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Ian MacNaughton

Ian MacNaughton

Actor and director, also producer · Died December 10, 2002, aged 76 · Glasgow, Scotland, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edward Ian Macnaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish former actor-turned-television producer/director, best known for his work with the Monty Python team. He was born and brought up in Glasgow, educated at Strathallan School, and died in a car accident in Munich. Serving as both director and producer of Monty Python's Flying Circus, MacNaughton also directed the team's first film, And Now For Something Completely Different and their German special, Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus. In 1979, he made the short movie Le Pétomane about farting artist Joseph Pujol, starring Leonard Rossiter. He also was the producer of Spike Milligan's Q, which was a big influence on the Monty Python team. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian MacNaughton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 30, 1925
Died
December 10, 2002 (aged 76)
From
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Works as
Actor and director, also producer
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 15% in 30 days

What are Ian MacNaughton's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
40%
Society
21%
Bonds
15%
Power
11%
Morality
8%
Self
5%
Art3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2

Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 0 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 2

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 5

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
5
Joyful
4
Manic
2
Warm
1
Tense
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Fun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous1
  • Cyclical2

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 Ian MacNaughton's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ian MacNaughton'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

32 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.

  • Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python(1989)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Ghost Chase(1987)

    as Frederick McCloud

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl(1982)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Harry Hocker läßt nicht locker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 6 episodes · Director

  • Le Petomane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director

  • A Wily Couple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director

  • Out of the Trees(1976)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Ein fröhliches Dasein (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Actor

  • The Inheritors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Rising Damp(1974)

    Show Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Black and Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Centre Play (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • ABC Afterschool Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Monty Python's and Now for Something Completely Different(1971)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Monty Python's Flying Circus(1969)

    Show 45 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Gideon's Way (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 1 episode · as Sgt. Greenwood

  • Redcap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Show 1 episode · as Corporal McCann

  • Lawrence of Arabia(1962)

    as Michael George Hartley (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Dr. Finlay's Casebook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 8 episodes · Director

  • Silent Evidence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 6 episodes · as Angus MacCrae

  • Studio 4 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 1 episode · as Dougal Douglas

  • Z-Cars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • The Avengers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Tell It To The Marines (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 30 episodes · Actor

  • No Hiding Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 2 episodes · Actor

  • The Bridal Path (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    as Fisherman

  • The Safecracker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    as Thomson

  • The Silent Enemy(1958)

    as Admiralty Sentry

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • X: The Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    as Pvt. Haggis

  • Hancock's Half Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Show 4 episodes · Actor

  • Laxdale Hall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    as Constable Jock

Career shape

Star power in the 48th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 31 titles from 1953 to 1989.

Biggest box office

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

$328K worldwide

Highest rated

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

Rising Damp (1974)

Film career

  • 1956Screen debut· X: The Unknown

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting16 of 31: 16 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting15 of 31: 14 only directing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score95thProducing1 of 31: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 31: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

1950s8 · acting1960s9 · 6 acting · 3 crew1970s10 · 1 acting · 9 crew1980s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew

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 Ian MacNaughton's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 7; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 9 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · actor

Ghost Chase (1987)

61st percentile spread · 53% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Midcredits 98th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the acting 63/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 74, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

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.

Who does Ian MacNaughton work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ian MacNaughton's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Graham Chapman shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Mixed roles