Richard Todd Movies
Born in Ireland, Richard Todd spent a few of his childhood years in India, where his father served as an army physician. Later his family relocated to West Devon, England. Todd trained for a potential military career at Sandhurst before inaugurating his acting training at the Italia Conta school. He helped organize the Dundee Repertory Theatre, then spent six years' service in World War II, first as an officer in the Yorkshire Light Infantry, then as a paratrooper with the 6th Airbourne. Todd was among those who parachuted into France during the D-Day Invasion of 1944; eighteen years later, he played a cameo in Darryl F. Zanuck's D-Day recreation The Longest Day (1946). After the war, he rejoined the Dundee rep, then made his West End debut as The Scot, the ill-tempered, dying protagonist of John Patrick's play The Hasty Heart. In 1949, Todd began his film career when he was tapped to recreate his Hasty Heart characterization before the cameras; the performance would earn him an Academy Award nomination. Highlights of Todd's 1950s film output include his portrayal of Marlene Dietrich's castaway beau in Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950), his swashbuckling heroics in Disney's The Story of Robin Hood (1952), The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue (1954), his sensitive performance as "Chaplain of the Presidents" Peter Marshall in A Man Called Peter, and his military derring-do in the 1956 British box-office smash The Dam Busters. Although he devoted more and more of his energies to the stage in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Todd served as executive producer on 1961's Why Bother to Knock and later portrayed a Timothy Leary clone in 1967's The Love-Ins. More recently the actor's achievements include stage actor and producer. Todd lists Equus as his favorite stage production, though it's likely that his eight-year run in the Mayfair Theatre presentation The Business of Murder was kinder to his bank account. In 1987, Richard Todd published Caught in the Act, the first volume of his memoirs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1977
- PG
A dashing secret agent takes on a murderous villain in this parody of spy movies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicky Henson, Richard Todd, (more)
This big-budget, big-studio espionage film is set in the last years of World War II. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp parachute into Germany, with orders to destroy the Nazis' V-1 rocket base at Peenemunde. Given the order of billing, guess which special operative survives the longest. This being an MGM production, Peppard has time to commiserate with Sophia Loren, the wife of the Nazi collaborator whom Peppard is pretending to be. If you're wondering about the film's outcome, remember who won the war. Operation Crossbow failed badly in its first release; MGM, deciding that the title misled moviegoers into thinking that the picture was a "Robin Hood" derivation, cleared up matters by renaming the film The Great Spy Mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, George Peppard, (more)
- 1950
Portrait of Clare is largely offered in flashback. The title character, played by Margaret Johnston, spends 10 years in seclusion with her son (Jeremy Spenser) after the death of her young husband (Ronald Howard). For her son's sake, Clare enters into a loveless marriage with lawyer Dudley Wilburn (Robin Bailey). But she doesn't find true happiness until turning to her cousin, Robert Hart (Richard Todd). Produced by British Pathe, Portrait of Clare was released in the U.S. by Pathe's sister-firm Monogram (aka Allied Artists). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1990
- PG13
This drama telling the exploits of seriously ill teens who are spending the summer at a camp for cancer victims makes an effort to bring a light touch to this otherwise gloomy subject. In the story, Ryan (Zachary Ansley), who has a brain tumor, is pretty certain he'll die before long. Before he does, he wants to have sex with a woman. Robert (Nicholas Shields), who has leukemia, isn't afraid to perform any stunt or get into any kind of adventure. Holly (Stacie Mistysyn) has lost a leg due to bone cancer, but is interested in helping Ryan fulfill his wish. One of the highlights of the movie is a theatrical in which the campers lampoon their doctors, parents, and one another. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zachary Ansley, Stacie Mistysyn, (more)
- 1953
The rousing adventure novel by Sir Walter Scott was adapted for this swashbuckler. Richard Todd stars as Robert Roy MacGregor, a clan leader in 18th century Scotland attempting to lead his fellow countrymen in a rebellion against the heavy-handed rule of England's King George I. When the king replaces a sympathetic politician with a lackey working against Rob Roy, it's up to the hardy Scotsman to defeat his enemies without the support of a powerful ally, while also romancing and marrying his true love (Glynis Johns). Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) was the last of 21 British films produced jointly by Disney and RKO. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1957
- NR
After an extensive talent search, producer-director Otto Preminger selected a 17-year-old unknown from Iowa, Jean Seberg, to play Joan of Arc, a role traditionally portrayed by actresses twice to three times Seberg's age. Seberg is cast opposite such venerable pros as Richard Todd (as Dunois), Anton Walbrook (the Bishop of Beauvais), John Gielgud (Earl of Warwick) and Felix Aylmer (The Inquisitor). Cast as the vacillating Dauphin is Richard Widmark. Graham Greene's screenplay refashions the original Shaw text in the form of a flashback. Seberg eventually became an accomplished actress by virtue of her appearances in such nouvelle vague films as Breathless, but it was too late to salvage Saint Joan, which was figuratively burned at the stake by critics and filmgoers alike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1963
Death Drums Along the River was the come-on American title for this 1963 remake of 1935's Sanders of the River. Both films were loosely based on a very popular Edgar Wallace novel. Richard Todd assumes the leading role of Harry Sanders (originally R. G. Sanders), a British police investigator working in Africa. While counting the clues in a hospital murder case, Sanders is led to hidden diamond mine. The patronizing racial attitudes prevalent in the first Sanders of the River have been muted and altered out of respect for the ever-changing Africa of the 1960s. Sanders did well enough to inspire a 1964 sequel, Coast of Skeletons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Franciolin) FI An all-star lineup of actors and directors was responsible for the omnibus feature Secrets D'Alcove. The film is made up of four separate playlets; the only "character" common to the four stories is a huge bed. The characters whose behavior is governed by being in close proximity of this bed include a soldier (Richard Todd), a philanderer (Vittorio de Sica), a professional co-respondent (Dawn Addams), a couresan (Martine Carol) and a truckdriver (Mouloudji). Naturally, the screenplay contrives to have the film's female characters appear as underdressed as possible, none more so than the curvaceous Martine Carol. The basic premise of Secrets D'Alcove was later adopted, after a fashion, by the American TV anthology series Love American Style (1979-72). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Moreau, Gianni Franciolini, (more)
- 1991
In this mystery, an aging Sherlock Holmes allows King Edward to persuade him to bring a precious diamond back from South Africa. Along the way, Holmes meets Teddy Roosevelt and finds himself involved in intrigue and adventure. The story was originally a four-hour TV mini-series and was heavily edited for theatrical release. The story is also known as Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
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Four countries--Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg--were in on the financing of 1991's Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls. At first glance, Christopher Lee seems too old to play Conan Doyle's master detective, but the script allows for this by having the story takes place on the eve of Holmes' retirement. As Dr. Watson, Patrick McNee returns to the "comic relief" mode established in the 1940s by Nigel Bruce, albeit with less empty-headedness than was customary with Bruce. The plot concerns the safe passage of a valuable South African diamond, and the multitude of robberies, recoveries and major and minor intrigues the transpire before the denouement at the titular falls. To establish time and place, King Edward VI (Joss Ackland) and Teddy Roosevelt (Claude Akins) make brief appearances. When originally presented on European television, Incident at Victoria Falls was a four-hour miniseries, with Jenny Seagrove appearing in a sizeable role. For its American syndicated-TV bow in 1992, the film was somewhat clumsily chopped down to two hours, and Seagrove's part was eliminated (though her name still appears in the opening and closing credits). Incident at Victoria Falls is strongest in its elegant ambience and attention to detail; it is least successful in its ham-handed comic interludes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Patrick Macnee, (more)
- 1976
A socially deviant man and his friends find themselves to be sacrificial targets of religious cult members. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
Stage Fright toys with our notions of the dividing line between reality and artifice by being set in the London theatre world. On the lam from the police, Richard Todd takes refuge in the home of his former girlfriend, RADA student Jane Wyman. Todd has been spotted fleeing the scene of a murder, but he insists that he's innocent. Wyman believes his story, but knows that the police won't, so she decides to play detective herself. She also plays several other roles in a variety of disguises so as to escape the notice of genuine detective Michael Wilding. Top-billed Marlene Dietrich plays a Dietrich-like chanteuse whom Wyman pigeonholes as the real murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
- 1968
CIA agent Donovan (Gene Barry) travels to Britain to untangle a web of international spies. He falls for the estranged wife of local secret agent Langley (Tom Adams). Anne (Joan Collins) starts a romance with Donovan before her son is kidnapped by rival agents. While any other mom would worry herself sick, Anne spends her time getting her hair done and selecting a fabulous gown in which she appears in the following scenes. Donovan narrows the suspects down to a trio of agents, all who may have reason to turn double agent and place their country in political turmoil with counter espionage. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Barry, Joan Collins, (more)
- 1965
Originally released in Great Britain as The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, this film is not a wartime epic but a cozy domestic drama. Maureen O'Hara plays an American woman who leaves British husband Richard Todd, taking their two children along. While vacationing on the Riviera, Maureen falls in love with Rosanno Brazzi, a widowed Italian concert pianist who also has children. None of the kids are keen on this continental romance, and do their best to break up the affair. One of the children is played by pre-teen Olivia Hussey, several years before her star turn in Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet. Consistently lovely to look at, Affair at Villa Fiorita is not for those who prefer surprises in their film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
- 1972
A man uses his own mental powers to control one of the largest fortunes known to man. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1952
British private detective Richard Todd is sent to Venice, there to locate and a reward a wartime partisan. Once he arrives, the detective finds himself the quarry of every Venetian cop in sight. Todd soon learns that he's been fingered as a murderer--and that it's just possible he's been framed by the partisan, who has become a desperate criminal. Heavily influenced by The Third Man (49), Assassin is a routine action melodrama spiced by genuine Austrian settings. The film was initially released in Great Britain as Venetian Bird (hmmm...sounds a lot like Maltese Falcon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Eva Bartok, (more)
Robert Mitchum reprises his role as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe from Farewell, My Lovely, in this misconceived remake of Howard Hawks's classic 1946 film -- transferring the setting from 1940s California to 1970s London. Marlowe is hired by a rich and dying General Sternwood (James Stewart) to find out who is blackmailing him. Marlowe then meets Sterwood's daughters -- the crazy and degenerate Camilla (Candy Clark) and the more even-tempered Charlotte (Sarah Miles). Opening up a can of worms, Marlowe unveils a collection of unsavory characters -- Eddie Mars (Oliver Reed), an inveterate gambler having an affair with Charlotte; Joe Brody (Edward Fox), Camilla's ex-lover; and Agnes (Joan Collins), a sexy bookstore clerk. The plot becomes even more chaotic when it is found that Camilla has been posing in the nude for pornographer Arthur Geiger (John Justin). When Geiger turns up dead, Camilla becomes implicated in Geiger's murder. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, (more)
- 1962
Director Sidney J. Furie was betwixt and between his Canadian TV work and his theatrical-film prominence vis-a-vis Ipcress File (65) when he helmed the British social melodrama The Boys. The title characters are four youths, all implicated in the murder of a night watchman. Robert Morley plays the defense attorney who tries to convince the jury to render a charitable verdict. His basic argument is that the government expects a death sentence in cases involving robbery, but is more lenient towards crimes of passion. Prosecuting attorney Richard Todd is unmoved; his job is to prove that the boys aren't the innocent victims of society they're made out to be. The Boys benefits from Furie's dextrous use of flashbacks during the testimony scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Robert Morley, (more)
- 1955
The British The Dam Busters is the story of the development and utilization of the "bouncing bombs" in World War II. Michael Redgrave stars as Dr. Barnes Wallis, who developed these unorthodox explosives. Wallis' invention is put to practical use during the British raid on the Ruhr Dams in Germany. Most of the film is devoted to the two years spent in creating the bombs and training the pilots; the final sequence is a special-effects masterpiece, even allowing for the obvious models standing in for the dams. Adapted by R.C. Sherriff from both Guy Gibson's book Enemy Coast Ahead and Paul Brickhill's The Dam Busters, this film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, (more)
- 1949
Richard Todd plays an insufferable Scots soldier confined to a World War II military hospital. Ronald Reagan is an all-American patient who befriends the headstrong Scotsman, while Patricia Neal is the compassionate nurse. Gradually the patients grow begrudgingly fond of Todd, and when it is learned that he is suffering from a fatal illness, everyone involved tries to keep his true condition a secret from him. Todd inadvertently discovers the truth, and violently turns against his new buddies. But before the fade-out, friendship wins out over bitterness and self-pity. Filmed in England, Hasty Heart is based on the stage play by John Patrick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1962
In this western-style film, set in South Africa, circa the late 1900s, a local police sergeant finds himself pursued by the "The Hellions"--a man and his four sons. Unfortunately for the sergeant, the townspeople will not help to save him and his wife. He ignores his wife's plea that he quit his job and leave. After some time, he finally forces a storekeeper to assist him. Soon the rest of the townsfolk begin lending their assistance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, (more)
- 1949
Intending to run off with the wife (Christine Norden) of his publisher (Alexander Gauge), novelist John North (Richard Todd) thinks the better of it as he sits in the compartment of a speeding train. North's journey is interrupted (hence the title) by a train crash, in which his lover is killed. Sifting through the wreckage, railroad inspector Clayton (Tom Walls) discovers that the dead woman didn't perish in the crash: someone shot her in the back! That's all the information that can be revealed without giving away the ending. Top billed in Interrupted Journey as Richard Todd's patient, supportive wife is Valerie Hobson, whose patience and support would be sorely tested in real life when she stood by her husband John Profumo during the British Parliament sex scandals of the early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1961
The title is derived from the lyrics of a popular wartime ballad Bless 'Em All. This is, indeed, a war picture, set in Malaya. The British troops encamped therein believe they've gotten a break when they capture a Japanese scout (Kenji Takaki)--but it's all part of an enemy trap. The rest of the film concentrates on a battle of wills rather than bullets, though a few spurts of action keep the war-film aficionados happy. Played against the larger tapestry of the world conflict are the fluctuating tensions among the British soldiers themselves. Adapted from a play by Willis Hall, The Long and the Short and the Tall was released as both The Long the Short and the Tall (big whoop) and Jungle Fighters in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Laurence Harvey, (more)
The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, (more)
