David Naughton Movies
University of Pennsylvania grad David Naughton studied for a performing career at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Naughton first developed a following via his ubiquitous appearances in the musical Dr. Pepper commercials of the 1970s ("I'm a pepper, you're a pepper" etc.) In 1979, he starred as Billy Manucci on the "disco adventure" TV series Makin' It; Naughton's vocal rendition of the title song was briefly #5 on the pop charts. His subsequent series stints included 1983's At Ease and 1986's My Sister Sam. Naughton is most familiar to horror-flick devotees as reluctant lycanthrope David Kessler in the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London. David Naughton is the younger brother of stage and film actor James Naughton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
To fully appreciate Boy in Blue, it's helpful to know a little bit about the sport of "sculling"-or competitive rowing. Nicolas Cage stars as the real-life Ned Hanlan, who at the turn of the century was Canada's foremost sculling champ. A wild, uncontrollable youth, Hanlan is "adopted" by a gambler named Bill (David Naughton), who promotes the boy on the sculling circuit for his own monetary gain. Ruthlessly businessman Knox (Christopher Plummer) assumes control of Hanlan's career, but when Ned discovers just how ruthless Knox can be, he casts his lot with the first honest man he's met, inventor-speculator Walter (Sean Sullivan). Hanlan's professional success is capped by his marriage to Margaret (Cynthia Dale), Knox's previously unattainable niece. The by-the-numbers Boy in Blue was given an R rating due to a few disposable sex scenes, thereby cutting its potential audience (hero-worshipping youths) in half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, (more)
- 1986
- R
An unhappily married husband takes off to Mexico in hopes of finding a fulfilling romantic interlude, and scores nothing but zeros. Meanwhile, the wife and kids, who have been left at home, decide to go on their planned ski vacation anyway. Up on the slopes, the mom tries to resist the continual advances of her good-looking ski instructor, but it's just a matter of time before the inevitable romance erupts, and the stranded mom learns she can have fun, too. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Jennifer Dale, (more)
If the Perils of Pauline were set in a campy New York City with a dash of trash added in, Not for Publication would result, though the awful jokes and kinky characters are not going to be entertaining to everyone. Lois (Nancy Allen) is a reporter at a sleazoid newspaper, a paragon of yellow journalism that she is determined to turn back to its first incarnation as The New York Enforcer, a better paper. The not-so-good Mayor Franklyn (Laurence Luckinbill) adopts Lois as his personal assistant when she bursts into his office one day and strongly advises him to cut the pressure to shut down porn shops or he will lose the vote of New York's youth. She hires a photographer (David Naughton) to work in the mayor's office, planning to use his skills for her tabloid paper -- but then a quirky menage à trois arises between the mayor, the photographer, and Lois. After some undercover sleuthing in Long Island, Lois connects the mayor to various robberies that have occurred in the city and thinks of a way to bring back the New York Enforcer and handle the mayor at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Allen, David Naughton, (more)
- 1984
After being mugged by two men, aspiring actress Kendall Gibley (Alexandra Paul) vows that she'll be ready for any future attacks. Kendall decides to "beef up" by undergoing a body-building regimen that would kill a lesser woman. Her devotion to physical culture sorely threatens her personal relationships with her friends, family and boyfriend, Mickey Ritter (David Naughton). Star Alexandra Paul's impressive physique is lovingly photographed by Howard R. Schwartz, as disco music pulsates on the soundtrack. A number of real-life bodybuilders of both sexes appear in supporting and bit roles. Made for television, Getting Physical debuted March 20, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandahl Bergman, Alexandra Paul, (more)
The action in this run-of-the-mill teen comedy in not as much on the slopes as between the sheets, or on the way to the sheets, as Harkin (Patrick Houser) picks up a hitchhiker (Tracy N. Smith) heading to a Lake Tahoe ski resort. Once there, Harkin joins up with a party-loving group of skiers led by Dan (David Naughton), a New Yorker. When the mix of young men and women are not shaking down into couples, attention focuses on the competition with the world ski champ Rudi Garmischt (John Patrick Reger) -- eventually leading to a spectacular sequence of skiing artistry down the snowy slopes, a tour-de-force that rivals scenes from the Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Patrick Houser, (more)
- 1982
This made-for-TV movie was initially shown under the title I, Desire. Coroner's aide David Naughton can't understand why one of the corpses under his care has been drained of blood. Doing a little detective work on his own, Naughton follows the trail of clues to sexy streetwalker Marilyn Jones. Could it be that this far-from-happy hooker is a vampire? Dorian Harewood costars as the detective on the case. I Desire originally aired November 15, 1982, two weeks too late for Halloween. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
In this standard romantic drama slated for TV movie channels, Valentine (Karen Black) is dissatisfied in her marriage to a racecar driver (Tony Lo Bianco) and begins a romantic liaison with a student at the community college she attends. Her husband has also been unfaithful, and his indiscretions are what prompt her own behavior. Since her marital woes continue, Valentine leaves home, gets a job as a waitress at a local nightclub, and ponders her future as nothing right now seems certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Tony Lo Bianco, (more)
- 1981
- R
- Add An American Werewolf in London to QueueAdd An American Werewolf in London to top of Queue
While wandering the English moors on vacation, college yanks David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) happen upon a quaint pub with a mysterious patronage who warn them not to leave the road when walking after dark. Irreverent of such advice as characters in horror films always are, the two decide to find a short cut....David wakes up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound to his shoulder; the freshly deceased, and rapidly decomposing, Jack arrives soon after to deliver the grim news that, unless he commits suicide, David will become a werewolf when the moon is full. David dismisses the encounter as a hallucination, but all indicators point to lycanthrope; evenings of barking and bloodletting follow closely behind. While the story is thin and much of the tongue-in-cheek humor is overdone, there are plenty of genuine jolts thanks to makeup guru Rick Baker's eye-popping special effects. The werewolf, resembling a cross between a bear and a wolverine, appears frighteningly real, and, given the fantastic premise, the gore is most convincing (although surprisingly and refreshingly scant). The hospital dream sequences are creative, and the scenes in which the werewolf runs rampant through downtown London are particularly good. In all, An American Werewolf in London is an original, atmospheric film that manages both to scare and amuse. While dismissed by most American critics upon its release, the film managed to secure a place in the annals of American cinema when Baker won an Academy Award for his amazing effects and creature designs. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, (more)
The crux of this limited, juvenile comedy is a complex game that begins at midnight and ends by morning. Of main interest is the fact that a young Michael J. Fox plays one of the students involved in the game. Leon (Alan Solomon) has spent a year creating the game and practically needs that long to convince his fellow students to play it. Eventually he wins out, and the various teams of classic stereotypes -- the nerd, the well-groomed hero, the obnoxious sorority sister, the easily duped freshman, and others -- all converge on Los Angeles at midnight. Their treks take them through the Griffith Observatory which because of those odd hours astronomers keep, could conceivably be open. Other locales are interestingly open too, apparently Los Angeles never sleeps. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Naughton, Debra Clinger, (more)
