Eric Micklewood Movies

Lloyd Bridges' gloriously unconvincing German accent is but one of the guilty pleasures of Death Race. Set during the African campaign of World War 2, this made-for-TV nailbiter pits Nazi general Bridges against wounded American pilot Roy Thinnes. Manning the controls of a tank, Herr Bridges intends to blast Thinnes into eternity-but it ain't gonna be that easy. Billed third as "Stoeffer" is Eric Braden, who under his given name of Hans Gudegast was one of the stars of a previous desert-war TV series, The Rat Patrol (1966-68). Death Race first plotted its course on November 10, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1950, Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner), an Army intelligence agent who served with distinction in World War II, awakens in a hospital with severe amnesia. He isn't sure where he is, how he got there, or even who the woman at his side is, even though the doctor tells him that her name is Anna (Eva Marie Saint) and that she is his wife. The doctor instructs Pike to recall, in as much detail as possible, what he was doing before the accident that caused his traumatic memory loss. But the doctor isn't a doctor, Anna isn't Pike's wife, it isn't 1950, and he isn't in an American hospital. World War II is still very much in progress, and Pike is being duped in an elaborate scheme prepared by Maj. Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor), a German intelligence agent. Gerber is trying to trick a drugged and suggestible Pike into telling him everything he knows, as the injured soldier lies in a Bavarian military hospital after being taken prisoner. Will Pike be able to see through the cracks in Gerber's facade before he spills the beans that could mean death and defeat for American soldiers? 36 Hours was later remade for TV under the title Breaking Point. TV fans will want to keep an eye peeled for bit parts by James Doohan from Star Trek and John Banner from Hogan's Heroes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This uneven farce by director Richard Quine has its hilarious and witty moments as American diplomat William Gridley (Jack Lemmon) inadvertently gets caught up in a jewel theft and mayhem. After William lands in London to take up his new position and get settled in his new digs, he becomes involved with his gorgeous landlady Carlye Hardwicke (Kim Novak). Carlye's husband is missing, and she is suspected of doing him in. But then he unexpectedly comes back home where an argument with Carlye over some jewels makes him as dead as everyone had assumed -- with her wielding the murder weapon. Carlye is eventually acquitted thanks to a witness who has designs on the jewels herself -- but the story is far from over. First there is an exciting helicopter ride and a wild chase to decide just who will end up with the loot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

An amiable poltergeist causes problems in a family's home by taking over the body of the youngest daughter in this comedy. It is a scientist and an insurance investigator who figure out what happened. Real mayhem ensues when the spirit jumps into the body of the insurance detective. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The nine men are an English sergeant (Jack Lambert) and his eight charges, stranded in a crumbling fort in the Libyan desert during the African campaign. Held down by the gunfire of Italian troops, the men must secure the fort for the Allies and keep from being killed or captured. With no budget for spectacular battle scenes, Nine Men must rely on psychological tension and the sweaty interplay among the nine soldiers. The film was produced by Ealing Studios, which after the war forsook melodrama for comedy and social satire. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Undercover is a British-made WWII picture glorifying the efforts of a small group of Yugoslavian resistance fighters who struggled against the Nazis. In the tradition of Hollywood, virtually all the Slavic characters are played by such doggedly British types as Tom Walls, Michael Wilding and John Clements. As was customary, the Nazi invaders are shown to be the products of an evil totalitarian regime (quite true) while the Yugoslavs are freedom-loving individuals treated with equanimity by their expansive Communist government (not quite true). After the war, it became common knowledge that many supposedly patriotic Yugoslavian partisans, notably those commandeered by General Mihajlovic, were actually pro-Nazi. As a result, films like Undercover and Hollywood's Chetniks were hastily, and without explanation, withdrawn from circulation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi