Ian Fordyce Movies
- 1975
So you really believe that Gary Collins has always been that apple-cheeked, twinkly-eyed host of Hour Magazine, eh? Wait till you see Collins in the British TV movie Dial a Deadly Number. Mr. Congeniality plays a sleazy unemployed actor who victimizes emotionally disturbed Gemma Jones. Convincing Gemma that he's a psychiatrist, Collins sets off a cataclysmic chain of events. Dial a Deadly Number was picked up for American consumption by ABC's Wide World Mystery anthology; the taped, 90-minute suspense drama made its US debut November 18, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this made-for-television horror movie, a Rolls-Royce develops a murderous mind of its own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
A top-secret government agency called the Web was the catalyst for the action in this weekly, hour-long British TV series. The individual episodes concentrated on the thrilling undercover activities of the Web's three top agents: Lottie Dean (Patricia Cutts), Wallis Ackroyd (Veronica Carlson), and Clive Hawksworth (Anthony Ainley). Roger Lloyd-Pack played the agents' boss, while the guest-star roster included the likes of Ferdy Mayne and Andre Morell. The 13 episodes of Spyder's Web were broadcast by ATV from February 22 to April 14, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
- Add John Cleese on How to Irritate People to QueueAdd John Cleese on How to Irritate People to top of Queue
No kidding: they need a video to tell us how to do this? Actually, How to Irritate People is a collection of TV skits, conceived in the mid-1960s by future Monty Python star John Cleese. As he'd do so often in future projects, Mr. Cleese demonstrates that, within every "veddy proper" Britisher, there beats the heart of a raving lunatic. These bits were assembled into a BBC special, starring both Cleese and his Cambridge classmate (and fellow Pythonite) Graham Chapman. The proceedings aren't quite as uninhibited as Cleese and Chapman's later Monty Python shows, but it's fascinating to watch these two comic geniuses in their embryonic stage. Originally telecast in 1965, How to Irritate People was restored for video in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The sketch comedy series At Last the 1948 Show was the first big break for rising young British comedians and friends Marty Feldman (Igor in Young Frankenstein), Tim Brooke-Taylor, and future Monty Python's Flying Circus writer/performers John Cleese and Graham Chapman. Prior to the show, they had worked at local comedy clubs and had written and acted in The Frost Report. The show was executive produced by David Frost and aired on the ITV network for two runs of six and then seven episodes in 1967. Described by Brooke-Taylor as a combination of the cutting edge satirical stage revue Beyond the Fringe and British music hall, the show's sketches work within conventional structures and strive for a high degree of professionalism in both writing and performance. The most popular and well-known sketch is "The Four Yorkshiremen," later adapted by Monty Python, where a group of middle-aged businessmen brag about their ridiculously awful childhoods. The sketches are connected by short bits starring Aimi Macdonald, who plays a carelessly vain and occasionally cruel showgirl. Eric Idle made several appearances in bit parts. The Python troupe would essentially be formed from the creative minds behind At Last the 1948 Show and a popular children's sketch comedy series from the same period, Do Not Adjust Your Set. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Browne, John Cleese, (more)
