Sheila Fearn Movies
A young boy joins a group of renegade dwarves on an unpredictable journey through time in this humorous fantasy. Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam mostly achieves a tricky balancing act in his second feature as sole director, creating a dark, irreverent comedy disguised as a family adventure. Particularly amusing are the boy's encounters with various historical figures, including an entertainment-starved Napoleon (Ian Holm), a powerful Agamemnon (Sean Connery), and a surprisingly stuffy Robin Hood, embodied by Gilliam's Python cohort John Cleese. Episodic by nature, the film is less successful when dealing with the larger narrative, which concerns the pursuit of the dwarves and their time-traveling map by the Supreme Being. However, the combination of Gilliam's visual exuberance and the witty script (by Gilliam and Michael Palin) ensures an entertaining, if erratic, journey. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Cleese, Sean Connery, (more)
- 1980
George and Mildred originated as a spin-off of the popular British sitcom Man About the House. Thus, the feature-length version of George and Mildred can be labelled a spin-off of a spin-off. Brian Murphy plays George, landlord of an apartment building chock-full of lechers and satyrs. Yootha Joyce (who died shortly before the release of this film) plays Mildred, George's sexless, humorless spouse. We must have a plot, so George finds himself mistaken for a notorious assassin. The American equivalent of George and Mildred was The Ropers....a spin-off of Three's Company....which was the American equivalent of Man About the House. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1976
Likely Lads was inspired by the popular British television series of the same name. Returning to their TV roles after an absence of several years are Rodney Bewes and James Bolam, playing a pair of Northern English screw-ups. With their girl friends in tow, Bewes and Bolam embark on a motor trip, running into one comic dilemma after another. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
In this drama, a young woman becomes obsessed with a British businessman and begins hatching an evil, elaborate plot to snag him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1973
The surprise British TV hit of 1965, The Likely Lads was a sitcom built around the misadventures of two Northerners, Terry Collier (James Bolam) and Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes). Flying in the face of rumors that the two stars despised each other, Bolam and Bewes were reteamed eight years later for a sequel, imaginatively titled Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Returning home after a stint in the army, Terry hoped to renew his carefree relationship with Bob, who was on the verge of marrying a likely lass named Thelma Chambers (Brigit Forsyth). Despite Terry's well-intentioned but annoying interference, Bob and Thelma were wed -- but old friendships died hard, and it looked as if Thelma would have to put up with Terry if she wanted her union with Bob to endure. Written by the same team responsible for the originally Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? aired from January 9, 1973 to April 9, 1974, lasting two seasons and 27 episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, (more)
- 1967
In the third episode of a four-part story arc, the Clampetts takes up residence in their ancestral English castle. While Jed gets settled and Granny tries to cure one of her descendants from being "deceased," Jethro dons a suit of armor, hoping to defend "damsel in distress" Elly May (who doesn't cotton to being distressed) from any and all dragons that may be roaming the countryside. Filmed on location at England's 600-year-old Penshurst Castle, "Clampett Castle" originally aired on September 20, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
A motor excursion with a childhood friend turns deadly for Emma when she arrives at the remote community of Little Storping in the Swuff. It soon turns out that every one of the local residents is a professional assassin. Assuming that Emma has been brought to the village as a potential victim, the locals obligingly get "down to business." Despite its grim overtones, "Murdersville" is essentially a comic episode, culminating in old-fashioned pie fight. Written by Brian Clemens and first shown in England on November 11, 1967, this episode made it to America on February 7, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, (more)
- 1965
At one time, The Dave Clark Five were considered the Beatles' key rivals in international pop stardom, and so, when the Fab Four made a smash at the box office with A Hard Day's Night, Mr. Clark and his partners followed with Catch Us If You Can (also known as Having A Wild Weekend). Dinah (Barbara Ferris) is a famous model and actress who is getting tired of life in the limelight and wants to take a break. While shooting a commercial spot for meat, she meets Steve (Dave Clark), a stuntman. Dinah and Steve hit it off and decide to head to an island to get away from it all (bringing along four of Steve's friends, Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Denis West Payton, and Rick Huxley, who -- surprise! -- play music with him). Before long, Dinah is reported missing and everyone is looking for her, making their getaway anything but tranquil. While A Hard Day's Night launched director Richard Lester into international success, Catch Us If You Can was the feature debut for John Boorman, who similarly went on to bigger and better projects. Songs featured include "I Can't Stand It," "Catch Us If You Can," and "Having A Wild Weekend." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, (more)
