Christina Paul Movies
Caught at the Polish border with a faulty passport - some pages have been torn out - a sports hero nicknamed "Teddy Bear" finds himself in a desperate situation. He is not only left behind as his team goes ahead, but he realizes his wife has torn the pages out of his passport to keep him home while she goes to London to take the money out of their joint bank account. How can he stop her from making off with all that loot? Easy. He coerces a director to get a hasty script together for a film that requires himself and a double. The actor who plays the double then has to apply for a passport, and that is arranged through the interjection of a girlfriend. At the preplanned engagement celebrations, the double is slipped a barbituate and when he nods off, the real "Teddy Bear" takes off in a flash for the airport, with the assumed name of the double. The passport and its picture get him on the plane - where lo and behold - he runs into his ex-wife. Now the two of them are neck-and-neck in the run for the money, and new shenanigans have to be devised if either wants to arrive at the bank first - and alone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanislaw Tym, Christina Paul, (more)
Perhaps William Shakespeare meant to have Lady Macbeth perform her sleepwalking scene in the nude -- it was this X-rated scene and the film's much-publicized spurts of violence, rather than the brilliant performances of Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as his Lady, that lured crowds to Roman Polanski's 1972 adaptation of Macbeth. Only a few critics glommed onto the most impressive aspect of Polanski's version: as Macbeth and his wife sink deeper and deeper into the morass of their murderous ambitions, they age and wither before our eyes (Shakespeare's play does cover several years, but this is usually forgotten or ignored by many actors and directors). Macbeth was financed and released by Playboy, which naturally necessitated a fold-out spread on "the witches of Cawdor." The original Shakespearean text was adapted for the screen by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan. Despite an excellent first week, Macbeth ended up in the red, compelling Hugh Hefner to think twice about future motion-picture projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, (more)
- 1971
- PG
Though not as widely known as Hammer's popular Dracula and Frankenstein series, this is one of the studio's more stylish and intelligent projects. The tale is set in 17th century Serbia in the tiny burg of Stettel, whose residents live in fear of an encroaching plague. The frightened villagers welcome the arrival of a colorful traveling troupe dubbed "Circus of Nights," unaware that the visiting entertainers pose a far more deadly threat: the entire company is composed of shape-shifting vampires capable of transforming themselves into animals to stalk their prey. The group's leader, the most powerful monster of the bunch, has returned to the village to exact revenge on those who murdered his cousin one hundred years earlier. Less a standard Hammer monster melodrama than a surreal journey through dark fantasy (reminiscent of Jean Rollin's erotic vampire series), with an unexpected (but not entirely inappropriate) surplus of nudity and bloodletting. The film's creepy highlights include the chilling extended prologue and scenes of vampire trapeze performers transforming into bats in mid-leap. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
John Moulder-Brown plays a teen-aged London bathhouse attendant who forms a business alliance with female attendant Jane Asher. The object is to obtain better tips from their clients, but soon the impressionable Moulder-Brown falls in love with the older Asher. Brushed off by the girl in favor of a handsome swimming instructor, Moulder-Brown makes several halfhearted attempts at revenge. When the boy and girl finally do get together sexually, the event is motivated by lust and has tragic results. Deep End observes how adolescent obsession can mushroom into disaster if one doesn't have the emotional equipment to cope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Asher, John Moulder-Brown, (more)
