Glyn Houston Movies

Adapted from true events, a high-level government official is threatened by his past escapades, so a crack team gets on the case. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Part of the long-running British mystery series based on the stories by Colin Dexter, Inspector Morse: Last Seen Wearing was first aired in the U.K. in 1988. Inspector Morse (John Thaw) and Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) investigate the disappearance of missing teenager Valerie Craven (Melissa Simmonds). After visiting her acquaintances at the Homewood School for Girls, Morse believes she was murdered. Before they can solve the case, headmaster Cheryl Baines (Suzanne Bertish) turns up dead. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

In the conclusion of the two-part story "The Awakening," the citizens of Little Holcombe seem to be taking their reenactment of the English Civil War a bit too seriously -- especially when Tegan (Janet Fielding) is chosen as a human sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Doctor (Peter Davison) tries to purge the community of the evil telekinetic influence of the Malus, with the assistance of a transplanted 17th century lad named Will Chandler (Keith Jayne). Other key players in the proceedings are local squire (and slave-of-the-Malus) Sir George Hutchinson (Dennis Lill) and Tegan's beleagured grandfather, historian Andrew Verney (Frederick Hall). Written by Eric Pringle, "The Awakening, Episode 2" originally aired on January 20, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As adapted from R.F. Delderfield's bestselling novel of the same title, the thirteen-part, 11-hour BBC miniseries A Horseman Riding By details the evolution of life in a Devon, England valley, from 1900-1920. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Hand of Fear," the fossilized hand which was found by Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) turns out to be that of Eldrad, a Kastrian criminal executed nearly 150,000,000 years earlier. Reactivated by a nuclear explosion, the hand regenerates the rest of its body, step one in an overall scheme to conquer the world, though the Doctor (Tom Baker) doesn't know this yet. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, "The Hand of Fear, Episode 2" originally aired on October 9, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime melodrama, a Swiss woman finds herself unwittingly involved in a plot to steal from her employer, a London diamond merchant. Her boyfriend is behind the scheme. First he sends two accomplices disguised as German jewelers to see the boss. He is not fooled by their ruse and is killed while the woman is knocked unconscious. She awakens with amnesia and begins aimlessly wandering the London streets. Thinking that his girl has squealed to the police, her boy friend begins scouring the town to find her. Meanwhile, she is taken in by a boxer who returns to the ring to win the money needed to get her out of the country. Trouble ensues when her lover finally finds her after the match and begins beating on the exhausted fighter. To stop him, the woman shoots the villainous lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this British crime drama a small-town detective gets tired of Scotland Yard's constant meddling and takes a leave-of-absence from his regular duties to start his own detective agency. It is there that he solves the puzzling jewelry store heist that caused the death of the owner's wife who worked there. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This farcical British comedy follows the eccentric misadventures of a family who have their own rather unusual way of doing things. Mr. Groomkirby (Eric Sykes) is redecorating his living room to resemble the courtrooms at Old Bailey, with a mind toward staging mock trials for fun. His wife, Mrs. Groomkirby (Alison Leggatt) hates to see leftovers go to waste, so she hires a woman to eat them. Their daughter Sylvia (Julia Foster) is fascinated by primates and spends much of her time at the zoo, and son Kirby (Jonathan Miller) believes that scales can have other uses rather than just weighing things -- they can be used to make music, too! Based on a popular novel, One Way Pendulum was directed by Peter Yates, who would go on to make Bullitt and Breaking Away. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Diminutive pratfall comic Norman Wisdom, Britain's latter-day version of Charlie Chaplin, brought his trademark physical slapstick to this comedy. Wisdom plays Norman Pitkin, a simple butcher's assistant who accompanies his boss, Mr. Grimsdale (Edward Chapman) to the hospital after Grimsdale accidentally swallows a watch. There, it is determined that the watch will have to be removed surgically, but the clumsy Norman causes such a ruckus that he is ejected from the facility and banned from returning by the administrator, Sir Hector (Jerry Desmonde). Before he leaves, however, Norman manages to bring a smile to the face of Lindy (Lucy Appleby), a sad little girl who has been orphaned by a plane crash. Norman promised Lindy he would return, and his efforts to get back through the hospital doors by any means available (including making himself sick, getting hit by a car, and appearing on a charity television broadcast he knows the girl is watching) meet with an equal lack of success. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Billie Whitelaw dominates this crime melodrama, not as a criminal but as vengeful bystander Jackie Parker. Parker's husband, an armored car driver, is killed during a carefully orchestrated robbery. The police have an idea of who's responsible, but they lack proof. On her own, Parker goes after the suspects one by one, using psychological torture (phone calls, poison pen letters) to break them down. She reduces inside man Pearson (William Lucas) to a quivering mass of gelatin, and indirectly sends Monty (Kenneth Griffith) to a sticky end in a mire of quicksand. The film's climax is a showdown between Parker and gang boss Mellors (Michael Craig). Payroll was based on a novel by Derek Bickerton. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Versatile director Roy Baker tackles the question of racial bias in this dated but effective drama, a working-class version of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Jacko Palmer (John Mills) is a dedicated, talented union leader who manages to mediate an upheaval over a black foreman at work and prevent a strike. Meanwhile, Palmer's daughter Kathie (Sylvia Syms) has fallen in love with a schoolteacher colleague of hers, Peter Lincoln (Johnny Sekka), who happens to be black. The couple plan on marrying, and that creates havoc in the Palmer home where Kathie's mother throws a fit. The full gamut of racial prejudices unfolds, while the father tries to reconcile his own feelings and root out any biases that lurk there. Johnny Sekka might be better known to U.S. audiences as Dr. Benjamin Kyle in the TV series, Babylon 5. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this fast-paced actioner, an aging race-car driver finds that he is losing his competitive edge. He tries racing under the sponsorship of an American tire company. He soon falls in love with the sponsor's daughter who pleads with him to stop driving. Adding more pressure to the man's life is his younger brother who swore to his mother that he would not drive until his older brother retires. The older brother still wants to prove himself, and so enters a 1,000-mile Italian race. When his mechanic-navigator is killed, the aging driver quits and the younger brother finally gets to drive. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi