John Hamill Movies
When a small-time businessman (Richard Pryor) needs a loan, he goes to a loan shark and ends up in jail on false pretenses. After feigning madness to get out, he is tossed into the mental ward of a hospital. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Rachel Ticotin, (more)
Timothy Hutton stars in this rabble-rousing movie in the tradition of Rocky, directed by Bob Clark. Hutton plays Jimmy Lynch, the younger brother of New York City firefighter Terry (Robert Urich). Terry is off-duty and has been drinking but rescues a young girl for a dangerous fire. When he injures himself in the fire and is hospitalized, New York City refuses to pay for his medical expenses because he was intoxicated during the rescue. Incensed that Mayor Tyler (Robert Culp) refuses to look after his brother, Jimmy decides to take them all on and mounts a series of public stunts designed to embarrass the mayor. Along the way, Jimmy becomes a folk hero, since he hides his identity behind the signature "Turk 182!" Jimmy is now a celebrity and consents to sit down for a television interview to reveal his true identity. But when the television station fails to broadcast the interview due to political pressure, Jimmy takes it upon himself to stage one final elaborate stunt to make the public aware of Terry's plight. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, (more)
- 1978
The 16th season of Doctor Who commenced on September 2, 1978, with episode one of the four-part "The Ribos Operation." Cyril Luckham appears as the White Guardian, who orders the Doctor (Tom Baker) to restore the balance between Good and Evil. To do this, the Doctor must locate and reassemble the missing segments of the Key to Time. Not only does this introduce an epic quest that will continue throughout the season, but it also serves to provide the Doctor with an attractive new companion: Time Lady Romana, played by Mary Tamm. "The Ribos Operation, Episode 1" was written by Robert Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
While living in a Spanish fishing village, a German painter kills a fisherman in revenge, ostensibly, for the violation and killing of a Scandinavian girl who has been his boarder. The locals more or less felt that the girl had the rape coming to her, because she spent so much of her time parading around in the nude. However, what is really going on has more to do with international arms smuggling and labor disputes, and the movie swiftly becomes an unusually graphic gore-fest. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helmut Griem, Slobodan Dimitrijevic, (more)
- 1978
In the second episode of the four-part story "The Ribos Operation," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) have been ordered to reassemble the missing segments of the Key to Time, thereby restoring the balance between Good and Evil. The first segment is found on the frozen planet Ribos, where the Doctor matches wits with a brace of con artists named Garron (Iain Cuthbertson) and Unstoffe (Nigel Plaskitt). Originally telecast on Septmeber 9 1978, "The Ribos Operation, Episode 2" was written by Robert Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
National Health, or Nurse Norton's Affair is an antic filmization of Peter Nichols' play, originally staged by Britain's National Theatre. A scattershot satire of the red tape and inconsistencies of England's National Health program, the film is set in the men's ward of an old, crumbling hospital. Moments of lunatic farce dovetail into scenes of blood-drenched human tragedy, leading one wag to label this film Carry on Dying. The film's highlight is a lachrymose lampoon of TV medical soap operas. The cast of National Health is comprised of some of the most polished farceurs in the British isles. Nurse Norton is played by Lynn Redgrave (who ironically later starred in the American hospital-based sitcom House Calls), while other key roles are filled by TV comedienne Eleanor Bron, Carry On alumnus Jim Dale and future Who Framed Roger Rabbit? star Bob Hoskins. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
- PG
In the lively comedy/adventure Travels with My Aunt, adapted from Graham Green's book, Henry (Alec McCowan), a timid, bookish accountant whose life seems to have died stillborn, discovers how to live with gusto thanks to the rough ministrations of his thoroughly eccentric aunt Augusta (Maggie Smith). Aunt Augusta bursts into Henry's life during the funeral for his mother, Augusta's sister. She whisks him to her apartment for a general cheering up, and he is thoroughly bemused by her bohemian ways and her much-younger black Caribbean boyfriend. In the next few hours, she manages to pry him from his dusty life and involve him in a series of incredible adventures involving old love affairs, espionage, kidnappings, and more money than he has ever dreamt of. Before the story ends, Henry has properly gotten into the spirit of his madcap aunt's adventuring. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, (more)
This gory low-budget British outing involves a team of archaeologists landing on fog-shrouded Snape Island -- recently the site of a hideous double murder -- in search of the tomb of a Phoenician chief and subsequently falling victim to an unseen maniac. Accompanying the shore party is a private detective (Bryant Halliday), hired by the family of the young woman suspected of the crimes (Candace Glendenning), who is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious murders. Though it is eventually determined that the real killer is still at large, the archaeologists stubbornly refuse to abort their dig...and summarily suffer the consequences. Released originally in 1972, this crass, exploitative potboiler (based on a story by horror author George Baxt) found its way to American theaters in 1981 as Beyond the Fog in an attempt to cash in on John Carpenter's 1980 film. Released later to video and cable as Tower of Evil. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
Anthropologist Dr. Brockton (Joan Crawford) believes she has discovered the missing link in this flat science fiction drama. The creature is found in a cave and brought to her laboratory to undergo tests for her research. The hairy beast with the face of a monkey loves classical music and hates rock & roll. When one of the slack-jawed yokels opens his cage, he escapes and goes on a killing rampage as he tries to return to his cave. In a gentle moment with a little girl, the beast shows a tender side that recalls a scene from Frankenstein. Soon troops are called in, despite Brockton's protest to entomb the creature by dynamiting the entrance to the cave. This was the last film for Joan Crawford, an inglorious way to end a legendary film career. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, (more)
- 1970
- R
Based on a best-selling novel by John Christopher, this combination horror-movie, cautionary tale warns against the dangers of pollution. The tale is set in a futuristic Britain that has been decimated by the sudden onset of a terrible plague caused by environmental damage. Most of the devastation occurs in London. One family flees to the sanctuary of a friend's farm. The journey is treacherous and the clan must fight insane biker gangs and deal with their own personal problems, but eventually, they make it to the farm. Unfortunately, though they were especially invited, the owner's ruthless brother refuses to let them enter and so the desperate head of the family leads a brutal attack. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nigel Davenport, Jean Wallace, (more)
Set in the British Isles in the 1930s, this film involves two old-maid sisters who lock their deranged brother in a cellar to keep him out of the war. He's there for thirty years, and when he finally gets loose he's a little irritated. Enough so, that he plagues the local countryside with a rash of very nasty murders. Maybe they needed a stronger lock. ~ Rovi
