Jean Anderson Movies

This British television docu-drama dishes up the turbulent royal marriage of Charles and Lady Di. The story is based on Andrew Morton's tell-all book and is considered the most accurate version of the situation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed for British television in 1991, Black Velvet Gown is a two-part adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel. The story begins in 1834; Riah Millican (Janet McTeer), left penniless by her husband's death, is evicted from her home along with her children. She takes a job as housekeeper for Percival Miller (Bob Peck), the reclusive master of Gulmington Mansion. Soon Riah is ruling the roost, as it were, and is in a position to hire and fire servants on her own. Part Two involves the arrival of illiterate serving girl Biddy (Geraldine Somerville), and the ensuing consequences. Black Velvet Gown was telecast in the US in 1993 on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Peter Davison stars as bespectacled, aristocratic private detective Albert Campion in this two-part adaptation of Margery Allingham's novel Death of a Ghost. Each year, the friends of a deceased painter gather to unveil one of his final 12 paintings. It is during one of these annual unveilings that the lights suddenly go out--and when they go back on again, a rather unpleasant young artist named Dacre (Patrick Bailey) turns up murdered. Before long, Dacre's own painting begin mysteriously vanishing. Campion has a pretty good idea who is the killer and thief, but Inspector Oakes (Andrew Burt) is not so easily persuaded--at least, not until murder rears its ugly head yet again. In America, "eath of a Ghost" was telecast November 9 and 16, 1989, as part of the PBS anthology Mystery! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three purloined video tapes create all sorts of problems for the two teens who stole them in this horror trilogy that was originally made for television. The tapes they swiped, so they could have movie night with their girl friends, are "Killer Punch," featuring a cruel puppeteer using his craft to torment his family; "Scream House," about a young couple living in a house haunted by the spectre of a deranged killer; and "Garden of Blood," a chronicle of two hapless gardeners assigned to tend a haunted yard. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Roald Dahl from a novel by Joy Crowley, The Road Builder is better known by its American release title: The Night Digger. Patricia Neal, then Mrs. Dahl, stars as the repressed middle-aged adopted daughter of blind and elderly Pamela Brown. Both women are drawn to Nicholas Clay, a seriously disturbed young handyman whom they shield from the authorities. Neal and Brown are particularly fascinated by Clay's mysterious nocturnal forays. When Neal decides to offer herself sexually to Clay, she learns to her horror just why Clay spends so much time outdoors at night. An eerie Bernard Herrmann score enhances the stomach-churning tension. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British musical star Tommy Steele had starred in Half a Sixpence in London and on Broadway, thus he was first choice for this garish film version. Based on the H.G. Wells story Kipps (previously filmed in 1941 with Michael Redgrave), Half a Sixpence tells the tale of a humble London drapery clerk (Steele) who inherits a fortune. He briefly forgets his old mates and his faithful girl friend (Julia Foster), but soon discovers that High Society isn't his cup of tea. Filmed during the "monster musical" cycle fostered by The Sound of Music, Half a Sixpence isn't really suited for the spectacular approach dictated by co-producer Charles H. Schneer. Fortunately, the guiding directorial hand is the film's other producer: George Sidney, a veteran of MGM's Arthur Freed unit, who knew how to successfully weld music with story. Thanks to Sidney and star Steele, Half a Sixpence never gets too out of hand, though we'd argue with some of the eyestrain-inducing color choices in the bigger numbers. The film might have done better at the box office had the score yielded a few hit songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a whimsical novel by Paul Gallico, Disney's Three Lives of Thomasina is an imaginative tale of a resourceful cat. Thomasina is the pet of Karen Dotrice, the daughter of taciturn Scottish veterinarian Patrick McGoohan. When Thomasina falls ill, McGoohan coldly diagnoses the cat as suffering from tetanus and declares that the pet must be put out of its misery. As Dotrice and her friends sadly prepare to bury the "dead" Thomasina, backwoods girl Susan Hampshire, who is said to be a witch, shows up and runs off with the kitty corpse. Using equal doses of intuition and love, Hampshire revives Thomasina, who of course wasn't dead at all. While in limbo, Thomasina ascends to Cat Heaven, where her case is heard by the Cat Goddess (this is a wonderful piece of special-effects wizardry, even if you don't like cats). Returned to life, Thomasina has no memory of her previous existence. Thus, the cat runs off in terror when Dotrice sees her again during a torrential downpour. Now it is Dotrice who becomes seriously ill, necessitating a collaboration between the cold, cut-and-dried ministrations of her father and the tender loving care of the "bewitched" Hampshire. As it turns out, Thomasina is the catalyst for both Dotrice's recovery and the film's happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fitzjohn (Peter Sellers) is a retired general who is miserable at home with his shrewish wife Emily (Margaret Leighton). He dreams of younger days when he enjoyed the platonic company of the beautiful Ghislaine (Dany Robin). After many years, she shows up at his door and expresses her desire to take their relationship beyond the platonic level. When his plans are temporarily postponed, he leaves her in care of his right hand man. His aid and Ghislaine fall in love, prompting Fitzjohn to begin court-martial proceedings against his unfaithful aide. When the lineage of his aide is discovered, he tries to halt the trial in this ironic comedy taken from the play by Jean Anouilh. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Five passengers on a seaplane find that a crash has stranded them on an island used for nuclear testing in this disaster movie. Just to get to the island, they had to endure many hardships including a hurricane, a gun-battle, shark-infested seas, and a fire on the plane. Panic ensues when the diverse group learns that in five hours, another bomb will be tested there. While the story is action-based, most of the time is spent looking at the individual characters and the way they cope. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Under the stress of wartime privations, a young Austrian boy is beaten by his Father, who threatens to sell his dog, a St. Bernard, to the butcher to help pay for food for the family. A kindly veterinarian and spinster finally take a hand in rectifying the situation. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

One of several feature film versions of the late 19th century novel by Rolf Boldrewood, this frontier adventure is set not in the Wild West of the U.S., but in the equally untamed Australian Outback of the same era. Two brothers, Jim (David McCallum) and Dick Marsten (Ronald Lewis) follow in their father's footsteps by leaving home to seek adventure as gunfighters. They become outlaws in the roving band led by stylish Captain Starlight (Peter Finch), who leads them on a series of escapades robbing banks and rustling cattle. Though they find the excitement and romance they craved, the Marstens soon become disillusioned with a life on the run and begin to wish that they could resume the mantle of honest, hard-working citizens. Unfortunately, events transpire to put the entire Starlight gang out of operation before the brothers can recommence their formerly law-abiding ways. Produced by Britain's Rank Organization, Robbery Under Arms (1957) was followed by a television series remake in 1985 and a handful of other films set against the colorful backdrop of the Australian frontier, including The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Quigley Down Under (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A fine upstanding wife finds it difficult to keep her sordid past as a criminal a secret from her husband and neighbors. The trouble begins when someone robs a neighbor. As the wife suddenly vanishes thereafter, the police immediately label her the prime suspect. Meanwhile, her husband searches the city in hopes of proving her innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide