Samantha Spiro Movies
- 2002
The feature-length debut of Francesca Joseph, Tomorrow La Scala!, is about an unusual production of a musical. Victoria (Jessical Stevenson) is the head of a small opera company that goes to maximun-security Seaworth Prison to mount a staging of Sweeney Todd. Gurad Kevin (Shaun Dingwell) warns the troupe of the restrictive behavior expected from them. Janey (Samantha Spiro) is in charge of costumes and she resists the tamping down of her natural flamboyance. The inmates and the theater group learn from each other during the rehearsals. Tomorrow La Scala! was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Stevenson, Samantha Spiro, (more)
- 2000
Starting with Carry on Sergeant in 1958 and continuing on to Carry on Columbus in 1992, the "Carry on" series were among the most popular and best-loved film comedies in Great Britain, combining broad slapstick humor and risqué wink-and-nudge farce. Bubbly blonde Barbara Windsor and double entendre master Sidney James were two of the key members of the stock company which starred in the many "Carry On" pictures. They also shared a stormy love affair which began during the filming of Carry on Cleo in 1964 and continued, on and off, until James died of a heart attack in 1976. Cor Blimey! is a feature made for British television, based on Barbara Windsor's memoirs, which traces the ups and down of their secret romance. Samantha Spiro plays Barbara Windsor, Geoffrey Hutchings appears as Sidney James, Adam Godley portrays their frequent co-star Kenneth Williams, and Barbara Windsor also makes a brief appearance as herself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Beyond Bedlam is an ambitious British horror shocker, incorporating elements familiar from Nightmare On Elm Street and the work of such authors as Thomas Harris and Clive Barker. Terry Hamilton (Craig Fairbrass) is a detective haunted by the maniac he captured seven years ago, known as the Bone Man (Keith Allen). The Bone Man, whose real name is Gilmour, is the top patient of a scientist (Elizabeth Hurley), who has been using Gilmour in experiments to test a new mind-calming drug called BFND. But the drug also enables Gilmour to bring his hallucinations to life, and his monstrous creations menace Hamilton and the doctor during the film's second half as they attempt to put Gilmour down for good. Shot mostly in an abandoned sanitarium, the film puts its eerie location to good effect and has a lot of visual style, but the initially promising premise breaks down as the long final pursuit kicks in. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Fairbrass, Elizabeth Hurley, (more)
