Carmen Duncan Movies
Lead actor Carmen Duncan first appeared onscreen in the late '70s. ~ All Movie Guide
A summit meeting between the American president and the Chinese premier, held in secret on the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 somewhere on the high seas, is rudely interrupted when the ship is hijacked by Taiwanese extremists. Fully prepared to nuke the vessel and spark a world war to get the point across, the terrorists cannot be stopped by traditional peacekeeping methods. It is up to a pair of long-estranged brothers, ATF agent Vince Kellogg (Joe Lando) and Secret Service operative Thomas Kellogg (Rob Estes), to secretly parachute onto the deck of the QE2 and save the world from annihilation -- with a little help from the ship's plucky (and drop-dead gorgeous) security head, Brittany Cooper (Rachel Blakely). Also appearing are Marie Matiko as Maggie Chang, a terrorist posing as a martial arts movie star, and Christopher Lawford, son of actor and former J.F.K. intimate Peter Lawford, ironically cast as the American vice president. Originally filmed as Attack on the Queen (the title of the novel on which it was based), Counterstrike first aired March 2, 2003, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An aspiring surfer learns some life lessons the hard way in this 2003 drama from director Phil Avalon. Ryan Kwanten stars as Nick, a young man who struggles to ignore the warnings of his father, a former-surfer whose love of the sport ultimately cost him his ability to walk. Also causing problems for Nick is his crooked manager who is secretly involving the wave-rider in an illegal drug operation. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Kwanten
Long before his legendary association with the Alabama Crimson Tide, football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was athletic director at Texas A&M University. In this made for TV movie, the hard-as-nails Bryant (played by Tom Berenger) shepherds 100 potential college football players into the desolate village known as Junction, Texas, in the summer of 1954. Determined to find out which of his boys has the guts and fortitude to play winning football, Bryant forces the applicants to train eight hours a day in 120 degree heat, without food or water. Ultimately, only 35 players make the cut, among them such gridiron luminaries as Gene Stallings and Jack Pardee (though, outside of Bryant, none of the players' actual names is mentioned in the script). "Bear"'s grueling regimen is tough, relentless and perhaps unfair, but the football players emerge as a unified whole, dedicated both to victory and to their tireless coach. The second feature film produced especially for the ESPN cable network, The Junction Boys was based on the book by Jim Dent, and originally aired on December 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Fletcher Humphrys, (more)
- 2000
Crichton awakens to find himself in a hospital bed back on earth. Those attending him assure Crichton that everything he experienced on the Moya was nothing more than a dream. But having previously been hoodwinked into believing he had returned home, Crichton remains on his guard, especially when confronting a number of "strangers" who bear startling resemblances to his fellow crew members (for example, that nurse who calls herself Bettina Fairchild is the spitting image of Crichton's PK sweetheart Aeryn). "Won't Get Fooled Again" was originally telecast on August 18, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Getting home early, Beverly Hills wife Michelle Halaburton (Lyndie Benson) catches her husband Dustin (Harry Hamlin) in bed with her best friend Allie (Joanne Baron), who works at Michelle's favorite beauty salon. Not long after this, Michelle and Allie embark on a life of crime. At the beauty salon, Michelle sees how to get access codes to homes of the salon's wealthy patrons. During the break-ins that follow, the two collect cash, art, and jewelry. Their haul escalates until the wrong house at the wrong time could lead to their downfall. Surprised by the spoiled son (James Wilder) of one of their victims, they capture him, tie him up, and try to devise a way out of the situation. Shown at the 1997 Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyndie Benson, Joanne Baron, (more)
- 1987
Outwardly respectable Australian wife and mother Carmen Duncan harbors a secret past. A former German terrorist, Duncan is sought by both the authorities and her former associates. One of these, IRA assassin Michael Aitkens, insists that Duncan share some of the loot she's squirreled away. She escapes Aitken's clutches, with both the money and her 15-year-old daughter Annie Jones in tow. Thus do the two female leads become the "moving targets" of the title--though unlike other targets, Duncan has the will and the wherewithal to fight back, and fight back hard. This tight little Australian chase thriller, which boasts a to-die-for rock music score, was based on When We Ran, a novel by Keith Leopold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The action moves along quickly, jumping over holes in the script, in this made-for-television drama about Eve (Carmen Duncan), an ex-terrorist from Germany who is forced to escape to Australia with her teenage daughter Chrissie (Annie Jones) when she is sought by Riley (Michael Aitkens), a lover from 17 years in the past. In turn, the IRA has sent two members after Riley because he shot an IRA soldier and must pay the consequences. The two IRA operatives looking for Riley come across a really nasty biker who wants vengeance on Eve for setting his car on fire -- and the three men finally track her and Chrissie to the wine-growing country of Barossa Valley. The final denouement is about to explode, as Riley also arrives on the scene. With under-par acting and a patchy plot, this film was never released theatrically. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Duncan, Michael Aitkens, (more)
- 1983
This Australian TV-movie is set in the cutthroat world of fashion modelling. The usual backstabbing takes literal dimensions when several murders occur. The investigation is complicated by internal romances and petty avarice. Jane Menelaus, Carmen Duncan and Gary Sweet are among the victims and suspects. Originally presented in two parts, The Body Business was first shown in the US over the Lifetime cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This romantic melodrama is based on a novel by Danielle Steele and chronicles a wife's reaction to her husband's run of bad luck. Their troubles begin when she returns home from a business trip and discovers that her husband has been arrested and jailed for raping a woman. Though he tends to philander, he is not a rapist. The only way the wife can cope with the pain is to become an alcoholic drug addict. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, Robert Coleby, (more)
This grim, violent Australian production is an artless mishmash incorporating elements of The Road Warrior, 1984 , and The Most Dangerous Game. The story is set in a dystopian future society where all "deviants" (i.e. anyone whose ideas don't jive with those of the government) are interred in nightmarish re-education camps where they are tortured, beaten, raped and put to death -- mostly on the whim of the psychotic commandant (Michael Craig). Periodically, a handful of particularly defiant inmates will be released unarmed to be hunted down (for the entertainment of the elite) in a free-for-all "Turkey Shoot" (the film's original Australian title). Among the latest batch of potential targets are strong-willed Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey, who are confronted in the wilderness by the commandant and his goofy mutant cronies -- all of whom carry rocket-launchers, exploding arrows, and flamethrowers. This entire exercise is basically a prolonged excuse for a plethora of cheap, splattery makeup effects, made far more unpleasant by the blatant sadism of the proceedings. Unsuspecting viewers exposed to this film may wish to follow with My Brilliant Career to restore their faith in Australian cinema. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, (more)
- 1981
A 1939 novel by Katharine Susannah Prichard was the source for this two-part Australian miniseries. Kit Taylor and Carmen Duncan headed the cast as young marrieds Greg and Elodie. Barely acquainted when they marched down the aisle, the couple soon realized that they had next to nothing in common. The next inevitable step was infidelity, with both Greg and Elodie seeking carnal knowledge of their closest friends. Intimate Strangers was first broadcast in 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Duncan, Kit Taylor, (more)
Harlequin is directed by Simon Wincer and tells a tale with echoes in 20th-century Russian history. Nick and Sandra Rast (David Hemmings and Carmen Duncan) have a little boy, Alex (Mark Spain), who is suffering from leukemia. Like normal parents they will do anything to help their son, especially Sandra. So when Gregory Wolfe (Robert Powell) comes along with his faith-healing techniques to treat Alex, Sandra is particularly impressed. What complicates matters is that Alex's father Nick will soon be running the government and his career depends a lot on Doc Wheelan (Broderick Crawford), his mentor. Trouble starts when Wheelan cannot abide the faith healer, causing the mysterious Wolfe to react in a most unexpected way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Carmen Duncan, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Three attractive women turn into Robin Hoods in order to save a kindergarten in this routine comedy-caper. Eva (Wendy Hughes), Fiona (Chantal Contouri), and Millicent (Carmen Duncan) are ready to help out a charitable cause when they see one, but their hearts are bigger than their wallets. The only solution is to take money from those who have it to burn and judiciously redistribute it. With that thought in mind, the three recruit a few extra women to their cause -- they plan on robbing from the rich in a posh island resort. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hughes, Chantal Contouri, (more)
- 1973
Somewhat reminiscent of the 1965 film The Satan Bug, And Millions Will Die is a thriller based upon the premise of germ warfare. A lunatic plans to extort millions of dollars by threatening to unleash a deadly nerve gas upon the citizens of Hong Kong. He prepares to make good his threat--but then dies before he can reveal the underground location whence the gas will be released. Richard Basehart, the villain in Satan Bug, switches sides to play frenzied scientist who races against time to unearth the lethal gas in And Millions Will Die. Given its foolproof premise, the film is disappointedly bereft of suspense, though the Hong Kong scenery is lovely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This adventure is loosely based on a Jules Verne novel and chronicles the lives of a group of marooned boys who are surprised when another shipwreck brings another band of survivors to their desert island in the South Pacific. Among them are British prisoners who threaten the little colony until the boys take care of them for good. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This feature is taken from a popular Australian television series and the novel by John Cleary. Frankie McCoy (Ken Shorter) is a cynical bookie, in a rundown bar in Sydney, who is summoned for military service. After a barroom brawl, he goes AWOL from the service and takes an apartment above the bar to resume his bookmaking operation. He has eyes for the barmaid Margie (Rowena Wallace), an old-fashioned girl who wants a traditional marriage before she lets Frankie have his way with her. Margie breaks up with him until he promises to return to the army. After he pays off too many bets, he steals some money from a butcher shop and goes on a drinking binge. He spends the night soothing the loneliness of Myra (Carmen Duncan), the pill-headed floozie who can't believe she was involved with a married man. Frankie gives her the rest of his money the next day in a gesture of who knows what. Myra charges some new clothes but hasn't spent the money when a panic-stricken Frankie bursts in wanting the money. The cops have the numbers on the stolen loot, and tragedy ensues as Myra and Frankie fight over the money. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Shorter, Rowena Wallace, (more)
- 1966
An out-of-work drummer (Gary Wallace) seeks to join up with a rock band in this teen drama with plenty of pop music provided by Patrick Flynn. Australian and New Zealand heartthrob Howard Morrison also croons some tunes in this routine feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Wallace, Carmen Duncan, (more)
