And Now For Something Completely Different

Comedy

John Cleese	Announcer/Hungarian Man/Self-Defence Teacher/Sir George Head/Policeman/Interviewer/Mr. Praline/Second General/Christopher Columbus/Mungo the Cook/Bank Robber/Accountant #2 (falling past the window)/Vocational Guidance Counselor/Vivian Smith Smythe Smith
Michael Palin	Man with tape recorder/Phrasebook Author/Arthur Pewtey/Self-defence student #2/Tenant #2/Lost His Wallet/Shrill Petrol Announcer (voice)/Milkman/Ernest Scribbler/Bevis (pet shop employee/lumberjack)/Headwaiter Gilberto/Herbert Anchovy/Gervais Brookhamster
Graham Chapman	Brother/British pedestrian/Mr. Harrison (Apricot)/Sergeant-Major/'Hell's Grannies' policeman/Jimmy Blankensop/Sir Edward Ross/Restaurant patron #1/Letter Writer/Oliver St. John Mollusk
Eric Idle	Prosecutor/Marriage Counselor/Arthur Nudge/Self-defence student #4 (interested in pointed sticks)/'Hell's Grannies' analyst/Arthur Wilson/Arthur Wilson Two/Nightclub Emcee/Linkman/First General/Restaurant Manager/Lingerie Shop Owner/Accountant #1 (falling past the window)/Fairy Godmother/Rita Fairbanks/Simon Zinc Trumpet Harris
Terry Jones	Stage Manager/Tobacconist/2nd Hungarian Man/Squire/Self-defence student #3/Tenant #1 (voice)/Flasher/Mouse Organist Ken Ewing/Fat Soldier/Waiter/Nude Organist/Brian/Nigel Incubator Jones
Terry Gilliam	Self-defence nun/Uncle Sam/Caterpillar man/Sign holder
Carol Cleveland	Dierdre Pewtey/Storyteller/Milkman Collector/Restaurant Patron #2/Elsbeth
Connie Booth	Best Girl
Neville Chamberlain	Himself (with Munich Accord) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Winston Churchill	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Director	Ian MacNaughton
Producer	Patricia Casey
Writer	Graham Chapman; John Cleese

Monty Python's first feature is essentially a reworking of their best skits from the first two seasons of their cult TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus, shot on film outside the usual studio sets (Nudge Nudge, for example, is set in a tavern filled with passersby). As the TV series was as yet unseen in the U.S. at the time of this feature, And Now for Something Completely Different became for many Americans their first taste of the Pythons' brand of surreal, silly humor and remains a fond favorite. The writing and performances are fine and the film is packed with some of their best bits: How to Avoid Being Seen, Hell's Grannies, Blackmail, The Lumberjack Song, and The Upper Class Twit of the Year, among others. Many of the sketches have been shortened, however, and the loss of the overbright video sheen (the film has a muddy, dull look to it) and the invigorating presence of a live audience leaves the film sluggish at times. They're still feeling out the possibilities of the feature-length, which they finally conquer with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, still their finest hour and a half. --Sean Axmaker