Maryam D'Abo Movies

For those with a taste for the repugnant comes this gory blood-and-guts fest that tells the horrific story of a British fellow who gets kidnapped by aliens and three years later is returned carrying infectious spores that have transformed him into a kind of crab thingy that causes all kinds of perverse sexual and violent mayhem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Another of the many Sidney Sheldon novels given the TV-miniseries treatment in the 1970s and '80s, Master of the Game yielded a three-part, nine-hour extravaganza, with enough corporate and romantic intrigue to fill an entire television season. Covering nearly 100 years, the story (which remained astonishingly faithful to the book) begins in the late 19th century, when ruthless young Scottish entrepreneur Jamie McGregor (Ian Charleson) emigrates to South Africa, in hopes of accumulating enough wealth and power to get even with his longtime enemy, Dutch merchant Van der Merwe (Donald Pleasence). Thanks to an extremely prolific diamond mine, the money comes quickly -- as does vengeance, when McGregor deflowers Van der Merwe's convent-educated daughter, Margaret (Cherie Lunghi). The result of this indiscretion is a daughter named Kate (Dyan Cannon), who turns out to be the "Master" of the title. Upon attaining adulthood, Kate assumes control of her father's vast financial empire, ruling her inherited international conglomerate, and her husband, David Blackwell (David Birney), with an iron fist. The story continues into the next several generations, with Kate's lily-livered son, Tony (Harry Hamlin), giving birth to twin daughters, Eve and Alexandra (both played by Liane Langland). One is good, the other evil; the evil twin threatens threaten to destroy everything that Kate has so painstakingly built up. Eventually, they both become the victims of a sneering, malevolent gigolo (Fernando Allende) with a penchant for beating young women senseless. Told in flashback, the narrative comes to a head during Kate's 90th birthday celebration, an event tainted by the efforts of a mysterious killer to wipe the domineering matriarch and her family from the face of the earth. Largely filmed on location, Master of the Game was telecast by CBS from February 19 to 22, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed in 1982, Arthur the King wasn't able to secure a network-TV berth until April 26, 1985. Malcolm McDowell plays good King Arthur, whose dream of Camelot is endangered by the evil Morgan Le Fay, played by Candice Bergen in her TV-movie debut. That this might have been intended as the pilot for a weekly series is evidenced by the otherwise pointless inclusion of Dyan Cannon, cast as a ditzy 20th- Century tourist who falls through a time warp while roaming around Stonehenge. You'll want to see Arthur the King if only to find out why minor-player Miro Pfeiffer's character name is "Undead Knight". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Living Daylights represents the first appearance by Timothy Dalton as "Bond...James Bond." Based very, very loosely on an obscure Ian Fleming short story, the film finds Bond assigned to aid in the defection of KGB agent Jeroen Krabbe. 007 must prevent an unknown sniper from killing Krabbe before he can reach the West. The mysterious assailant turns out to be the luscious Maryam d'Abo, who like practically everyone in the film except Bond is Not All That She Seems. The plot wends its way through a scheme to trade several million dollars' worth of diamonds for weapons, which will be shipped off to mercenaries worldwide. The climax takes place high above the clouds in a cargo plane loaded with opium. Dalton would play Bond one more time in License to Kill (1989) before handing the franchise over to Pierce Brosnan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nightlife was produced for the USA Cable Network, which might give you a general idea of its artistic merit. On its own junk-food-for-the-eyes terms, however, this vampire comedy is a stitch. Ben Cross and Maryam D'Abo star as a loving vampire couple who go out on a night on the town (they certainly can't go out in the daytime). "Normal" human being Keith Szarabaijka spots Maryam, and it's love at first...sight. The script, by director Daniel Taplitz and former Saturday Night Live staffer Anne Beatts, works well on a comedy-sketch level, though the 90-minute length tends to suck the premise dry. Nightlife was first telecast on August 23, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stars and famous locations abound in this multinational production, a would-be "financial thriller" about swindles and betrayals among jet-set gazillionaires, which takes place in glamor spots all over the globe. Somebody has stolen millions of dollars from his father, and Frank Cimballi (Eric Stoltz) means to find out who. To that end, he enlists the help of a variety of people, including a man (Mario Adorf) who is wealthy in his own right, and a French private eye (Bruno Cremer) who appears to have read too many American detective novels. The bad guys seem to have Nazi connections, which adds spice to the chase, but reviewers discounted this movie, based on a best-selling French novel, for its slapdash storytelling. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A Jewish Londoner embarks on a journey to find himself after learning some shocking news about his past in this eccentric British comedy. As the film begins, Leon (Mark Frankel) is already in a time of transition, having quit his job for moral reasons and assumed a position in his mother's catering firm. His life is thrown into even more disarray when a bizarre coincidence reveals the truth behind his birth: not only was his birth the result of artificial insemination, but a lab mix-up means that his real, biological father is a complete stranger. The confused Leon sets out to find his "real" dad, and unexpectedly discovers that he is descended from a family of Yorkshire pig farmers. Co-directors Vadim Jean and Gary Sinyor move their story in fits and starts, allowing room for countless digressions, from a torrid affair with a outrageous artist (Maryam d'Abo) to the accidental breeding of a rather unique pig. While the film proves uneven, fans of the quirkier varieties of British comedy should find Leon the Pig Farmer's off-beat tone and taste for surrealistic details suitably entertaining. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This direct-to-video item puts an interesting sci-fi/horror spin on the "erotic thriller" genre. Richard Grieco plays Tom, a man suffering from a rare DNA disorder, who becomes the subject of a bizarre experiment by repressed geneticist Jacki ($Maryam D'Abo). Injected with a serum containing the genetic traits of a cat, Tom is restored to health and transformed into a sinewy hunk with superhuman agility and a decidedly feline demeanor -- complete with a savage, murderous sex drive. Though this added trait makes him doubly attractive to his doctor, it also compels him to destroy every woman with whom he mates. Though the majority of the film's tension is of the sexual kind (and quite steamy at that), the more horrific plot elements are well-driven by Grieco's manic intensity -- until the disappointing climax, which shows the earmarks of a writer in over his head. Also known as Dangerous Desires. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this marital-arts actioner two rival boys master the art of fighting and as young adults engage in a deadly and illegal "shootfight," a match with no rules where only the winner survives. Some of the fight scenes are excellent, however, they are quite violent and gory. On video it has been released in two versions: the R-rated one is a little less explicitly violent than the unrated version. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Forty-three years after the first screen treatment of Terence Rattigan's play about a teacher facing the end of his career, Albert Finney takes on the role of Mr. Crocker-Harris, the Latin teacher forced into early retirement by a heart condition. After teaching in a public school for twenty years, Crocker-Harris is being put out to pasture in a less stressful job teaching English to foreigners. Meanwhile, his home life is also falling apart: his wife (Greta Scacchi) is having an affair with the American chemistry teacher (Matthew Modine), who nevertheless admires Crocker-Harris for his dignity and decency. Through it all, Crocker-Harris hides his pain behind his stiff British reserve. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In this chilling drama, a beautiful widow's gratitude turns to naked fear when she learns that a good Samaritan has been stalking her after saving the life of her son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the 23rd century, a penal colony in a distant galaxy falls into anarchy when an inmate loads a virus into the central computer system. While cryonic suspension was used to control the most dangerous criminals there, with the computers down, these deadly men are back in circulation and determined to cause mayhem. With a gang of brilliant but dangerous inmates in control, a petty thief and the driver of the prison's shuttle craft must stand against these lawless men for their own survival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

TV-commercial director Kevin W. Smith wrote and directed this British romantic comedy, his feature-film directorial debut. Composer Mike (Reece Dinsdale) hopes to create symphonies. Instead, he dashes off jingles for TV commercials and gets rhapsodic over memories of ex-girlfriend Helen (Victoria Smurfit). Mike's carefree buddy Tony (John Hannah) is a painter who alternates alcohol and a stressful relationship with tempestuous Moira (Rowena King). Soon Mike's life takes several unexpected twists and turns. First, he falls in step with a French female, Sara (Clara Bellar). The attraction is mutual, so the two depart together on an idyllic vacation. Next, Mike locates his mother (Susannah York), who 35 years previous had left his father (Frank Finlay). Mike's misadventures are chronicled in a narration delivered by Dinsdale. Shown at the 1997 London Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide