just as he's on the brink of becoming one of the "better people," his mentor Elliot disdainfully threatens to reveal the truth about Bates. With nary a moment's hesitation, Bates strangles Elliot with his own school tie, and hides the body in Elliot's own school trunk. From this point forward, Bates moves onward and upward, and since the high-class folks in this film are shown to be shallow phonies, the audience is half rooting for Bates to get away with his little murder. The film ends just as Bates' old lodgings are about to be demolished--leaving Our Hero waiting in wry, bemused anticipation for that incriminating trunk to be uncovered. Frederick Raphael based his screenplay for Nothing But the Best on Stanley Elkins' black-humor masterpiece The Best of Everything. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Denholm Elliott, (more)
