Bill Thomas Movies
- 1998
In the first episode of a two-part story, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) is guided to Asgard by a disturbing dream. Upon his arrival, Hercules tangles with Norse god Thor (Ben Reed), who at first considers the Greek visitor as his enemy. Ultimately the two immortals combine their powers to prevent the death of Baldur (Rupert Cocks) and thereby avoid the prophecy that Asgard -- and the rest of the world -- will be plunged into Rangnarok (aka "The End of All Things"). Unfortunately, Norse god of mischief Loki (Ian Hughes) messes things up. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Ben Reed, (more)
- 1998
Best known for writing the scores for Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit movies, Julian Nott makes his directorial debut with this low-key romantic comedy that recalls the early works of Mike Leigh. Nerdy Colin (Bill Thomas), a 50-year-old bachelor with a passion for building model planes, runs into Denise (Chrissie Cotterill) and immediately falls in love. Unfortunately, Denise is setting him up as the patsy in a complex scheme to spring her sleazy boyfriend Roy (Craig Fairbrass) from a spot of trouble. Things grow even more complicated when Denise falls for Colin and Roy sleeps with his accountant, who is in turn the lesbian lover of Denise's daughter. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Thomas, Chrissie Cotterill, (more)
- 1985
- R
The Chain is linked by a series of moves. As one couple moves out of their current residence to live in posher quarters, another moves in, and so it goes all the way up to the lavish mansioned owned by self-made millionaire Leo McKern. The cycle starts all over again when McKern, wishing to be closer to his roots, returns to the working-class neighborhood whence he came. Each move is wryly commented upon by the team of professional movers headed by Warren Mitchell. The enormously gifted British cast includes Billie Whitelaw, Nigel Hawthorne, Maurice Denham, Denis Lawson, Phyllis Logan, and David Troughton. This multistoried seriocomedy is at its best a fond throwback to the Ealing films of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Herbert Norville, Denis Lawson, (more)
Fledgling filmmaker (and future film historian) Kevin Brownlow worked in collaboration with Andrew Mollo for nearly ten years to create It Happened Here. Shot on 16-millimeter stock in stark quasi-documentary fashion, the film is predicated on the postulation that Germany had invaded--and defeated--England in World War II. Brownlow and Mollo's vision of this nightmarish world is perfect in every detail, right down to the German road signs in rural Britain. The plotline is carried by Pauline Murray, playing a nurse who uncovers Nazi atrocities perpetrated on Polish and Russian hospital patients. Begun in 1957 when Brownlow was an 18-year-old editing apprentice, It Happened Here was finally completed in 1964, and released theatrically two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw, (more)
