Larry Cross Movies

In the early 1900s, an American businessman was kidnapped by a rebellious Arab chieftain, principally as a means to embarrass the sultan of Morocco. This abduction sparked the threat of armed intervention by President Theodore Roosevelt, which was never carried out. In The Wind and the Lion, the unattractive male captive is replaced by the gorgeous female Mrs. Pedecaris, an American widow played by Candice Bergen. The ruthless but essentially decent Arab chief Raisuli is portrayed by Sean Connery, while Teddy Roosevelt is depicted as a jingoistic blowhard by Brian Keith. The film's main theme -- that of America's emergence as a world power -- is largely secondary to the growing mutual-respect relationship between Mrs. Pedecaris and Raisuli. After releasing his hostage, Raisuli is himself captured by German forces, who at the behest of the Kaiser are seeking out methods of laying the groundwork for what would evolve into World War I. Mrs. Pedecaris must then help Raisuli escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this rabid anti-communist science fiction tract, scientist Arnold Kramer (Peter Arne) convinces the Pentagon that the communist Chinese are digging a complex series of tunnels from China and beneath the United States, from which they plan to detonate nuclear weapons and destroy the free world. Kramer enlists Commander Jonathan Shaw (Kerwin Mathews) to assist Kramer in trying to prevent the literal and final collapse of the U.S.A. Shaw sets up shop inside an extinct Hawaiian volcano, attempting to destroy the main supply tunnel coming from China. But before the team can complete their mission, they are captured y the evil Chinese. Now it is up to Shaw and Kramer to escape the clutches of the Chinese in order to activate a nuclear stockpile inside the tunnel and incinerate the Chinese forces. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A runaway baby carriage rolls to a halt, revealing that it carries a dead body. Following the trail of clues, Steed and Emma wind up at a dancing school, which is actually the headquarters of an organization that enables enemy spies to infiltrate England. Posing respectively as a potential customer and a dance instructor, Steed and Emma bluff their way into the school -- and of course, nearly end up waltzing into the Next World. Written by Robert Banks Stewart, "Quick-Quick Slow Death" was originally telecast in England on February 5, 1966; though it was not included in ABC's Avengers package, the episode was eventually seen in America via syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From Richard Lester, the director of 1980's Superman II and the 1964 A Hard Day's Night, comes this less-successful sequel to the The Mouse that Roared. The Prime Minister of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Ron Moody) is in a bind because he has no money to renovate his castle and there is a serious problem with his small country's main export, wine. The stuff tends to explode. So the Prime Minister asks the U.S. for aid to develop space research, knowing full well they are not going to give him money to remodel his castle. Once the U.S. grants a cool million to the country, Russia adds in a used rocket, and things start popping. Like it or not, the Duchy is suddenly involved in space research and contributing to the madness is the discovery that its unique wine makes good rocket fuel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The economy of the teeny-tiny European duchy of Grand Fenwick is threatened when an American manufacturer comes up with an imitation of Fenwick's sole export, its fabled wine. Crafty prime minister Count Mountjoy (Peter Sellers) comes up with a plan: Grand Fenwick will declare war on the United States. Grand Duchess Gloriana (Peter Sellers again) is hesitant: how can meek little Grand Fenwick win such a conflict? Mountjoy explains that the plan is to lose the war, then rely upon American foreign aid to replenish Grand Fenwick's treasury. Bumbling military officer Tully Bascombe (Peter Sellers yet again) leads his country's ragtag army into battle. They cross the Atlantic in an ancient wooden vessel, then set foot on Manhattan Island, fully prepared to down weapons and surrender. But New York City is deserted, due to an air raid drill. While wandering around, Sellers comes upon atomic scientist David Kossoff and the scientist's pretty daughter Jean Seberg. Kossoff has been working on the deadly "Q Bomb," a football-sized weapon with the destructive capacity of a hundred hydrogen bombs. Suddenly seized with patriotic fervor, Tully captures Kossoff, his daughter and the bomb and brings them all back to Grand Fenwick. Tully has "won" the war-precisely what he'd been told not to do. The upshot of this "victory" is that every world power converges upon Grand Fenwick to claim the Q Bomb for themselves. The satire is heavy-handed at times, but The Mouse That Roared contains several unforgettably hilarious moments, including one startling "false ending." One of the best gags involves the Columbia Pictures logo--a bit frequently cut from TV showings, worse luck. Based on one of the many "Grand Fenwick" novels by Leonard Wibberly, The Mouse That Roared was a success, yielding a Peter Sellers-less sequel, 1963's Mouse on the Moon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Time Lock is a textbook example of how a talented director and cast can do a lot with a little. Lensed in Canada, the story gets under way when a child is accidentally locked in a bank vault. The vault's time-lock isn't set to open for another 63 hours -- by which time, of course, the child will have suffocated. One expert after another tries to open the lock, to no avail. Finally, an appeal for help over the local radio station yields salvation. Though the film works best as an ensemble effort, Robert Beatty emerges as the star of the proceedings in the role of a no-nonsense vault expert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wicked as They Come stars Arlene Dahl as Kathy Allen, whose sour attitude on life has been formed by a sexual assault in her childhood. Rising out of the shabbiness of the Lower East Side, Kathy ruthlessly climbs the social and financial ladder by using and then abandoning a series of gullible older men. When she finally gets what she wants out of life, it still isn't enough, and it is this insatiability that leads to her downfall. Extensive location filming in London and Paris adds an exotic touch to this predictable melodrama. Wicked as They Come is based on Portrait in Smoke, a novel by Bill Ballington. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide