Bill Travers Movies

In the plant world, few can rival the strange activities of the carnivorous species. The various sundews, flytraps, and pitcher plants use remarkable means of deception to lure insects into their traps. In this episode of the PBS series Nature, the viewer learns how insects are tricked into the sticky entrances or surfaces and are unable to exit. Nature: Death Trap offers extreme close-up photography and time-lapse film to depict the before-and-after sequences, as the hapless insects are attracted to the colorful, enticing plants from which they cannot escape. ~ Alice Day, Rovi

A hound puppy and an orphaned fox cub grow up together and are forced to face their differences when they reach adulthood. ~ Rovi

Somewhat of a sequel both to the 1966 film Born Free and 1971's The Lion at the World's End, George Adamson (Bill Travers) works at re-introducing to the wild a lion that was born in a London zoo. ~ John Bush, Rovi

This African adventure presents many interesting sights as it tells the story of a tourist couple who inadvertently find themselves taking care of three orphaned elephants. Later their adventures lead the couple to meet the famous Adamsons (of Born Free fame). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

While on location in Kenya filming Born Free, actor Bill Travers became fascinated with the tame lions with which he was "costarred." Three years later, Travers brought into being the feature-length documentary Lions are Free. Like Born Free, the film explores the advisability of granting freedom to lions that have been raised in captivity. And also like Born Free, The Lions are Free was lensed in its entirety in Kenya. The same year that Lions was released, Travers offered a similar location-filmed effort, An Elephant Called Slowly; seven years later, he continued in this vein with Christian the Lion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frontier scout Jess Remsberg (James Garner) is crossing the desert when he spots a dead army scout and group of Apaches pursuing someone -- it turns out to be a white woman, Ellen Grange (Bibi Andersson); he gets her away from them and returns her to her home and her husband Willard (Dennis Weaver), who seems much more upset that the horse she was riding when she left is dead than he is glad that she is back. Ellen was kidnapped by the Apaches two years before and rescued a year after that, and had fled a town where her husband and everyone else had treated her as an outcast since her return. Apart from preventing her from being raped by some drunken townsmen, however, Remsberg barely has time to worry over what goes on between them, as he has a mission of his own -- tracking down the men who murdered his wife, a Comanche woman. A key clue is in the hands of the town marshal in Fort Conchos and to get there he has to scout for a cavalry unit bringing horses, ammunition, and fresh recruits to the fort, with Grange and his wife -- and the infant son she had by the Indian chieftain who took her as his squaw -- going along, with ex-buffalo soldier-turned-horse wrangler Toler (Sidney Poitier). Their party ends up under siege by Chata (John Hoyt), the Apache Indian chief and grandfather to Ellen Grange's baby, who has jumped the reservation; he wants his grandson back, and the ammunition the troop was carrying, and also intends on killing Ellen for inadvertently causing the death of his son. They all end up trapped in a box canyon while Remsberg tries to survive to get help from Fort Conchos. If this all sounds complicated, it's not, especially as told by director Nelson, in a straightforward, unpretentious, brisk, and decidedly violent fashion that anticipates his own Soldier Blue, made four years later. Every plot element links up neatly in this script, which quite effectively recalls (and weaves together) elements of the book and the movie Hondo as well as any number of revenge westerns of the 1960's. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

It's probably no surprise that Invasion Quartet has four leading actors; what might be surprising, especially to the unwary war-film fan, is that film is a comedy. British funster Spike Milligan joins the sobersided Bill Travers, John LeMesurier and Gregoire Aslan; the foursome are undercover agents, travelling by train behind Nazi lines. It's all part of a plan to disarm a huge German gun that is aimed at the port of Dover. Just so the audience knows it's supposed to be laughing, the creators of Invasion Quartet pile joke upon joke by having the Nazis portrayed as bumbling buffoons. What works for Hogan's Heroes does not necessarily add to the effectiveness of Invasion Quartet. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gorgo is an attempt to make a Japanese-style "giant reptile" flick in an English setting. The story begins when underwater volcanic activity in the Irish Sea brings forth a 65-foot monster called Gorgo. Enterprising Joe (Bill Travers) and Sam (William Sylvester) capture the beast and transport it to London, where Gorgo is put on display as a seaside carnival attraction. This proves to be a major mistake when Gorgo's even larger mother lumbers to the surface in search of her cute li'l baby. In short order, London is trampled and trashed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bridal Path is standard comedy fare about a young man, Ewan McEwan (Bill Travers) sent out from his island home to go bride-hunting. The introverted, taciturn Ewan is reaching marriageable age just when the island's elders come up with a new decree. They have decided that there is too much in-breeding on their fair shores and as a consequence, they forbid first cousins to marry. With his bridal selection almost curtailed at home, Ewan heads off to the mainland with a little book of commandments on what to look for and what to avoid in a potential lifetime mate. Aside from encounters with several charming, winsome young women, Ewan soon discovers that the police are after him -- and he does not know why. The chase is on, though all misunderstandings are eventually cleared up. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this drama, set in a progressive Jamaican school, a hard working teacher endeavors to inspire a troubled young female student while simultaneously coping with his romantic troubles involving two women, a flight attendant, and the headmaster's wife who is always trying to break he and the other woman up. Not only does her jealousy affect his other relationship, it also destroys the trust between the teacher and his student, especially after the student catches him kissing the headmaster's wife. The ensuing scene causes the frightened young woman to flee into the face of a hurricane. Her death awakens the teacher who reconsiders his actions and returns to the flight attendant. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A remake of The Painted Veil (which was itself based upon a novel by W. Somerset Maugham), The Seventh Sin stars Eleanor Parker as Carol Carwin, a cold, self-centered woman married to a caring, dedicated doctor (played by Bill Travers). Ignorant of what a fine man she is married to and eager for excitement, Carol has been having an affair with the more sensually appealing Paul Duvelle (Jean-Pierre Aumont). Dr. Carwin, about to leave on an expedition to Hong Kong to fight a terrible outbreak of cholera, confronts his wife about her infidelity. He gives her an ultimatum: she can either accompany him on his mission of mercy, or he will divorce her in a very public, very messy manner that will leave her a social outcast. Given this choice -- and given the fact that Duvelle would be appalled at the idea of such a scandal -- she goes with her husband. She is bored and angry in Hong Kong, amused only when in the company of the cynical Tim Waddington (George Sanders). Gradually, however, she comes to value her husband and her heart genuinely goes out to the victims of the epidemic, especially the children. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Ava Gardner was never more alluring than as the half-caste heroine of Bhowani Junction. Set during India's battle for independence from Britain, the film begins with Gardner returning to her native land after spending several years in England. Her true loyalties, and her own sense of who she really is, are put to the test by the two men in her life: Stewart Granger, whose job it is to prevent saboteurs from destroying the trains at Bhowani Junction, and Bill Travers, another half-caste. When she kills a potential rapist in self-defense, Gardner is given comfort by Communist insurrectionist Peter Illing, further dividing her fidelities. A climactic attempt on the life of Mahatma Gandhi provides a rousing finish to this romantic melodrama. Bhowani Junction was adapted from the novel by John Masters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Footsteps in the Fog is a cat-and-mouse Victorian melodrama in the grand tradition. Jean Simmons plays scheming servant girl Lily Watkins, who was hired by sinister nobleman Stephen Lowry (Stewart Granger) and his ailing wife. The wife dies of "natural causes," but Lily knows better, and uses this knowledge to her advantage. In exchange for her silence, she forces Lowry to cater to her every whim. He is forced to go along lest he face the gallows, but in a switch reminiscent of the "lost" ending of 1987's Fatal Attraction, he sees to it that Lily herself is carted away by the constabulary. Filmed in appropriately dank Technicolor, Footsteps in the Fog is an unusual foray into Gaslight territory for director Arthur Lubin, normally a comedy specialist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi