Peter Ustinov Movies
Hirsute, puckish "renaissance man" Peter Ustinov was born in England to parents of Russian lineage. Trained at the London Theatre Studio, Ustinov was on stage from the age of 17, performing sketches written by himself in the 1939 revue Late Joys. In 1940, the year that his first play, Fishing for Shadows, was staged, the 19-year-old Ustinov appeared in his first film. Just before entering the British army, Ustinov penned his first screenplay, The True Glory (1945). School for Secrets (1946) was the first of several films starring, written, and directed by Ustinov; others include Vice Versa (1946), Private Angelo (1949), Romanoff and Juliet (1961) (adapted from his own stage play), and Lady L (1965). Perhaps Ustinov's most ambitious film directorial project was Billy Budd (1962), a laudable if not completely successful attempt to transfer the allegorical style of Herman Melville to the screen. As an actor in films directed by others, Ustinov has sparkled in parts requiring what can best be described as "justifiable ham" -- he was Oscar-nominated for his riveting performance as the addled Nero in 1951's Quo Vadis and has won the Best Supporting Actor prize for Spartacus (1961) and Topkapi (1964). Never one to turn down a good television assignment, Ustinov has appeared on American TV in such guises as King George and Dr. Samuel Johnson, winning the first of his three Emmy awards for the latter characterization; he is also a frequent talk show guest, regaling audiences with his droll wit and his mastery over several dialects. While he has never starred on-camera in a weekly TV series, his voice could be heard essaying virtually all the roles on the 1981 syndicated cartoon series Dr. Snuggles. The closest he has come to repeating himself was with his frequent theatrical film and TV-movie appearances as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, in the late '70s and early '80s. The author of several plays (the most popular of which included Love of Four Colonels and Photo Finish) and books (including two autobiographies), Peter Ustinov was still going strong into the 1990s, making a long-overdue return to Hollywood in the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1976
From producers BBC/Time Life the Europe - The Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. The programs are given a voice by Peter Ustinov and historian Jonathon Terrine. In Glory of Europe - 1900: Hey Day Fever the series looks at Europe at the opening of the 20th century. Leaders in technology, economics, arts, and science, the Europeans seemed to be destined for greater and greater prosperity. This program explores some of the seeds of disaster that lay just below this prosperous surface. The program examines Germany's envy of Britain's colonial empire and France's reconstruction and resentment after the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From producers BBC/Time Life the Europe - The Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. The programs are given a voice by Peter Ustinov and historian Jonathon Terrine. In Europe the Mighty Continent: English, D-Day & The Holocaust the series contrasts the two World Wars, noting that the most tragic difference between the events was the brutality visited upon civilian populations in WWII. From the terrifying development of Nazi extermination camps to the indiscriminant carpet bombings of major cities, the devastation of civilian populations became an important component of WWII strategy. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From producers BBC/Time Life the Europe - The Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. The programs are given a voice by Peter Ustinov and historian Jonathon Terrine. In Europe the Mighty Continent: Allies - The End of War, the series explores the promises and betrayals that happened so rapidly in the wake of Hitler's defeat in WWII. How Poland was duped into enduring the occupation of the brutal communism of Stalin, as was Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. In Britain the population voted out the Conservatives, rejecting their wartime hero Winston Churchill and making way for the rise of the Labour Party. In France it was DeGaulle who suffered defeat in the rapid changes that swept Europe in the wake of WWII. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From producers BBC/Time Life, the Europe the Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. The programs are given a voice by Peter Ustinov and historian Jonathon Terrine. In Europe the Mighty Continent: Aftermath -- How the Mighty Have Fallen the series looks at the erection of the Iron Curtain and the Truman Doctrine which stood in opposition to the spreading communism. Also examined is the Berlin Blockade which brought the world to the edge of nuclear destruction. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From the BBC and Time Life, the Europe the Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. This rich history is given voice by Peter Ustinov and historian John Terrine. In Results of War: Making A Good Peace, the aftermath of WWI is examined. Experts detail the challenges faced by the European nations whose populations and material resources were decimated. Facing those same challenges -- and the additional difficulty of a civil war -- was Russia, whose transition from monarchy to communist collective was often bloody and chaotic. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From the BBC and Time Life, the Europe the Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. This rich history is given voice by Peter Ustinov and historian John Terrine. This program explores Europe in the wake of WWII. It chronicles the 1956 crackdowns by Soviet troops in Poland and Hungary as Western Europe looked the other way, preferring to focus on its own stunning economic recovery. The Suez crisis is also explored as one of the last battles in the fight to end Western European imperialism. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From the BBC and Time Life, the Europe the Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. This rich history is given voice by Peter Ustinov and historian John Terrine. This program examines Woodrow Wilson's dream of creating a world body that would insure a conflict like WWI could never happen again. Though his dream came true with the creation of the League of Nations, it is impossible to ignore the bitter irony that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union joined. The program also explores the political developments that occurred so rapidly at the close of hostilities. And the development of dictatorships in Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, and Italy are considered by Ustinov and Terrine. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1976
From the BBC and Time Life, the Europe the Mighty Continent series explores the immense changes that have taken place on the European continent over the last century. This rich history is given voice by Peter Ustinov and historian John Terrine. In Europe the Mighty Continent - Great War: This Generation Has No Future, the focus is on WWI. War has been an element in the history of man since the beginning, but WWI marked a new development, as country after country was dragged into the conflict creating the first "mass war." The program examines how new weapons, new technologies, and new rules for conducting the business of war led to human casualties in numbers never before seen. The program traces events from the Communist takeover in Russia, to America's entry into the conflict, and finally to Germany's defeat, allowing an end to the hostilities. ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
In a hermetically sealed, post-apocalyptic urban environment several centuries hence, Logan 5 (Michael York) and his friend Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) lead unquestioning lives of hedonism. Entertainment comes in the form of casual sexual liaisons and gladiatorial games in which those who do not wish to undergo euthanasia at the age of 30 vie for the illusory chance of continued life. As "sandmen," Logan and Francis are charged with tracking down and killing "runners" -- those citizens who will submit to neither "renewal" (a peaceful death) nor "carousel" (a gladiatorial battle) when their time comes. When Logan grows intrigued by a beautiful young woman, Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter), who plans to become a runner, he is forced to question the fundamental principles of his society. And when his superiors force him to pose as a runner himself to weed out Jessica's guerilla underground, Logan finds himself fleeing the city in search of a mythical place called Sanctuary where people are allowed to live out their natural spans. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael York, Richard Jordan, (more)
- 1975
In this comical Disney espionage adventure, a herd of nannies team up with Scotland Yard and set off to find important microfilm that was concealed, by a wicked Chinese spy, within the skeleton of a dinosaur that now sits in the British Natural History Museum ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Helen Hayes, (more)
Robin Hood is one of the first animated films produced by the Walt Disney Company after Walt Disney's death in 1967. For the film, the studio's animators took the Disney tradition of adding human-like animal sidekicks to established tales (Cinderella, Pinnochio) a step further by making Robin Hood's legendary characters creatures themselves. Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) is a wily fox; Maid Marian (Monica Evans) is a beautiful vixen; Little John (Phil Harris) is a burly bear; Friar Tuck (Andy Devine) is a soft-spoken badger; the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram) is a greedy wolf; and the scheming Prince John (Peter Ustinov) is a sniveling, groveling, thumb-sucking undersized lion with a serpent sidekick named Sir Hiss (Terry Thomas). The film begins after Prince John and Sir Hiss have tricked the true King into leaving the country on a phony crusade. With the help of the Sheriff of Nottingham, they tax the life out of Nottingham's peasants, leaving them all penniless but with the courageous Robin Hood as their only hope. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Bedford, Andy Devine, (more)
- 1972
- R
Loosely based on the Faust legend, Hammersmith is Out stars Richard Burton as the title character, a mental patient confined to the sanitarium owned by a loony doctor (Peter Ustinov, who also directed). Befriending a lackadaisical orderly named Billy Breedlove (Beau Bridges), the satanic Hammersmith offers Billy untold wealth and power if he'll help him escape. Once on the outside, Hammersmith keeps his promises to Billy, with the help of slovenly hash-slinger Jimmie Jean Jackson (Elizabeth Taylor). When time comes to pay the piper, however, Hammersmith and Jimmie Jean conspire to leave Billy hanging out to dry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, (more)
- 1971
The second NBC cartoon special inspired by Jean de Brunhoff's delightful "Babar" books, Babar Comes to America, like its predecessor Babar, the Little Elephant (1968), was produced by Mendelson-Melendez studios, and narrated by Peter Ustinvo. Based on Travels of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff and Babar in America by de Brunhoff's son Laurent De Brunhoff, the story finds Babar, elephant monarch of Celesteville, being invited to America to star in a movie. Accompanied by his wife Queen Celeste, Babar encounters all manner of difficulties as he makes his way to the States, but finally arrives in Hollywood--where he's in for quite a surprise. John Scott Trotter and Tom Adair provided the original songs for Babar Comes to America, which first aired on September 7, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov
- 1969
This comedy was banned in Mexico and plagued by vandalism and threats of violence during film production in San Antonio, Texas. General De Santos (Peter Ustinov) organizes a ragtag group of Mexican nationals for the purpose of retaking the Alamo. Using the Washington's Birthday Parade in Laredo as a guise to enter the United States, the group continues towards San Antonio ignored and unchallenged. With the help of Sergeant Valdez (John Astin), the unlikely invaders manage to raise the Mexican flag over the old mission for 24 hours. General Billy Joe Hallson (Jonathan Winters) is a colorful redneck called on to lead the National Guard to the site of the occupied landmark. Keenan Wynn, Alice Ghostley, Pamela Tiffin and Harry Morgan also star in this film farce. During filming, one irate Texan was arrested after waving a rifle in protest over the raising of the Mexican flag over the Alamo, long a symbol of Texas' pride and history. Electric cables were cut during the filming of this production, as some Texans could not even tolerate the fictional premise of the plot. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Pamela Tiffin, (more)
- 1968
This comedy finds a veteran crook turning to modern computer technology to steal money from various companies. Even before he is released from jail Caesar (Peter Ustinov) is planning his high-tech heist. He cons American executive Klemper (Karl Malden) and sets up three bogus companies to receive funds from the corporate office. Klemper's faithful assistant Gnatpole (Bob Newhart) is suspicious and investigates the unusual activities. Smith (Robert Morley) gives Caesar the computer lesson that puts him on the fast track to thievery. Caesar marries Patty (Maggie Smith), who surprises her husband by earning more money than her crooked spouse by honest means. Cesar Romero is the smiling customs official who lets Caesar pass through with a bagful of money from the crime while Klemper's jar of instant coffee falls under suspicion. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, (more)
Blackbeard's Ghost was one of the first Disney productions released after Walt's death. Peter Ustinov stars as the eponymous wraith, who returns to Earth to come to aid of his descendant, elderly Elsa Lanchester. The villains want to kick Lanchester and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Dean Jones evokes the spirit of Blackbeard to thwart the bad guys. The supporting cast ranges from Richard Deacon to Gil Lamb, while Peter Ellenshaw performs the visual effects with mattes, miniatures, and process screens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, (more)
- 1968
French artist-writer Jean de Brunoff's Babar the Elephant first saw the light of the animation board in this 1968 TV cartoon special. Peter Ustinov narrates the story of the little pachyderm who eventually became king of Elephant Land. De Brunoff's implicit approval of French colonialism (in disturbingly racist fashion; Babar's subjects are mostly subservient monkeys) is soft-pedalled in favor of the whimsical elements of the Babar ouevre. Mendelson-Melendez productions, already famous for its Peanuts TV special, admirably transfers de Brunoff's distinctive artistic style to the small screen. The first of several prime time Babar specials (and the forerunner of the Canadian-produced weekly cartoon series of the late 1980s), The Story of Babar the Little Elephant originally aired October 21, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The humorous title of this story taken from the novel by Graham Greene gives the viewer the wrong impression. The story concerns the residents of a once-posh hotel in Haiti and the fate of the country's people under the despotic dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) is the philandering wife of a South American ambassador Peter Ustinov. She seeks solace in the arms of hotel-owner Brown (Richard Burton), whose main focus is to keep making improvements on his crumbling building. Alec Guinness plays Jones, the suave charlatan who claims to be a retired military officer to hide his vocation as a shadowy weapons dealer. Brown later gets a sudden twinge of morality and decides to go off to the mountains to help the rebels in their heroic cause. Watch for silent film great Lillian Gish as Mrs. Smith in this plodding drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1966
Socrates falls from grace, and becomes the lone voice of democracy amongst the corruption of his fellow Athenians in this television adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play. The fall has been hard on the great philosopher. He walks about his city ragged and sans footwear, causing his wife untold shame. His raving about truth and democracy is more than embarrassing to the city's crooked politicians, and they devise a plan to silence him forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Lady L (Sophia Loren) is an 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous adventures in flashback in this light sex comedy. While working as a laundress, Lady L falls for the gambler and anarchist Armand (Paul Newman), who gets mixed up with an inept group trying to assassinate the senile Prince Otto (Peter Ustinov). She ends up marrying the suave aristocrat Dicky (David Niven) in this entertaining but uneven feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, (more)
- 1964
Politics and sports clash in this occasionally funny spoof centered around a downed U2 pilot and an extravagant oil sheik. John Goldfarb (Richard Crenna), a former football player, now pilot, sent on a reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union, is lost and crash-lands in the Middle Eastern kingdom of Fawzia. King Fawz (Peter Ustinov) is constructing a football team to defeat Notre Dame and demands that Goldfarb coach his team or be handed over as a spy. In the interests of international relations, the U.S. State Department not only complies with King Fawz's request to bring the Notre Dame team to his country but in true diplomatic form insists that they throw the game. The romantic interest appears in the form of Jenny Ericson (Shirley MacLaine), an American reporter on an undercover assignment in the king's harem. A pleasant view in scanty harem garb, she lends mild amusement to the story with attempts to avoid the king's amourous advances. Although the humor falls short of its potential, the film was fortuitously saved from obscurity due to publicity generated by an unsuccessful lawsuit brought agianst the studio by the University of Notre Dame, which objected to a scene involving Notre Dame players fraternizing with harem girls. The screenplay for John Goldfarb, Please Come Home was written by William Peter Blatty who was later known for his award winning novel and screenplay The Exorcist. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, Richard Crenna, (more)
After years of enduring movie lampoons of his 1955 crime-caper classic Rififi, director Jules Dassin topped them all with his own spoof, Topkapi. It's a rather disreputable crew that teams for the elaborate jewel theft masterminded by Maximillian Schell. Sexy Melina Mercouri (Mrs. Dassin) is probably the best of the batch: the others are faffling Robert Morley, unreliable Gilles Segal and Jess Hahn. Bumbling Peter Ustinov (who won an Oscar for his performance) is duped into helping the thieves, and soon finds himself uneasily straddling both sides of the law. As in Rififi, the theft itself (taking place in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace museum) is played out in near-complete silence. We won't tell you how the crooks are foiled; just be advised that money flies out the door when something else flies in the window. Topkapi was based on The Light of Day, a somewhat more somber novel by Eric Ambler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, (more)
Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd is adapted for the screen, distinguished by Robert Krasker's expressive black-and-white cinematography and Peter Ustinov's crisp direction. Terence Stamp is Billy Budd, a seaman forced to serve in the British Navy during the war between England and France in 1797. Billy looks upon all men as inherently good and, although his crewmates are initially skeptical about this sailor who appears too good to be true, he proves his mettle by his skills as a sailor and gains the respect of the crew -- all except for the ship's reviled master-at-arms John Claggert (Robert Ryan), who attempts to poison Billy's reputation by accusing him of instigating a mutiny. When the ship's captain, Edward Vere (Peter Ustinov), questions Billy about the charges, Billy reacts by striking Claggert, who falls over and dies from a blow on the head. A court-martial is called and Vere has to determine whether Billy should be hanged or acquitted. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, (more)
- 1962
Director Gualtiero Jacopetti and his "mondo" films started an entire category of degrading shockumentaries which deal with topics like cannibalism, animal torture and killing, sexual oddities, and all manner of animalistic, brutal behavior in human culture. La Donna nel Mondo is one in this series which tended to go from bad to worse. This is anything but an anthropological, sympathetic overview of women in world cultures but more a voyeuristic tour at what might seem to be the most shocking scenes to a Eurocentric audience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
