William P. Templeton Movies
- 1967
Real-life photographer Harrison Marks plays himself in this comedy about a series of nightmares he experiences, which lead him to believe that he is being accused of artistic prostitution with his life's work of photographing beautiful women. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1961
John McIntire appears as radio commentator Loren Hall, a character rumored to be based on The Untouchables' rat-a-tat narrator Walter Winchell. Relying heavily on his gangland connections, Hall dispatches several tantalizing bulletins about a mob-connected drug operation which has been robbing pharamacies and hospitals in the Chicago area. Though Elliot Ness Robert Stack has little success persuading Hall to reveal the sources of his information, by episode's end the newsman is forced to realize on his own that no one can "sit on the fence" in the war against crime. All this intrigue is interwoven with the betrayal and murder of gang boss Dino Patrone (Frank Silvera, the kidnapping of Dino's sheltered daughter Carla (Arlene Sax), and a homicidal hoodlum (Joseph Anthony) who happens to be a diabetic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
A prosaic filmization of George Orwell's cautionary novel, 1984 is set in a futuristic totalitarian society where individuality is forbidden. The ruler is the never-seen "Big Brother," whose minions have monitored and bugged the activities of the populace so that no one can harbor any "subversive" thoughts. Edmond O'Brien plays Winston Smith, a government functionary satisfied with his lot, until he commits the illegal act of falling in love with Julia (Jan Sterling), a member of the anti-sex league. The lovers try to escape the all-powerful influence of Big Brother, but their every move is recorded by listening and viewing devices. Both are captured and sent to rehabilitation centers; preying upon Winston's and Julia's innermost fears, the lieutenants of Big Brother break down their resistance and force them to betray one another. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
- 1951
Stanley Holloway carries the ball, comedically and dramatically, in the British Midnight Episode. Holloway plays "The Professor," a tattered hobo who recites Shakespeare for pennies. He also picks up spare change by opening car doors for theatre patrons. While thus occupied, the Professor is startled when a dead body tumbles out of a limousine. Soon after, the body disappears, leaving behind a wallet bulging with money. The Professor providentially turns in some of the money to the authorities, keeping the rest for himself--and thereby hangs the rest of this complicated tale. Wilfred Hyde-White, who later co-starred with Stanley Holloway in My Fair Lady, turns in a surprising characterization as the leader of a criminal gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Holloway, Leslie Dwyer, (more)
- 1950
The presence of Peter Lorre assured a modicum of American business for the British meller Double Confession. It all begins when the wife of Jim Medway (Derek Farr) turns up dead. Since the evidence points to murder, the embittered Medway does his best to pin the "killing" on his wife's lover, Charlie Durham (William Hartnell). But as Scotland Yard inspector Tenby (Naunton Wayne) finally proves, appearances are deceiving--if not downright fraudulent. Lorre's role is largely peripheral, but he does supply a few moments of genuine menace. Filmed in 1950, Double Confession was based on John Garden's novel All on a Summer's Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, (more)
- 1949
Based on a play by Pepine de Felipe, Her Favorite Husband is a British comedy set in Italy. Housewife Jean Kent is bemused by her husband Robert Beatty, who is not quite himself these days. In truth, he is not himself at all: Jean's husband has been replaced by a lookalike gangster who is plotting a big bank robbery. Once she tumbles to the truth, Kent is alternately repulsed and fascinated by her "new" spouse. Not exactly Shakespeare, Her Favorite Husband is a genial romp distinguished by a sizeable supporting cast of familiar British players. The film was released in the U.S. as The Taming of Dorothy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Kent, Robert Beatty, (more)
Adapted from the Graham Greene story The Basement Room, director Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol is told almost completely from a child's eye view-but it isn't a children's story. Young Bobby Henrey idolizes household butler Ralph Richardson. Therefore, when it seems as though Richardson might be implicated in a murder, Bobby does his best to throw the police off the track. The boy succeeds only in casting even more suspicion upon Richardson. As the story progresses, Henrey's hero worship is eroded by Richardson's shifty behavior, and even more so when the boy discovers that the butler's boasts of previous heroism are just so much hot air. The ending of the film differs radically from Greene's story. While it would seem that director Reed was merely paying homage to the "happy ending" philosophy (hardly likely, given the doleful climaxes of such films as Odd Man Out and The Third Man), the director had very solid reasons for altering the story: he was more fascinated by the concept of the boy's imagination nearly sending his idol to the gallows, rather than having the butler entrapped by facts. And though the ending is happy for the boy, the butler's fate is much more nebulous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, (more)
