Floella Benjamin Movies
This weird British hybrid of The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby and It's Alive! stars Joan Collins as a stripper who spurns the advances of a lecherous dwarf and is subsequently cursed by a monstrous baby -- which emits horrifying demonic howls and attacks everyone within reach, including his parents, his nanny and the family doctor (Donald Pleasence). A final exorcism is attempted by a nun (Eileen Atkins), for what it's worth. No clear explanation is given for the link between the spurned dwarf and the demonic influence placed upon the homicidal tyke (even the countless Italian Exorcist knock-offs usually maintained some sort of twisted logic), and the considerable potential for horror in the killer-baby concept is not explored thoroughly enough to keep viewers involved. Also released as I Don't Want To Be Born. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Eileen Atkins, (more)
- 1977
Black Joy is the lightly ironic title of this British culture-clash comedy. Trevor Thomas heads the cast as a Guaynan youth who is under the delusion that life will be easier for him in London. No sooner does Thomas set foot in England than he gets tangled up in one disaster after another. The catalyst for most of Our Hero's travails is "assimilated" Caribbean Dave Beaton, who delivers an antic performance as a streetwise con artist. Black Joy has its melodramatic moments, but it's worth enduring the more intense sequences to get to the exuberant climax, wherein Thomas finally learns to stand up for his basic rights. Black Joy was adapted from Dark Days and Light Nights, a stage play by Jamal Ali. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Beaton, Trevor Thomas, (more)
- 1984
Aimed at children, the British variety series Fast Forward was a helter-skelter blend of sketch comedy, one-liners, and musical numbers, with occasional special-interest features presented in a musical format. The large roster of hosts included Robert Harley in the role of "funny" space alien Milton Keenze. Also featured was Tiny, a never-seen but obviously huge pet something-or-other (with an eight-foot water dish). Nineteen 25-minute episodes of Fast Forward were seen over Britain's BBC1 from 1984 to 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Doled out in daily ten-minute doses, the British series Jamboree was aimed at the preschool set. Accordingly, the episodes were a maelstrom of pretty colors, sprightly music, silly slapstick, and occasional educational "bites." The cast consisted of students from Britain's Barbara Speake School, who were gently kept in line by host Keith Radley. Jamboree debuted in 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Radley
Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies adapts author Allan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel for the screen with this three-part saga of love, sex, class, and money set against the backdrop of the Thatcher era. As the conservative government rises to power in the turbulent 1980s and four years of tragedy and transformation are set into motion, a young gay male living in Britain experiences everything from the ecstasy of falling in love to the agony of the emerging AIDS epidemic. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Stevens, Tim McInnerny, (more)
