Hilary Pritchard Movies

The British "Adventures Of..." series can be described as a dirtier "Carry On" (if such a thing is possible). Christopher Neil plays the title character in 1987's Adventures of a Private Eye. Neil's life is plunged into peril when he agrees to deal with a blackmailer. To achieve his purposes, our hero is obliged to make love to every beautiful girl he meets; it's meant to be satirical, but the laughs often take second place to the heavy breathing. If nothing else, Adventures of a Private Eye treats us to a performance by the delectable 1960s leading lady Suzy Kendall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Manic British comedian Frankie Howerd transferred his Up Pompeii format from ancient Rome to the Arabian Nights milieu, and the result was the sidesplitting sitcom Whoops Baghdad. This time around, Howerd was cast as Ali Oopla, bondservant and bodyguard to the Wazir of Baghdad (Derek Francis). While the rest of the cast played the various plot intrigues "straight," Howerd went through his customary paces, dispensing anachronistic cockney insults around the streets of Baghdad, pausing periodically to address the audience, and shamelessly ogling the series' abundant supply of scantily clad harem girls. The six-episode Whoops Baghdad was originally telecast from January 25 to March 1, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timothy Bartlett (Norman Wisdom) is a middle-aged banker who is sent to a seaside resort for a banker's convention. He fears the meetings will be frightfully dull, but things change when two amorous hippie girls take Timothy for a sail on the sea of love. Timothy goes middle-aged crazy, making a spectacle of himself in hippie clothes as he tries to fit into the swinging scene. Nude dips in the ocean are followed and preceded by wild parties as he tries to recapture the days of his flaming youth. After he feels remorse and embarrassment over his behavior, he calls on his wife to join him at the convention to rekindle their love in this lowbrow comedy. The British rock group The Pretty Things provides the music. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a young Englishman wants to become a surgeon, but after medical school, his father dies, leaving him the responsibility of supporting his mother and paying for his brother's education. He becomes a partner in a small practice and watches the woman he wanted to marry go off with his brother. The brother is killed in WWI, after which his illegitimate son is born. The doctor marries the woman, but she dies in childbirth, leaving him to raise his brother's child. Eventually, he finds a new wife. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

In this spy caper, a double agent swipes classified British plans for a new kind of patrol boat and tries to sell them to the Nazis. They end up beating him. Later his wife burns the plans just before the cops get there. They end up arresting the Germans while the house burns to the ground. The angry spy then shoots his wife and dies in the blaze. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It's a tossup as to which George Eliot novel has most often been adapted to the screen, though it appears that Mill on the Floss has nosed out Silas Marner. Set in early 19th century England, the story focuses on the long-standing rivalry between two Lincolnshire families. The animosity stems from the refusal of mill owner Mr. Tulliver (Sam Livesey) to relinquish his water rights to demonic solicitor Mr. Wakem (Felix Aylmer). Caught in the legal crossfire is Tulliver's daughter Maggie (Geraldine Fitzgerald), in love with Wakem's good-hearted (albeit physically challenged) son Philip (Frank Lawton). When Maggie's good name is compromised by scandal, it is Philip who champions her cause, allowing them both a brief respite of happiness before the inevitable tragic denoument, in which the Floss River itself becomes a "character". Released in the US at 82 minutes, Mill on the Floss has since been restored to its original 94 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide