William Henry Lancaster (November 17, 1947 – January 4, 1997) was an American screenwriter and actor. He was born November 17, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) and Norma Anderson (1917–1988). He contracted polio at an early age, leaving one leg shorter than the other.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- January 4, 1997
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Writer and producer
- 6 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Bill Lancaster's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 3
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Bill Lancaster's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Bill Lancaster's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
9 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Guys' Night in The Thing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Bad News Bears(2005)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
The Thing(1982)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
The Bad News Bears(1976)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Moses the Lawgiver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Moses the Lawgiver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
The Midnight Man(1974)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 1974 to 2025.
Film career
- 1974Screen debut· The Midnight Man
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Bill Lancaster's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 6 titles divides audiences: 2 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 45/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Bill Lancaster's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Bill Lancaster work with?
People who share at least 2 of Bill Lancaster's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Erin Blunt shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Erin BluntShared titles: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), The Bad News Bears (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Erin Blunt
- Jackie Earle HaleyShared titles: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), The Bad News Bears (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Jackie Earle Haley
- George GonzalesShared titles: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977)See all 2 shared titles with George Gonzales
- Alfred Lutter IIIShared titles: The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), The Bad News Bears (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Alfred Lutter III
Editors
- Richard A. HarrisShared titles: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), The Bad News Bears (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Richard A. Harris
Mixed roles
- Michael RitchieShared titles: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), The Bad News Bears (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Ritchie
