Lisa Lee Movies
- 1988
- R
A crazed hermit comes out of isolation to terrorize campers in the woods for a weekend getaway. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this martial arts outing a brave fighter saves the daughter of a thief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Best known for his 1978 film The Deer Hunter or perhaps the less-successful Heaven's Gate, director Michael Cimino turned to this fast-paced actioner set in an authentic (back lot) Chinatown. This thriller stars a rogue Polish-American cop (Mickey Rourke) out to not only keep Chinatown safe for the local consumers, but to dismantle its deep-rooted crime and drug cartels as well. No one backs the crusading cop in the latter objective, and as he faces a suave and wily crime boss (John Lone of The Last Emperor) and a libidinous newscaster (Ariane), he may be taking on more than he can handle. At least his wife thinks so, and the guys at City Hall think so -- but mayhem and murder will strew the streets with corpses before the smoke clears and the dust settles, and a vague, unresolved future sets in. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, John Lone, (more)
The "boys next door" are Roy Alston (Maxwell Caulfield) and Bo Richards (Charlie Sheen), typical California teens freshly graduated from high school. Daunted by the prospect of the real world, the boys decide to go on one last fling in L.A. But it's not all clean, wholesome fun; in fact, Caulfield and Sheen launch their weekend bash by beating up a gas-station attendant, throwing a glass bottle at an old woman, and murdering gay-bar patron Chris (Paul C. Dancer). Somewhere along the line, Bo becomes repelled by their violence spree, but Roy seems to be sexually aroused by all the misery he's causing. And so it goes, without real rhyme or reason, until the bloody denouement. Director Penelope Spheeris later helmed Wayne's World, The Little Rascals, and The Beverly Hillbillies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maxwell Caulfield, Charlie Sheen, (more)
Jon Chardiet plays a Puerto Rican youth who targets subway walls for his graffiti renderings. For a while, it looks as though Chardiet's problems will carry the plotline, but before long the film's true raison d'etre comes to the surface. Rap-music deejay Guy Davis, in tandem with such like-minded individuals as music student Rae Dawn Chong, endeavor to stage a huge breakdancing presentation, featuring several musical artistes of the period. Harry Belafonte served as coproducer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, (more)
- 1966
- Add The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery to QueueAdd The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery to top of Queue
Cartoonist Ronald Searle's delightfully diabolical private-school girls are back in action in The Great St. Trinian's Bank Robbery. Comedian Frankie Howerd plays the head of a train-robbery gang who cleverly hides the loot from their biggest haul (presumably the infamous "Great Train Robbery" of 1963) in a deserted old mansion. The gang waits the traditional seven years for the statute of limitations to run out then returns to the mansion to dig up their $7 million booty. Unfortunately, the joint has been converted into the new site for St. Trinian's School for Girls. Even more unfortunately (for the crooks, but not the audience) those "girls" are all holy terrors. The film's climax occurs during a riotous Parents' Day ceremony, which predictably segues into a wild train chase. Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery might have been funnier had Alastair Sim, the star of the first three "St. Trinian's" entries, made a return appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Howerd, Reg Varney, (more)
- 1961
One in the series of St. Trinian's off-beat, irreverent comedies that began in 1953 and continued strong through the '60s, this farce by Frank Launder features the usual bevy of comely young women who attend the school. This time around, the femmes terribles have just burnt down the school and shock the world by getting acquitted when hauled into the Old Bailey. It seems the judge is keen on Rosalie (Julie Alexander) and besides, an unscrupulous shyster posing as a professor offers to rebuild the school. Instead, he takes the offenders on a bogus tour of Greece and once they are underway, he leads them to his real goal -- forced matrimony to the sons of an Arab sheik. As always, this St. Trinian's comedy is meant for audiences who enjoy its own brand of humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecil Parker, Joyce Grenfell, (more)
- 1957
What if the Dauphin of France managed to escape the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution? That's the premise of the opulent British swashbuckler Dangerous Exile. Louis Jourdan stars as the Duc de Beauvais, who manages, at great personal sacrifice, to smuggle the son (Richard O'Sullivan) of King Louis XVI into England. The boy takes up residence in Wales, where he is protected by local lass Virginia Traill (Belinda Lee) and her wealthy Aunt Fell (Martita Hunt). When time comes for the boy to return to France, he refuses--but local newspaper editor Patient (Finlay Currie), a spy for the French revolutionaries, has other ideas. Keith Michell, future star of TV's Six Wives of Henry VIII, is well cast as a French Republican with whom the Duc de Beauvais must inevitably cross swords. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, (more)
- 1956
Writer/artist Roland Searle's diabolical "belles" of St. Trinian's Girls School return in this raucous British comedy. Because the girls cannot behave themselves, their headmistress (Alastair Sim in drag!) has been thrown in jail, and the school is surrounded by police and army troops. The students escape their durance vile by winning an all-expense-paid trip to Europe (by cheating, of course). While laying waste to the Continent (with Terry-Thomas driving the bus), the girls are enmeshed in a diamond theft instigated by the father (George Cole) of one of the students. The film ends with an elongated water polo game, played with the ladies' usual sense of sportsmanship and fair play. In the 1950s and 1960s, the "St. Trinians" series was as popular a British movie attraction as the "Carry On" films--but unlike "Carry On", they don't play quite as well with American audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry-Thomas, George Cole, (more)
- 1954
In this courtroom drama a doctor's plan's to marry are thwarted by blackmail. He is expected to take the fall for the murder of his intended's ex-husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this murder mystery, a woman's brother is killed in a freaky accident, or so she believes. Fortunately for her, an American journalist is more suspicious and so begins roaming the London streets in search of the killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Despite its lighthearted title, Lady Godiva Rides Again is a fairly potent indictment of the darker side of beauty contests. Waitress Marjorie (Pauline Stroud) enters one competition after another, hoping for fame and fortune. She manages to make the finals of a "Lady Godiva" contest, never suspecting that the outcome has been rigged. By accident, Marjorie wins First Prize, a huge sum of money and a movie contract. Alas, she hasn't the talent to parlay her win into a lasting career, and soon Marjorie is scrounging around for any "girlie show" job she can find. Only when reduced to performing nude in a French cabaret review is Marjorie rescued by her Australian boyfriend Larry Burns (John McCallum), who makes her promise to stop all this nonsense and settle down to domesticity. The well-chosen cast includes Dennis Price as a lascivious movie star and Stanley Holloway and Gladys Henson as the girl's nonplused parents. Featured in smaller roles are such future leading ladies as Kay Kendall, Diana Dors, Dagmar (later Dana) Wynter and, in an uncredited bit, Joan Collins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Price, John McCallum, (more)
- 1948
Like such later American programmers as Rock Around the Clock, the British Trouble in the Air is essentially an excuse to parade popular radio entertainers before the cameras. The plot is but a sliver: When a team of small-town bellringers is picked to perform over the BBC, their village is beseiged by oppotunists, including a gang of toughs. Radio announcer Jimmy Edwards gets wind of the villain's schemes and uses the airwaves to alert the authorities. Trouble in the Air is so dependent upon built-in audience familiarity with its stars that it leaves American audiences at a complete loss. As a time capsule for British radio fans, however, the film is invaluable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
A wealthy, doting father becomes the Broadway producer of a new show in hopes of fulfilling his daughter's aspirations to become a dramatic thespian in this comedy. Unfortunately the pretentiously serious play he chooses is such a stinker that it becomes a hit with the audience who perceives it to be a hilarious comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
