Derek Newark Movies

In flashback, we learn how nerdish computer whiz Bernard Hill has gotten himself involved with nasty gang boss Richard Hope. When Hill's wife leaves him and his stepson, he gets drunk and loses his job; before he cleans out his desk, he sells one of his "worthless" computer tapes to Hope. The latter kidnaps Hill's son, forcing the computer geek to do a printout of the tape. The information contained therein turns out to be a map of the National General Bank security system. From this point onward, be prepared for lots of twists, double-crosses and surprises. The question posed by Bellman & Ture: will Bernard Hill, sucked into the criminal gang, retain his own honesty despite big-money temptation? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The two-part TV movie Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil crystallizes that evil by concentrating on two Berlin brothers. In 1931, Helmut Hoffman (Bill Nighy) a brilliant student and self-styled opportunist, joins Hitler's SS. At the same time, his younger brother Karl (John Shea), a top athlete and idealist, becomes a chauffeur for the "S.A." (storm troopers). When the SS topples the SA from power, Karl ends up in Dachau. He is rescued through his brother's influence--if you can describe sending Karl to fight on the Russian Front a "rescue." As he watches the Third Reich deteriorate, Helmut at long last suffers pangs of conscience. As if the story of the rise of Nazism needed any further melodrama, Hitler's SS shoehorns in a romantic triangle involving Karl, Helmut, and beautiful nightclub-singer Lucy Gutteridge. The all-star supporting cast of Hitler's SS includes Carroll Baker as the Hoffman brothers' anguished mother; Tony Randall as an androgynous entertainer named Putzi (shades of Cabaret's Joel Grey); and David Warner, repeating his Holocaust role as SS head man Heydrich. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michael Caine stars as an espionage agent whose young son is kidnapped. Complicating matters is the fact that the kidnappers (John Vernon and Delphine Seyrig) are Caine's own colleagues. They want to secure Caine's aid in rounding up a diamond smuggling ring, and they don't care who they have to hurt to do so. He agrees to go along, all the while searching for his missing son. Janet Suzman co-stars as Caine's estranged wife, who is compelled to join him in his search. Helmed by veteran filmmaker Don Siegel, The Black Windmill is based on Seven Days to a Killing, a novel by Clive Egleton. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ian Carmichael stars as Dorothy L. Sayers blue-blooded detective in this made-for-TV thriller. Armistice Day in 1922 finds a number of old soldiers relaxing at the exclusive Bellona Club, but it turns out one of them is a bit too relaxed -- General Fentiman (Ralph Truman) is dead. As it happens, Fentiman's sister, Lady Dorland, passed away the same day, and since the distribution of her sizable estate hinges upon which sibling died first, Lord Wimsey (Charmichael) is brought in to unravel the truth. It soon becomes obvious that Fentiman was murdered, and the deeper Wimsey digs into the case, the stickier the issue becomes as he discovers an ugly web of treachery involving Fentiman's heirs. Originally produced as a four-part mini-series for the BBC (and aired in the United States on the PBS anthology series Masterpiece Theater, Lord Peter Wimsey: The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club also stars Derek Newark as Bunter, John Welsh as Mr. Murbles, and Vivien Heilbron, John Quentin, and Terence Alexander as the Fentiman heirs. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

For fans of the British television series Dad's Army, this film is a bonanza. Including the entire cast from the television series, it is a comedy about the Walmington-on-Sea contingent of the Home Guard, set in 1940. These men are part-time soldiers, and their civilian situations often impinge on their defense duties, much to the exasperation of the (retired) regular military men in their group. Their mettle is tested when they must capture three German aviators who have parachuted into their midst. The Home Guard, or Local Defense Volunteers, consisted of people who, for a variety of reasons (usually age) were unable to serve in the regular military, and wanted to help with the war effort. At the time the Home Guard was formed, a German invasion was expected to occur almost any day. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In the second episode of the seven-part story "Inferno," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) hopes that the sticky substance found near the earth's core during a government drilling project will enable him to reactivate the TARDIS. It does: Thrust sideways in time, the Doctor re-emerges in an alternate universe, where Britain has become a fascist state. This episode is famous amongst Doctor Who aficionados thanks to a single record-breaking stunt fall. Written by Don Houghton, "Inferno, Episode 2" first aired on May 16, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the fourth episode of the seven-part story "Inferno," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) is still trapped in an alternate universe, where the fascist government of England insists upon pursuing Project Inferno, intended to find new energy sources at the center of the earth. Alas, the Doctor is armed with the foreknowledge that this supposedly beneficial project will result in the destruction of the world. But inasmuch as the government is now a dictatorship, no one will listen to the Doctor's grim prognostications. Written by Don Houghton, "Inferno, Episode 4" first aired on May 30, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the sixth episode of the seven-part story "Inferno," the efforts by the alternative-universe English government to find new energy resources at the earth's core have resulted in a chain reaction which dooms the earth to extinction. Fortunately, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) has found a way to save humankind from being destroyed in the ensuing cataclysm. But he'd better hurry -- the volcanos have begun erupting, and huge red rocks are falling from the sky. Written by Don Houghton, "Inferno, Episode 5" first aired on June 13, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Doctor Who's incredibly brief seventh series concluded with its fourth adventure, "Inferno." Written by Don Houghton, this story arc lasted seven episodes, the first of which aired May 9, 1970. The titular Inferno is a government project dedicated to drilling into the center of the earth in search of new energy resources. In the course of investigating a sticky substance found at the earth's core, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) is thrust into an alternative reality -- though of course, all of this is still ahead of him in Episode One. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The System is a "Swinging London" comedy with an unsettling undercurrent of bitterness and cynicism. Oliver Reed plays a girlie-magazine photographer, the self-appointed leader of a group of handsome but unscrupulous bachelors who hang out in a British seaside resort. Their avowed goal is to seduce and abandon as many wealthy young girls as possible. One of the group, jealous of Reed's success, uses their "system" to hoist the leader on his own petard. Michael Winner solidified his reputation as a "mod" director in The System--and also displayed his utter contempt for the pretty young people he depicts. The film was released to the US under the more bankable title The Girl Getters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Steed and Emma are called on the scene when several members of the British Venusian Society, an astronomical organization, suddenly die of extreme old age. It turns out that all of the dead stargazers had been looking directly at Venus, which, according to "expert" testimony, is poised to invade the Earth. The truth is a bit more prosaic, but no less threatening for our hero and heroine. The first full-color Avengers episode, "From Venus with Love" was also the initial offering of the series' fifth season. Written by Philip Levene, the episode first aired in England on January 14, 1967; six days later, it was seen on American network television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sci-fi fantasy film was supposedly inspired by a line from an Edgar Allen Poe poem. It is also the last film made by distinguished director Jacques Tourneur. The adventure begins when the widowed ruler of a sub-oceanic kingdom spies a woman on the land who closely resembles his late wife. Believing that she is the reincarnation of his beloved spouse, the mer-king orders his gill men to kidnap her. Fortunately two courageous divers and their pet rooster brave the mysterious depths and the deadly gillmen to rescue her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In the conclusion of the four-part story arc "An Unearthly Child," Doctor Who (William Hartnell) and his companions, Ian and Barbara (William Russell, Jacqueline Hill), are still stranded in the era of the Great Cold some 100,000 years ago. Having managed to escape both the Cave of Skulls and the Forest of Fear, the Doctor and his companions are unable to elude their pursuers, a hostile cave-dwelling tribe. The only hope for salvation lies in the Doctor's ability to create fire and to show the tribesmen how to do the same -- but how to accomplish this, with next to no materials at hand? Originally telecast on December 14, 1963, "The Firemaker" was written by Anthony Coburn. Subsequently, the entire "An Unearthly Child" saga (also known as "The Tribe of Gum" and "100,000 BC") was novelized by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi