Elizabeth Knight Movies
- 1979
Doing Time is the American title for the British-made Porridge. Based on a popular TV sitcom, the film stars Ronnie Barker as the unofficial leader of a group of cut-up inmates in Slade Prison. These lovable lawbreakers engineer the escape of a timorous first offender who has been railroaded into a long sentence. Barker accidentally winds up "outside" with the escapee--and spends the rest of the film struggling to break back into jail. British fans of Porridge weren't happy with this film version, citing attenuated material and repetition as its chief shortcomings. For the record, Porridge was the basis for a brief American sitcom titled On the Rocks, which ran (not without resistance from the National Association for Justice) from September 1975 to May 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Barker, Richard Beckinsale, (more)
- 1977
Prominent Australian Aboriginal activist Gary Foley plays a leading role in Backroads. Foley is cast as an Aborigine who links up with boorish, racist Bill Hunter. A wanted criminal, Hunter drags Foley down to his level. Disaster results, with the Aborigine bearing the brunt of the worst life has to offer. Running a scant 61 minutes, Backroads makes its point with the brutal sharpness of a slap. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Hunter, Gary Foley, (more)
- 1971
- R
This melodramatic crime drama tells the story of homosexual gang leader Vic Dakin (Richard Burton), who likes a bit of rough sex with his petty criminal pal Wolfe (Ian McShane). Aside from payroll robberies, his gang is not above blackmailing sexually deviant members of Parliament. A Scotland Yard Police Inspector, played by Nigel Davenport, has been after his gang for years and does everything in his power to close it down. When one of the gang members, Frank (Joss Ackland), winds up hospitalized for an ulcer and looks likely to spill the beans to the police, some complicated shenanigans take place. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Ian McShane, (more)
Memorably described by Pauline Kael as "a beautiful pipe dream of a movie," Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller reimagines the American West as a muddy frontier filled with hustlers, opportunists, and corporate sharks -- a turn-of-the-century model for a 1971 America mired in violence and lies. John McCabe (Warren Beatty) wanders into the turn-of-the-century wilderness village known as Presbyterian Church, with vague plans of parlaying his gambling winnings into establishing a fancy casino-brothel-bathhouse. McCabe's business partner is prostitute Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), who despite her apparent distaste for McCabe helps him achieve his goal. Once McCabe and Mrs. Miller become successful, the town grows and prospers, incurring the jealousy of a local mining company that wants to buy McCabe out. Filmed on location in Canada, McCabe & Mrs. Miller makes use of such Altman "stock company" performers as Shelley Duvall, René Auberjonois, John Schuck, and Keith Carradine. The seemingly improvised screenplay was based on a novel by Edmund Naughton and the movie features a soundtrack of songs by Leonard Cohen. McCabe & Mrs. Miller joined such other Altman efforts as M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye, and Thieves Like Us in radically revising familiar movie genres for the disillusioned Vietnam era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, (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)
Inspired by Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart's 1961 London and Broadway musical hit glossed over some of Dickens' more graphic passages but managed to retain a strong subtext to what was essentially light entertainment. For its first half-hour or so, Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 film version does a masterful job of telling its story almost exclusively through song and dance. Once nine-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) falls in with such underworld types as pickpocket Fagin (Ron Moody) and murderous thief Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed), it becomes necessary to inject more and more dialogue, and the film loses some of its momentum. But not to worry; despite such brutal moments as Sikes' murder of Nancy (Shani Wallis), the film gets back on the right musical track, thanks in great part to Onna White's exuberant choreography and the faultless performances by Moody and by Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. The supporting cast includes Harry Secombe as the self-righteous Mr. Bumble and Joseph O'Conor as Mr. Brownlow, the man who (through a series of typically Dickensian coincidences) rescues Oliver from the streets. Oliver! won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a special award to choreographer Onna White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, (more)
