Bernard Browne Movies

An upscale shopping mall is targeted by ruthless master thief Scalzetti (Eric Roberts). With a small but well-armed band of henchmen, Scalzetti storms the mall and takes all the Yuletide shoppers hostage. It is up to police lieutenant Cornelius Morgan (Dean Cain), recently suspended from the force, to outwit the villains and rescue the captives. A fleet of hyperactive go-karts figure into the finale of this made-for-cable thriller, which made its TBS network debut on December 1, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1974, Cicely Tyson and director John Korty (The Ewok Adventure) worked together on the acclaimed The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (winner of nine Emmys), and they reteamed for this updating of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. When miserly banker Ebenita Scrooge (Tyson) is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael J. Reynolds), visions prompt her to reflect on her life. An earlier female Scrooge was played by Susan Lucci in 1995, and a Mrs. Scrooge with Sally Kellerman is also in development. The TV movie Ms. Scrooge premiered December 10, 1997 on the USA Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The British writer/director team of Jimmy Sangster and Seth Holt was never satisfied unless it scared the bejeepers out of its audience. Scream of Fear stars Susan Strasberg as the crippled daughter of Ann Todd, whom she meets for the first time during a vacation on the Riviera. There's something unsettling about Strasberg's surroundings and her mother's behavior. But when Strasberg insists that she's seen the dead body of her father, it is she who is considered off the beam, while everyone else is treated as normal. Perhaps the authorities are right; perhaps Strasberg is merely neurotic and overwrought. And perhaps there's more than one plot twist ahead of us as we draw nearer and nearer the truth. Scream of Fear was originally released in Great Britain as Taste of Fear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British Room for Two takes place in a back-lot Venice. Womanizing Englishman Vic Oliver takes a fancy to married tourist Frances Day. In a plot device right out of Charley's Aunt, Oliver disguises himself in drag and hires on as Day' maid (female impersonation was a valuable part of music-hall favorite Oliver's repertoire). When Day's philandering hubby Basil Radford comes home, the laughs start rolling in. Room for Two is based on a stage farce by Gilbert Wakefield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Spy In Black is the story of a German World War I submarine captain (Conrad Veidt) who is given a mission to discover British intelligence secrets. Once he arrives in the Orkney Islands, he meets up with a female schoolteacher (Valerie Hobson), who happens to be a German agent. Veidt falls in love with Hobson before discovering she's actually a double agent for the British. In America, Spy in Black was originally released under the title U-Boat 29. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Harry Baur, who in the 1930s was the most distinguished character actor in Europe, was the star of the 1936 French historical epic Tarass Boulba. Based on a story by Gogol, the film depicted the 16th century struggle between the Poles and the Russian Cossacks, with emphasis on the rift between Tartar leader Tarass Boulba and his scholarly son. The film did well enough on the continent to prompt an English-language version in 1939, The Rebel Son, which also starred Harry Baur. The film utilized generous portions of the 1936 French production; the result was a hodgepodge of contrasting styles. Andre Brunel, director of the English version, failed to properly match the film work of the original French version's director Alexis Granowsky; in turn, the additional scenes directed by an uncredited Albert de Coureville bore little relation to Brunel's work. Even at 88 minutes, The Rebel Son was tough sledding, with many filmgoers walking out after half an hour. In desperation, the British distributors pared the film down to 70 minutes and shipped it out to double bills under the title The Barbarian and the Lady (the "lady" in the film is the girlfriend of barbarian Tarass Boulba's son--the daughter of his hated rival). Despite the utter failure of this enterprise, producer Samuel Bronston had another go at the Gogal original with his 1962 production Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in 1932, Men of Tomorrow represented the film debut of Robert Donat. The story follows a young, idealistic Oxford student in the years following his graduation. Now a successful novelist, Allen Shepherd (Maurice Bradell) has married college sweetheart Jane Anderson (Joan Gardner). A firm proponent of the "woman's place is in the home" school, Allen walks out on Jane when she accepts a teaching post in Oxford's chemistry department. Eventually he realizes what a heel he's been, and the couple is reunited. Though both Robert Donat and Merle Oberon are cast in supporting roles, they were given top billing when Men of Tomorrow was distributed in the U.S. in 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide