Joseph McGrath Movies

John Cleese co-wrote and stars in this satiric comedy as the less-than-spectacular progeny of the world's greatest detective. A mysterious super-villain announces across the globe that the world will come to an end in five days unless their demands are met. Research reveals that the fiend in question is descended from the infamous evil-doer Dr. Moriarty, so Scotland Yard takes the logical approach and contacts Arthur Sherlock Holmes (John Cleese), the grandson of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes who ferreted out Moriarty so many times in the past. However, Arthur soon reveals himself to be dim-witted, inept, and not in especially good control of his drug habit, while his sidekick William Watson (Arthur Lowe) is even more pathetic, despite his dependence on his electronically altered testicles. Realizing he needs help, Arthur calls upon the world's best known detectives to come to his aid, though by bringing them all to one place, he's also created an irresistible target for the young Moriarty. The Strange Case Of The End Of Civilization As We Know It also features guest appearances by Denholm Elliott, Ron Moody, Connie Booth, and Bert Kwouk. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Police procedure collided head-on with stargazing in this 6-part British drama series. Anton Rodgers headed the cast as Scotland Yard detective David Gradley. While tracking down an elusive culprit, Gradley detected a pattern in the miscreant's crimes, one related to the signs of the zodiac. Thus, our hero enlisted the services of astrologer Esther Jones (Anouska Hempel) to solve the case. ~ Rovi

This zany British comedy finds a homeless hobo (Ringo Starr) being adopted by the world's richest man, Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers). Setting sail on the luxury liner The Magic Christian, Sir Grand tests the limit of human avarice. With money to motivate the greedy, Laurence Harvey combines his Hamlet soliloquy with a striptease. A vile cesspool of excrement is seeded with cash and the money-hungry dive right in. Wilfred Hyde White is the drunken captain, Yul Brynner is uncredited in his performance as a chanteuse transvestite, and John Cleese is the director of Sotheby's auction house. Roman Polanski, Richard Attenborough and Raquel Welch also appear in this offbeat comedy. Paul McCartney wrote and produced "Come and Get It," the first international hit from the power-pop group Badfinger. John "Speedy" Keene wrote "Something In The Air" and performed the track with his group Thunderclap Newman. Sellers, Cleese, Graham Chapman and Terry Southern co-authored the screenplay taken from Southern's novel. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In his first starring role minus his longtime partner Peter Cook, Dudley Moore plays a 29-year-old who goes through an identity crisis when approaching the "three-oh" mark. He wants to be a successful Broadway composer before reaching 30 and also wants to be happily married. Unfortunately, he's so busy as a night-club musician that he hasn't any time to realize his goals. Enter sexy Suzy Kendall (Mrs. Moore at the time), who inspires Dudley to reinvigorate his quest for success and connubial bliss. 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia delivers a satisfactory quota of laughs; its only drawback is its heavy reliance upon "mod" '60s camera trickery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi