Alan Smithee Movies
Occasionally, even the best directors find themselves saddled with films they know are destined to be black spots on their resumés. Sometimes battles with actors, producers, and studio executives and others result in the destruction of a director's vision. These and other filmmaking troubles can happen at any point during the shooting process and could spell disaster for a director's career. Fortunately, in such cases, the reliable Alan Smithee is around to save the day by taking credit for such ill-fated productions.While it seems unfair that one filmmaker should bear the brunt of so many lousy films, let it be known that Alan Smithee is not a real person at all, but rather a perverse fiction designed for those refusing to own up to the results of their actions. It is not just directors who invoke his name. Producers and screenwriters, even actors, occasionally, hide behind Smithee.
The origins of the moniker are unclear, and may date back to the 1955 television production Indiscreet Mrs. Jarvis, starring Angela Lansbury. The western Death of a Gunfighter, however (finished in 1967, but not released until 1969) was the first high-profile Smithee credit. A fight between the film's first director, the respected Robert Totten and star Richard Widmark resulted in Totten's replacement by filmmaker Don Siegel. Neither director wanted credit for the film, but the Directors Guild stipulates that every film must list a director. However, Totten and Siegel's reasons for having their names removed were deemed legitimate, After this, Alan Smithee became a common shield for those who felt their productions were abused or destroyed by studios.
The origins of the name Alan Smithee (aka Allen Smithee) are debated. There is a camp that maintains it is an anagram of "The Alias Men." On the other hand, it's also been said that Smithee's creators originally were going to name him the more common Smith but then decided to add the double-e so as not to defame any real-life Allen or Alan Smiths.
Since Gunfighter, which actually received many favorable reviews, numerous productions have borne the Smithee stamp. The name has been used in broader circumstances than those outlined by the Director's Guild and Smithee's illustrious name also occasionally pops up on television. In light of his notoriety, it was perhaps inevitable that some smart aleck in Hollywood would actually make a film about Alan Smithee. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas was that man. The result was An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn (1997), an alleged comedy starring Eric Idle as a real filmmaker named Alan Smithee, who has a mental breakdown after he makes a terrible film and realizes that the only name he can affix to the credits is his own. In what is either a great irony or a carefully orchestrated publicity stunt, the movie's director, Arthur Hiller, supposedly unhappy over Ezsterhas' cutting of the film, removed his name from the credits. In either case, the quality of the resulting film remains true to the original spirit of Smithee's inception and it appears that critically speaking, Hiller made a wise decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 2007
- PG13
Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Kim Cattrall, Dan Aykroyd, and Jennifer Love Hewitt star in this re-imagining of Walter Huston's The Devil and Daniel Webster - this time concerning a struggling writer who sells his soul to Old Scratch (Hewitt) in a desperate bid to find fame and fortune on the literary circuit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, (more)
First, a little background: in 1955, the Director's Guild of America created the pseudonym Alan Smithee, which film directors are allowed to use if they feel their work has been tampered with to such a degree that they no longer want the credit. (For example, if you look at the credits of the expanded and heavily narrated TV version of Dune, you'll notice the director is not listed as David Lynch, but as Alan Smithee.) An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn is a comedy about a film editor (played by Eric Idle) who finally gets his big break -- he's given the opportunity to direct a big-budget action film starring Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jackie Chan. But filming does not go well (the budget eventually balloons to 200 million dollars) and the producer, James Edmunds (Ryan O'Neal), tampers with the final cut of the film. As a result, the hapless neophyte director doesn't want his name to appear on the credits. But his real name is Alan Smithee, so what's he supposed to do? In a stunning example of art imitating life, director Arthur Hiller was supposedly unhappy with the interference of screenwriter and producer Joe Eszterhas on this project and chose to remove his name from the credits -- so An Alan Smithee Film carries the directorial credit of none other than Alan Smithee. Rappers Coolio and Chuck D appear as the filmmaking Brothers Brothers; Chuck D also contributed to the film's score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Coolio, (more)
Two civilians become the only hope for a nuclear submarine stranded beneath a polar ice cap. Stepehen Baldwin and Tom Conti star in this aquatic effort from prolific director Alan Smithee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Baldwin, Gabrielle Anwar, (more)
Clive Barker's horrific creation Pinhead (Doug Bradley) returns to the screen for the fourth (and purportedly final) time in this time-juggling horror opus. In 18th century France, Phillip Lemarchand (Bruce Ramsay) constructs a black puzzle box for the wizard Duc de L'Isle (Mickey Cottrell); however, the box has potentially deadly consequences when it's discovered that it can be used to open the gates of hell, freeing the demonic Pinhead. Two hundred years later, the box finds its way into the hands of John (also played by Bruce Ramsay), a New Yorker and distant descendant of Lemarchand who is being pursued by Pinhead and his minions, while another 200 years hence, Dr. Paul Merchant (Ramsay again) is trying to make his way aboard a space station in hopes of reclaiming the puzzle box, hoping to destroy it before it can be used to once again release the demons upon the world; Merchant is also attempting to build a second box that can close the gates that the first box opens. While makeup artist Kevin Yagher made his directorial debut with this film, the final cut was taken away from him and considerably shortened, which in his mind severely compromised the film's complex, time-traveling narrative. He opted to instead credit his work to Alan Smithee, which was the Directors Guild's official pseudonym for directors who feel their work has been tampered with. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, (more)
- 1995
- R
Two aspiring young rockers in love with each other, try to make it into Colin Gramercy's upcoming show. Gramercy is not only a major star, he is also the celebrity spokesperson for the World Unity Coalition, a front for a wicked, subversive organization. The girl, Lila, is chosen for a back-up singer. This low-budget hodgepodge of film genres, chronicles her exploits. Soon after she is chosen her boy friend Chris' grandmother suddenly begins having terrifying prescient dreams about the organization. Demons begin to attack her and she dies of a coronary, but not before she begs psychic, powerful Sister Kate to watch over Chris and Lila, who are both in terrible danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1995
This biopic chronicles the extraordinary life of O.J. Simpson, former football Hall-of-Famer who in 1994 was accused (and eventually acquitted) of brutally murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman. As the trial was still on-going at the time this film was made, the story ends with Simpson's arrest. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1994
- PG13
Upon learning that her daughter was sexually attacked by a family friend, a grieving widow adds rage to the flood of emotions threatening to drive her to madness. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cybill Shepherd, Tim Matheson, (more)
- 1994
Produced for cable TV, this feeble follow-up to the classic Hitchcock thriller transfers the avian carnage from Bodega Bay to the New England fishing town of Land's End, where a young couple and their two daughters are besieged by squadrons of malicious gulls and their assorted winged cousins. Despite some opening scenes suggesting an actual motivation for the bird attacks -- something Hitchcock left eerily ambiguous -- there is little variation on the formula, which overstays its welcome long before the lackluster climax (which owes more to The Killer Shrews than to The Birds); the pointless proceedings are further bogged down by a dreary adultery subplot. Even the presence of Tippi Hedren fails to provide even a slightly clever nod to the original, as she is wasted in a minor role as the proprietor of a local diner who has her own theories about the cause of the bird attacks. Direction was credited to standard DGA pseudonym Alan Smithee when Rick Rosenthal withdrew his name from the final cut. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brad Johnson, Chelsea Field, (more)
- 1994
- R
This dark British drama features S&M and centers upon a woman who slowly, fatally tortures the man she keeps captive in her basement. Anne Marie, a French woman, finds her captive, Tevin, in a bar. She is beautiful and he willingly returns to her apartment for a night of love. Instead she spikes his drink. He awakens to find himself stripped to his underwear and strapped to a dentist's chair. Enter Anne Marie, dressed in full dominatrix garb. She swiftly begins a series of vigorous mental and physical tortures. An unseen third person videotapes the festivities. Anne-Marie is soon replaced by the camera woman and true perpetrator, Julia, a serial killer. For her good work, Anne-Marie is butchered and her head is placed in the cellar with Julia's other victims. Julia proceeds to continue tormenting Tevin until the film's inevitable conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Poole, Danielle Sanderson, (more)
- 1993
This version of Jack London's classic adventure was made for television and stars Rick Schroder as the inexperienced young prospector who heads northward for the Klondike gold-rush of 1897. While in the rugged territory he becomes friends with Buck, a courageous German Shepherd being used as a sled-dog. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rick Schroder
- 1993
Gypsy Angels stars Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White -- sort of. The title characters are a group of Atlanta-based stunt pilots in search of adventure and romance. What they find is several impressively constructed stripteasers. Most of the film -- including White's fleeting topless scenes -- was culled from a long-shelved action flick made sometime in the early 1980s. The name of "Alan Smithee" in the director's credits is a dead giveaway that the genuine director (or directors) had no wish to be associated with this T&A pastiche. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
Elenya is only twelve and is having a hard enough time adjusting to her wartime life in rural Wales with her aunt, whom she came to live with after her father went off to fight. She is already an outsider, half-Italian, with a mother she has never known. As a result, she is ridiculed and shunned at school. Usually, she copes with her shunned status by retreating into the woods and into her own fantasy life. However, one day during her walks she stumbles upon a wounded German airman who is hiding there. He speaks no English, and she speaks no German, but they immediately become buddies, and it never occurs to her to hand him over to the authorities. Instead, she does what she can to supply him with food and clothing until her activities are discovered. Years later, in the present (1990s), the middle-aged Elenya recalls those events. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1992
While attending the Pan-American Music Festival with Cliff (Bill Cosby), Clair (Phylicia Rashad) butts heads with a reactionary radio station executive who wants to cancel a concert featuring bandleaders Willie Colon and Mario Bauza). Meanwhile back at home, novice babysitter Kenny has a high old time trying to persuade a stubborn Olivia to eat her carrots. Intriguingly, the direction for this episode was attributed to "Alan Smithee", the standard pseudonym used whenever the actual director insists upon having his name removed from the credits. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
William Russ, Cheryl Pollak, and Esai Morales star in this made-for-TV movie about a young television reporter's adventures in San Francisco. Also shown as Bay City Story. Direction credited to Alan Smithee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Russ, Cheryl Pollak, (more)
- 1991
- R
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This daffy, hit-and-miss gore comedy was apparently conceived as a parody of Herschell Gordon Lewis' splatter landmark Blood Feast, which, frankly, represents too easy a target. There are no actual Pharaohs involved, only a crazed figure in a fez who roams the streets of Pittsburgh slicing, axing and chainsawing naughty ladies of the night, then absconding with various stolen body parts. The killings mimic the M.O. of a Las Vegas-based occult serial killer who was shot dead by a slouchy cop (Joe Sharkey) more than a decade ago -- a cop who has been haunted by the case ever since. A trip to Pittsburgh's Egyptian district leads our hero and a butt-kicking meter maid (Susann Fletcher) smack into the killer's hideout, where a bloody battle to the death ensues. It's clear the filmmakers intended this to be either a wild, Airplane!-style take on splatter movies or a frenetic, comic gorefest a la Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, but the story and direction lack wit or creativity enough for either one. Nevertheless, there are some outstanding moments of grim humor (particularly a subplot involving a quit-smoking clinic) and audacious makeup effects from local boy Tom Savini. Some promotional materials have replaced director Dean Tschetter's name with familiar DGA pseudonym "Alan Smithee." ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
Criticized for its murky cinematography, bad special effects, and dialogue that would embarrass Sylvester Stallone, this Japanese co-production was widely regarded as a costly flop. Set in the year 2035 after evil supercomputer Kyron-5's war against humanity ends with defeat, the earth is left scared and plighted, lacking most natural resources. Computer chips have become more valuable than gold and the place to find such treasure is on the island 8JO, where Kyron still lives. Ex-pilot and cyber-buccaneer Brooklyn (Masahiro Takashima) and his gang of cutthroats venture to this techno-jungle looking for his silicon booty. There he meets Nim (Brenda Nim), a commando who is part of the Texas Air Rangers looking for a renegade robot. The group is soon under attack by a fleet of dreaded flying Aerobots. Meanwhile, Kyron-5 is hard at work hatching his revenge against mankind. It has invented a substance containing more energy than plutonium called texmexium. After successive onslaughts of Aerobots, the four survivors -- Brooklyn, Nim, and two lovable moppets named 7 and 11 -- find the texmexium and start to build Gunhed (Gun Unit/Heavy Elimination Device) a giant robot designed to kick Aerobot tail. More mayhem and cool explosions ensue, but not before Brooklyn gives an impassioned and surreal speech about the Brooklyn Dodgers. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Masahiro Takashima, Brenda Bakke, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
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An ambitious father thinks nothing of using his own son to achieve his political goals in this adolescent comedy. The lonely boy has spent the last seven years tucked away and ignored by his parents, Senator Tom Morgan and his social-climbing wife Nancy, in a distant boarding school. As the story begins, he receives the depressing news that once again they will be too busy to have him home for the holidays. But then, out of the blue, they change their minds and invite him home to stay there for good. The boy is elated, but soon after his arrival, he learns the bitter truth: his father only brought him back because it is an election year and his campaign manager thought he might do better if the public saw him as more of a family man. The boy then decides that it is high time some changes were made around the house and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
Celebrity photographer Gianni Bozzacchi supposedly wrote and directed this uneven romantic drama based on his own personal experience. Struggling photographer Mario Cortone (Scott Baio) falls in love with the pretty debutante Nicole (Kelly Van Der Velden), daughter of the popular but moody stage star John R. Yeates (Christopher Plummer). The young lovers try to sustain a relationship in spite of their cultural and economic differences in this routine teen romance. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1987
- PG
In this slapstick horror comedy, two goofy African-American cops are sent to a rundown, lonely Southern plantation to evict the residents so the mansion can be razed and a freeway erected in its stead. Unfortunately, the "residents" are all ghosts, who have been there since the Civil War, and they are not about to leave. When the film was distributed, director Lee Madden billed himself on the credits as Alan Smithee, the approved pseudonym of the Directors Guild of America that has been used since 1967 by directors not wanting to give their real names on certain films. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Luis Avalos, (more)
- 1986
In this action film, David Dalton, a strong willed Vietnam vet, must deal with his C.O., a mental patient who has gotten involved with a radically conservative paramilitary unit. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1985
- R
Goofy medical students have all kinds of rip roaring fun pulling crazy pranks such as scaring first year students by pretending to be cadavers. When the hijinks accelerate, the dean of the school tries to stop them. Filled with vulgarity, sexist and bathroom humor, the film's director Rod Holcomb, not wanting to take responsibility for the film, billed himself as "Allen Smithee," the official pseudonym of the Directors Guild. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Parker Stevenson, Geoffrey Lewis, (more)
Robert Desiderio stars in this TV movie as a Chinese food delivery man (the food is Chinese, not Desiderio). While on the job, he witnesses a murder. Since the killer was an international terrorist, Desiderio is pressed into duty by the US government. He is forced to moonlight as a spy, taking on seemingly trivial assignments that turn out to be of grave importance. That Moonlight was doomed from the start as the pilot for a series was indicated by the directorial credit given "Alan Smithee"--a pseudonym assumed whenever a director is so displeased by the end product that he (or she) desires to have his (or her) name removed from the credits. In this instance, two directors--Jackie Cooper and Rod Holcomb--preferred to remain anonymous. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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