Anne Cunningham Movies
- 1973
Man at the Top was a theatrical-film spin-off of a popular British TV series, inspired by the earlier movies Room at the Top and Life at the Top. Kenneth Haigh starred in the series as Joe Lampton, the successful but emotionally empty business executive portrayed in the earlier films by Laurence Harvey. In Man at the Top, Lampton (Haigh again) endures a crisis of conscience. He knows that his pharmaceutical firm is about to market an untested and possibly dangerous drug. He is also bound by ties of familial loyalty: His boss (Harry Andrews) happens to be his father-in-law. Nanette Newman, a busy doe-eyed ingenue of the 1960s, is quietly effective as the middle-aged Mrs. Lampton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Doctor in Clover is the next-to-last entry in the British "Doctor" comedy film series. After losing his government job, doctor Gaston Grimsdyke (Leslie Phillips) signs up for a medical school course with his old tutor-nemesis Sir Lancelot Spratt (welcome back, James Robertson Justice). What follows is the standard melange of double- and single entendres, not to mention the usual dalliances with such underdressed lovelies as Shirley Ann Field, Fenella Fielding and Elizabeth Ercy. A subplot involves a rejuvenation serum that is disastrously applied to the behemothlike Sir Lancelot. Though allegedly based on the original "Doctor" novel by Richard Gordon, any resemblance is purely coincidental.Doctor in Clover was also released as Carnaby MD, in deference to the "Swinging London" craze. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Phillips, Shirley Ann Field, (more)
- 1966
Steed and Emma investigate when several top executives are murdered, and their secretaries are given major promotions. The cause of it all is an aggressively anti-male band of secretaries, led by a puppet named Henrietta. To flush out the villainesses, Steed poses as a big businessman, while Emma pretends to be. . .guess what? Written by Brian Clemens, "How to Succeed. . .at Murder" was originally telecast in England on March 19, 1966, then showed up on American television June 13, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Roy Kinnear, the diminutive British comic actor who gained international fame in the films of Richard Lester, followed his first TV triumph That Was the Week That Was with this weekly, 25-minute sitcom. Kinnear starred as Stanley Blake, a gormless young man who regularly escaped his humdrum existence by retreating into the world of his vivid imagination. Anne Cunningham co-starred as Stanley's wife Helen, who played a variety of "alternate reality" roles in her husband's Mitty-esque dreams. Created by Dave Freeman, A World of His Own debuted in 1964, lasting two seasons and 13 episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Kinnear, Anne Cunningham, (more)
- 1963
It's Hoppity Goes To Town with sex in this 1963 British version of the old chestnut concerning an innocent country lass who travels to the big city and becomes corrupted, in this film version of Patrick Hamilton's novel The Street Has a Thousand Skies. Janet Munro runs the gamut of emotions as Jennie, a young girl from Wales who, with her girlfriend, is seduced and abandoned by a couple of heartless creeps in London, where she is later befriended by a kindly bartender John Stride. But Jennie snubs the bartender and takes up with a an unfeeling playboy. However, Jennie has gone around the park one time too many and is now torn between going back home or committing suicide. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Munro, John Stride, (more)
Adapted by David Storey from his own novel, This Sporting Life stars Richard Harris as Frank, an athletic coal miner who aspires to the greener pastures of professional rugby. Soon establishing himself as one of the most brutal and arrogant players in the business, Frank begins to amass a fortune. He also falls in love with his landlady, Mrs. Hammond (Rachel Roberts), who initially resists his advances. When she finally gives in, their relationship hinges on sex alone, as Frank practically begs Mrs. Hammond to give of herself emotionally and she remains incapable. At the wedding ceremony for one of Frank's teammates, Mrs. Hammond unexpectedly lashes out at her swaggering lover. They split up, but Frank, who until now has equated happiness with wealth, is unable to get over the permanent loss. In the end, with nothing else left, all of Frank's self-worth becomes contingent on his rugby performances, though Frank and the other players are exploited to such a degree that this also proves disastrous. Widely regarded as one of the finest British feature films ever produced, the gritty and bleak This Sporting Life not only marked former documentary filmmaker Lindsay Anderson's first feature, but became one of the harbingers of the "Angry Young Man" school of filmmaking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, (more)
- 1934
In an early pro-ecology effort, Jean Parker stars as a girl dwelling in the High Sierras. Awkward with humans, her best friends are the surrounding animals, especially her pet deer and puma. When hunters invade the territory, she struggles to protect the local wildlife. The outdoor photography is this film's principal asset; things grind to a halt whenever anyone opens his or her mouth to speak. Sequoia was based on a novel by Anne Cunningham called Malibu, and was later reissued under that title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Parker, Samuel S. Hinds, (more)
