Katherine Blake Movies
- 1974
The British drama series Within These Walls chronicled the lives of those unfortunate souls incarcerated in Stone Park, a tough woman's prison. Running four years and 52 episodes, the series was on long enough to require the services of three different female wardens, each with her own penal methods and personal hangups: Faye Boswell (Googie Withers), Helen Forrester (Katherine Blake), and Susan Marshall (Sarah Lawson). At the time of its original airing, the series stirred up both controversy and praise for its unstinting realism, though by 21st century standards it was rather restrained. Within These Walls debuted in 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Googie Withers, Katherine Blake, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Anne of the Thousand Days is the belated film adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's 1948 stage play. The story concentrates on the romance between Britain's King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) and his ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold). After holding out for marriage rather than an illegitimate union, Anne marries Henry after he sheds himself of Katherine of Aragon -- causing a rift between the Crown and the Church in the process. Anne's inability to produce a male heir leads Henry to look about for other suitable mates. Henry's sinister right-hand man Cromwell (John Colicos) arranges for Anne to be condemned on a charge of adultery. She is beheaded, while Henry disconsolately sits in Windsor Castle, regretting this callous example of political expediency. Richard Burton is ideally cast in Anne of the Thousand Days, but it is Genevieve Bujold who delivers the best, most complex performance in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
- 1963
A police detective succumbs to a seductive beauty who convinces him to help murder her husband so she can collect on his insurance policy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
While returning from a vacation in Chile, Dr. Keel tries to help the victims of a cyclone in Mexico. He soon stumbles onto a particularly nasty example of industrial pollution. Another doctor swears vengeance against the wealthy financier responsible for this ecological outrage, forcing Keel to put his return-to-England plans on hold and to prevent a brutal (if somewhat justified) murder. Written by John Lucarotti, "The Far Distant Dead" was originally broadcast August 19, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This anthology is the first all-Canadian feature film. Set in Toronto during the 1920s, it is based on four stories by Morley Callaghan. The first, "Silk Stockings" follows the painful love felt by a clumsy fellow for the landlady's daughter who unfortunately, loves another. "Rocking Chair" a lonely border makes a pass at a widower, but he spurns her because he cannot escape the memory of his late wife. A rich man ignores his family's disapproval and falls in love with a voluptuous, but ignorant girl from the poor side of town in "The Rejected One." In the fourth story, "A Sick Call," a dying woman defies her Protestant husband and decides to revert back to Catholicism. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Borisenko, Michael Mann, (more)
- 1952
In this detective story, based on a novel by John Creasey, a smooth-talking detective helps a young woman solve her uncle's murder. When the Robin Hood-like thief accused of the crime is proved innocent, everyone breathes a sight of relief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
If the plot of the 1993 Kevin Costner film A Perfect World seemed vaguely familiar, perhaps it's because it bears a more than passing resemblance to the British-made 1952 thriller The Hunted (U.S. title: Stranger in Between). Dirk Bogarde stars in this emotional melodrama as an escaped murderer, sloshing through the North Country mud. Bogarde is reluctantly saddled with a fugitive orphan boy (Jon Whitely), who insists upon tagging along. The murderer ends up sacrificing his freedom to rescue the injured boy from certain death. While The Hunted was greeted with moderate enthusiasm in Britain, its virtues were trumped by the French film critics of the era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, (more)
- 1951
Long before it concentrated on its series of Edgar Wallace mysteries, the British Merton Park studios cut its teeth on taut little home-grown melodramas. Assassin for Hire stars Sydney Tafler as Antonio Riccardi, a professional killer who has long managed to elude the law. Inspector Carson (Ronald Howard) is determined to bring Riccardi to justice, but has no evidence to work with. In a peculiar twist of fate, Riccardi is brought to heel by a crime he didn't commit. Beyond its better-than-usual production values, Assassin for Hire permits us a glimpse at Ronald Howard impersonating a detective several years before starring in the Sherlock Holmes TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
