Robert Bartlett Movies
- 1990
- R
Heat, both climatic and erotic, imbue this Australian thriller from first-time directors Colin South and John Tatoulis. The film takes place in mid-summer in the sweltering city of Melbourne and concerns a love affair between Wendy (Santha Press), a jazz singer, and Mack (Hugo Race), a knife-wielding punk who wants to be a rock star but is planning to rob a bank. Wendy's younger sister, 15-year-old JoJo (Rebekah Elmaloglou), has moved in with Wendy, and she is rapidly becoming sexually aware, because she is secretly observing her sister and Mack as they make love. Meanwhile, two cops -- Dinny (Dominic Sweeney), an inexperienced rookie, and Milas (John Flaus), a weary veteran cop -- are following Mack because he has an audiotape in his possession that shows evidence of government corruption. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugo Race, Santha Press, (more)
Inspired by Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart's 1961 London and Broadway musical hit glossed over some of Dickens' more graphic passages but managed to retain a strong subtext to what was essentially light entertainment. For its first half-hour or so, Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 film version does a masterful job of telling its story almost exclusively through song and dance. Once nine-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) falls in with such underworld types as pickpocket Fagin (Ron Moody) and murderous thief Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed), it becomes necessary to inject more and more dialogue, and the film loses some of its momentum. But not to worry; despite such brutal moments as Sikes' murder of Nancy (Shani Wallis), the film gets back on the right musical track, thanks in great part to Onna White's exuberant choreography and the faultless performances by Moody and by Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. The supporting cast includes Harry Secombe as the self-righteous Mr. Bumble and Joseph O'Conor as Mr. Brownlow, the man who (through a series of typically Dickensian coincidences) rescues Oliver from the streets. Oliver! won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a special award to choreographer Onna White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, (more)
- 1966
Created by former British prep-school teacher Anthony Buckeridge in the immediate postwar years, Jennings was an insatiably curious and relentlessly mischievous schoolboy, the bane of every adult who dared to cross his path. Along with his co-conspirator Darbisher, Jennings unwittingly upset classroom decorum, inadvertently made a shambles of every professional institution within his range of vision, and (on the plus side) solved mysteries on behalf of the local constabulary. After debuting as the hero of a BBC radio series in 1948, Jennings enjoyed a lengthy literary career in children's books, and on at least two occasions was brought to British television. One such effort was the six-episode Jennings, starring David Schulten in the title role and Robert Bartlett as Darbyshire. This Jennings was telecast from September 5 to October 10, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schulten, Robert Bartlett, (more)
