Anthony Dawson Movies

Jojo (Peter Lohmeyer) was counting on his inheritance from a rich uncle to pay off his gambling debts, but the old man played a dirty trick on him, giving him custody of an oversized dog, and leaving the real cash in the hands of one of his neices. His comfortable fantasy of future solvency has been sorely tried; to restore it, he begins to try wooing his cousin Kathrin (the woman with the loot). However, as things progress, he finds himself actually falling for her, which is perhaps the only really decent thing that he's done in his adult life. When he and a gambling buddy take Kathrin (Anica Dobra) on a jaunt to the south of France, things get pretty dicey when a corrupt cop comes onto the scene. In this romantic thriller, only one will survive. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Although the title evokes a swashbuckling adventure, Roman Polanski's Pirates tuns out to be a seagoing tale with a bit of a difference. Captain Red (Walter Matthau) runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor (Cris Campion). One day Capt. Red is captured and taken aboard a Spanish galleon, but thanks to his inventiveness, he raises the crew to mutiny, takes over the ship, and kidnaps the daughter of the governor of Maracaibo (Charlotte Lewis, soon to co-star in The Golden Child opposite Eddie Murphy). The question is, can he keep this pace up? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This infamous Korean War drama is best known as the movie produced by Rev. Sung Myung Moon's Unification Church, though more people seem to have read stories about its troubled production or disastrous reception at the box office than to have actually seen it: on its initial release, it grossed less than $2 million on a budget of $50 million. Starring Laurence Olivier as Gen. Douglas MacArthur (psychics reportedly told producers that the late General was happy with the casting choice), Inchon also features Ben Gazzara and Jacqueline Bisset as a married couple whose relationship is tested by the trials of war, and boasts as impressive as supporting cast as money can buy, including David Janssen, Richard Roundtree, Omar Sharif, Toshiro Mifune, and Rex Reed (who was perhaps hoping for a role that could stand beside his work in Myra Breckenridge).The lavish battle scenes are staged by director Terence Young (best known for his work on several early James Bond films), and the film presents one of your only opportunities to see Olivier, the greatest actor of his generation, talk like W.C. Fields while smoking a corn-cob pipe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

On March 24, 1944, in the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome, one of the most infamous atrocities of World War II occurred -- the mass execution of 330 Italians in retaliation for the deaths of 33 Germans. The book Death in Rome contends that Pope Pius XII knew of the German plan but did nothing to stop it. In this film adaptation, Richard Burton plays Col. Herbert Kappler, a Nazi officer torn between his devotion to Hitler's cause and his love for Italy when he is ordered by his superior officer, Gen. Kurt Maelzer (Leo McKern), to see that this execution is carried out. Opposing the Germans and reacting against the silence of the Pope is Vatican priest Don Antonelli (Marcello Mastroianni), who chooses to die with the Italians rather than continue to act as a middleman between the German army and the Romans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This crime action movie is based on Peter Maas' best-selling book The Valachi Papers. That book, in turn, is based on prison conversations and the actual U.S. Senate testimony of Joseph Valachi, a high-ranking figure in the Mafia. The book, which tells precisely who did what to whom, when and why, electrified the nation. This film had to be made in Italy, because attempts to shoot in the U.S. were stymied by mob-arranged "accidents" and protests. The story is told in flashback as Valachi (Charles Bronson) tells a Federal agent about his activities from 1929 to 1961, when he worked for the Capo of Capos, Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura). Though his tale necessarily takes place in a number of episodes, it never fails to have lots of drama and action. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Don't confuse this 1970 Italian/Yugoslav Operation Snafu with the 1962 British comedy-drama of the same name. While the earlier film boasted an engaging story and a boisterous early appearance by Sean Connery, the 1970 film is a witless mess. Even star Peter Falk fails to raise a laugh in his role as an American officer assigned to whip a troop of Algerian soldiers into shape during World War II. Their mission is an all-but-suicidal attack on a Sicilian enemy stronghold. As bad as Falk looks in this thing, his fellow "distinguished" American actors Jason Robards and Martin Landau look worse. The film's official title is Situation Normal, All Fouled Up; after five minutes, everyone in the audience will shout in unison the word for which "Fouled" is the accepted euphemism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bill (John Phillip Law) grows up to seek revenge on the gang that killed his parents. He meets up with Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), a veteran gunslinger seeking his own revenge for the ones who put him in prison. The two proceed to shoot everything that moves in this violent spaghetti western. Bill eventually discovers Ryan was there when his parents were killed and is torn between killing Ryan and letting him ride off into the sunset. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Set near the end of World War II in the Netherlands, Dirty Heroes concerns a group of ex-convicts recruited into the U.S. Army to recover Dutch jewels originally stolen by the Nazis as well as confiscated Allied plans. Ennio Morricone contributed the score music. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this campy actioner an American operative is assigned to find the identity of those who have been monkeying with the moon rockets at Cape Kennedy. Eventually he discovers that the mastermind behind the mayhem is an insane villain with a powerful, world-wrecking laser cannon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Neil Connery stars in this forgettable spy actioner about a plastic surgeon who is blackmailed by the Allies. He is pressed into service to prevent a gang of international terrorists from taking over the world. Campy, plodding, and unintentionally funny in places, the feature remains a curiosity item only because of the novelty of Sean Connery's brother being the hero. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Kim Novak's decolletage, rather than the lady herself, is the true star of The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders. This rambunctious filmization of Daniel Defoe's "naughty" novel stars Novak as a poverty-stricken 18th century damsel who rises to the top of society surrendering her virtue--time and time again. After several wealthy patrons and husbands, our heroine finds true love with roguish highwayman Richard Johnson (who briefly became Novak's husband in real life). The film's best moments belong to its largely British supporting cast, especially Leo McKern as a myopic bandit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the vein of Gualtiero Jacopetti's Mondo Cane (1963), this documentary features various oddities and customs of different cultures throughout the world. Narrated with wit and interesting commentary, this well-shot film often juxtaposes such segments as bizarre tribal rituals and unusual eating habits with the common behavior of more "civilized" cultures. Directed by Italy's Antonio Margheriti (a.k.a. Anthony M. Dawson) and Renato Marzi, Il Pelo Nei Mondo was greatly assisted with the music of Nino Oliviero -- who had also contributed to Mondo Cane. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Terence Young directed this first of a long line of screen adventures with Ian Fleming's unflappable British Secret Service Agent 007 in a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek style that set the tone for the rest of the popular series. Sean Connery sets the standard by which all future takers must measure themselves as the insouciant and devil-may-care James Bond. The story concerns Bond being sent to Jamaica to investigate the murders of a British agent and his secretary. During his investigation, he comes into contact with the evil and unscrupulous Chinese scientist Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) who, living on an island called Crab Key, is hard at work in a nuclear laboratory. Dr. No's scheme is to divert rockets being fired from Cape Canaveral off their charted course and to blackmail the United States to get their rocket launches restored to normal. Helping Bond is Ursula Andress (mostly undressed in a bikini throughout most of the film), as well as bad gals like Zena Marshall, who almost leads Bond to his death in her bedroom, and Eunice Gayson, a Bond pickup in a London gambling house who proves herself a greater adversary than even James Bond can handle. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide