John Joyce Movies
- 1991
The morbidly amusing British comedy series The Wolvis Family was presented in mock-documentary fashion. After their son inexplicably stops talking, the six members of the dysfunctional Wolvis family agree to participate in an extended group therapy session. However, it may have been a mistake for the Wolvises to submit to having their therapy televised by the BBC. Those who feel that The Osbournes is the ne plus ultra in airing one's dirty laundry in public are advised to seek out this fictional but disturbingly convincing six-part British endeavor. The Wolvis Family was seen from May 4 to June 8, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Woodeson, John Joyce, (more)
- 1989
Melancholia is a British suspenser, filmed and financed in Germany. Jeroen Krabbe plays a German art critic who in more turbulent times had been a radical activist. Krabbe's past collides with his present when a London political figure is marked for assassination. With only the slightest tinge of conscience, Krabbe agrees to pull off the killing. It is always a pleasure to see leading lady Susannah York, even in the morally ambivalent circumstances of Melancholia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeroen Krabbé, Susannah York, (more)
In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, (more)
- 1985
- PG13
Another Man Who Loved Women with a slightly different plot, this routine story opens with the funeral of a local projectionist and gardener, Donald Lovelace (Barry Jackson). His widow and daughter are surprised at the number of women who turn out to mourn Donald's passing. Soon the truth about his peccadillos with a string of women ranging from the usherette at the movie theater to an aspiring singer are told in flashbacks, revealing a life that his aloof wife and resentful daughter knew nothing about. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Jackson, Maurice Denham, (more)
Curse of the Pink Panther was released just after Trail of the Pink Panther with a script that has someone looking for the inept Inspector Clousseau and the fabulous stolen Pink Panther diamond at the same time. In Curse, Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass) is a New York retread of the bumbling Inspector, chosen to look for him by Clousseau's former boss because Sleigh most certainly will never find him. Although peppered with a few inventive stunts, Curse still falls short of the Sellers classics. In a bizarre side note, David Niven was himself terminally ill at the time of his appearance in Trail of the Pink Panther and unable to speak adequately. His voice was dubbed in by impressionist Rich Little. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wass, David Niven, (more)
- 1982
Windsor is a peaceful town on the Thames where hardly a leaf falls to disturb the silence. And then England's most notorious mischief maker, Sir John Falstaff (Richard Griffiths), arrives from London with his hooligans -- Bardolph (Gordon Gostelow), Nym (Michael Robbins), and Pistol (Nigel Terry) -- to steal and make merry. After breaking into a lodge and killing a deer on private land, they arouse the wrath of the locals. But quick tongues and pleadings of innocence exonerate them and even earn Falstaff a meal at the home of George Page (Bryan Marshall), a Windsor gentleman. There, Falstaff converses with Mrs. Page (Prunella Scales) and her neighbor, Mrs. Ford (Judy Davis), both of whom rule the purse strings of their households. Falstaff then decides to woo both women and charm them free of their money. But after he writes them a love letter -- the same letter word-for-word except for the name of the addressee -- the two "merry wives" compare letters and decide to give Sir John his comeuppance. Meanwhile, Mr. Ford (Ben Kingsley) gets wind of Falstaff's designs on his wife and, riven with jealousy, plots to surprise Falstaff when he comes calling. Scenes ensue in which Mr. Ford bursts through his front door in an attempt to discover Falstaff. The tee-heeing wives couldn't be happier, for these occasions give them a chance to humiliate Falstaff -- once by having him hide in a laundry basket which is dumped in the muddy Thames and another time by dressing as "the fat woman of Brentford." A subplot follows three men as they woo Mrs. Page's lovely daughter, Anne (Miranda Foster). In the end, Falstaff acknowledges his bad behavior, Anne Page gets her man, and good feelings abound. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley
- 1979
What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that question. Vanessa Redgrave is cast as Ms. Christie, who vanished from her home not long after her husband (Timothy Dalton) informed her that he was leaving her. Nearly two weeks later, after being the subject of a nationwide search, Christie showed up none the worse for wear at a health spa in Yorkshire, insisting that she could remember nothing of her experiences during her disappearance. According to scriptwriters Kathleen Tynan and Arthur Hopcraft, Christie was located before her return by American reporter Wally Stanton (an uncomfortable-looking Dustin Hoffman), after enjoying a brief romantic fling with the authoress. The journalist decided to keep his discovery a secret. Another plot wrinkle concerns Christie's plan for revenge against her errant husband -- a scheme with all the earmarks of a Miss Marple or Poirot whodunit. Agatha represented former TV director Michael Apted's matriculation to A-pictures with major stars; he fared better with his subsequent endeavor, Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 1973
Olivier stars in this production of the Shakespearean tragedy about greed and vengeance. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, (more)
- 1972
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The popular Australian comic strip The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie was first brought to the screen in this raunchy 1972 romp. Barry Crocker plays the title character, a carefree Aussie cowboy with an inordinate fondness for beer and "Sheilas". Touring England as a stand-up comic, Barry runs across several odd characters, including addlepated discipline freak Dennis Price. Also on hand is Barry McKenzie cocreator Barry Humphries, appearing in drag as Dame Edna Beveridge, a character who would bring Humphries worldwide fame and fortune in the 1990s. Director Bruce Beresford, who went on to such loftier efforts as Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies and Crimes of the Heart, breezes through his scatalogical material with the abandon of a schoolboy scribbling naughty words on the sidewalk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, (more)
- 1971
In the second episode of the five-part story "The Daemons," an archeological dig at the small and superstition-ridden village of Devil's End has aroused the interest of both the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his arch-nemesis, the Master (Roger Delgado). Posing as a clergyman, the Master hopes to use the excavation as a means of reviving Azal, last of the Daemons, a race that has throughout history helped mankind advance itself scientifically. Unfortunately, the Master's motives have nothing to do with helping humanity -- in fact, he's got a lot of "hurt" in mind. Written by Barry Letts and Robert Sloman, "The Daemons, Episode 2" originally aired on May 29, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, (more)
- 1971
On May 22, 1971, Doctor Who began the final adventure of its eighth season, the five-part "The Daemons." The story opens in the British village of Devil's End, where a TV crew is providing live coverage of an archeological excavation. The smoothness of the operation is disrupted by the superstitious nature of the locals and the interference of a hostile "black magic" cult. Watching this event unfold on his "telly," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) is intrigued by the portents of doom surrounding the excavation and before long, he and his friend, Jo Grant (Katy Manning), have arrived in Devil's End -- and, though he doesn't yet know it, for another battle royal with his old enemy, the Master (Roger Delgado). Barry Letts and Robert Sloman co-wrote "The Daemons." This adventure, long available only in a black-and-white version, was restored to its original color in the late '90s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, (more)
Four teens head into a forest in search of a long-lost scientist (played by science fiction novelist Fritz Leiber). Monitoring the kids' every move is a forest ranger (Jack Woods), who is in reality the ancient demon god Asmodeus. When the kids come across a precious book of incantations, the ranger conjures up an intimidating variety of horrible monsters and nightmarish visions, the better to retrieve the volume. The man responsible for the special effects in Equinox is Dennis Muren, who began the film as a nonprofessional 16-millimeter project in 1967. The picture was completed by director Edward Connell, using the same cast throughout (the actors' ages noticeably fluctuate from scene to scene). Long a Late Late Show staple, Equinox in time garnered a cult following, and later appeared on video under the title The Beast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, (more)
- 1970
- R
Brazen, determined CEO of the Mother Knows Best Toy Company, Julie Newmar, goes to extremes to convince introverted, sexually repressed company salesman Wally Cox to market the wooden dolls he designs as a hobby. He refuses though. So she persuades her son to hire a prostitute to convince him. Later she finds out the salesman is secretly in love with her, not because she is drop-dead gorgeous, but because she reminds him of his domineering mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
