Moira Lister Movies

This ten-hour mini-series extravaganza originally aired on February 26, 2000 on NBC, and concerns the fate of a janitor, Tony (John Larroquette), and his lovely daughter Virginia (Kimberly Williams), who mysteriously find themselves in a land where fairies, trolls, and elves live. Their attempts to return home are thwarted by an evil witch (Diane Wiest). Appearing in supporting roles are Rutger Hauer, Warwick Davis, and Camryn Manheim as Snow White. The 10th Kingdom was rebroadcast on August, 2000, with a substantially trimmed running time of eight hours, which was shortened even further to six hours for the video release, after all commercials had been removed. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Lewis Flander and Carol Hawkins star in the hectic British farce Not Now Comrade. Flander plays a Russian ballet dancer who decides to defect. Unable to reach the British embassy, Flander hides out with London stripteaser Hawkins. There's an abundance of female flesh in this one, a fact that necessitated numerous snips in the TV version that made the UHF rounds in the 1980s. Watch for Not Now Comrade codirector Ray Cooney and veteran British funster Roy Kinnear in cameo roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this espionage thriller, Dan Slater (Yul Brynner) is a CIA agent who travels to Austria after his son dies in a skiiing mishap. Slater begins to suspect that his son's death wasn't an accident and begins investigating the matter on his own. Slater finds that fellow agent Frank Wheatley (Clive Revill) is of little help to him. Beautiful Gina (Britt Ekland), the companion of prominent socialite Mrs. Carrington (Moira Lister), then slowly draws Slater into her web. In time, he discovers that his son's death was all part of a diabolical plan to lure him to Austria; Soviet agents led by Bethold (Anton Diffring) have performed extensive plastic surgery on one of their top spies until he's identical to Slater, and they intend to send him back in Slater's place, giving them an insider at the highest levels of U.S. intelligence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cop-Out is a distressingly "mod" remake of the 1941 French film Strangers in the House. Taking over the role originally played by Raimu, James Mason stars as a retired, scotch-swilling attorney residing in France. Mason disapproves of his daughter's (Geraldine Chaplin) new boy friend (Bobby Darin), but rises to the young man's defense in court when the boy is arrested on a suspicious murder charge. The casting of Chaplin and Darin was meant to "reach" the youth market, but both are way too old for their characters. Cop-Out would have worked better (especially with audiences of the 1990s) without its trendy camerawork and wearisome generation-gap propaganda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character in this British sitcom was Jacquie Villiers (Moira Lister) who, after the death of her husband in a freak accident, discovered that she had inherited nothing but debts. To keep a roof over the heads of herself and her family, she tackled a variety of truly odd jobs, and also took in a boarder named Freddie Phillipson (Donald Hewlett). Debuting in 1967, The Very Merry Widow lasted until 1969, by which time its title had been adjusted to The Very Merry Widow and How. Of the series' 19 taped episodes, only two are presently known to exist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, from director Anthony Asquith, the lives and stories of three different people are linked together by their possession of an unusual car, a yellow Rolls Royce Phantom II. Lord Frinton (Rex Harrison) is a diplomat who purchases the exquisite auto as a gift for his wife (Jeanne Moreau). After Frinton's horse wins the Royal Gold Cup, Lady Frinton incurs the Lord's wrath when she is caught in the back seat of the Rolls with his underling John Fane (Edmund Purdom). In the 1930s, the car is bought by Italian gangster Paolo Maltese (George C. Scott), who is carrying on with the hatcheck girl Mae Jenkins (Shirley MacLaine). The two take a tour of Italy and see all the historic sights, but Mae is less than impressed. While Paolo is in the United States on one of his frequent hit-man assignments, Mae and a street photographer try out the back seat for comfort and carnal pleasure. Art Carney plays Paolo's associate Joey. In the final episode, Gerda Millett (Ingrid Bergman) is the married American woman who buys the car in 1942. With Hitler attacking Yugoslavia the brave and brazen beauty helps fight the Nazis by smuggling Davich (Omar Shariff) across the border, and this duo also find themselves in the back seat for a roll in the Rolls. Davich shows his gratitude by shipping the car along with Gerda back to the United States. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the play by Terence Rattigan, The Deep Blue Sea stars Vivien Leigh as the troubled wife of a London attorney (Emlyn Williams). Racked with emotional problems, Leigh turns her back on her loveless marriage and sets up house with a handsome RAF officer (Kenneth More). When her lover proves to be shallow and unreliable, Leigh attempts to kill herself. She is rescued by a gambler (Eric Portman), who'd once been a doctor before being drummed out of his profession in disgrace. The kindly ex-doctor builds up Leigh's confidence in herself, allowing her to go on with her life without relying upon men to define her self-image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grand National Night began life as a stage play, which was promptly adapted as a popular British radio serial. The film combines the best elements of both previous incarnations. Racehorse owner Gerald Coates (Nigel Patrick) accidentally kills his spiteful wife Babs (Moira Lister) during a quarrel. Terror-stricken, Coates stashes the body in the boot (or trunk) of a stranger's car. Methodical police inspector Ayling (Michael Hordern) suspects there's more to this than meets the eye. The script carefully builds up sympathy for the frenzied Coates, then manages to find a way to wrap up the story to everyone's satisfaction (Here's a clue, provided by Leonard Maltin: while watching the film, examine the character names). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ebullient British music-hall comedian Norman Wisdom made his movie debut in Trouble in Store. The scene is a large department store, where the bumbling Norman (Wisdom) has somehow landed a clerical job. The rest of the film is a series of slapstick catastrophes, some hilarious, others less so. Along the way, Norman saves the store from falling into the clutches of gangsters -- and wins the heroine besides. Wisdom's perennial straight-man Jerry Desmonde has a meaty role, as do British film-faves Margaret Rutherford and Moira Lister. Evidently this film meant a great deal to Norman Wisdom, for in 1992 he titled his autobiography Trouble in Store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British Something Money Can't Buy offers a few smaller-scale variations on themes previously explored in the 1946 Hollywood Oscar-winner The Best Years of Our Lives. Harry Wilding (Anthony Steel), a high-ranking wartime military officer, has trouble adjusting to his go-nowhere civilian job and the monotony of his home life. Harry's wife Anne (Patricia Roc) tries to make things easier for her husband, but there are no easy answers to his plight. The inherent drama of the situation is leavened by moments of gentle humor, not to mention the warm rapport between stars. The supporting cast includes hirsute comic actor (and longtime David Niven crony) Michael Trubshawe and the venerable A. E. Mathews, at the time billed as England's oldest working actor. Director Pat Jackson co-authored the perceptive screenplay of Something Money Can't Buy with James Lonsdale Hudson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bonar Colleano, who spent the war years playing featured roles in British films as likeably cocky Americans, heads the cast of Pool of London. Ever his brass, cheeky self, Colleano is cast as Dan MacDonald, a sailor who dabbles in a bit of smuggling, just for the fun of it. The fun is over when he gets mixed up with a gang of jewel thieves who have a habit of framing others for their crimes. At the risk of his own neck, MacDonald must extricate his best friend Johnny (Earl Cameron) from a murder charge. Pool of London ran into censorship troubles in the U.S. because of its depiction of a romance between Cameron, a black actor, and Susan Shaw, a white actress. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

White Corridors was based on Yeoman Hospital, a novel by Helen Ashton. Told episodically, the story concentrates on the day-to-day activities in a busy hospital, where research pathologist Neil Marriner (James Donald) conducts experiments in the hopes of curing diseases impervious to penicillin. Marriner is aided in this endeavor by lady surgeon Dr. Sophie Dean (Googie Withers), who happens to be in love with him. After a tragedy occurs for which Marriner holds himself responsible, the film builds steadily to an exciting climax involving a untested -- and potentially dangerous -- serum. The top-rank British supporting cast includes Barry Jones, Moira Lister, Petula Clark, Basil Radford, Dagmar (later Dana) Wynter, Bernard Lee, and, in a minor role, future "Dr. Who" Patrick Troughton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, two brothers, both of them Welsh coal-miners, win a contest and get to go on a day trip to London. Upon their arrival in the town, they miss their newspaper escort and get separated. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide