Sammi Davis Movies
British actress Sammi Davis was born in the U.K. in 1964. She made her feature film debut in 1986 as a drug addict in Neil Jordan's crime drama Mona Lisa. In Ireland, she appeared in the political thriller A Prayer for the Dying with Mickey Rourke. On television she appeared on the series Auf Wiedersehen Pet along with the TV movies Pack of Lies and Day After the Fair. Back on the big screen, she played the promiscuous teenager Dawn in John Boorman's childhood war drama Hope and Glory. The film earned several awards in both the U.K. and U.S. She then collaborated with British director Ken Russell for the cult horror fantasy The Lair of the White Worm and as the lead in the erotic drama The Rainbow.Moving to the U.S. in 1991, she appeared on the WWII-era ABC drama series Homefront. Staying in the States, she starred in a tense drama called The Horseplayer and married her director, Kurt Voss. For the rest of the '90s, she made a few appearances in feature films and TV movies. She played a witch in the Allison Anders-directed section of Four Rooms and a stand-in for Jean Harlow in the '30s-era showbiz drama Stand-Ins. After a few starring roles back in the U.K., she moved to Los Angeles to work as a photographer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
A man struggling to escape the political unrest of Northern Ireland finds that his violent past still follows him in this drama. Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) is a terrorist with the Irish Republican Army who, while attempting to blow up a British military transport, accidentally bombs a bus full of schoolchildren. The incident haunts Fallon, who decides to quit the IRA and escape to London. Fallon wants to relocate to America, but he lacks a passport, and his criminal past would prevent him from getting one. Jack Meehan (Alan Bates), a British gangster who knows about Fallon's past, offers him a deal -- he can get Fallon the papers and the cash to go to America, but in return he must kill a man. A priest, Father De Costa (Bob Hoskins), witnesses Fallon committing the murder, and Fallon wants to find a way to keep De Costa quiet without putting more blood on his hands. The original director of A Prayer for the Dying, Franc Roddam, left the production midway through shooting due to disputes with the producers, and star Mickey Rourke later attempted to disassociate himself from the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, (more)
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, Alien vs. Predator follows billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) and his team of drillers, scientists, and archaeologists, to an obscure pyramid site in Antarctica. Among the icy ruins, allegedly, lies the proof of an empire predating humankind. Once there, however, the group finds more than ancient sarcophaguses and hieroglyphics; rather, their discovery consists of dismembered human skeletons and fossilized remains of the alien creatures that appear to have violently burst out of their chests. Even more horrifying is the evidence suggesting that the aliens may still exist. Indeed, there are aliens below the pyramids, but an equal threat looms above: three Predators, all on the verge of manhood, are engaged in a gruesome rite of passage -- every hundred years, young Predators must travel to Earth and take on a hunting ritual in order to complete the transition to adulthood or die in the process. Before long, the humans find themselves battling for their own lives as the Predators and aliens continue their fight for superiority. The film also features Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremmer, Colin Salmon, and Agathe de la Boulaye. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, (more)
When an undercover police detective visits her father in Germany, a family vacation becomes deadly business after father is shot and daughter must find the person who pulled the trigger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sammi Davis, Dominic Raacke, (more)
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Julie Cox, (more)
A British production created by Monty Python alumni, this film concerns an inept chocolate-factory executive (Tyler Butterworth) who accidentally knocks three workers into a vat. The product is an incredible hit with consumers, though one of the workers' widows (Vanessa Redgrave) is considering blackmail. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
Day After the Fair is a two-part TV adaptation of Thomas Hardy's On the Western Circuit. The unhappy wife (Hannah Gordon) of a brewery owner takes pity on a lonely, pregnant serving girl (Sammi Davis). The illiterate servant prevails upon her protector to write a letter to the London man (Martyn Stanbridge) whom the servant met briefly at a carnival. Almost in spite of herself, the brewer's wife finds herself the referee in the affaires d'amour of the lower orders. Taped in England, both parts of Day After the Fair were telecast in the U.S. back to back on March 12, 1988, as a double-header attraction on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This made-for-television drama centers on the events that transpired at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant the day something went horribly wrong and a meltdown occurred. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
Four of the most celebrated directors in the independent film community pooled their talents for this episodic comedy. Ted (Tim Roth) is the new bellboy at a beautiful but decaying luxury hotel; he is not having a good time of it on New Year's Eve, his first night on the job. In one room, a coven of witches are trying to summon the spirit of the goddess Diana; each of the witches must bring a different bodily fluid for their spell to work, but Eva (Ione Skye), who was supposed to bring semen, managed to lose her supplies, and needs Ted's help for a last-minute replacement. Another room, where Ted was supposed to deliver some ice, turns out to house an angry husband (David Proval), who is holding his bound-and-gagged wife (Jennifer Beals) at gunpoint. A third room is taken by a tough-talking gangster (Antonio Banderas), his doormat wife (Tamlyn Tomita), and their two children; the gangster demands that Ted watch over the kids, who turn out to be mischievous terrors beyond Ted's wildest imagination. And room number four is where an arrogant film actor (Quentin Tarantino) is holding a party. One of his guests makes a bet that he can get a Zippo lighter to light ten times in a row, with his finger at stake if he loses. Allison Anders directed the first segment, which also featured Madonna, Valeria Golino, and Lili Taylor. The second segment was directed by Alexandre Rockwell, husband of his frequent leading lady Jennifer Beals. Robert Rodriguez directed the third story, while the finale was directed by its star, Quentin Tarantino; the final segment also features Bruce Willis, who appeared unbilled. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Roth, Valeria Golino, (more)
An affectionate reverie about war, childhood, and British stoicism, John Boorman's Hope and Glory is the veteran filmmaker's recollection of the bombing of London during World War II. Set on the British home front during the early days of the war, this episodic movie shows the blitz through the eyes of seven-year-old Billy Rohan (Sebastian Rice Edwards). At the war's outset, Billy finds himself alone in a house full of women, as all the men are called off to join the war effort. With wide-eyed wonder and an outsized imagination, Billy sees the war as a grand diversion, an extension of his world of knights, tin soldiers, and war games. As bombs fall and houses burn, Billy's mother (Sarah Miles) struggles to keep the family together in her husband's absence. Even as Billy seeks to escape the harem of aunts and sisters, Dawn (Sammi Davis), his older sister, falls for a Canadian soldier who gets her pregnant. After the Rohans' home catches fire (not, ironically, as the result of a bomb blast, but from a domestic accident), the family is forced to move in with Billy's cantankerous grandfather in the countryside, where they spend the rest of their summer and enjoy an unusual idyll amid the raging war. Nominated in 1987 for a Best Picture Academy Award, Hope and Glory proved to be another high point in the career of the remarkably protean Boorman. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Sarah Miles, (more)
In this made-for-cable thriller, an unstable woman (Jennifer Beals) is drawn into the web of a scheming co-worker and the estranged husband (James Remar) of her boss. When her boss turns up the victim of a supposed suicide, things just don't quite add up. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
A novice knight and his unlikely allies lead a crusade against evil in this adventure set in 12th century France. Robert Nerra (Eric Stoltz) is a young knight who, after the death of his older brother, abandons the struggle to defend his father's property in a skirmish over land rights and instead sets out to offer his services to King Richard the Lionhearted. As Nerra makes his way through a France racked with poverty and sickness, he encounters a group of orphans who are trying to flee from the Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne), a dark-clad rogue knight who steals children and sells them to Arab slave merchants. At first thinking him to be King Richard himself, the children follow Nerra, and he tries to protect and organize them as best he can. As they march through France, the orphans' numbers grow, and soon Nerra finds himself leading a crusade of children as he at once leads them to safety and fights off the Black Prince's forces. Lionheart was one of the final films from veteran director Franklin J. Schaffner; the film received an unfortunately short-lived theatrical release and went largely unseen until it was released on home video in 1990, a year after Schaffner's death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
Bob Hoskins plays George, a tough but basically goodhearted British mob flunky, recently released from prison, where he'd served a term to cover up for his gangster boss (Michael Caine). Still willing to be everyone's doormat, George agrees to act as chauffeur for Simone (Cathy Tyson), a haughty, high-priced call girl. They don't like each other at first, but George begins to fall for her and take a protective interest. She implores him to help her find her only truly friend, a prostitute named Cathy (Kate Hardie). Touched by this devotion, George locates the girl, only to be chagrined to learn that Simone and Cathy are lovers. Hoskins is used and abused by so many people in Mona Lisa that when the worm finally does turn, you feel like cheering--even though it doesn't make him any happier. Director Neil Jordan cowrote this study of underworld mores with David Leland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, (more)
Adapted from the one-act play by Hugh Whitemore, Pack of Lies originally aired as a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation on April 26, 1987. Emmy-nominated Ellen Burstyn plays a Canadian housewife living in England, who dutifully allows a government agent (Alan Bates) into her house. The agent sets up a surveillance post in Burstyn's bedroom, ostensibly to keep close watch on a mysterious stranger. In truth, the agent is investigating Burstyn's neighbors Daniel Benzali and Terri Garr--who happen to be her best friends. Pack of Lies was based on a true story, which like its fictional counterpart coalesced into a melange of skewered ethics, deception and betrayal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comic suspense story, a man finds out the hard way that the bathroom can be the most dangerous part of the home. When Arne Steinberg (David Alex Rosen), a bachelor who lives in a beach house near the California coastline, buys a new home in a quiet Los Angeles suburb near Los Angeles, he soon learns why the place is so cheap: the previous tenant, Annie Ashland (Sammi Davis), died in the house, and the authorities are still trying to determine if it was murder or suicide. Just as Arne is getting used to this news, he's visited by Tilly Rensley (Alexa Jago), a free-thinking documentary filmmaker who was Annie's best friend -- and doesn't yet know about her death. When she hears the news, Tilly is convinced that Annie could not have killed herself, and she fast-talks Arne into helping her track down the killer, although Arne's interest is largely dictated by Tilly's fondness for taking her clothes off. Soft Toilet Seats was the debut feature from writer/director Tina Valinsky, who previously worked as a TV journalist and documentary filmmaker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex David Rosen, Alexa Jago, (more)
The actress Peg Entwistle (aka Lillian Millicent Entwistle) appeared as Hazel in David O. Selznick's Thirteen Women (1932), and tragically, on September 18, 1932, she leaped from the letter "H" of the Hollywood sign. An opening re-creation of Peg Entwistle's fatal plunge establishes the mood for this dark Hollywood drama, and then the action moves to a bar, operated by Jack (Costas Mandylor). The bar is the haven for a group of aspiring actresses who came in search of the Hollywood dream but instead serve as stand-ins for well-known screen stars. After three days on pills and alcohol, Garbo stand-in Shirley (Daphne Zuniga) has a run-in with mean-spirited Bette Davis-double Monica (Jordan Ladd). The stand-ins assemble at Jack's bar to stage a bitchy birthday party for Jean Harlow-look-alike Martha Anne (Sammi Davis), dysfunctional at age 30. Mae West-stand-in Peggy (Charlotte Chatton) and Dietrich-double Rhonda (Missy Crider) are also on hand for the festivities. The screenplay by Ed Kelleher and director Harvey Keith expands and embellishes Kelleher's one-act play. Shown at the 1997 Hamptons Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daphne Zuniga, Costas Mandylor, (more)
Kurt Voss' neo-noir stars Brad Dourif as ex-con Bud Cowan, who falls prey to the schemes of an artist (M.K. Harris) and his twisted sister (Sammi Davis). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Dourif, Sammi Davis, (more)
Ken Russell's Lair of the White Worm uses Dracula author Bram Stoker's final novel as the basic springboard into a surreal and dark-humored tale concerning a bizarre cult and a series of sacrificial murders in honor of an ancient pagan god. When archeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaladi) discovers the mysterious scull of an undiscovered beast, further investigation reveals a bizarre myth concerning a medieval knight slaying a fearsome dragon. Soon making the acquaintance of Lord James D'Ampton (Hugh Grant), the conquering knight's descendant, Flint begins to learn of local lore surrounding the creature and soon discovers that, throughout the years, many unexplained disappearances have haunted the local populace. With all trails leading back to the elegant mansion of mysterious recluse Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), Lord D'Ampton makes Marsh's acquaintance amidst growing speculation that the strangely seductive siren may have something to do with a rash of recent disappearances. As Flint and D'Ampton's stories begin to strangely intersect, a surreal and horrific journey into the lair of an ancient god may hold they key to an age-old mystery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, (more)
In this made-for-cable TV psychological thriller, a sister must prove that her brother's new girl, a nurse, is a deeply troubled psycho-killer who would rather see her lovers die than fall into another woman's clutches. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Ken Russell returns to the D.H. Lawrence territory that had earlier served him well in Women in Love. Sammi Davis plays Lawrence's Welsh heroine Ursula Brangwen, daughter of a wealthy mine owner, who is first seen as a child given to literally chasing rainbows. Disappointed that she can never have the real thing, the older Davis seeks out figurative rainbows in the form of sexual fulfillment. Neither heterosexual nor homosexual affairs fully satisfy Davis, because no one lover can match the "ideal" the girl has created in her imagination. Davis' disappointment in the world is paralleled with the sorry lot of the wives of the local coal miners, who have adapted to their lives--something Davis can never do, will never do. Stately despite its raw subject matter, The Rainbow was filmed just before Russell's outrageous sword-and-sorcery fantasy Lair of the White Worm; since both films utilize many of the same cast members, the two pictures might make an astonishing double feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sammi Davis, Paul McGann, (more)
John Lone, the star of the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor (89), portrays a Chinese revolutionary in Shadow of China. Pursued by the Communists, Lone escapes to Hong Kong, where he builds up a multimillion dollar business enterprise. He hopes to use his international clout to effect changes in Mainland China, but he is defeated by revelations of his earlier underhanded business practices, and by the "dangerous" aspects of his previous political activities. Filmed on location, Shadow of China has its moments of violence, but none so extreme as to detract from the storyline. Also, John Lone proves again how his talents have often been wasted in less ambitious projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lone, Koichi Sato, (more)






















