Paul Daniel Movies
- 1995
Based on the same-named American TV series which first aired in 1988, the British game show Wipeout was initially hosted by Paul Daniels. The premise: The contestants were shown a high screen containing 16 answers to an equal number of questions; of these, 11 answers were correct, and had considerable monetary value. If the contestant chose the wrong answer, he or she lost all the money won up to that point. After several elimination rounds, the two finalists participated in the "Wipeout Auction," placing bets as to how many correct answers they would be able to provide in a limited space of time. In its later seasons, the British version was emceed by the versatile Bob Monkhouse, who by that time had done everything there was to do on television except pose nude. Wipeout made its BBC bow in 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Daniel, Bob Monkhouse, (more)
About 15 years after the events of Mad Max 2, nuclear war has finally destroyed what little was left of civilization. Grizzled and older, former cop Max (Mel Gibson) roams the Australian desert in a camel-drawn vehicle -- until father-and-son thieves Jebediah Sr. (Bruce Spence) and Jr. (Adam Cockburn) use their jury-rigged airplane to steal his possessions and means of transportation. Max soon winds up in Bartertown, a cesspool of post-apocalyptic capitalism powered by methane-rich pig manure and overseen by two competing overlords, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner) and Master (Angelo Rossitto), a crafty midget who rides around on the back of his hulking underling, Blaster (Paul Larsson). Seeking to re-equip himself, Max strikes a deal with the haughty Aunty to kill Blaster in ritualized combat inside Thunderdome, a giant jungle gym where Bartertown's conflicts are played out in a postmodern update of blood and circuses. Although Max manages to fell the mighty Blaster, he refuses to kill him after realizing the brute is actually a retarded boy. Aunty's henchmen murder Blaster nonetheless, then punish Max for violating the law that "Two men enter, one man leaves." Lashed to the back of a hapless pack animal and sent out into a sandstorm, a near-death Max is rescued by a band of tribal children and teens. The descendants of the victims of an airplane crash, the kids inhabit a lush valley and wait for the day when Captain Walker, the plane's pilot, will return to lead them back to civilization. Some of the children, refusing to believe that Max isn't Walker and that the glorious cities of their mythology no longer exist, set off in search of civilization on their own. Max and three tribe members must then rescue their friends from Bordertown and the clutches of Aunty Entity -- a quest that ends in a lengthy desert chase sequence that echoes the first two Mad Max films. Spence also appeared in Mad Max 2 in a different role, that of the Gyro Captain. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, (more)
- 1982
Ginger Meggs (Paul Daniel) is a young "Dennis the Menace" who first appeared in Australian comic strips in 1921. In this film meant for the pre-teen set, Ginger is constantly getting himself in trouble in spite of his good intentions -- at the same time, he prevaricates, he disobeys his teachers and parents, he skips school, or while in school, fights it out with the bullies -- all activities that are bound to capture the attention of children who can vicariously enjoy the forbidden behavior. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garry McDonald, Paul Daniel, (more)
- 1966
Jim Walker Rory Calhoun is a hero who fights Indians and crooks who plan a series of stagecoach robberies in this routine western. He defends the honor of a woman (Corinne Calvet) wrongly accused of having a bad reputation. Johnny Mack Brown plays the local Sheriff Ben Hall, with Lon Chaney, Jr. as the friendly stagecoach driver Charlie Russell. Watch for DeForest Kelley in a pre-Star Trek role as a crazed gunman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, (more)
- 1966
Two tourists, portrayed by the comic duo Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, are talked into working for the good guys to keep art thieves from stealing the Venus di Milo at the London World Fair. Minor entry in the comic spy category. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marty Allen, Steve Rossi, (more)
Johnny Reno (Dana Andrews) is a US Marshall who is bushwhacked by outlaws on his way to Stone Junction, Kansas. Joe Connors (Tom Drake) and his brother Ab (Dale Van Sickle) mistakenly believe the lawman is after them and fire on Reno, and Reno captures Joe after Ab is killed in the gun battle. The two face an angry mob in a town where local Sheriff Hodges (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is in cahoots with the corrupt Mayor Jess Yates (Lyle Bettger). Although Reno believes Joe may have killed an innocent Indian, he must protect the prisoner from the growing mob that threatens to lynch the man before his trial. Jane Russell plays Johnny's sweetheart Nona, owner of the local saloon. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, (more)
The first person the audience sees in Ship of Fools is dwarf Michael Dunn, who speaks to viewers directly and acts as a Greek chorus throughout the film. It begins on the deck of an ocean liner travelling from Vera Cruz to Bremerhaven. The time is the 1930s, so close and yet so far from war. The cross-section of humanity on board includes ship's doctor Oscar Werner, Spanish political activist Simone Signoret, aging coquette Vivien Leigh, hedonistic baseball player Lee Marvin, philosophical Jew Heinz Ruhmann, a smattering of pro- and anti-Hitlerites (Jose Ferrer plays the nastiest and most vocal "pro") and young lovers George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley. Yes, it's Grand Hotel at sea, a feast for stargazers and an endurance test for those who aren't comfortable with non-stop speechmaking. Despite such lines as "What can the Nazis do? Kill all six million of us?," Ship of Fools manages to stay afloat throughout its 148 minutes. Michael Dunn was nominated for an Academy Award for his interlocutory characterization; the rest of the performances range from brilliant to merely filling up the room. Other Oscars were presented to cinematographer Ernest Lazslo and to the art-direction staff. Ship of Fools was adapted by Abby Mann from the novel by Katharine Ann Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1965
In her neverending efforts to bring culture to the island, Mrs. Howell (Natalie Schafer) organizes a Castaway Orchestra. Much of the music that results is pretty wretched, save for the percussion section, which consists primarily of Gilligan (Bob Denver) on the drums. In fact, Gilligan's persistent beat-beat-beat of the tom-toms has a remarkable effect on the natives of a neighboring island--who are convinced that the drums are tapping out a war chant! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Corsentino, Russ Grieve, (more)
- 1964
Sylviane Margolle is cast as Claudine, a wide-eyed French teenager who wants more than anything to be a nurse for the Americans. When King Company arrives in her village, Claudine insists upon helping every solider whom she thinks needs help. Most of the guys find the girl to be a harmless nuisance, but Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) is a little more forceful in his attitude, rudely rebuffing Claudine and telling her to get lost. This serves only to convince the girl that Saunders needs her help most of all--and accordingly, she redoubles her efforts to win him over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In this political drama, a bourgeois Cuban landowner and his family flee to Miami to escape Castro's rule. There he meets his eldest son, an ardent supporter of Castro who is planning to ruin the Bay of Pigs invasion. The patriotic father takes extreme measures to keep his son from his treachery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In this socially conscious love story, a dull high school jock falls in love with a seductive young girl whose father disapproves of her seeing a man with a lower social station. He then forces her to date a boy from the upper class. To defy her father, she ends up staying out all night with the jock. Together they go to clubs and to the beach. The father is enraged until the jock's father calms him down by pointing out that the two are only in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
