Graham Crowden Movies

In Neil LaBute's film adaptation of A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize-winning 1990 novel, Aaron Eckhart (who has starred in all of LaBute's films) plays Roland Michell, an American academic researcher, working in London, who discovers some important letters written by a famous Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam [Gosford Park]). Ash was presumed to have been totally devoted to his wife, but Roland finds letters written to another unnamed woman, and soon determines that the intended recipient was another, less well-known poet, Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle of Sunshine). Roland contacts Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), an expert on LaMotte's life and work, who tells him that LaMotte couldn't have had an affair with Ash because she lived most of her life with a female companion, Blanche Glover (Lena Headey), in what was apparently a romantic relationship. Despite Maud's skepticism, the two begin to investigate, and uncover a wealth of information about the affair between the two poets. Period scenes of the illicit relationship between Ash and LaMotte are intercut with the contemporary investigation of the two academics. Roland and Maud initially fight their attraction to each other, but as the pair find more evidence of the historical and tragic romance, they find themselves overcoming their own resistance to romantic entanglement. Possession was kicked around as a film project for a long time before LaBute became interested. Director Sydney Pollack originally was slated to film a screenplay by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), who receives a credit on the finished film. When LaBute took over the project years later, he reworked the screenplay with Laura Jones (The Portrait of a Lady). ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In this suspense drama, Alan Terry (Rupert Graves) is a homeless man who wanders the streets of London. One night, Alan is trying to sleep near a bridge when he witnesses a strange and grisly murder; a man, speaking Italian, is hanged by four other men, one also speaking Italian while the other three have British accents. When Alan's presence is discovered by the killers, they give chase, and Alan is barely able to escape. However, the following day the papers report the death as a suicide; on the advice of his friend George (Graham Crowden), Alan goes to the police to tell what he saw. However, when Alan is introduced to Detective Matheson (Michael Gambon), the man investigating the case, he realizes that Matheson was one of the men who helped hang the victim. Assuming that Matheson would not be a good person with whom to discuss the case, Alan instead goes to Billie Hayman (Annabella Sciorra), an American journalist working in London who is able to bring Alan's side of the story to the people; Alan and Billie soon discover that this murder is far more complicated, and with more disturbing implications than they ever could have imagined. Though fictional, The Innocent Sleep was inspired by the true story of the death of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker who was murdered in London in 1982. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on a novel by Graham Greene, Alec Guinness stars as the title character, a descendent of Don Quixote. After he is appointed monsignor, he sets off with a leftist politician (played by Leo McKern) on an adventure reminiscent of the Cervantes novel. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Monty Python's Michael Palin was the guiding force behind East of Ipswich. Set in mid-1950s Britain, the plot concerns a group of teenagers on holiday with their uptight parents. Heeding the call of the galloping hormones, our young heroes and heroines become involved in all sorts of brief amours. The cast includes Edward Rawle-Hicks, John Wagland, Oona Kirsch. Made for British television in 1986, East of Ipswich debuted in America over the A&E cable network in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Out of Africa is drawn from the life and writings of Danish author Isak Dinesen, who during the time that the film's events occured was known by her married name, Karen Blixen-Flecke. For convenience's sake, Karen (Meryl Streep) has married Baron Bor Blixen-Flecke (Klaus Maria Brandauer). In 1914, the Baron moves himself and his wife to a plantation in Nairobi, then leaves Karen to her own devices as he returns to his womanizing and drinking. Soon, Karen has fallen in love with charming white hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford), who prefers a no-strings relationship. A woman who prides herself on her independence, Blixen finds herself unhappily in thrall to a aloof man -- and doubly unhappy for living out such a cliché situation. Although Redford received a lion's share of criticism for his too-American performance, Streep has rarely been better, and the film's perfectly measured pace is offset by David Watkin's stunning location photography. The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 7, including Best Picture, Best Director for Sydney Pollack, Best Adapted Screenplay for Kurt Luedtke, and Best Cinematography for Watkin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Company of Wolves is Little Red Riding Hood for the Alien generation. Sheltered 13-year-old Sarah Patterson, living on the edge of a foreboding woods, is visited by her grandmother Angela Lansbury. The old lady delights in telling Sarah the most horrific stories, usually involving what happens to little girls if they trust wolves--the actual, rather than symbolic kind. Later on, Sarah sets out through the woods to visit her grandmother. She makes the acquaintance of a seductive young huntsman (Micha Bergese), who turns out to be.....well, what big teeth he's got. The ads for Company of Wolves, showing a wolf springing from the open mouth of poor little Sarah Patterson, were warning enough for the faint of heart. Actually, the horror is secondary to the remarkable Grimms-Fairy-Tale ambience which the film successfully sustains from beginning to end. And, in keeping with the original unexpurgated versions of most fairy tales, the sexual subtext is never far from the surface. Director Neil Jordan would further develop some of the subliminal themes in Company of Wolves in his 1994 production Interview with the Vampire. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This dark comedy charts the chaos that results when the panicked staff of a major English hospital attempts to prepare for a visit by the Queen Mother, only to face every problem imaginable. Britannia Hospital clearly attempts to recapture the anarchic bite of director Lindsay Anderson's previous satires If... and O Lucky Man, but fails to achieve the same combination of intelligent political critique, comic lunacy, and skillful filmmaking. (Indeed, the three films are often considered a loosely linked trilogy, largely due to the presence in all three of lead Malcolm McDowell). The film does make a valiant effort, but its commentary on the poor, labor disputes, and the inhumanity of bureaucratic institutions mixes uneasily with the film's broader elements, like the experiments of a cartoonish mad scientist. The result is often quite entertaining on a scene-by-scene basis, but the film never reaches the level of delirious, farcical energy or satirical sharpness to which it clearly aspires. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Michael Palin wrote and stars in this comedy as The Reverend Charles Fortescue, an unassuming missionary called back to England after spending ten years in Africa teaching children in a native village. Upon arriving in London, he finds that his new assignment is to take charge of a slum mission for prostitutes. He obtains money for the running of the mission from a wealthy woman, Lady Ames (Maggie Smith), whom he meets on the boat sailing to England from Africa. Lady Ames guarantees Fortescue the money on the condition that he take it upon himself to add a little spice to her dormant sex life. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The cadaverous Graham Crowden is top-billed in Beloved Enemy. The film bears no relation to the Hollywood-produced 1926 and 1936 romantic melodramas of the same name. There's little romance in this one, but there's melodrama in abundance. The story is set at a major multinational corporation, where all sorts of internal espionage is afoot. Terry Doyle costars in this British TV movie, which was released to America in 1984 via the ARTS cable-TV service (later known as Arts and Entertainment). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Horns of Nimon," both the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) are captured by the Nimon, and prepared for human sacrifice. This pleases demented scientist Soldeed (Graham Crowden), who hopes that by serving the Nimon he can restore the past empiric glories of his home planet Skonnos. The Nimon has a slightly different agenda in mind. Written by Anthony Read, "The Horns of Nimon, Episode 3" first aired on January 4, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi