Hilary Dwyer Movies
- 1972
Like the earlier BBC anthology The Villains, the similarly titled Villains dramatized the lives of criminals both famous and obscure. Unlike the earlier series, which focused on England's North Country, the later program detailed stories about crooks and scoundrels from all parts of the British Isles, and from all walks of life. Bob Hoskins and Alun Armstrong were among the many major actors who appeared in the series' 13 hour-long episodes. Villains aired in Great Britain beginning July 22, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Shaw, Bob Hoskins, (more)
This romantic drama concerns two star-crossed lovers who are half-brother and sister to each other. Catherine (Anna Calder-Marshall) is the daughter of the lord of the manor who falls for the brooding stable boy Heathcliff (Timothy Dalton). When Heathcliff leaves to seek his fortune, he returns to find Catherine has married the local magistrate Edgar (Ian Ogilvy). The story is told by the beautiful blonde servant girl Nellie (Judy Cornwell), who narrates at the beginning to set the stage for the picture. Hindley (Julian Glover) is Catherine's older brother who tries to take over the house and land after the death of their father (Harry Andrews). When his own wife and child dies, a drunken Hindley gambles away the family holdings to the opportunistic Heathcliffe. Filmed in England, the scenery is spectacular but this version lacks the foreboding, shadowy drama of the 1939 original starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Calder-Marshall, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 1970
- PG
The inimitable Vincent Price puts an interesting spin on this otherwise pedestrian witch-hunt exercise -- a rehashing of Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm) and several of Roger Corman's numerous Poe variations from the previous decade. Here Price plays Edward Whitman, a corrupt, sadistic magistrate in 16th-century Ireland who puts a quick and deadly stop to the activities of a local Druidic coven... but not before the sect's leader Oona (Elisabeth Bergner) puts a curse on him and the Whitman family line, calling up a vengeful spirit known as a "sidhee" which takes flesh in the form of an otherwise mild-mannered stable boy (Patrick Mower). As swift and violent retribution works its way through the Whitman family, so does this film snowball toward its bizarre and muddled conclusion -- made all the more confounding by rather choppy editing. Just like Conqueror Worm and half a dozen others, this was fallaciously marketed by distributor American International Pictures as yet another adaptation of the works of Edgar Allan Poe -- as if AIP hadn't kicked Poe's corpse around enough in the '60s. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Elisabeth Bergner, (more)
- 1969
- R
A black Jamaican lawyer shares an apartment with a liberal white man in Two Gentlemen Sharing. Andrew (Hal Frederick), the lawyer, longs to become part of London's middle class while Roddy (Robin Phillips) is the waspish advertising executive who wishes to escape the problems caused by his middle-class upbringing. Both share their views and outlooks on life. Andrew has a difficult time fitting in to the conservative traditions of a prejudiced London, and Roddy finds out his girlfriend has a black stepfather. Roddy is disillusioned when he is not accepted by the black world, and Andrew comes to the realization that he will never be welcomed in the still-racist business community of London. Both men contemplate changes for their lives in this situation comedy with dramatic social insights to race relations and prejudice. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Phillips, Judy Geeson, (more)
- 1969
When Sir Edward Markham (Alastair Williamson) is horribly disfigured by African natives, he is kept chained and out of sight by his brother Julian (Vincent Price). When Sir Edward escapes, he goes on a killing spree in a desperate attempt to get even with the society that has made him a monstrous outcast. Julian enlists the help of African witch doctor N'Galo (Harry Baird) for medicine to make Sir Edward appear dead so he can be evicted from the house. Dr. Neuhardt (Christopher Lee) attempts to help the hideous human. There are plenty of female corpses around to drip rivers of fresh, hot blood in this feature, the 13th Edgar Allan Poe story in which Price has appeared. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1969
- PG
This crime drama finds American agent Novak (Yul Brynner) sent to Scotland Yard to help uncover a gang of forgers, murderers and counterfeiters. Even when the British agent Thompson (Edward Woodward) is assigned to help, Novak still remains suspicious of everyone. From Liverpool, the duo traces the Owl (Charles Gray) to London where they hope to meet up with the mysterious gang leader Mr. Big. Novak eventually trusts Thompson as the two close in on the gang that is raking in millions with their illegal activities. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Charles Gray, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Produced by Britain's Trigor Pictures, Thin Air stars Patrick Allen as Bob Megan, an investigator called in to solve a bizarre mystery: During training courses, British parachutists are disappearing in a strange red mist, leaving no trace. Even more mysterious is the fact that they later turn up, with their bodies filled with lethal doses of radiation. Megan, aided by Jim Radford (Neil Connery, brother of Sean Connery), begins an investigation, which uncovers an unearthly beauty ($Lorna Wilde who somehow is incapable of being photographed. Eventually, Megan and Radford discover that the parachutists are being kidnapped by aliens from the planet Mygon, who use the men to try to impregnate Mygonian women, thereby saving their dying civilization. Unfortunately, a side effect of this plan seems to be the irradiation of the earthlings. [%Megan exposes and foils the alien plan, but he also decides to lead an effort to discover a way of saving their race from extinction. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
A corrupt opportunist commits brutal crimes in the name of God and country in this atmospheric period horror tale. In 17th century England, as a people's uprising threatens Lord Cromwell's rule, superstition still rules the land, and the Royalists use this to their advantage by inaugurating a reign of terror in the name of wiping out alleged witches and agents of the dark arts. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) has been appointed "witchfinder" by Puritan Royalists, and with the help of his thuggish assistant Stearne (Robert Russell), Hopkins travels from town to town, brutally interrogating those accused of witchcraft and using fire, drowning, and torture to extract "confessions" from the accused. Of course, Hopkins' opinions can be swayed with money and other considerations, and when Father Lowes (Rupert Davies), a priest whose sympathies do not lie with the Royalists, is arrested and tortured by Hopkins and Stearne, his devoted niece Sarah (Hilary Dwyer) is able to stay his punishment by sleeping with Hopkins. Sarah, however, is engaged to marry Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), a soldier in Cromwell's army, and once Marshall learns that the woman he loves has been seduced by Hopkins -- and raped by Stearne -- he becomes determined to expose the witchfinder and punish him for his misdeeds. Witchfinder General was released in the United States by American International Pictures, who in addition to arranging for Vincent Price to play Matthew Hopkins, changed the North American title to The Conqueror Worm, after a poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was read over the credits by Price, though the story bears no real relation to Poe's work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, (more)
- 1967
Written by Roger Woddis, this episode of The Prisoner guest stars Patrick Cargill (also seen in the previous episode "Free for All") as super sadistic New Number Two. Delighting in tormenting the villagers, Number Two drives at least one of them, Number 73 (Hilary Dwyer), to suicide. Hoping to avenge the woman's death, Number Six begins his own campaign of psychological warfare, utilizing such "weapons" as his collection of Bizet recordings! In addition to resembling an installment of the much later CBS series, Survivor, this episode also predates American Gladiators by offering an "extreme sport" known as Kosho. Originally slated as the 14th episode of The Prisoner, "Hammer into the Anvil" was seen as episode number 10 when it first aired in England on December 10, 1967. It was placed in its original chronology for American television, where it was first seen on August 31, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Italian director Mario Bava took a brief hiatus from horror films to make this fairly interesting Viking-themed adventure. Iron (Cameron Mitchell) is a Viking leader whose long-lost brother Erik (Giorgio Ardisson) was raised by Queen Alice of England. Alice's counselor, Gunnar (Andrea Checchi) betrays her and helps the Vikings take over, while the shipwrecked Erik is nursed back to health by Rama (Alice Kessleri), the twin sister of Iron's wife Daja (Ellen Kessleri). Naturally, Erik returns home and must fight Iron and defeat Gunnar in order to save the country. It doesn't quite work out that way, however, as the ruthless counselor kills Iron, leading the Vikings and British to join forces with Erik and take Gunnar down. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Checchi, (more)
