Michele Dotrice Movies
- 1975
Lewis Flander and Carol Hawkins star in the hectic British farce Not Now Comrade. Flander plays a Russian ballet dancer who decides to defect. Unable to reach the British embassy, Flander hides out with London stripteaser Hawkins. There's an abundance of female flesh in this one, a fact that necessitated numerous snips in the TV version that made the UHF rounds in the 1980s. Watch for Not Now Comrade codirector Ray Cooney and veteran British funster Roy Kinnear in cameo roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Charlotte Bronte's classic Victorian novel is once again put through the paces, this time by Delbert Mann, in this stodgy Masterpiece Theater style television adaptation. Susannah York is Jane Eyre, the orphan girl who secures a position as a governess to the ward of Edward Rochester (George C. Scott), lord of an English manor house called Thornfield, whose halls hide a dark and sinister secret. Jane and the moody and the tyrannical Rochester fall in love and agree to marry. But at their wedding ceremony, Rochester is revealed to have been already married. Suddenly his dark past comes crashing in on both himself and the innocent Jane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Susannah York, (more)
- 1970
After a plowboy accidentally unearths the skeletal remains of a demonic creature, a cult of teenage devil-worshippers emerges in a 17th-century Cornwall farming community, led by the gorgeous temptress Angel (Linda Hayden, who positively smolders). Together, the children begin performing blood sacrifices in order to bring the skeletal demon back to life. The film eventually steers into witch-hunt territory -- in the vein of Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General -- as the superstitious locals use inquisition-style practices to put a stop to Hayden's cult. This lush, moody horror piece is superbly written, though the plot becomes a bit dense at times; the film was originally intended as a three-part series, but was eventually edited down to one feature. Still, Piers Haggard's assured direction keeps the threads together and provides just enough shock value to keep viewers on their toes. Watch for Peter Ustinov's daughter Tamara as one of the children. The Blood on Satan's Claw was also released as Satan's Claw and Satan's Skin. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Two British nurses -- Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) -- take a vacation in the French countryside. Jane actually wants to tour the countryside, while Cathy wants to spend the time enticing men. After an argument while in a small French village, Jane leaves. When she returns, Cathy is gone. And if that weren't worry enough, it appears that the handsome young man Cathy flirted with on their journey is apparently a sex-crazed serial killer. In a panic, Jane tries to get some help from the villagers, but the townspeople are curiously uncooperative. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, (more)
- 1966
This film was a pet project of Joan Fontaine, based on a novel by Peter Curtis. It was her last feature film. Fontaine stars as teacher Gwen Mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in Africa. A witch doctor puts a curse on her, and she has a nervous breakdown. Returning to England, she takes a job running a small rural school. In the village, there is an active voodoo cult. They have targeted a young woman named Linda (Ingrid Brett), whom they plan to offer as a virgin sacrifice. The cult members are led by journalist Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), whom Mayfield discovers is the head witch. Mayfield's student Ronnie Dowsett (Martin Stephens) is being harassed by the cult to keep him from protecting Linda, his girlfriend. This British production was titled The Devil's Own in the U.S. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1962
One of Charles Dickens' most popular novels (and one of his most controversial, inasmuch as he boldly killed off a principal character despite great public outcry), The Old Curiosity Shop has been adapted for television on several occasions. One of the earliest serialized versions was assembled by the BBC, with future Doctor Who star Patrick Troughton hamming it up gloriously as malevolent dwarf Daniel Quilp. Insinuating himself into the life of an elderly shopkeeper, Quilp virtually enslaved the poor old man by playing upon his greatest weakness -- gambling. It was up to the shopkeeper's dauntless granddaughter Little Nell (Michele Dotrice) to save the day, albeit at great and tragic personal cost to herself. This version of The Old Curiosity Shop was doled out in six 25-minute episodes, beginning November 25, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
