Ron Russell Movies
- 1988
Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, (more)
- 1985
"The Naval Treaty" is an episode of the television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, an superb adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories, produced in Britain for Granada TV. In this episode directed by Alan Grint, Jeremy Brett portrays the famed detective aided by his companion Dr. Watson (David Burke). Holmes helps the very ill Percy Phelps (David Gwillim) find an important treaty that was entrusted to his care and stolen. This episode, written by Jeremy Paul, is one of the more famous Holmes stories, and his faithfulness to the original published version in the Strand Magazine during the late 19th century is exceptional. This series was followed by several sequels, as well as a few feature-length TV movie adaptations. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Brett, David Burke, (more)
Anthony Hopkins essayed the title role in the four-part British miniseries A Married Man. During his annual holiday, contentedly married barrister John Strickland (Hopkins) found himself casually entering into a brief extramarital affair. As noted by author Piers Paul Read, upon whose novel the miniseries was based, to fully understand the disastrous events following Strickland's indiscretion, one must have a basic knowledge of the English Legal Profession. By the time the story had ended, there was nary a viewer who didn't possess that knowledge. Co-produced by Channel 4 and London Weekend Television, A Married Man first aired in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Ciaran Madden, (more)
- 1968
Ironside (Raymond Burr) is invited to conduct a criminology seminar at a college where a sniper is lurking somewhere on campus. It turns out that the sniper is one of the seminar students, who anonymously issues a challenge to Ironside to identify him before he commits the "perfect crime." Clearly inspired by the "Texas Tower" slayings of 1966, the events in this episode are also disturbingly similar to the sporadic outbursts of campus carnage in the late 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
There may be blood in the streets when the chief of staff of the "Second Force", a paramilitary vigilante group ostensibly set up to fight crime, is murdered. Despite his distaste for the group's racist rantings, Ironside dedicates himself to solving the man's murder before the vigilantes begin exacting vengeance against their supposed enemies. In the course of events, the Chief uncovers the group's true motives--and they are not pure in any way, shape or form. TV talk show host Les Crane appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this horror movie, two people are marooned on a dark island inhabited by a mad count. His wife, a leper, is also crazy. They are cared for by a slave girl whose tongue was cut out by pirates. The stranded pair are captured and tortured by the count. Though they try, they cannot seem to escape. Soon the whole cast comes down with leprosy and dies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The reclusive millionaire whom Steed was assigned to escort to New York has been spirited away to a private nursing home -- in a coffin. Investigating these mysterious goings-on, Cathy gets a job at the same home. Finally locating the missing person, Cathy discovers that the man has been replaced by an impostor. . .and that the mystery has only begun. A satiric jab at Britain's excessive inheritance taxes (the connection between this plot twist and the rest of the story is made obvious only in the final moments), "The Undertakers" was written by Malcolm Hulke. It was originally telecast in England on October 5, 1963, and it belatedly debuted in America on March 6, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
