Madeline Smith Movies
- 1976
This is not the same kind of film as the 1962 production, Tom Jones. In fact, it is a "nudie musical", as evidenced by the presence of singing star Georgia Brown in the dual role of Jenny Jones and Mrs. Waters. The project originated as a Las Vegas stage presentation, with Nicky Henson in the lead. The plot of the Henry Fielding novel about the "boy born to be hanged" is followed in spirit rather than to the letter, with busty Joan Collins thrown in like a lagniappe as a lady highwayman. Wandering through the proceedings are such English stalwarts as Trevor Howard and Terry-Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard, (more)
Filmed in England, Galileo is based on Charles Laughton's 1947 adaptation of the play by Bertolt Brecht, which, like this 1975 film, was directed by Joseph Losey. Israeli film-star Topol plays the 17th century Italian astronomer, whose theories run contrary to the edicts of the Catholic Church. Forced to renounce his ideas about planetary movement, Galileo nonetheless holds fast to those beliefs to the end of his days, certain that time will vindicate him. Brecht's trademarked "alienation" technique, wherein the audience is constantly reminded that it is watching a play, is muted by Losey's cerebral direction. Galileo was one of producer Ely Landau's American Film Theatre presentations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Topol, Colin Blakely, (more)
- 1974
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The sixth entry in Hammer Films' Frankenstein series, this film finds Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) in charge of a lunatic asylum. When young doctor Simon Helder (Shane Bryant) is institutionalized for attempting to create synthetic life, Frankenstein is delighted: now he'll have an assistant for his own diabolical experiments. This time out, the monster is played by David Prowse, who later went on to international fame as Darth Vader in Star Wars (though of course Vader's voice was provided by James Earl Jones). A new wrinkle to the old story is the Monster's cannibalistic tendencies, allowing for a number of gruesome, gore-encrusted horror highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, (more)
- 1974
- R
The 1972 British farce Percy was about the world's first penis transplant; Percy's Progress constitutes the sequel, with Leigh Lawson taking over for Hywel Bennett in the leading role. The plot concerns a chemical that contaminates the world's water supply; as a result, every man is rendered impotent -- -except Percy. Percy's Progress was also released as It's Not the Size That Counts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leigh Lawson, Elke Sommer, (more)
- 1973
In this musical, a restaurant tries to establish itself by advertising a new hamburger. The owner is helped out by an amiable bank manager. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
The last of four "medical" entries in the Carry On series is also the lewdest; whether it's the funniest is a matter of taste (taste?) The action takes places at Finisham Maternity Hospital. If you liked that "Finisham" gag, you'll adore such characters as Susan Ball, Miss Willing, and Mrs. Putzova. Oh, yes, we must have a plot somewhere. It seems that a group of thieves hope to steal a huge shipment of contraceptives from the hospital. Alas and alack for them, Matron (Hattie Jacques) and head doctor Sir Bernard Cutting (Kenneth Williams) remain forever underfoot. Other stalwart Carry On-ers in the cast, many in surprisingly fleeting roles, include Kevin Connor, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- R
The darkly comic and sometimes quite gory Theatre of Blood is a vehicle tailor-made for its star Vincent Price, brilliantly capitalizing on his reputation as a master of period horror drawn from "literary" sources. Price portrays Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart, who becomes enraged after losing a prominent acting award and decides to seek revenge on the critics responsible. Fittingly, he using the works of the Bard as a guide, basing his killings on violent scenes from Shakespearean plays. Price takes full advantage of his meaty role, ominously reciting classic Elizabethan monologues while rigging particularly nasty torture devices. This hilarious turn is assisted by a colorful supporting cast, including Robert Morley, Richard Coote, and Michael Hordern as critics and Diana Rigg as Lionheart's devoted daughter and partner in crime. The end result is a wonderfully evil lark that, in its own way, proves surprisingly faithful to the often bloody spirit of Shakespeare; certainly the full implications of Shylock's demand for a "pound of flesh" have rarely been made quite as explicit. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, (more)
Zany British comedian Frankie Howerd, who'd previously laid waste to Ancient Rome in Up Pompeii, does same with World War II in Up the Front. Howerd plays a timorous servant who undergoes hypnosis. While thus entranced, he imagines himself a fearless warrior, and makes a beeline to the recruiting office. The laughs come fast and furious when Howerd finds himself the recipient of the enemy's war plans--tattooed on his tush. As was customary, Frankie Howerd took several opportunities in Up the Front to directly address the audience and crack wise about the situation at hand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The ABC network chose to recognize the thirtieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor with the "revisionist" TV movie If Tomorrow Comes. Patty Duke Astin is a California girl who in 1941 falls in love with Japanese-American Frank Liu. Upon the occasion of the "Day of Infamy," Liu is rounded up along with other Californians of Japanese descent and interred in a relocation camp. At this point the film becomes a mufti Romeo and Juliet, with Astin and Liu entering into a suicide pact. While the film rightly condemns the wartime imprisonment of Japanese Americans, it also misguidedly suggests that virtually all Caucasians in 1941 were pigheaded bigots with no rational reason whatsoever to mistrust the Japanese. If Tomorrow Comes was filmed on location in Pasadena. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
In this interesting horror movie, a pleasure-seeking noblewoman uses contemporary black magic to toy with the young lovers who surround her. The story is also known as The Devil's Widow and The Ballad of Tam-Lin. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
This sexy horror story from Britain's Hammer Films finds Ingrid Pitt playing three roles, the most notable being a lesbian vampire who will resort to biting a man only when it is absolutely necessary. A doctor and a manservant are victims, but only after she has exhausted all attempts to sink her fangs into the bosoms of young women. The General (Peter Cushing) finds his daughter Laura (Pippa Steel) is victimized by the bite of the vampiress. With the help of Baron Hartog (Douglas Wilmer), they try to end the horror brought by the blood-sucking beauty. Blood, gore and a few decapitations are depicted before the wooden stakes and crosses are brought out. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Pitt, George Cole, (more)
