George Coulouris Movies

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 The squire is now trapped -- Black John, who is eager for the sentences to be carried out so that the troops can be withdrawn and his wreckers return to work, threatens to denounce him if he delays deporting the men; and Trevenyan rationalizes his decision as being in keeping with the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

In this WW II adventure, five brave Allies endeavor to escape from an Italian POW camp in North Africa. They succeed, but their trials are not over as they must still cross the burning Libyan desert to get safely behind Allied lines. En route they are captured by a Nazi-loving sheik. The sheik takes considerable time to decide the fate of the escapees; in that time, the five manage to escape again. This time they kill their captors. The film is also titled No Time to Die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The British Seven Thunders was released in the US as Beasts of Marseilles. Set in 1943, the film stars Stephen Boyd and Tony Wright as escaped POWs Dave and Jim. Hiding out in Marseilles, the two protagonists battle over the affections of local gamine Lise (Anna Gaylor). When they find the time, Dave and Jim plan an elaborate breakout for the other POWs sequestered in the French port city. After an engaging opening, the film relies upon serial-like thrills and hairbreadth escapes to keep the audience awake. Stealing the show from the nominal stars are those grand old British troupers James Robertson Justice and Kathleen Harrison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this horror movie, a scientist resuscitates the head of 16th-century seer Nostradamus by transplanting it onto the body of a man suffering from a brain tumor for the benefit of an avaricious financier who wants the prophet to give him the power of prediction in business. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dr. James Moran (George Coulouris) is a scientist whose goals are beyond the pale of established medical science. While on an expedition to a remote part of the Amazon jungles, he encounters a huge plant being worshipped by a mysterious race descended from the Incas -- a plant that feeds off of women, devouring them almost like a giant Venus flytrap, and which also generates a fluid that can bring the dead back to life. Five years later, Moran has moved the plant into a laboratory in his basement, complete with a member of the tribe of worshipers who is capable of caring for it, and begins to experiment with it -- but he must find women to feed to it. Moran believes that using his scientific approach, the plant's sap will not only reanimate the dead, but could give its recipients immortality. He proceeds with his experiments despite the inquiries of the police, who are investigating the disappearances of several young women. He adds to the inevitable complications of his deceit when he brings in a pretty local girl (Vera Day) to assist his middle-aged housekeeper (Joyce Gregg), evoking deep and ultimately murderous jealousy from the older woman, who loves the doctor and also hasn't a clue as to what he's been up to in the basement laboratory, which is always locked. He's forced to kill her, and she becomes the object of his first serum experiment -- but she returns to life as a mindless zombie, and Moran realizes that all of his work, and the murders he's committed, have been for nothing. He recognizes that he has a monstrosity in his home, but it's still protected by that tribesman, who cares about nothing except the good of the plant. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The Boulting Brothers enjoyed one of their biggest box-office successes of the 1950s with the wry service comedy Private's Progress. Though billed fourth, Ian Carmichael plays the central character, feckless British soldier Stanley Windrush. Interrupting his college education to serve his country, Windrush flunks out of officer's candidate school and is demoted to private. Much of the humor arises from the bookish hero's confrontation with the ruder and cruder side of army life, as represented by rough-hewn fellow private Cox (Richard Attenborough). As Major Hitchcock, Terry-Thomas offers a brilliant parody of the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" school of military service, while Dennis Price is equally amusing as a nonplussed commanding officer named Tracepurcel (!) Also worth watching is future "Dr. Who" star William Hartnell as a loudmouthed sergeant. Halfway through the film, the plot rears its ugly head as the protagonists become involved with the covert reclamation of art treasures confiscated by the Nazis during WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this detective drama, a biographer researches the death of a heroic pilot who died during a failed test and ends up in love with the deceased's sister. He then learns that the pilot's strange disappearance may not have been accidental and mayhem ensues. Soon other people associated with the case begin to die and the writer becomes nervous until two Scotland Yard inspectors get on the case and solve the mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lantern-jawed British comedian Frankie Howerd, best known to American TV fans as the star of the raucous historical satire Up Pompeii, heads the cast of The Runaway Bus. Howard plays Percy Lamb, a novice bus driver assigned to drive a coach from one London ariport to another. Alas, the city is enveloped in a thick fog, and poor Percy gets lost, along with his half-dozen passengers and a hidden cache of stolen gold. Most of the film's best moments go to Margaret Rutherford as a not-so-sweet old lady and Belinda Lee as a spy-novel addict. Petula Clark, who was already a top recording star in 1954, appears as a perky airline hostess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide