Lysette Anthony Movies
A native of London, England, actress Lysette Anthony got her start with the National Youth Theatre at age 14; she was the youngest member there. She began her television and film career in the U.S. in the early '80s appearing in two CBS adaptations of classic literature, Ivanhoe and Oliver Twist. In 1983, Anthony appeared in the NBC miniseries Princess Daisy as Lady Sarah. In feature films, she made a notable appearance as a sexy, astrology-crazed aerobics instructor who seduces Woody Allen in Husbands and Wives (1992). She again played "the other woman" the following year in Look Who's Talking Now. Anthony has subsequently continued to appear in feature and television films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
A Ghost in Monte Carlo is based on one of the millions of romance novels penned by Barbara Cartland. True to the Cartland canon, the story is set long ago (1875) and far away (The Riviera). Sarah Miles is top-billed as a pompadoured former madam, while Oliver Reed dispenses tons of Armor Star as a lascivious rajah. Christopher Plummer struts about bedecked with medals as a military hero, and Samantha Eggar is a mystery woman shrouded in black. But the story is carried by Lysette Anthony, the niece of Sarah Miles, who tries to break into upper-crust society--a goal impeded by a long-standing thirst for vengeance on the part of one of the older stars. A Ghost in Monte Carlo was produced in Europe by Sir Lew Grade, and first seen in the US over the TNT Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An American research party on Scotland's Loch Ness believes it has sonar evidence that the fabled monster of the lake is active. They summon Case Howell (Brian Wimmer), a veteran adventurer, to help them capture the creature for further study. Meanwhile, a go-getting TV producer (Lysette Anthony) arrives to make a documentary about the news (and instantly gets a crush on Case). But the locals stir the beast, which suddenly becomes carnivorous, and the lake's Coast Guard official (Vernon Wells) refuses to keep people off the shoreline and boats off the water. As the body count begins to require a calculator, Case and his scientists become desperate to stop the thing, enlisting the help of Captain Blay (Patrick Bergin), an eccentric hermit who has motive for slaying the critter -- it killed his son 17 years earlier, but Blay was blamed in the tragedy. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- R
In this suspenseful drama, a cozy second honeymoon turns into a nightmare when a compassionate young couple saves a lost hunter from freezing to death. Eric and Alicia's ordeal began months before when Eric was shot in the stomach during a car-jacking. Loyal Alicia helped with every step of his four-month-long recovery. As soon as he is sufficiently healed, the two head to the mountains for their long-awaited vacation. No sooner are they settled in before a cozy blaze when the door knocks and Cale, the lost hunter stands before them. The next morning, Eric goes to his truck so he can take Cale to the hospital, but the truck won't start. Suspiciously, Alicia rifles through Cales's belongings and discovers he carries no identification. Alarmed, the couple copes with the situation as best they can. Matters get worse when Cale makes it clear that he wants Alicia and considers Eric expendable. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lysette Anthony, Chris Mulkey, (more)
Julian Glover portrays Mr. Dombey in the drama Dombey and Son. Dombey is a proud man who wants most in his life to have a male heir he can pass his business on to. His wish eventually comes true, but at great cost when his wife dies during the birth of the boy. Dombey also fractures his relationship with his daughter after the death of his wife. When the son dies at a young age, Dombey must reconcile with all those who were once close to him or face a bleak future of solitude. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Glover
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a man whose scientific meddling has unexpected results gets a cross-gender update in this comedy. Richard Jacks (Tim Daly) is a research scientist trying to work his way up the ladder at a major perfume company when he inherits the notebooks of his great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Fascinated by Jekyll's ideas about the duality of man, Jacks starts performing experiments to refine his potion that would isolate man's good and evil natures. However, Richard's version has a very different result than the old Jekyll formula, instead of turning him into a snarling beast, the drug transforms him into Helen Hyde (Sean Young), a beautiful and powerfully sexy woman with a slight case of nymphomania. Jacks figures that a good looking woman willing to sleep with nearly anyone should have no trouble rising to a position of power within the company, so his alter-ego Helen may be his ticket to a room at the top. But this plan may require a bit of explaining to Jacks' girlfriend, Sarah (Lysette Anthony). The supporting cast includes Polly Bergen, Jeremy Piven, and Harvey Fierstein, who is so awestruck by Helen Hyde's allure that he's rendered heterosexual by the experience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Young, Tim Daly, (more)
Mel Brooks does it again with this send-up of vampire films. That Leslie Nielson plays the great blood-sucking count gives viewers a good idea as to what they are in for. This Dracula takes himself very seriously despite the fact that he's a bit of a klutz with a tendency to slip in the bat guano that adorns his castle floor. Staying very close to Bram Stoker's original story, Brooks also pays sly homage to other major vampire film classics, including Nosferatu. Though silly but subtle gags abound in this outing, Brooks has taken great care to recreate the late 19th-century atmosphere in rich detail and harkens back to Hammer horror movies popular during the '50s and '60s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, (more)
- 1992
- PG
Tensions run high when a recently-divorced couple are given an offer they can't refuse. Once well-established movie songwriters, Dempsey and Ringwald are thrown together again when a movie producer offers them a rewarding contract to compose a new song. However, old wounds and new love interests guarantee that this job will be anything but easy money. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Ringwald, Patrick Dempsey, (more)
One of Woody Allen's most seemingly biographical films, Husbands and Wives opens with upper-middle class Manhattan couple Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack) announcing to their best friends, the Roths, that they are splitting up. Gabe Roth (Allen) and his wife Judy (Mia Farrow) are taken aback by their casual revelation. Jack begins dating his dim, but sexy, aerobics instructor and Sally starts up a tentative romance with Michael (Liam Neeson). Gabe and Judy begin analyzing their marriage, discovering that they might not be meant to stay together. English professor Gabe begins a serious flirtation with a student of his named Rain (Juliette Lewis) and Judy begins to have feelings for Michael. Eventually, Sally and Jack reconcile, but have not improved their relationship. Gabe and Judy end up going their separate ways. Husbands and Wives was seemingly influenced by Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Judy Davis, (more)
The classic adventure novel by Sir Walter Scott, which covers the same ground as the various Robin Hood legends, becomes this impressive television production, boasting a well-heeled British cast, a robust pace, and solid production values. Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Anthony Andrews) is a young Saxon knight of 12th century England. Returning home from fighting in the Crusades alongside King Richard the Lionheart (Julian Glover), Ivanhoe finds that the nation is now under the dictatorial thumb of the king's brother, Prince John (Ronald Pickup) and the prince's thuggish Norman cohorts. He is also dismayed to learn that his longtime love, Lady Rowena (Lysette Anthony), has been betrothed to another man. Determined to restore throne and country to Richard, the courageous Ivanhoe has soon run afoul of those in power, though a few rebellious types like Robin Hood (David Robb) are on his side. Ivanhoe also finds love again, with the lovely Jewish girl Rebecca (Olivia Hussey), though she and her wise father Isaac of York (James Mason) face Norman persecution for their religious faith. Ivanhoe also finds a deadly rival in the cynically twisted knight Brian de Bois-Guilbert (Sam Neill). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Anthony Andrews, (more)
- 1988
TheTV movie Jack the Ripper endeavors to shed new light on one of the most notorious unsolved cases in history. The Ripper, of course, was the London serial killer who, in 1888, killed and disemboweled five prostitutes. Michael Caine stars not as the Ripper but as a Scotland-Yard inspector who is assigned to the case. The trail of evidence leads Caine to some astonishing suspects--including at least one member of the Royal Family. As the public clamors for an arrest in the case of the unsolved evisceration murders of five East End prostitutes, Abberline narrows down his list of suspects: the four most likely to have committed the murders, according to the inspector, are American-actor Richard Mansfield (Armand Assante), Queen Victoria's personal psychic (Ken Bones), a certain Dr. Acland (Richard Morant) and socialist-gadfly Lusk (Michael Gothard). The British government is also pressuring Abberline to produce the killer. Unfortunately, if Abberline were to publicly release all the clues at his disposal, the revelation would probably rock the Empire to its foundations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine
