Paul Dawkins Movies

An investigative reporter leads a camera crew into a maze of tunnels beneath Sydney, Australia's St. James Train Station, and learns that the South Wales Government abandoned plans to tap an underground water reserve for a very good reason. When rumors begin to surface of a massive government cover-up, journalist Natasha Warner vows to uncover the truth about the derelict tunnel system. As Natasha and her team descend ever deeper into darkness, they soon realize they aren't the only ones in the tunnels. Now, one-by-one, people are disappearing. By the time the horrifying truth is uncovered, there may be no one left to tell the public of the terror that lurks just beneath the city streets. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

One man's dreams of success take him on a Byzantine journey through the various stations of the British class system in this politically charged black comedy from director Lindsay Anderson. Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is an ambitious young man who is looking to get his foot on the first rung of the ladder of success by landing a job as a salesman. After the death of Imperial Coffee's leading drummer in the North, Travis' charm and enthusiasm so impresses manager Mr. Duff (Arthur Lowe) that he's given the job, and after some coaching from Gloria Rowe (Rachel Roberts), Travis sets out to find his fortune in the coffee trade. Travis' desire for success quickly sets him on a curious odyssey in which he happens upon a secret sex club for businessmen, finds himself the subject of random seductions by lonely women, is captured and tortured by military intelligence agents, submits to medical experiments at a bizarre private clinic, hitches a ride with a traveling rock band led by former Animals keyboardist Alan Price, falls in love with a beautiful young bohemian named Patricia (Helen Mirren), goes to work for her father (Ralph Richardson), who happens to be a singularly corrupt political figure, and eventually lands in prison after he's implicated in a deal to sell chemical weapons to the Third World. As Mick's strange tale progresses, we periodically visit Price and his band in the recording studio or rehearsal hall, as they work on songs which serve as both mirror and counterpoint for Travis' progress. O Lucky Man! was the second film in which Malcolm McDowell would portray Mick Travis for director Lindsay Anderson, following If..., and preceding Britannia Hospital; the film's surreal undercurrent was reinforced by the casting, in which nearly all of the principal actors play two or three roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The British/American co-production My Lover, My Son stars Romy Schneider as Frances, the unhappy wife of businessman Robert (Donald Houston). When her lover is accidentally drowned, Frances turns to her teenaged son James (Dennis Waterman) for comfort. Her husband doesn't like this set-up and bundles James off to college, but upon his return the boy enters into an affair with his own mother. Robert discovers the incestuous couple in an embrace and reacts violently, whereupon Frances kills him in self defense. Knocked unconscious during the struggle, James thinks he is the killer and takes the rap. The boy is released on the grounds of self defense and returns to his mother -- only to renounce her when he discovers that he's the illegitimate son of his mother's dead lover. MGM was the American distributor for My Lover, My Son, and that low vibration you feel is Louis B. Mayer spinning in his grave. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this psychological drama set at a posh boy's school, a tenured teacher is enraged after learning that the school board has again assigned the position of headmaster to someone else. Angry and extremely bored with his life and marriage to an independently wealthy woman, the teacher drives himself insane with his desire to change things. First he pays a corrupt student to claim that the teacher molested him. This creates a terrible scandal for the school. Then, he and his mistress humiliate his wife so badly that she kills herself. Suddenly, for the first time, the school teacher is free. Unfortunately, the freedom is short-lived as the police soon move in and bring him to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This comedy finds a veteran crook turning to modern computer technology to steal money from various companies. Even before he is released from jail Caesar (Peter Ustinov) is planning his high-tech heist. He cons American executive Klemper (Karl Malden) and sets up three bogus companies to receive funds from the corporate office. Klemper's faithful assistant Gnatpole (Bob Newhart) is suspicious and investigates the unusual activities. Smith (Robert Morley) gives Caesar the computer lesson that puts him on the fast track to thievery. Caesar marries Patty (Maggie Smith), who surprises her husband by earning more money than her crooked spouse by honest means. Cesar Romero is the smiling customs official who lets Caesar pass through with a bagful of money from the crime while Klemper's jar of instant coffee falls under suspicion. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This 1967 version of Thomas Hardy's novel should have done better at the box office than it did, given the star power of Julie Christie and the visual and aural fidelity to its source material. Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a country heiress who is loved by three different men: Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Convinced that she is the intellectual superior of all three, Bathesheba loses many early opportunities for lasting happiness. Finally shedding herself of her haughty attitude, Bathsheba unconditionally accepts the love of Bates. The euphoric exuberance of Nicolas Roeg's photography is matched by the direction of John Schlesinger and the screenplay by Frederick Raphael. Only the nittiest of nitpickers would complain that some of the medium shots don't match the closeups (watch Terence Stamp's clown makeup in one scene). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In London for a medical checkup, Emir Abdulla Akaba (Henry Soskin) is murdered by a person or persons unknown. This proves embarrassing for Steed and Cathy, who'd been assigned to protect the Emir. Still in disguise as a hotel chef and social secretary, the Avengers try to determine who knocked off the victim -- and try to keep from being knocked off themselves. With a punch line straight out of the vintage George Arliss vehicle Old English, "Death a la Carte" first aired in England on December 21, 1963. Written by John Lucarotti, the episode made its American cable TV debut on March 20, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi