Walter Gotell Movies
British character actor Walter Gotell spent most of his screen time as the "enemy." He was especially adept at portraying hissable Nazis in WWII dramas and equally odious KGB agents in Cold War films. His best-known role was Russian General Gogol in three of the James Bond epics: Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and View to a Kill. Walter Gotell remained active in films and TV throughout the 1990s, as sinister as ever in such works as Puppet Master IV (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
The "2000 Women" of the film's title are the female inmates in a WW II German concentration camp in France. Though many of the women don't get along, they are united in their hatred for their Nazi captors. The story takes a truly melodramatic turn when three English airmen parachute into the camp, offering a ray of hope for those inmates planning an escape. Some of the humor is "black" indeed, involving a card-playing corpse and other questionable sources of laughter, but this was the sort of material that wartime audiences wanted. Heading the cast of 2000 Women are Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson and Patricia Roc, fine British actresses all who overcome an abundance of script deficiencies. The film was the first production of Individual Pictures, formed by the producer-director-writer team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson, (more)
- 1963
Samuel Bronston produced this extravagant blockbuster, shot in Super Technirama 70. Nominally directed by Nicholas Ray (who makes a brief appearance as the U.S. ambassador), Ray was taken off the film and replaced by the more pliable directorial touches of Andrew Marton. Charlton Heston stars as Maj. Matt Lewis, the leader of an army of multinational soldiers who head to Peking during the infamous Boxer Rebellion of 1900. As the film unfolds, the foreign embassies in Peking are being held in a grip of terror as the Boxers set about massacring Christians in an anti-Christian nationalistic fever. Inside the besieged compound, the finicky British ambassador (David Niven) gathers the beleaguered ambassadors into a defensive formation. Included in the group of high-level dignitaries is a sultry Russian Baroness (Ava Gardner) who takes a shine to Lewis upon his arrival at the embassy compound with his group of soldiers. As Lewis and the group conserve food and water and try to save some hungry children, they await the arrival of expected reinforcements, but the tricky Chinese Empress Tzu Hsi (Flora Robson) is, in the meantime, plotting with the Boxers to break the siege at the compound with the aid of Chinese recruits. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, (more)
- 1961
A British officer is slated to parachute into Normandy. What he doesn't know is that he is being set up by British Intelligence to be captured by the enemy and reveal erroneous information to the Nazis. Officer Raine (Bradford Dillman) is the unknowing soldier who has intentionally been given false information. His superiors justify the expenditure of one man verses the thousands of lives that will be saved by his mission. The unlucky officer faces capture, brutal torture and debilitating guilt leading to alcoholism over his perceived "failure" to keep the information secret. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzy Parker, Bradford Dillman, (more)
- 1953
The title character of Albert, R.N is portrayed by-well, by no one. Albert is a papier-mache dummy, constructed by the British inmates of a German POW camp. The dummy is used as a diversion in a daring escape plan. Anthony Steel plays the mastermind of the getaway scheme, while Anton Diffring costars as the shrewd-and utterly despicable-Nazi commandant. Albert, R.N was released in the US under the unimaginative title Break to Freedom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Steel, Jack Warner, (more)
- 1943
Tomorrow we Live is the more upbeat American title of the British war drama At Dawn we Die. When his village is overtaken by Nazis, Frenchman Jean Baptiste (John Clements) tries to go to England. Armed with secret information about a German submarine base, Jean hopes to avenge his countrymen. Unfortunately, thanks to inquisitive soldiers and fifth columnists, Jean may never make it to the White Cliffs of Dover. On the plus side, however, Jean's fellow patriots do their best to sabotage the enemy until the (hopefully) inevitable day of Liberation. The strangest aspect of Tomorrow we Live is that all the Frenchmen are played by popular British actors, despite the influx of French expatriates in the United Kingdom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Clements, Godfrey Tearle, (more)
Major James Wilson (Lloyd Bridges) must lead his troops across the English channel in the D-day invasion of Normandy. He trains his regulars for the invasion knowing that many, if not all, may never survive the assault. Wilson is plagued by memories of previous missions that turned out to be suicidal. Captain Franklin (Andrew Keir) is the British officer who opposed the plan and has a personal vendetta against Wilson. The two are thrown together on the same mission when Franklin is slated to command the mine sweepers that transport Wilson's troops to their destination. They face overwhelming odds and a barrage of cannon fire from the Nazi stronghold on the Normandy coast. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Keir, Sue Lloyd, (more)
First shot as "Up the Pentagon," this comedy is about a sexy worker who shuns the quick-handed advances of her Pentagon boss and gets fired. To pay him back for her unjust dismissal, she and two other gals manipulate their way back into Pentagon jobs and go about setting up a bunch of top-level male lechers for early unscheduled retirements. This is a lady-payback type film with plenty of dirty talk, but not much else. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Dusenberry, Rhonda Shear, (more)
One of a small cluster of creepy films to come from England's Amalgamated Studios in the late '60s, this lesser entry details the twisted practices of a deranged German plastic surgeon (Anton Diffring) who hides out in France after mutilating a patient and begins his work anew under an assumed name. Staying mobile by traveling with a circus troupe, Diffring offers his services to disfigured female criminals, who pay him for his services by joining the circus as performers -- and by catering to his perverse whims. Naturally, it's not long before the ladies' gratitude begins to wear thin, and they begin to plan their escape... only to meet horrible ends in carefully-orchestrated catastrophes while performing. Viewers may find themselves haunted by Gary Mills's "Look for a Star" several days afterward like a cloying advertising jingle; the performance of a rug-topped Donald Pleasence (as the show's former owner, who meets with a sticky end) is a nice touch. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Diffring, Erika Remberg, (more)
Filmed in Ireland, Cry of the Innocent stars Rod Taylor as an American insurance executive on a grim mission. A private plane has exploded, killing Taylor's wife and children. Also on board was a scientist who was the target of the criminals who engineered the tragedy. The "maguffin" is a secret formula worth untold millions, and aiding Taylor in bringing the murderers to justice is journalist Joanna Pettet, who bears a close resemblance to Taylor's ex-wife (and no wonder, since Pettet plays both roles). Based on a novel by Frederick Forsyth, this made-for-TV espionager premiered on June 19, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this detective film, a Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find the "Daffodil Killer." The drug smugglers had devised the ingenious method of smuggling heroin from Hong Kong in the stems of daffodils. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, (more)
- 1953
Based on a novel by Martin Albrand, Desperate Moment is set in postwar Germany. Simon van Halder (Dirk Bogarde) serving a life term for murder, escapes to prove innocence. After linking up with his girlfriend Anna de Burgh (Mai Zetterling), Simon relates, in flashback, the events leading up to his current dilemma. He also explains why he initially confessed to the crime. To tell more would be to tell all. It's rather enjoyable to watch the hero and heroine outwitting both British and German authorities, who aren't depicted as stupid, simply not equipped for so resourceful a fugitive. Billed at the bottom of the cast list, Theodore Bikel has a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1954
In this thriller, shot on location in Rhodesia, an American insurance investigator looks into the strange death of a diamond broker who drowned while diving for diamonds off the African coast. The broker had been insured for over $1 million. The sleuth's prime suspect is the broker's fiancee. He trails her as she goes on a dangerous safari. He quickly finds out that the broker isn't dead at all. The two had designed the scam to raise money for the dive. The agent and the crook engage in a canoe chase that culminates in the crook's capture. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, (more)
This mystery, adapted from an Agatha Christie story, tells the tale of an ambitious British chauffeur who marries his American employer, one of the richest women in the US and persuades her to buy a palatial country estate. She literally loves it to death and that is where all the real trouble begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
From Russia With Love, the second in the series of James Bond films, is the film that solidifies all the Bond film elements into a formula -- the action sequences are intensified and lend greater tension to the proceedings; John Barry's inimitable score makes its first appearance; Q is seen for the first time; and Sean Connery as Bond has nailed down his role as 007 -- accentuating Bond's stylishness and sophistication, while toning down his cold-bloodedness. In From Russia With Love, the bad guys don't want to take over the world. They want something more mundane -- a Russian decoding device. Assigned to the mission of stealing the decoding device are No. 3, former KGB agent Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), and No. 5, Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal), an expert chess player who has plotted every move of the mission. Kronsteen's plan requires using Bond's weakness for women as an element in acquiring the decoding device. Once Bond obtains the decoding device from Russian cipher clerk Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), SPECTRE muscleman Red Grant (Robert Shaw) is to forcibly take it from Bond and kill him. But Bond suspects a trap. Being Bond, however, he can't resist the lure of a beautiful woman. So, flaunting danger, Bond travels to Istanbul to meet Tatiana. The centerpiece of this 007 feature is the thrilling fight to the death between Bond and enemy agent Red Grant aboard the Orient Express. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, (more)
- 1961
In this drama, an American agent for the OSS after the war, hides a large treasure in Czechoslovakia for a Nazi general. The general commits suicide before getting the jewels. The general's top aide then convinces the American to help him get them back. They enlist the aide of the general's daughter, a hooker and find the valuable stones. Later the Yankee and the hooker are double-crossed by the aide who was working with the prostitute's roomie. The roommate then kills the aide, and escapes on the Munich Express. The agent also boards the quickly moving train. He almost has his hands on the box of jewels when it slips from his fingers and falls into the rushing river below. As the cops arrive and take the roommate away, the agent and the general's daughter decide to start a new life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
If official documentation didn't exist, we'd never believe a fantastic yarn like I Was Monty's Double. Actor M.E. Clifton James plays himself, a British stock-company actor who becomes an unsung hero during World War II. It seems that James, serving his country as a junior officer, is the exact double of General Montgomery. Major John Mills trains James to impersonate Montgomery to the last detail, then sends the actor on a tour of North Africa, the better to divert the German's attentions away from the real "Monty." Based on James' own written reminiscences, I Was Monty's Double was released in the U.S. under the baffling title Hell, Heaven or Hoboken! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Cecil Parker, (more)
- 1958
The British Ice Cold in Alex was released in the US as Desert Attack. John Mills stars as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. Travelling to his destination by ambulance, Anson becomes acquainted with his fellow passengers, nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and South African officer Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). One of these worthies is a German spy-and only two of the passengers will survive until the fade-out. For its American release, Ice Cold in Alex was not only given a new title, but was also trimmed from 132 minutes to 79. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1983
This is a visually opulent story -- geared to a young adult level -- of King Charles the XII of Sweden and how he once tried for five years (1709-1714) to convince the Turks to help him conquer Czar Peter the Great of Russia -- and failed. According to this filmed version of history, seen through the eyes of a Swedish lieutenant, the Turks were equally willing to join with the Russians, or just send Charles back to Sweden. The line between tragedy and farce blurs as the king and his lieutenant try to find a way out of their predicament. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gösta Ekman, Jr., Lasse Aberg, (more)
- 1985
In this sequel to the original miniseries, Lili (Phoebe Cates), having discovered the true identity of her mother, now begins looking for her father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Adams, Deborah Raffin, (more)
- 1951
Lilli Marlene was inspired by the popular wartime German ballad. Lisa Daniely plays a French songstress who achieves radio fame during the Nazi occupation. She is spirited out of France by an American radio broadcaster (Hugh McDermott), but is recaptured by the Nazis and forced to make "Axis Sally" style pro-German propaganda speeches. After the war, the girl is tried for treason, but is cleared by the American who'd earlier gotten her out of France. Distressingly shoddy, Lilli Marlene was nonetheless a hit, thanks to the built-in popularity of the title song. It was followed by a less successful sequel, The Wedding of Lilli Marlene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh McDermott, Lisa Daniely, (more)
- 1983
This disappointing, pretentious farce by writer and director Peter Ustinov, who also stars as the incompetent but powerful Abki Aga, is based on a novel by Yashar Kemal about Memed (Simon Dutton) a man who escapes into the Turkish hills with the woman he loves (Leonie Mellinger), a woman already betrothed to the nephew of the region's governor (Aga). Even though Memed joins a band of brigands he is not successful when he first tries to kill Aga, who lords it over five different villages and has a sizeable army, and so he tries again. Unfortunately, Turkey is not only the setting, but an apt descriptive term for this 105-minute film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1959
In this crime drama, an impoverished but enamored bank clerk joins his brother's gang of bank robbers so he can afford to marry his sweetheart. Unfortunately, their latest caper fails and the bank clerk accidentally gets involved in a murder leaving him to take a hard look at the life he has chosen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This (13th) time around, "007" receives the usual call to come and visit "Mother" when another agent drops off a fake Faberge jeweled egg at the British embassy in East Berlin and is later killed at a traveling circus. Suspicions mount when the assistant manager of the circus Kamal (Louis Jourdan), outbids Bond for the real Faberge piece at Sotheby's. Bond follows Kamal to India where the superspy thwarts many an ingenious attack and encounters the antiheroine of the title (Maud Adams), an international smuggler who runs the circus as a cover for her illegal operations. It does not take long to figure out that Orlov (Steven Berkoff), a decidedly rank Russian general is planning to raise enough money with the fake Faberges to detonate a nuclear bomb in Europe and then defeat NATO forces once and for all in conventional warfare. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Maud Adams, (more)
- 1953
After causing the needless death of another officer during a near-miss air disaster, a distraught army officer resigns from the military. Still, the American wants to serve in the war effort and so, calling himself a Canadian, enlists in the British military to train as a paratrooper. Revealing nothing about his past, he proves himself obedient and exceptionally skilled. This rouses the suspicion of his commanding officer who starts investigating the trooper. Later, the trooper more than proves himself during a dangerous mission to North Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
