George Coulouris Movies

The story in this two-part TV biopic was probably "untold" mainly because it was untrue. According to the revisionist script by Stirling Silliphant, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (overplayed by George C. Scott) may have been a fascist, a tyrant, a mass murderer and an intimate of Adolf Hitler, but he also had his warm and fuzzy side. This was manifested in his genuine love for his gorgeous mistress Clara Petacci (Virginia Madsen), whose devotion to Il Duce was equally strong, so much so that she willingly went to her death along with him when the Axis collapsed and the ex-dictator was summarily shot. Despite his extramarital shenanigans, Mussolini had plenty of affection left over for his long-suffering wife Rachel (Lee Grant) and his children. With a cast comprised largely of non-Italians (notably the aggressively Irish Gabriel Byrne as Mussolini's son Vittorio), this epic had more phony dialects than a Marx Bros. picture. Despite its distant relation to the facts and its flaccid treatment of one of history's darkest periods, Mussolini: The Untold Story (filmed not in Italy but in Yugoslavia) garnered respectable ratings when it was originally telecast by NBC on November 24 and 26, 1985--and also earned a brace of Emmy award nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Ken Russell made a number of biographical films of composers' lives including The Music Lovers, (about Tchaikovsky) and Lisztomania. Russell embellished the other films with certain characteristic flourishes, which include a focus on the composers' sexual obsessions, poetically telling anachronisms, and scenes which show Richard Wagner in a bad light. The story of Mahler is recounted in a much less complex and flamboyant manner and is a relatively reverent study of the life and work of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, here played by Robert Powell. The film tackles the touchy dilemma of Mahler's Jewishness in the anti-Semitic atmosphere of 19th-century Vienna. He converts to Christianity, which has no effect on his brilliant musical output but which eats away at his physical and mental well-being. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was a conductor and composer of the late Romantic era and specialized in huge symphonic works. Though his works were performed widely during his lifetime, they were less and less-often played until Leonard Bernstein's active campaign on their behalf brought him renewed recognition as a composer of the first rank, every bit the peer of Brahms or Stravinsky. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A dirty joke that became a "clean" TV movie, Coffee, Tea or Me stars Karen Valentine, cast to type as a perky stewardess. In a chaste variation of The Captain's Paradise, Valentine finds herself married to two different men in two different countries. Since the men are played by John Davidson and Michael Anderson Jr., each in his own way as cute as Valentine, the girl's dilemma is profound. Until its cop-out ending, Coffee Tea or Me glides through its risque situations with class and finesse. The film was directed by Norman Panama, who earlier had been responsible (in collaboration with Melvin Frank) for such comedies as Danny Kaye's The Court Jester (56) and the film version of the Broadway musical Li'l Abner (59). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Assassination Bureau is loosely based on a turn-of-the-century yarn written by Jack London. Nellie Bly-style girl reporter Sonya Winter (Diana Rigg) tries to get the goods on shady businessman Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed). Ivan is in charge of a wide-reaching organization which, for a price, assassinates those who "need killing." As a challenge, Sonya offers to pay Ivan a huge sum if he'll instruct his minions to assassinate him; Ivan agrees, hoping that it will put a little kick in his work. Despite his profession, Ivan isn't the villain of the piece; that honor goes to evil nobleman Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), whose perfidy leads Sonya into joining forces with the Assassination Bureau. A wild climactic chase in a zeppelin caps this tongue-in-cheek escapade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally written as the second episode of The Prisoner, "Checkmate" was then slated to be shown as episode #11. Instead, it was telecast out of chronological order as the 10th episode on December 3, 1967. One of the series' most fondly remembered installments ---and the one that posted the highest ratings when first broadcast in England --- this exercise in surrealism takes place on a giant chess board, wherein all the "pieces" are people. One of the participants is Number Six, who cannot determine if the other players are making moves of their own free will, or if they are being manipulated by a unseen force. Crucial players in this bizarre game are an icy psychiatrist (Patricia Jessel) and the (apparently) independently minded Queen (Rosalie Crutchley). As originally written by Gerald Kelsey), the script for "Checkmate" came up seven minutes short, compelling series star Patrick McGoohan to hastily compose an extra scene. The episode was restored to its proper Prisoner chronology when it was first shown in America on August 17, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An expert in ancient hieroglyphics unexpectedly finds himself involved in a web of international intrigue in this chic, enjoyably tongue-in-cheek espionage adventure. Gregory Peck stars as David Pollock, an American professor whose predictable academic routine is overturned when he is hired to help translate a mysterious message written in an obscure ancient text. The real trouble begins, however, when everyone from a wealthy oil magnate to a foreign government to brutal criminals starts to chase Pollock, desperate to discover the nature of the deciphered message. Along for the ride is Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren), the gorgeous lover of Pollock's employers, whose loyalties are questionable, to say the least. The tangled narrative proves less important than the film's stylish surface, from the colorful London locations to the Henry Mancini score. Certain touches date the film, like a brief foray into psychedelia, but the modish visuals are generally an appropriate match to the insouciant tone. Not taking itself seriously enough to be truly thrilling, Arabesque nevertheless stands as a witty, well-made example of a particular breed of airy, intentionally superficial comic adventure. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the Robert Bloch short story "The Skull of the Marquis de Sade," this inventive gothic chiller from Amicus stars Peter Cushing as Professor Maitland, a collector obsessed with obtaining artifacts reputed to have occult powers -- including the title object, believed to be from the crypt of the notorious French nobleman. Shortly after the Professor brings home his latest find, the skull begins making nightly rounds (the gliding camera peers through the eye sockets for the nifty "skull-cam" point-of-view shots) before eventally dominating Maitland's will. Despite the potentially cheesy premise (which sounds better suited to a William Castle project), the film is remarkably subtle and spooky thanks to the deft hand of director Freddie Francis and an excellent performance from Cushing. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Squire Trevenyan (Peter Cushing), magistrate of an 18th century coastal village where a little smuggling has always gone on (and been tolerated), learns that a group of wreckers have moved into the district, destroying ships and slaughtering their survivors in order to steal the cargo. The local populace, consisting mostly of tradesmen, honest fishermen and some part-time smugglers, all want the wreckers stopped, and appeal to the squire; but Trevenyan also learns that his son Christopher (John Fraser) is involved with the daughter of a tradesman who receives stolen goods. He intends to act on wreckers and smugglers alike, and gets the support of the local nobility (Miles Malleson). But then Christopher Trevenyan is caught up in a killing -- in self-defense -- of one of the wreckers, and the squire is so certain of the corruption of the village, that he declines to use his son as a witness against the wreckers. Rather, he brings in soldiers and starts a campaign against the smugglers and fishermen, the wreckers' leader, Black John (Bernard Lee), standing with him and diverting attention from himself. The citizenry appeals to a local highwayman known as the Captain (William Franklyn), who proceeds to kidnap Christopher, with a vow to kill him if two convicted men are transported to a colony. The squire is now trapped -- Black John, who is eager for the sentences to be carried out so that the troops can be withdrawn and his wreckers return to work, threatens to denounce him if he delays deporting the men; and Trevenyan rationalizes his decision as being in keeping with the law, even though it will cost his son's life. The only way out for the innocent parties on all sides can come from Christopher's bravery and the Captain's sense of honor, and the slim chance that they find a common goal that will spare young Trevenyan's life. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this children's film, an enterprising gang of kids create a homemade zoo because they cannot have pets in their apartment. Their "zoo" is located behind an empty manor in an old garden. Unfortunately, the manor is the hideout of three jewel thieves. The brave children and their critters team up to defeat the bad-guys. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is an unimpressive spy-comedy from director Stanley Donen who inserts his specialty, a small song-and-dance number, into the odd proceedings. Gangster Nico March (Yul Brynner) has been ordered out of the United States because of his unsavory activities and back to the Greek island from whence he came (actually Rhodes). Once on the island, various characters enter the picture, including a local, corrupt police chief. Nico decides to send for a bundle of money left in the States but his double-crossing "friends" send him a bundle of feminine wiles instead, Gabby Rogers (Mitzi Gaynor). Obviously, Nico is none too pleased with the lousy substitution for hard cash, though he does not yet realize he is sure to fall in love with her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Lilli Palmer stars as a nun in a World War 2-era Italian convent. At the risk of her own life and those of her cloistered colleagues, Palmer hides a group of Jewish orphans from the Nazis. She then attempts to shepherd the kids to the safety of foster homes. Danger looms in the form of Nazi colonel Albert Lieven, who isn't quite as sympathetic as the nuns. Costar Sylvia Syms has some of the film's best scenes. There's little in Conspiracy of Hearts that we haven't seen before, but the actors manage to inject humor, warmth and pathos into the all-too-familiar proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The off-spring of the legendary British bandit dons his father's tights to help save his countrymen from the tyrannical rule of an evil aristocrat. Unfortunately, the "son" is a sham and after several unsuccessful attempts to stop the nasty nobleman, the merry men decide to send for Robin's real son. Imagine their surprise when they discover that Robin, Jr. is a she! Still the men rally around her and the imposter. Together they successfully defeat the evil-doer and the country is again safe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

W. Lee Wilder, the somewhat less prestigious producer-director brother of Billy Wilder, went to Holland to film his 1958 opus Spy in the Sky. Steve Brodie plays Cabot, a U.S. intelligence agent who heads to Vienna (actually Amsterdam) in search of a missing rocket scientist. Cabot's quest is jeopardized by the machinations of a communist spy ring, headed by a Colonel Benedict (George Coulouris). The Reds hope to coerce the scientist to build a spy satellite, the better to keep tabs on the Decadent Democracies. A spy in the sky? What a ridiculous notion! What self-respecting nation would stoop to outer-space espionage? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide