Lee Dunne Movies
- 1997
During the prologue, a room filled with terrified Irish students listen while a professor solemnly warns them that their performance on the three-hour test laid before them will determine their success or failure in life. Liberally laced with irony, this subversive comedy from Irish director/co-writer and co-producer Graham Jones, centers on the attempts of six young friends to devise a way to cheat on their upcoming Leaving Certificate, a grueling comprehensive exam that will allow them to receive diplomas. The test causes so much anxiety that some students have committed suicide rather than risk failure. The young rebels are willing to fudge because they strongly believe that the test and the whole education system is hopelessly outdated and will not prepare them adequately for the future. As they carry on with their plan, the story takes a turn away from comedy into the realm of genuine suspense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eamon Morrissey, Aileen O'Connor, (more)
- 1970
- PG
Paddy Maguire (Des Cave) is the wild Irish rogue who works as a butcher in Dublin. Harry (Milo O'Shea) is his good friend and drinking companion. He has an affair and his first sexual encounter with the attractive widow Mrs. Kearney (Maureen Toal). He eventually takes a job with an insurance company where he has another affair with his secretary Maureen (Dearbhla Molloy). He also has a romantic romp with Breeda (Judy Cornwell), who revels in having more than one man at once. Maureen becomes pregnant and tells Paddy she is marrying another man because he is irresponsible. He goes drinking with Harry, who has taken up with the American tourist Irenee (Peggy Cass). Several memorable performances are given in this comedy taken from the novel by Lee Dunne. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milo O'Shea, Des Cave, (more)
- 1970
- PG
In this drama, an Irish Catholic bride is devastated when her pregnant mother miscarries and dies on her wedding day. The young woman, one of seven children, blames her father's lust for the death. When her own wedding night arrives she is terrified and refuses to consummate the marriage. Her husband is gentle and hopes that she will get over her fear. He decides to give her time and so takes a job as a commercial artist in London. The bride stays in Dublin and takes care of her younger brothers and sisters until another sibling urges her to join her spouse. By this time the husband's patience runs out and he tries to take her by force. The bride becomes hysterical and flees back home. Meanwhile the husband eases his sexual tensions with a former girl friend. The bride goes to the doctor who suggests she use contraceptives. Unfortunately, the Church forbids it. She then asks her priest to annul her marriage, but he will not. The poor girl is so upset that she suffers a breakdown and tries to kill herself in the hospital. When her husband hears of this he comes to her. Together, they swear to take all the time they need to help her overcome her terrible fear with love and understanding. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tessa Wyatt, Dennis Waterman, (more)
- 1969
The moral dilemma of a young Catholic woman is intensified when her religion forbids the use of birth control. When her own mother dies during childbirth on her wedding day, the woman becomes fraught with a fury of anger, guilt and sexual dysfunction. The woman is forced to care for the seven children her mother left behind as the groom must leave on business, and the tirades of a narrow-minded priest further complicate the relationship between the newlyweds. This film is meant to pose serious questions of universal concern to those who follow the path of religious dogma insisted upon by the church. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tessa Wyatt, Dennis Waterman, (more)
