Kenneth Cope Movies

Created by Ronnie Taylor, the British sitcom A Sharp Intake of Breath was a Don Quixote for the 1970s. David Jason starred as Peter Barnes, a low-level working stiff who spent his life fighting a losing battle against bureaucratic red tape. Helping Peter cope as best she could was his long-suffering young wife Sheila, played by Jacqueline Clarke. Dependable comic actors Richard Wilson and Alun Armstrong appeared in all 22 half-hour episodes, always playing different characters in each installment. The sprightly animated "bridges" between scenes were provided by Mel Calman. Debuting with its pilot episode on July 25, 1977, A Sharp Intake of Breath was seen from February 20, 1978 to February 15, 1981, courtesy of ATV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A former World War II submarine captain and his friend turn to smuggling when a former crew member lays out a plan to retrieve some hidden diamonds. Geoffrey (Richard Johnson) and his sidekick David (Roy Dotrice) listen to Riker (Jeremy Kemp) as he tells of the hidden treasure near the Skeleton Coast of Africa. Julie (Honor Blackman) is the passenger whose late husband supposedly hid the diamonds. With a dim-witted German named Johann (Peter Vaughan) as their guide, the crew battle fierce storms and underwater danger as they make the treacherous trek to collect the missing diamonds in this action adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Steed is the latest in a long line of aristocrats who have been accused of crimes thanks to carefully planted evidence. He also finds himself victimized by a blackmailer, who uses his ill-gotten gains to purchase works of art. Making matters worse, Steed cannot entirely rely on Tara for assistance, inasmuch as she has been immobilized by a broken ankle. Written by Philip Levene, "Curious Case of the Countless Clues" first aired in England on February 5, 1969, some ten months after its American debut on April 3, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The last of four "medical" entries in the Carry On series is also the lewdest; whether it's the funniest is a matter of taste (taste?) The action takes places at Finisham Maternity Hospital. If you liked that "Finisham" gag, you'll adore such characters as Susan Ball, Miss Willing, and Mrs. Putzova. Oh, yes, we must have a plot somewhere. It seems that a group of thieves hope to steal a huge shipment of contraceptives from the hospital. Alas and alack for them, Matron (Hattie Jacques) and head doctor Sir Bernard Cutting (Kenneth Williams) remain forever underfoot. Other stalwart Carry On-ers in the cast, many in surprisingly fleeting roles, include Kevin Connor, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The eponymous partners in this British melodrama are played by Anthony Dawson and Basil Henson. Zena Walker, the unhappy wife of Dawson, talks Henson into murdering her spouse and taking over the business. His next step is to kill his own wife, thus smoothing the path of his romance with Walker. Detective Kenneth Cope smells a rat, despite Walker's carefully laid scheme. Change Partners is a rare non-Edgar Wallace production from Merton Park Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This suspenseful crime drama features cameo appearances by some of Great Britain's more popular pop groups of the mid-1960s as it tells the tale of an ex-crook who finds success managing several of the groups. The trouble begins when a master jewel thief blackmails him into becoming a gem smuggler. Together, they set sail across the Channel to get a fortune in diamonds safely to Amsterdam. They are pursued by two determined detectives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of the four-part adventure "Warriors' Gate," the Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) continue their efforts to escape E-Space and return to Gallifrey. En route, the TARDIS is trapped in the void near the stone gateway between E-Space and N-Space. Also imprisoned in this void is a ship full of time-sensitive Tharil slaves, captained by the ruthless Rorvik (Clifford Rose). Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 1" first aired on January 3, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "Warrior's Gate," the void separating E-Space from N-Space is rapidly shrinking. Aware of this disturbing phenomenon, the Doctor (Tom Baker) tries to convince pirate captain Rorvik (Clifford Rose) that the crews of the TARDIS and Rorvik's slave ship must work together if they want to survive. Rorvik is concerned only with his own safety, and he doesn't care how many innocent souls must die in order to secure his escape from the void. Written by Steve Gallagher, "Warrior's Gate, Episode 3" first aired on January 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most significant moments in the history of British warfare (in both the best and worst sense) is given reverent but reserved treatment in Dunkirk. The film takes place during the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops across the English channel. One party of British soldiers becomes detached from the rest of the retreating Allies. John Mills plays an inexperienced lance corporal who resists an increase in rank, but when the chips are down performs with courage and authority in organizing the lost troop and shepherding them to Dunkirk. Running 135 minutes in its original release (much of the footage comprised of newsreel shots), Dunkirk was based on two novels: Eleston Trever's The Big Pick-Up and Lt. Col. Ewan Hunter and Maj. J. S. Bradford's Dunkirk. The above time pertains to the original British theatrical version; the film was reedited and shortened to 113 minutes for U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The internationally produced historical epic Genghis Khan sometimes wavers uncertainly between spectacle and self-parody. Though Omar Sharif essays the title role, top billing is bestowed upon Stephen Boyd as Genghis Khan's mentor-turned-enemy Jamuga. It's hard to generate audience sympathy for a Mongolian leader who laid waste to much of the civilized world, but Sharif manages to pull it off. While the battle scenes are impressive, the most memorable sequence involves an outsized fireworks display (which turns out to be a clever bit of military strategy). James Mason is amusing as an epigrammatic Chinese leader, Eli Wallach is appropriately hissable as the film's main villain, and the late Francoise Dorleac is decorative as the romantic bone of contention between Genghis Khan and Jamuga. Most of the film was lensed in Yugoslavia, a country that served as a generic location for many a historical pageant of the 1960s and 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This uneven spy saga finds secret agent Charles Hood (Vince Edwards) on the trail of the criminal master spy Hammerhead (Peter Vaughan). He tries to discover some NATO secrets in between his hobby of collecting antique erotica from around the world. Hood must stop the evil Hammerhead before he uses the secret information to spark an incident of international terrorism. In order to stop Hammerhead's sordid plan, he poses as a courier delivering erotica to the spy. Distaff interests are provided by Diana Dors and Judy Geeson in this feature that fails to take advantage of some beautiful scenes of Portugal. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Following his successful foray into swashbuckler comedy with The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, director Richard Lester made what has proved to be one of the few quality films from the disaster craze that dominated filmmaking in the mid-'70s. Juggernaut is the pseudonym of a madman (Freddie Jones) who plants several steel drums aboard a luxury liner and calls the company's officials once the boat has put out to sea, demanding a large sum of money in exchange for instructions on how to defuse bombs inside the drums. Anthony Hopkins plays one of the company officials whose wife and children are aboard the ship, Omar Sharif is the ship's captain, Shirley Knight is a passenger who is also his mistress, and Richard Harris and David Hemmings are two members of the bomb disposal team, which is helicoptered onto the ship to defuse the explosives. As in many of Lester's best works, humor pops up in unexpected places; particularly memorable are Harris as the weary but wisecracking top dog among the explosives experts and Lester regular Roy Kinnear as a bumbling entertainment director desperately trying to distract the apprehensive passengers. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a mugger accidently kills a man during a robbery and finds himself blackmailed into cracking a nightclub safe. The mugger escapes by double crossing the blackmailer by stealing the money and his girlfriend to boot. Unfortunately the police are in hot pursuit. They eventually capture him, but not before he kills an innocent tailor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide