Charles Morgan Movies

The returning soldier is amnesia victim Alan Bates, who remembers nothing of his life before suffering shell-shock--not even his long-term marriage to snooty Julie Christie. Spinsterish Ann-Margret, who has long harbored a fondness for Bates, hopes to take advantage of his memory loss. But both Christie and Ann-Margret are challenged by a third woman, Bates' childhood sweetheart Glenda Jackson. Poor Bates deals with all of this by not dealing with it. A fairly faithful rendition of the Rebecca West novel on which it is based, Return of the Soldier ambles along at its own languid pace to a inconclusive conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

English musical-comedy star Tommy Steele plays the title role in Quincy's Quest. It's the night before Christmas, and all toy-store rejects are due to be tossed into the furnace. This includes Quincy, a most lifelike doll. In a last-ditch effort to save himself and his "unwanted" chums from incineration, Quincy goes on a long and perilous journey in search of Santa Claus. Charles Morgan narrates this low-key British fantasy, which costars Mel Martin, Frederick Schiller and Gretchen Franklyn. Quincy's Quest was first offered for American TV syndication during the month of December, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Beginning February 4, 1978, the six-episode "The Invasion of Time" was the final adventure of Doctor Who's 15th season. The Doctor (Tom Baker) returns to his home planet, Gallifrey, to assume the presidency of the Time Lords. Almost immediately, he is handed his first assignment: to help a group of telepaths called the Vardans. It is, however, the second part of the assignment that gives the Doctor pause. The script for "The Invasion of Time, Episode 1" was credited to David Agnew -- actually the joint pen name of Graham Williams and Anthony Read. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Val Guest, veteran director of many interesting British films covering a multitude of subjects, joined the nudie-cutie bandwagon of the 1970s with The Au Pair Girls. Anyone who's taken first-year French will probably know that the title refers to young foreign girls living in England who perform domestic chores in exchange for room and board and the opportunity to learn the English language. In this film, the girls' "services" range far beyond mere light dusting. It's the 1972 equivalent to those old stag reels of the 1950s with titles like Lucky Pierre Goes Fishing. Among the au pair girls in this R-rated effort are Gabrielle Drake, Astrid Frank, and Me Me Lai. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A long-haired, bearded young man wakes up in the ruins of an abandoned church and can't remember who he is or where he's been. He wanders around town, trying to find anybody who knows or recognizes him and can tell him who he is. During his search he runs into hippies, drug dealers and anti-war protesters. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

As Sky (Geoffrey Scott) stands guard over the kidnapped Julia (Grayson Hall), Jeb (Christopher Pennock) demands that she cures him of being a Leviathan. Quentin (David Selby) tries to rescue Julia, but he is intercepted by the army of zombies, who bury him alive. This episode first aired on March 5, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Steed and Tara are called in when several forestry experts are murdered. It turns out that the dead men had all stumbled onto a diabolical plan to destroy the earth's foliage with a strain of synthetic dry rot. As the villains try to hold up England for a billion pounds, the Avengers do battle with the bad guys' minions. Guest star Eric Barker steals the show as the eccentric Mr. Pym. Written by Dave Freeman, "The Rotters" was first seen in England on January 8, 1969 -- some three weeks after its American TV debut on December 16, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of the six-part story "The Abominable Snowmen," the Great Intelligence is poised to release his army of Yeti robots on the helpless world. The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) finally hits upon a method to banish the Intelligence forever. But what effect will this have on the Doctor's ancient and venerable comrade, Padmasmabhava (Wolfe Morris)? Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, "The Abominable Snowmen, Episode 6" first aired on November 5, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the fourth episode of the six-part story "The Abominable Snowmen," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) must figure out a method of escaping the evil Great Intelligence, which has enslaved the denizens of a remote Tibetan monastery. The danger increases as the villain's army of robotic Yetis converge upon the TARDIS. This last-mentioned sequence is the only known surviving fragment of "The Abominable Snowmen, Episode 4." Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, the episode first aired on October 21, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William C. Barton (Peter Van Eyck) is an Allied pilot who is shot down over Belgium during World War II. With the country crawling with Nazis, heroic resistance fighters try to smuggle William and some escaped prisoners of war into Spain, but when he is seen writing a letter with a German address, he is mistaken for a spy and shot. Marie Versini plays a member of the resistance, with Walter Rilla as her father. Fritz Wepper plays a U.S. pilot who is also shot down and tries to escape. The feature was awarded the Federal Film Prize in 1964 and was the country's official entry at the Locarno Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Despite its come-on title, The Day the Earth Caught Fire is an intelligent, disturbing piece of speculative fiction. Through the eyes of British reporter Peter Stenning (Edward Judd), we learn that both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. have simultaneously set off nuclear explosions to test their efficiency. The twin blasts have caused the Earth to go off its axis. The result is a disastrous upheaval in the balance of nature; floods and fires being the principal plagues. With the end of the world staring everyone in the face, chaos reigns. The only hope lies in another massive nuclear explosion, which will hopefully rebalance the Earth. The film ends ambiguously, with viewers allowed to decide for themselves whether or not the world has been saved. In the original prints of The Day the Earth Caught Fire, the opening and closing reels were tinted yellow, representing the scorching heat beating down on the frightened populace. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With an award-winning screenplay by director Val Guest, this is a first-rate cops-and-robbers crime drama about a dangerous escaped convict and the police inspector who goes after him. The gritty industrial city of Manchester and its outlying moors provide a somber backdrop to the action. Inspector Martineau (Stanley Baker) suspects that the escaped thief, Don Starling (John Crawford) is going to return to Manchester to retrieve a cache of jewels he hid away before being convicted. The sudden, brutal murder of a woman and the missing money she was carrying, tips the Inspector off that his suspicions were right. He starts tracking down the killer and the gang of men he knows must be working with him, as suspense builds at every turn. The gang falls one by one, until only the killer is left. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Tornado Range is one of five Eddie Dean westerns originally produced by PRC in 1947 but released the following year by Eagle-Lion. Cast as a troubleshooter for the U.S. Land Office, Dean is assigned to settle a deadly range war. Sure enough, the warring homesteaders and cattlemen are being whipped into a frenzy by a third party, who hopes to "divide and conquer," claiming the land for himself. Surprisingly, all-purpose PRC villain George Cheseboro isn't the culprit in this one; instead, he's cast as the father of heroine Jennifer Holt. Roscoe Ates is once more on hand for some questionable comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi