Edward Evans Movies

The Small Voice is a tense British character study utilizing an old plot device with a modicum of freshness. American actor Howard Keel (mistakenly billed as Harold Keel in the credits) makes his film debut herein as an escaped convicts. He and fellow fugitive David Greene invade a country cottage and hold its occupants, a writer and his wife (James Donald and Valerie Hobson), hostage. Keel's carefully shaded portrayal of a desperate man with a spark of decency was duly noted by MGM, which promptly signed the actor to a long contract. The Small Voice was released in the US under the spell-it-out title of Hideout. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Handel's "Messiah" becomes a bone-of-contention in a tiny Welsh community in this comedy. The trouble begins when the choirmaster chooses a new contralto to sing the solo. Unfortunately, this leaves out the soloist who has sung the part for the past 15 years. This precipitates a family feud the women belong to the wealthiest family's in town. To reunite the warring factions, a young couple put off their elopement, but the real solution comes when the choirmaster turns the solo into a duet. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Grand National Night began life as a stage play, which was promptly adapted as a popular British radio serial. The film combines the best elements of both previous incarnations. Racehorse owner Gerald Coates (Nigel Patrick) accidentally kills his spiteful wife Babs (Moira Lister) during a quarrel. Terror-stricken, Coates stashes the body in the boot (or trunk) of a stranger's car. Methodical police inspector Ayling (Michael Hordern) suspects there's more to this than meets the eye. The script carefully builds up sympathy for the frenzied Coates, then manages to find a way to wrap up the story to everyone's satisfaction (Here's a clue, provided by Leonard Maltin: while watching the film, examine the character names). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The rundown British community of Islington is visited by a heavenly angel (Diane Cilento), sent down on a do-good mission. Her principal assignment is to soften the heart of a soulless pawnbroker (Felix Aylmer), and to that end appears in human form to do what the title says she does. During her brief earthly sojourn, Cilento finds time to salvage several other lost sheep, among them such reassuring British character players as Alfie Bass and David Kossoff. The unimportant fantasy was the first film assignment for Diane Cilento, whose career would later briefly be eclipsed by that of her then-husband Sean Connery. It's not likely we would have remembered Cilento at all had she stuck to such disposable fare as The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Peter Finch portrays the titular flamboyant Irish poet/playwright in The Trials of Oscar Wilde. The storyline, lifted to a great extent from actual court records, recounts Wilde's late 19th century libel action against the Marquis of Queensbury. The author loses, whereupon he himself is tried for sodomy due to his homosexual affair with the Marquis' son, Lord Douglas. Wilde is sentenced to prison; the public humiliation leads to the once-proud writer's immortal poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol--and to his premature death in 1900. The film had to tiptoe around certain touchy legalities, in that sodomy was still a punishable offence in British courts in 1960. The US title for this film was The Trial of Oscar Wilde, effectively killing the ironic double meaning of the plural British title. In certain regions, the film was shown as The Man with the Green Carnation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Man in the Dark is a quickie British suspenser geared for double-feature bills. William Sylvester stars as a blind composer of hit songs. Sylvester's wife Barbara Shelley hates him beyond measure. She contrives with her lover, artist Rickie Seldon, to kill Sylvester, but the composer has the last ha-ha. The so-called popular songs heard on the soundtrack of Man in the Dark, including the title number, suggest that William Sylvester is not only blind but tone-deaf. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jamie Hopkins (Cliff Richard) is a wayward young man who lives with his mother and steals drugs from the doctor's office where she works. His similarly unscrupulous girlfriend Carol (Ann Holloway) lives gleefully in her similarly amoral life until she is converted to Christianity when she attends a traveling religious crusade led by evangelist Billy Graham (himself). Carol's life is changed as a result of her conversion, and she attempts to show her wayward boyfriend the light. Jamie is eventually prepared to change his lowdown ways in this predictable, overly simple story of spiritual redemption and religious piety. Pop singer Richard delivers three songs as well as starring as the principle character in the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Rat-pack pals Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford reprise their roles of Charlie Salt and Chris Pepper, respectively, in this film that marks the directorial debut of comedian/writer Jerry Lewis. Lawford also plays Lord Sydney Pepper, the twin brother of Charlie who is a murder victim. Salt and Pepper investigate the crime in this uneven comedy feature. Pepper takes the place of his dead brother and winds up involved in a diamond-smuggling operation. The duo is chased through the bucolic English countryside by Interpol agents and crooks after the stolen gems. Like many sequels, it fails to be as amusing as the original, which wasn't that great in the first place. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The phenomenon of Tales from the Crypt seems to have no endings, only changes. This successful pun-filled style of presenting ironic horror tales had its beginnings in William Gaine's E.C. comic series. At one time, outlandish E.C. Comics were at the heart of a national furor over the "evils" of comic books, which were thought to lead to moral degeneracy. The big comic-book publishers were frightened into freezing E.C. out of their distribution network, which killed the business. This British movie was based on the Tales from the Crypt series, which spawned several subsequent movies (and many imitators), at least one television series, and a whole new wave of comic books. Released in 1972, this movie has five episodes based on Gaines' stories, each introduced by Sir Ralph Richardson as the eerily cheery Crypt Keeper. His comedic approach to the role was misunderstood at the time, as reviewers expected a more solemn approach to horror. In "All Through the House," Santa Claus is someone to avoid. In "Reflection of Death" it takes some people a while to realize the truth about themselves. In "Poetic Justice" death cannot prevent one man's revenge. The episode "Blind Alley" demonstrates a new use for razor blades. "Wish You Were Here" cautions against taking native artifacts lightly (among other things). Among the stars featured are Peter Cushing, Joan Collins and Patrick Magee. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In the second episode of the four-part story "Image of the Fendahl," the Doctor (Tom Baker) is among those scrutinizing a recently excavated, 12-million-year-old skull. It doesn't take long for the Doctor to recognize the skull as an artifact of the Fendahl, a malevolent mythological figure from his home world of Gallifrey. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Fendahl is very much alive, and has infested itself in the body and soul of innocent Thea Ransome (Wanda Ventham). Written by Chris Boucher, "Image of the Fendahl, Episode 2" first aired on November 5, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of the four-part story "Image of the Fendahl," the malevolent mythological Gallifreyan figure Fendahl has taken over the minds and bodies of black-arts practitioner Maximillian Staehl (Scott Frederick) and his followers. The Doctor (Tom Baker) struggles to prevent these new "Fendahleens" from wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the universe. His only weapon: a small but potent supply of rock salt. Robotic dog K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) makes a cameo appearance. Written by Chris Boucher, "Image of the Fendahl, Episode 3" first aired on November 19, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Tobe Hooper adapts Colin Wilson's edgy novel The Space Vampires in this in this horror/sci-fi epic with a cult following. The story concerns a joint British-American space probe of Hailey's Comet. Inside the comet, the astronauts, headed by Carlsen (Steve Railsback), find a spaceship that contains the dead bodies of several aliens, along with the naked bodies of three human-like creatures in suspended animation. They bring the aliens aboard the ship for examination, but the specimens are sloppily guarded and soon the trio spread contagion among the population of the ship. Returning to earth, the beautiful space vampire (Mathilda May) escapes into London and begins to feed of the bodies of the unwary Britons, turning the city into a zombie-populated wasteland. It is now left for Carlsen to stop the vampire invaders. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi