Alan Badel Movies

The deeper, broader issues behind the rise and fall of one of the world's greatest ballet dancers and choreographers, Vaslav Nijinksy (1888-1950), is not at the fulcrum of this two-hour British biographical drama. Director Herbert Ross and screenwriter Hugh Wheeler base the film on Nijinsky's diaries and his wife's book Nijinsky but what they portray are the years between 1912-1913 and Nijinsky's affair with Sergei Diaghliev, his mentor and the impresario and founder of Ballets Russes. With the life of the great man (played by dancer George de la Pena) explained via the dominant, impossible personality of Diaghliev and the love of his wife (Leslie Browne), there is no room for larger questions. The business and politics and especially the homosexuality that are involved with the art of ballet are also given primary focus. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

One of the earliest English spy novels, The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, is the basis for this movie. In the story, it is 1901, and England is at the height of its power and influence in the world. Arthur Davies (Simon MacCorkindale) is out sailing in his yacht in the North Sea. Off the coast of Germany, he has a set-to with a local sea-captain, Dollmann (Alan Badel). The encounter itself was odd enough, but adding to it's strangeness is Arthur's nagging sense that the German captain was known to him, somehow. He discovers that Dollman is actually a British naval officer who has gone bad and calls on his old college friend, Charles Carruthers (Michael York) to help him investigate this phenomenon. Eventually, the two men discover that the Kaiser Wilhelm has planned to secretly invade and conquer Britain, and they are the only ones who can prevent it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Force 10 From Navarone was a sequel to the 1961 blockbuster The Guns of Navarone and tells the tale of ten widely divergent WW II troubleshooters who attempt to blow up a crucial bridge in Yugoslavia. As in the first Navarone film, one of the guerillas is a traitor: group leader Mallory (Robert Shaw) knows the identity of the turncoat, but can't prove it until it's almost too late. The beautiful female resistance leader is played by Barbara Bach, while Harrison Ford, fresh from his Star Wars success, is the romantic lead. Others in the cast include Edward Fox, Franco Nero and Alan Badel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Don Siegel took over the directing chores from Peter Hyams on this taut cold war action film, based on the novel by Walter Wager. With the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union thawing, old KGB hard-liner Nicolai Dalchimsky (Donald Pleasence) activates a group of Americans who were brainwashed twenty years earlier to blow up United States defenses when a passage from a Robert Frost poem is recited to them. When bombs go off at an abandoned United States defense installation, the Kremlin realizes that they have a rogue KGB agent on their hands who is trying to re-ignite the cold war. To stop him, the Russians send out KGB agent Grigori Borzov (Charles Bronson). Accompanying him is KGB double agent Barbara (Lee Remick). As the two agents try to stop Nicolai from starting World War III, they find time to fall in love with each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this involving political thriller, a secret French paramilitary organization plans to assassinate French President Charles De Gaulle (Adrien Cayla-Legrand) because of their disagreement with his policies during the Algerian War. They hire a professional killer, known only as "The Jackal" (Edward Fox). The police learn of the plot from an informer, and police investigator Lebel (Michel Lonsdale) cleverly pieces together the clues to the Jackal's identity. The complicated plot uses parallel editing to cross-cut between the details of the Jackal's preparations for the assassination and Lebel's efforts to find him before it is too late. Fred Zinnemann presents the story, faithfully adapted from the book by Frederick Forsyth, with precise, dramatic flair. Edward Fox is coldly alluring as the Jackal. Well acted and directed, Day of the Jackal is a tense and engrossing political thriller with a surprising ending. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Gerald Arthur Otley (Tom Courtenay) is a British secret agent called in to investigate the murder of a suspected influence pedlar and document smuggler. He trails double agents and double martinis at a posh cocktail party before discovering the villains have the cooperation of top government officials in Parliament. Otley is pegged to masquerade as a possible defector to oust the criminal mastermind who plans to sell some stolen documents vital to national security to any enemy agent with the most money. Murder, blackmail and auto chases dominate the action as the femme fatale Imogen (Romy Schneider) first has Otley beaten up by her thugs before combining forces to go after the real villains in this confusing and sometimes funny spy yarn. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

An expert in ancient hieroglyphics unexpectedly finds himself involved in a web of international intrigue in this chic, enjoyably tongue-in-cheek espionage adventure. Gregory Peck stars as David Pollock, an American professor whose predictable academic routine is overturned when he is hired to help translate a mysterious message written in an obscure ancient text. The real trouble begins, however, when everyone from a wealthy oil magnate to a foreign government to brutal criminals starts to chase Pollock, desperate to discover the nature of the deciphered message. Along for the ride is Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren), the gorgeous lover of Pollock's employers, whose loyalties are questionable, to say the least. The tangled narrative proves less important than the film's stylish surface, from the colorful London locations to the Henry Mancini score. Certain touches date the film, like a brief foray into psychedelia, but the modish visuals are generally an appropriate match to the insouciant tone. Not taking itself seriously enough to be truly thrilling, Arabesque nevertheless stands as a witty, well-made example of a particular breed of airy, intentionally superficial comic adventure. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Adapted by David Storey from his own novel, This Sporting Life stars Richard Harris as Frank, an athletic coal miner who aspires to the greener pastures of professional rugby. Soon establishing himself as one of the most brutal and arrogant players in the business, Frank begins to amass a fortune. He also falls in love with his landlady, Mrs. Hammond (Rachel Roberts), who initially resists his advances. When she finally gives in, their relationship hinges on sex alone, as Frank practically begs Mrs. Hammond to give of herself emotionally and she remains incapable. At the wedding ceremony for one of Frank's teammates, Mrs. Hammond unexpectedly lashes out at her swaggering lover. They split up, but Frank, who until now has equated happiness with wealth, is unable to get over the permanent loss. In the end, with nothing else left, all of Frank's self-worth becomes contingent on his rugby performances, though Frank and the other players are exploited to such a degree that this also proves disastrous. Widely regarded as one of the finest British feature films ever produced, the gritty and bleak This Sporting Life not only marked former documentary filmmaker Lindsay Anderson's first feature, but became one of the harbingers of the "Angry Young Man" school of filmmaking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second of the many British TV miniseries adaptations of Jane Austen's slyly satirical 19th century novel Pride and Prejudice was a six-parter broadcast by the BBC. Jane Downs starred as Elizabeth Bennet, the outwardly fragile but iron-willed young woman who maneuvered around her mother's plans to "arrange" a wealthy but loveless marriage by setting her cap for the supposedly indifferent -- and supremely haughty -- Mr. D'Arcy (played by veteran movie heavy Alan Badel). This adaptation was aired live to the British Isles from January 24 to February 28, 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British omnibus thriller, Three Cases of Murder includes two supernatural tales and a straight whodunit. The first segment, "The Picture," was directed by Wendy Toye, based on a short story by Roderick Wilkinson. A museum tour guide, Jarvis (Hugh Pryse), is plagued by artworks going missing, and by the mysterious repeated breaking of the protective glass over a gloomy landscape painting. Jarvis is fascinated by the dark, foreboding house in the painting. One day while he's admiring it, he bumps into a stranger (Alan Badel, who appears in all three segments). Jarvis ends up following the stranger into the world of the painting with terrifying consequences. Eddie Byrne (General Willard in Star Wars) plays the demented taxidermist, Snyder. In the second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," written by Sidney Carroll (who co-wrote The Hustler), and directed by David Eady, lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman. George (Emrys Jones) has always stood in Edgar's (John Gregson) shadow. The two have a falling out when they realize they both love Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars), and when she later turns up dead, it affects the friendship in a surprising way. Badel plays the friendly bartender, Harry. The final story, "Lord Mountdrago," was based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by George More O'Ferrall, the segment stars Orson Welles as Lord Mountdrago, the officious secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mountdrago uses his oratory powers to destroy the career of a charismatic political opponent, Owen (Badel again). Mountdrago then finds himself tormented by the vengeful Owen, who seems to have found a way to enter his dreams. Andre Morrell (Bridge on the River Kwai) plays Mountdrago's baffled psychiatrist. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

One of the first important distinctions to be made about this version of King Lear is that it is not the same version directed by Peter Brook in 1971. Brook was responsible for the staging of this 1953 version, but it was Andrew McCullough who put it to film. Orson Welles portrays the titular character, one of the most memorable and important characters from the Shakespearean canon. The story begins with the famous request Lear makes of his daughters: to express how much they love him. In exchange, Lear will divide his land and power amongst them based on the extent of their answers. Cordelia (Natasha Parry), the youngest and the one whom Lear loves the most, answers very modestly -- yet honestly --and incurs the wrath of Lear, who not only withholds his gift to her, but banishes her as well. Lear divides his lands and power between the two older daughters, Goneril (Beatrice Straight) and Regan (Margaret Phillips), who intend to take swift and complete control of their father's power almost instantaneously. Lear is reduced to an angry, bitter man who realizes too late what has happened. After a series of indignities are inflicted upon him by his daughters, he retreats into a storm, vowing revenge. This film is an above-average adaptation with a very capable cast and a well-staged presentation. The subplot of Gloucester and his sons has been removed, however, presumably in interests of time conservation, but it doesn't seriously hinder the story. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide