Carol Lynley Movies
A busy teenaged model, Carol Lynley rose to fame by virtue of a series of popular hair-conditioner commercials. Her first important acting assignment was as a high-school-age murderess on a 1958 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, directed by Robert Altman. The blonde ingenue played a more sedate role in her first film, Disney's The Light in the Forest. Carol Lynley continued essaying a variety of sympathetic and menacing roles into the 1990s, earning extensive press coverage for her portrayal of film-legend Jean Harlow in a 1965 "electronivision" production, released at the same time as another Harlow biography starring Carroll Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This is a remake of a 1936 sci-fi, future dystopia tale by H.G. Wells, but the drama, as interpreted by director George McCowan and scripter Martin Lager is not altered to accommodate today's more demanding audiences. As a result, the story, characters, and dialogue are a little weak. After a nuclear holocaust has forced people on earth to set up house on the moon (covered by an insulating, glass-like bubble), their continuing existence depends on some medication to fight off the effects of radiation (!). The trouble is that this medicine is now controlled by the villainous Omus (Jack Palance) who lives on the planet where the miracle drug is made. He is in the process of blackmailing the earth people into accepting him as a dictator when a group of them sneak out in a rocket to defeat him and save the day, whatever the day is on the moon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1967
Another semi-successful attempt to adapt the works of American fantasist H.P. Lovecraft to the screen, this is loosely based on the short story The Shuttered Room (also an alternate release title for the film), a story which is purported to be more the work of "posthumous collaborator" August Derleth. The story involves a couple's return to the creepy old ancestral home, located on an island in New England, in which they soon discover the dark secret hidden behind a heavily-locked door in the attic... a door the fearful townsfolk declare "must never be opened." Oliver Reed delivers one of his patented gruff, over-the-top performances as the local nutcase, and director David Greene creates a suitably moody atmosphere, but much like the Roger Corman-produced The Dunwich Horror, this film fails to act on the spooky potential of its theme. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gig Young, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1968
Filmed on location in Austria and Italy, the made-for-TV The Smugglers stars Shirley Booth as an American tourist and Carol Lynley as her stepdaughter/travelling companion. Attempting to sneak a few souvenirs past customs, the ladies inadvertently become the couriers for an international smuggling ring. Booth and Lynley unknowingly face death at every turn as the desperate smugglers chase them up and down the Tyrol. With gratuitous violence and murders galore, The Smugglers was a curiously chosen offering for NBC's Christmas Eve 1968 premiere slot. Perhaps the network was embarrassed by the project and sincerely hoped it would be pre-empted by coverage of the Apollo 8 space mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This routine tale of an aspiring actress on the verge of a sharp decline is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and features Joanne Woodward in a skillful and engaging portrayal of Lila, the would-be thespian. The setting is a small town in the plains state of Kansas where Lila finds herself stranded when her job falls apart. Thanks to her friend Helen (Clair Trevor) she is not left out in the cold. Helen's household includes only one other person, her adult son Kenny (Richard Beymer) who is captivated by Lila, and the two have a brief, one-night stand. Kenny gets cold feet when it comes to commitment, spurring Lila to go out looking for any work at all. Her sleazy boyfriend-manager Ricky suggests stripping for the conventions that come and go, and Lila finds herself on the brink of a downhill slide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, (more)
- 1977
- PG
When a lucrative government contract is set to be awarded by honest government worker Jim Hawley (Tom Selleck), a low-life businessman (Barry Sullivan) attempts to get his hands on the contract by setting Hawley up for an elaborate blackmail scheme. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The life and times of Spanish superstar Julio Iglesias are dramatized in this semi-autobiographical outing that stars the great crooner himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Jack Lemmon stars as Hogan, who lives a bachelor's dream as the manager of an apartment building that caters only to single women. Hogan likes to romance his tenants, and he sets his sights on a newcomer named Robin (Carol Lynley). Robin and her boyfriend David (Dean Jones) have moved in together, intending to see how compatible they are while maintaining a platonic relationship. This arrangement is the result of a suggestion from Irene (Edie Adams), a marriage counselor who is subletting her apartment to Robin while living with her own boyfriend, Charles (Robert Lansing). Irene thinks that Robin and David need to discover whether they are suitable as marriage partners without letting sex cloud their judgment. Hogan finds out about the arrangement and schemes to get David away so he can seduce Robin. The film is based on a hit stage play by Lawrence Roman. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Carol Lynley, (more)
The excessive violence in this action thriller makes New York City look like the site of a civil war -- or rather, a nauseatingly uncivil war fought between factory workers allied with neighborhood citizens against their enemies: drug pushers and other low-lifes. At first the worker Eddie Merino (Robert Forster) refuses to join a vigilante movement, but when his wife is stabbed and his son killed by a Puerto Rican gang, Eddie eventually opts for his own right to kill. His decision is not allowed to come quickly, he is made to agonize a bit longer. When the gang leader (singer Willie Colón) who killed Eddie's son is caught and brought up for trial, he gets off with a suspended sentence because of a corrupt defense lawyer and an inept judge. Eddie attacks the judge in court and is sent to jail for contempt. When he gets out of jail, he becomes a vigilante, out to kill the guilty or those he sees as protecting the guilty in the death of his son. From then on, a non-stop bloodbath takes over as the star of the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, (more)
- 1970
In this drama, two kidnappers begin looking for a new victim after they accidentally kill their latest hostage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
