Allan Cuthbertson Movies

Agatha Christie's famous Belgian fussbudget detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is called in after a beautiful American actress (Faye Dunaway) claims that her husband, a prominent British lord, was murdered by a woman who looks just like her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in India during World War II, this fair action drama relies heavily on the good acting talent gathered to convey its slight, uninvolved story. Gregory Peck is Col. Lewis Pugh, backed up by Roger Moore as Capt. Gavin Stewart, David Niven as Col. Bill Grice, Patrick MacNee as Major Crossley, and several others -- all retired and past the age for active duty. At issue are three German freighters that are parked in the waters off Goa, the Portuguese coastal colony on the subcontinent of India. Since Portugal is neutral, the regular army cannot destroy the freighters, and it is up to the retired army officers and a large corps of over-the-hill volunteers to take on the mission of eliminating the German ships. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Walter Matthau plays a CIA agent who's been confined by office politics to a desk job. The disgruntled Matthau quits the service and heads to Europe, where he links up with former lover (an fellow ex-agent) Glenda Jackson. All goes smoothly until Matthau acts on the advice of yet another retired agent, Russian Herbert Lom, who suggests that Matthau write a tell-all autobiography. Spitefully, Matthau sends out copies of his first chapter to the heads of the CIA agencies throughout the world--and from that point on, he and Jackson don't have a moment's peace. This delights Matthau: now that all of his former colleagues are chasing after him, he has a reason to get up in the morning. As written by Brian Garfield, Hopscotch was a conventionally serious espionage novel. As adapted for the big screen by Garfield and Bryan Forbes, Hopscotch is a lively exercise in cloak-and-dagger comedy, even when the pursuit of Matthau turns deadly towards the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Harold Robbins' bestseller, The Adventurers stars Yugoslav heartthrob Bekim Fehmiu as Porfirio Rubirosa clone Dax Xenos. Having suffered mightily as a child in a fictional South American country due to the political activities of his parents, Xenos grows up to become a sleazy, sexually manipulative playboy. He romances middle-aged widow Olivia de Havilland, then dumps her after he's run through her fortune. He then takes up with heiress Candice Bergen, who bears his child. When the kid is killed and Xenos turns his back on her, Bergen finds solace in lesbianism. All the while, Xenos is fomenting revolutions aimed at toppling the Trujillo-like despot (Alan Badel) responsible for the death of his father. The Adventurers received a lot of magazine coverage due to a poolside nude scene and the "guess who this is supposed to be?" nature of the cast of characters. But it failed to establish Bekim Fehmiu as an international star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even in an era of cinematic experimentation, Performance stands out as a visually daring major-studio film that deals with questions of sanity and identity rarely touched on in mainstream filmmaking. The elements of Performance certainly looked attractive to studio executives at Warner Bros. -- a gangster on the lam hides out in the home of a reclusive rock star -- especially since that musician was being played by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. But co-directors Nicolas Roeg (who also photographed) and Donald Cammell (who wrote the screenplay) had much more in mind than a walk on the wild side of swinging London. Chas (James Fox) is a sadistic thug who gains our sympathies only because men even crueler than he are out to kill him. After Chas arrives at the mansion occupied by Turner (Jagger) and his female companions Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michele Breton), what looks like a decadent idyll fueled by drugs and group sex turns into a series of mind games in which Turner challenges Chas' sexual preference and core identity. Even the film's one musical number, "Memo From Turner," is a William Burroughs-like monologue in which Turner fantasizes taking over Chas' role as a mobster, spewing insults to his colleagues. The film's cult status has been fueled by subsequent films of its co-directors (for Roeg, Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Don't Look Now; for Cammell, White of the Eye), which explored similar themes employing the same kind of jagged editing and striking visuals. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

The Firechasers, a British film, was given what was assumed to be an added boxoffice boost by having an American star, Chad Everett, in the lead. Everett is a journalist who is on the trail of the Persons Unknown who set fire to a warehouse. The newspapermen and insurance investigators who work together to find the arsonist are the "firechasers" of the title, rather than the firefighters. Barely released in the US, The Firechasers was given a network TV slot in the Spring of 1972 thanks to the popularity of Chad Everett's Medical Center series. The film was easily bested in the ratings by a repeat showing of Spartacus on a rival network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Scotland Yard inspector is called on to investigate a series of unsolved robberies in The Trygon Factor. Inspector Cooper-Smith (Stewart Granger) ends up at the country manor of a respectable English family. Livia Emberday (Cathleen Nesbitt) is the mistress of the house who has turned to crime to help bolster the finances of the once-monied family. With help from a group of bogus nuns, stolen goods end up in the warehouse of Hamlyn (Robert Morley), supposedly a respectable businessman. This 1966 feature also stars Susan Hampshire as Trudy, the daughter of the manor who is unaware of the criminal enterprise under her very nose. There are plenty of twists in the storyline of this often complex mystery feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Produced by Britain's Trigor Pictures, Thin Air stars Patrick Allen as Bob Megan, an investigator called in to solve a bizarre mystery: During training courses, British parachutists are disappearing in a strange red mist, leaving no trace. Even more mysterious is the fact that they later turn up, with their bodies filled with lethal doses of radiation. Megan, aided by Jim Radford (Neil Connery, brother of Sean Connery), begins an investigation, which uncovers an unearthly beauty ($Lorna Wilde who somehow is incapable of being photographed. Eventually, Megan and Radford discover that the parachutists are being kidnapped by aliens from the planet Mygon, who use the men to try to impregnate Mygonian women, thereby saving their dying civilization. Unfortunately, a side effect of this plan seems to be the irradiation of the earthlings. [%Megan exposes and foils the alien plan, but he also decides to lead an effort to discover a way of saving their race from extinction. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Produced in the wake of the all-star "comedy spectacular" Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Fantastic Flying Fools (originally titled Blast-Off, and also released as Those Fantastic Flying Fools) is based very loosely on a Jules Verne novel. A 19th century British newspaper offers a prize to the first scientist who is able to construct and launch a rocket to the moon. Contestants from all over the world compete for the prize, including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines cast members Terry-Thomas and Gert Frobe. Much of the slapstick is tiresome and derivative, but there is one cute closing gag involving villains Terry-Thomas and Lionel Jeffries and a Siberian chain gang. There's precious little of the spirit of Jules Verne in Fantastic Flying Fools, save for the woodcut illustrations which decorate the opening credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During an important conference, a key delegate suddenly runs out of the building and into the street, where he is promptly killed by an automobile. It turns out that the dead man had had premonitions of just such a tragedy, and all the other delegates have had similar premonitions. It's up to Steed and Emma to find out just what's been going on. . .and to prevent what seems to be the grim inevitable. Written by Philip Levene, "Death's Door" was originally broadcast in England on October 7, 1967; its first American telecast took place on January 31, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast a Giant Shadow is a big-budget, glossy action/adventure story set at the time that Israel became a nation. American Army officer Colonel David Marcus is recruited by the yet-to-exist Israel to help form an army. Marcus is conflicted because of his sudden appreciation for his Jewish heritage. Realizing that each of Israel's Arab nations has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country once the partition has been made, Marcus is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins. The all-star cast includes Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger and Angie Dickinson. Aldo Tonti provides the beautiful photography by Aldo Tonti, and Melville Shavelson directs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide