Charles Little Movies
- 1989
When Caz Lederman's child is born with brain damage, she sues doctor Ian Gilmour for malpractice. As the film shows, Gilmour's procedures are indeed questionable (and graphically photographed -- fair warning to those with queasy stomachs). But it is also clear that the doctor, a last-minute replacement for Gilmour's regular gynecologist, did not intentionally endanger the mother and child, and that the cesarean operation was performed under extraordinarily difficult conditions. When Gilmour is found guilty of malpractice, he is ordered to spend a year in extra training -- an extreme measure that, the film argues, should be imposed upon all obstetricians before a delivery-room disaster occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Caz Lederman, Bob Baines, (more)
"Paradise" is actually Australia, where this made-for-TV adventure was filmed. Raquel Welch stars as a rich, spoiled socialite who is shipwrecked on a desert island. Her only companion is boozy, unkempt Aussie Jack Thompson. Before the film has a chance to turn into Lina Wertmuller's Swept Away (or even Gilligan's Island), Welch and Thompson are up to their necks in intrigue. Trouble in Paradise originally floated to shore on May 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Originally released in Australia as Wendy Cracked a Walnut, Almost made it to American shores in 1991, nearly five years after its completion. Rosanna Arquette plays Wendy, whose notions of life have been formed by romance novels. On her tenth wedding anniversary, Wendy hopes that her neglectful husband Ronnie (Bruce Spence) will rekindle his premarital ardor. While Ronnie is delayed by circumstances beyond his control (including a bolt of lightning), Wendy makes the acquaintance of handsome stranger Jake (Hugo Weaving). Convinced that Ronnie is cheating on her, Wendy decides to fight fire with fire by running off with Jake-just like in one of her Harlequin Romances. Ronnie tries his best (which is none too good) to win his wife back, leading to an archly whimsical finale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Bruce Spence, (more)
- 1966
Based on a popular Australian novel, this comedy was produced Down Under in 1966. Nino Culotta Walter Chiari is an Italian journalist who is lured by his brother into coming to Australia to work for his paper there. But when Nino arrives in Sidney, he finds out that there is no paper; his brother has taken off with the investors' cash. Left in the lurch was his brother's business partner, Kay Kelly (Clare Dunne). Nino vows to pay off his brother's debt and gets a job as a bricklayer to do so. He also tries to woo Kay, but finds her difficult to win over. Meanwhile, he encounters a series of racist reactions from Aussies, at the thought of an Italian assimilating into Australian culture - one of the film's core themes. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Chiari, Clare Dunne, (more)
