Roy Dotrice Movies
Halliwell's Filmgoers Companion states that British character actor Roy Dotrice had "a strong line in senile characterizations". Maybe so, but he certainly seemed chillingly cogent in his portrayal of Mozart's father in the Oscar-winning Amadeus. In films since 1965's The Heroes of Telemark, Dotrice has been equally busy on television: he was a regular on such series as Space: 1999 (1975-76), Going to Extremes (1986), Wizards (1986) and Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990, as "The Beast's" Father). Roy Dotrice is the father of actresses Karen and Michele Dotrice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As the last two years come into focus for an amnesia victim, she finds her life endangered because of the truths. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
This made-for-television movie was the pilot for the series Beauty and the Beast. An attorney (Linda Hamilton) in New York City has her life saved by a huge, deformed but gentle man-beast named Vincent (Ron Perlman). Vincent, not wishing to live among "normal" people, lives in the underground tunnels beneath the city. Against their better judgment, the two start falling in love with each other. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- Add Beauty and the Beast: Season 01 to QueueAdd Beauty and the Beast: Season 01 to top of Queue
The Beauty and the Beast TV show was a fantasy series about a man-beast (Vincent) and his love for a beautiful assistant district attorney (Catherine Chandler). Vincent lived in an underground world beneath New York City where his gruesome looks were less important to his peers than were his caring and benevolent personality. Together, Vincent and Catherine had many adventures both above and below ground level and their love for each other continued to grow.
- 1987
This children's biopic offers a Disneyfied excerpt from the life of infamous Harry Houdini, who apparently ran away from home at age 12 to join a wandering medicine show so he could fulfill his dream of becoming a magician. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this elaborate spoof of the Bond films, Murdock (Dwight Schultz) dons tux and toupee to pose as dashing secret agent Logan Ross--a man who doesn't exist, but was created as a decoy by General Stockwell (Robert Vaughn). It is Murdock's mission to prevent a political assassin named Jaguar from striking again--and to keep his fellow A-Teamer Face (Dirk Benedict), jealous over not being chosen to impersonate Logan Ross, at arm's length. The episode is filled to the brim with "007" references, including an exotic and enigmatic heroine, a wheelchair-bound master villain headquartered in a Monte Carlo casino, and an Oddjob-like henchman named Frobe! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG
A touch of comic relief adds to this otherwise predictable sci-fi actioner about a mad scientist (Roy Dotrice) holed up in a remote jungle fortress in Mexico with his time-machine and robotic know-how. He plans on zapping himself back to the Roman Empire to reign as emperor in Caesar's stead thereby ruining a certain 20th-century pizza franchise. Standing in the way is a pilot who was saved from imminent extinction when the evil doctor patched him together with mechanical body parts. Once the crazed scientist decides to do away with his "Man-droid," the 'droid-human escapes and rounds up a gang of accomplices to head back up-river and do the scientist in. Patrick Reynolds plays Mandroid. (Reynolds is the heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune who divested his stock and leads a national anti-smoking organization.) ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Prine, Denise Crosby, (more)
Originally aired as a British mini-series, Shaka Zulu follows the rise of Shaka (Henry Cele) to the king of the Zulus during the early 19th century when the British were beginning to gain control of Africa. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- PG
- Add Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers to QueueAdd Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers to top of Queue
Filmed on location "Somewhere in France", this umpteenth version of Dumas' The Corsican Brothers stars the zoned-out comedy team of Cheech and Chong. Perhaps inspired by the Ritz Bros.' spin on The Three Musketeers, the duo retains enough of the original story (about twin brothers who feel one another's pain) to keep the plot going, but try to inject their own peculiar brand of humor throughout. The film's highlight is a duel with two loaves of stale bread. Yes, that's the highlight. Just as the 1930s comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey lost their audience when they dropped their risque humor and Prohibition gags, so too do Cheech and Chong falter when not indulging in the drug-oriented comedy which made them famous in the early 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, (more)
For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondricek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri--so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors--not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking "Requiem," which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the Emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, (more)
- 1984
- Add Faerie Tale Theatre: Dancing Princesses to QueueAdd Faerie Tale Theatre: Dancing Princesses to top of Queue
This made-for-TV children's film (from the Faerie Tale Theatre) concerns five princesses who wear out the soles of their shoes each day. The King promises a fortune to the person who can figure out the reason for the problem. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Magnum (Tom Selleck) is certain that the beautiful Jennifer Chapman (Devon Ericson) is playing up to the stuffy Higgins (John Hillerman) not because she loves him, but because she has a sinister ulterior motive. When Magnum announces his suspicions, Higgins accuses him of jealousy, thereby stoking the flames of a rather nasty feud. Somehow or other, a Sumo wrestler and a homicidal dwarf are mixed up in all this intrigue! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Written for television by Allan Sloane, Family Reunion stars Bette Davis as an ageing New England schoolteacher who is given an "unlimited" bus ticket as a retirement present. She uses this gift to visit the farthest-flung members of her long-estranged family. In her absence, Davis' small town falls prey to corruptive influences, but with the help of her more honest relatives (four generations' worth, including Bette's real-life grandson J. Ashley Hyman), everything is resolved at the annual Founder's Day gathering. Family Reunion originally aired in two parts, on October 11 and 12, 1981; the preponderance of Davis' family members and unresolved plot strands would seem to suggest that this 4-hour film was intended as a series pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Alien Attack is a jerry-built feature film comprised of two episodes from the TV sci-fi series Space: 1999. Martin Landau stars as John Koenig, commander of Moonbase Alpha, a futuristic research colony. Landau's then-wife Barbara Bain co-stars as the base's chief medical officer Dr. Helena Russell, while Barry Morse is on hand as Prof. Victor Bergman. The first half of Alien Attack consists of the inaugural Space 1999 episode "Breakaway," wherein a huge atomic-waste explosion hurls the moon-and of course Moonbase Alpha-out of the Earth's orbit (thereby establishing the series' premise). This episode is arbitrarily coupled with #22 in the series, "War Games"; in this one, Koenig and Russell plead with warmongering aliens Anthony Valentine and Isla Blair to spare Alpha from destruction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Charles Dickens' life sounds like a story that could have come from one of his novels -- his father was imprisoned when Charles was a child, forcing him to find work in a factory to support himself and his family, and it was only after many years of struggle that he began to earn his living as a reporter. In time, Dickens began writing comic short stories, and eventually he became one of the most popular and acclaimed novelists in the world. Dickens of London is a miniseries produced for British television which recounts the remarkable story of Dickens's life and career. Roy Dotrice stars as Charles Dickens, Gene Foad plays Dickens as a young man, and Simon Bell portrays Dickens as a child. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Dotrice
- 1975
A nuclear explosion causes chaos in space, in this British made-for-television sci-fi thriller. The moon seems to be headed for disaster after a nuclear explosion sends it out of orbit and heading for a black sun. Some stranded moon-base personnel may be doomed -- unless someone comes to their rescue. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
The phenomenon of Tales from the Crypt seems to have no endings, only changes. This successful pun-filled style of presenting ironic horror tales had its beginnings in William Gaine's E.C. comic series. At one time, outlandish E.C. Comics were at the heart of a national furor over the "evils" of comic books, which were thought to lead to moral degeneracy. The big comic-book publishers were frightened into freezing E.C. out of their distribution network, which killed the business. This British movie was based on the Tales from the Crypt series, which spawned several subsequent movies (and many imitators), at least one television series, and a whole new wave of comic books. Released in 1972, this movie has five episodes based on Gaines' stories, each introduced by Sir Ralph Richardson as the eerily cheery Crypt Keeper. His comedic approach to the role was misunderstood at the time, as reviewers expected a more solemn approach to horror. In "All Through the House," Santa Claus is someone to avoid. In "Reflection of Death" it takes some people a while to realize the truth about themselves. In "Poetic Justice" death cannot prevent one man's revenge. The episode "Blind Alley" demonstrates a new use for razor blades. "Wish You Were Here" cautions against taking native artifacts lightly (among other things). Among the stars featured are Peter Cushing, Joan Collins and Patrick Magee. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
