Patricia Hayes Movies
Comic British character actress Patricia Hayes specialized in playing shrill Cockney women and though her career spanned 70 years, she primarily appeared on television, where she earned the most acclaim from playing Edna the Inebriate Woman, for which she won an Academy Award from the British Academy of Film & Television Arts in 1972. Hayes made her feature-film debut in 1942, appearing in two films, 48 Hours and When We Are Married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1964
In this crime drama, a Mafioso decides to go straight and turn states evidence against the mob. The mob retaliates by kidnapping the squealer's son. To get him back, the ex-gangster enlists the aid of a dancer, a worker for the American embassy, and Scotland Yard. At the end of it all, the boy is returned and the Mafia is temporarily destroyed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- NR
In this comic British caper film, an LA computer whiz finds herself recruited by an eccentric British lawyer who wants her to use her skills to defraud a powerful London bank that has been using its money to exploit a Third World country for tourism. She accepts his offer and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Molina, Helen Slater, (more)
- 1967
When he inadvertently contacts an alien race, astronomer Dr. Joe Burke, accompanied by his building and those within it, is transported to another galaxy. Upon arrival, the humans see a futuristic scenario of Earth's fate, as this barbaric world was once a civilized society. Terrornauts is based on a Will F. Jenkins novel, The Wailing Asteroid which Jenkins published under his pseudonym of Murray Leinster. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, (more)
- 1967
The title character in this British sitcom was Jacquie Villiers (Moira Lister) who, after the death of her husband in a freak accident, discovered that she had inherited nothing but debts. To keep a roof over the heads of herself and her family, she tackled a variety of truly odd jobs, and also took in a boarder named Freddie Phillipson (Donald Hewlett). Debuting in 1967, The Very Merry Widow lasted until 1969, by which time its title had been adjusted to The Very Merry Widow and How. Of the series' 19 taped episodes, only two are presently known to exist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moira Lister, Molly Urquhart, (more)
The first BBC television film to be given a British theatrical release, Derek Jarman's War Requiem is a cinematic interpretation of composer Benjamin Britten's famed oratorio. Narrated by Lord Laurence Olivier, whose last film this was, War Requiem combines Britten's music with the words of English poet (and World War 1 casualty Wilfred Owen) and Jarman's stark, symbolic images--filmed, appropriately enough, in an old mental hospital. Throughout, the sacrifice of young lives to the horrors of war is likened to the Supreme Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As always, Jarman uses every opportunity to poke holes in Brtain's hidebound traditionalism. Though unrated, the violence quotient in War Requiem is enough to render the film unsuitable for young children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathaniel Parker, Tilda Swinton, (more)
- 1942
Released in the US as Forty-Eight Hours, Went the Day Well? is a solidly constructed wartime melodrama. Actually, the film covers 72 hours in the life of the small British village of Bramley Green, which serves as the focal point for an attempted German invasion. Immediately upon parachuting in the community, vicious Nazi officer Ortier (Basil Sydney) makes contact with local Fifth Columnist Oliver Wileford (Leslie Banks), using the film's British title as their password. Fortunately, Democracy is preserved when postmistress-telephone operator Mrs. Collins (Muriel George), picking up on a simple clue inadvertently left behind by the well-disguised Germans, alerts her neighbors of impending danger. The British home guardsmen and German soldiers seen in the film were drawn from the ranks of of the real-life Gloucestershire Regiment, who volunteered their services for this patriotic morale-booster. The episode screenplay of Went the Day Well (based on Graham Greene story) was unified by the direct-to-camera narration of the town gravedigger, a device deftly borrowed from Our Town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Banks, Basil Sydney, (more)
- 1943
Adapted from the stage hit by J. B. Priestly, When We Are Married is a barbed satire of smug British conservatism. Set in turn-of-the-century Yorkshire, the story concerns three middle-aged married couples, who tend to look askance towards anyone who does not come up to their high moral and religious standards. These pecksniffs are especially critical towards those who advocate a break from the repressive sexual taboos of the era. Imagine their dismay, then, when all three couples discover that they're not legally married. Their efforts to hide this fact, and their eventual comeuppance, provides several hearty laughs. When We Are Married remains a favorite of the British repertory circuit, due to its large number of colorful and well-rounded characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Pearson, Raymond Huntley, (more)
Though Willow was one of director Ron Howard's few box-office disappointments, it definitely deserves a second look. At once an epic celebration and a gentle spoof of the sword-and-sorcery genre, the film concerns the efforts by little person Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) to protect a sacred infant from the machinations of a wicked queen (Jean Marsh). One source book has assessed the picture as a combination of The Ten Commandments and Snow White. This is true enough, except that neither one of those properties offered such offbeat casting choices as Billy Barty and Jean Marsh. Executive producer George Lucas has (through the conduit of screenwriter Bob Dolman) added elements of his own Star Wars saga to the stew. The results are generally satisfactory, though the film is sometimes weighed down by too much plot, and the action sequences may not be suitable for very young children. Incidentally, this is the film where co-star Val Kilmer met his future wife Joanne Whalley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, (more)
