Anna Karen Movies
In this alternately somber and witty coming-of-age drama, a pair of teenage boys growing up in a working-class neighborhood become aware of their homosexuality. Introspective Jamie (Glen Berry) is the son of Sandra (Linda Henry), a tough but warm-hearted barmaid who lives in a public housing block in a rough-and-tumble section of South London. Living a few doors away is Jamie's classmate Ste (Scott Neal), an athletic type who often has to take a beating from his hard-drinking father and hard-headed brother. One night, Jamie and Sandra discover that Ste has been kicked out of the apartment and has nowhere to spend the night; Jamie lets him stay at his place, and a casual closeness eventually stirs sexual feelings. While both were vaguely aware they might be gay, neither had ever acted on their impulses, and once Jamie and Ste decide that they're attracted to each other, neither is sure just what to do. Tony (Ben Daniels), Sandra's boyfriend, doesn't know what to think about Jamie's new lifestyle. Meanwhile, Jamie and Ste are themselves a bit puzzled by their neighbor Leah (Tameka Empson), a teenager obsessed with the life and music of Mama Cass Elliott. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Henry, Andrew Fraser, (more)
- 1977
British sexploitation expert Derek Ford takes the helm for this raunchy comedy that is sure to quicken the pulse of men who like women in uniform. When Dr. Robert "Sweeney" Todd arrives to fill his post at a new hospital, he is shocked to see the lengths that the nurses go to in caring for their patients. Of course Dr. Todd is no prude, and it isn't long before he's joining in on all the lusty, after-hours fun. In the course of his erotic exploits, Dr. Todd makes it his mission to fully satisfy his boss' daughter Olivia even if it means putting in a little overtime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Various bus crashes combined with damaged property puts a bus depot manager in financial problems. ~ All Movie Guide
On the Buses was an engagingly daffy British TV sitcom set in a bus depot and made in the late sixties. Reg Varney starred as the head of the lost and found department, who spent the better part of his time fielding wisecracks from his fellow bus-company employees. The series proved popular enough to spawn three theatrical features, the second of which was 1972's Mutiny on the Buses. This time around, a labor dispute leads to endless slapstick complications. Reg Varney and Doris Hare repeat their TV series roles. On the Buses was "Americanized" as the 1973 Dom DeLuise sitcom Lotsa Luck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reg Varney, Bob Grant, (more)
Based on a popular British television series from the late sixties, On the Buses centers on the chaos caused in a bus depot when the boss hires a passel of female bus drivers. This marked the first of three theatrical features based on the series (the second and third installments were the 1972 Mutiny on the Buses and the 1974 Holiday on the Buses, respectively). Though all three films were critically savaged, they grossed dollar one in Great Britain, particularly this first installment - eliciting a host of sequels and imitators. The Motion Picture Guide wrote of On the Buses, " The humor is sexist, of course, and infantile, with no wit or sophistication, which of course ensured its appeal to a large segment of the masses." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reg Varney, Doris Hare, (more)
- 1971
- R
With master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigismond wielding the lenses, it's surprising that Ski Bum looks as amateurish as it does. Zalman King (yes, the same Zalman King who's since become a purveyor of elegant softcore porn) stars as the title character, a Jean-Claude Killy type who leaves the slopes in favor of the business world. He is taken advantage of by a gang of crooks, who plan to use King as their fall guy for a major caper. Charlotte Rampling costars in this "pure 1970s" adaptation of Romain Gary's novel. Ski Bum is fascinating for those film buffs who will recognize the various "auteurs" whose techniques director Bruce Clark swipes throughout the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
The British sitcom Wild Wild Women was set not in the American West (as might be expected), but in Victorian England. The stories revolved around a group of feisty young ladies who worked in a milliners' shop for autocratic Mr. Harcourt (Paul Whitsun-Jones). The leading character of Daisy was played by Penelope Keith in the pilot episode, which aired May 24, 1968, and thereafter by Pat Coombs. The series itself was broadcast from January 6 to February 10, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Whitsun-Jones, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1969
- R
The "Carry On" gravy train continues in this entry that registers high on the randiness and vulgarity levels. Sid Boggle (Sidney James) and his best pal Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) take off for the holidays with their girlfriends Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and Anthea meeks (Dilys Laye). The gals know that the boys are taking them camping -- what they don't know it that it is also a nudist camp. Once there they are attracted to other campers -- particularly a group of gals from the Chayste Place Finishing School. Sexual innuendoes and double entendres become the order of the day. . . and night. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Kenny Williams, (more)
- 1960
The scene is a three-room shack at the end of a broken train rail, where dwell a careworn mother named Nan (Anna Karen), her dreamy-eyed son Doug (Donald Losby), her cynical daughter Callie (Candy Moore), and Grandpa (Edgar Stehli), a former railroad worker who talks only of the past. Despite their squalid surroundings, Grandpa assures the children that life is worthwhile if they only have the patience to "look and listen"; he also promises little Doug that he'll never leave him without saying goodbye. But Grandpa dies before keeping his promise, breaking Doug's heart...until a strange and wonderful manifestation occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Alfred Hitchcock lets us know from the outset that The Wrong Man is a painfully true story and not one of his customary fabricated suspense yarns, through the simple expedient of walking before the camera and telling us as much (this introductory appearance replaced his planned cameo role as a nightclub patron). The real-life protagonist, musican Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, is played by Henry Fonda. Happily married and gainfully employed at the Stork Club, Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he goes to an insurance office, hoping to borrow on his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy in order to pay her dental bills. One of the girls in the office spots Balestrero, identifying him as the man who robbed the office a day or so earlier. This, and a few scattered bits of circumstantial evidence, lead to Balestrero's arrest. Though he's absolutely innocent, he can offer no proof of his whereabouts the day of the crime. Lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) does his best to help his client, but he's up against an indifferent judicial system that isn't set up to benefit the "little man". Meanwhile, Balestrero's wife becomes emotionally unhinged, leading to a complete nervous breakdown. As Balestrero prays in his cell, his image is juxtaposed onto the face of the actual criminal-who looks nothing like the accused man! Utilizing one of his favorite themes-the helplessness of the innocent individual when confronted by the faceless bureaucracy of the Law-Hitchcock weaves a nightmarish tale, all the more frightening because it really happened (the film's best moment: Fonda looking around the nearly empty courtroom during his arraignment, realizing that the rest of the world cares precisely nothing about his inner torment). Hitch enhances the film's versimilitude by shooting in the actual locations where the real story occured. His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) Watch for uncredited appearances by Harry Dean Stanton, Bonnie Franklin, Tuesday Weld and Charles Aidman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, (more)
