Kenneth Farrington Movies
Anthony Hopkins essayed the title role in the four-part British miniseries A Married Man. During his annual holiday, contentedly married barrister John Strickland (Hopkins) found himself casually entering into a brief extramarital affair. As noted by author Piers Paul Read, upon whose novel the miniseries was based, to fully understand the disastrous events following Strickland's indiscretion, one must have a basic knowledge of the English Legal Profession. By the time the story had ended, there was nary a viewer who didn't possess that knowledge. Co-produced by Channel 4 and London Weekend Television, A Married Man first aired in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Ciaran Madden, (more)
- 1983
In this enhanced graduation film by Terry Winsor, the adventures of caricatured teens as they search for sex and romance, saturated with rock music, go on for a long time and in a format that is not always intelligible to the non-teen. It becomes apparent early on that this search is not usually successful, and since there is no other point to the story, the comic moments alone will not be enough to keep viewers entertained. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Peacock, Karl Howman, (more)
The 13-part Danger UXB was the third presentation in the 1980-81 season of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. Based upon the memoirs of Major A. B. "Bill" Hartley, this British production stars Anthony Andrews as engineer Brian Ash. In the early days of World War II, Brian volunteers for the Royal Engineers' UXB, or "Unexploded Bomb", division. Making his already dangerous job doubly perilous is the fact that many of the "dead" bombs that have fallen in the London vicinity have been booby-trapped by German technicians; they can go off without warning at any time, so it's not surprising that the ranks of the UXB unit diminishes on a near-daily basis. The storyline traces Ash's rise through the ranks to Lieutenant, as well as his romance with Susan Mount (Judy Geeson). Danger UXB's American TV run extended from January 4 through March 30, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A special group of navy divers is created when a disabled Nazi warship is discovered in a fjord in Norway. Commander Bolton (James Caan) is the Canadian expert designated to train the new unit. Their mission is to plant a bomb on the warship as it undergoes repairs. The hard-driving Bolton encounters resentment from the British soldiers he trains, but he ultimately earns their respect as a leader. Their intense training operation is interrupted by an attack of Nazi paratroopers just before the unit leaves for Norway. Spectacular underwater photography is seen in this World War II adventure story based on an actual mission. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Rupert Davies, (more)
- 1967
Based on the true story of the 1963 British Royal Mail robbery, this late '60s British caper film was directed by Peter Yates a year before he made the action classic Bullitt in the States. Opening with an extended jewel theft sequence followed by a action-packed car chase, Robbery details the events before, during, and immediately following the infamous heist. Paul Clifton (Stanley Baker, who also produced) is the main thief who comes up with the idea to steal three million dollars from the overnight mail train that runs from Glasgow to London. While gathering together a crew of thieves, he helps currency expert Robinson (Frank Finlay) break out of jail. The gang successfully holds up the train, takes the money, and retreats to an empty field to divide it up. When Robinson calls his wife on the phone, Inspector George Langdon (James Booth) from Scotland Yard traces the call and arrests them. As the legend goes, one of them manages to escape with the money. Also starring Joanna Pettet, who played Mata Bond in Casino Royale, and a young Robert Powell, who would go on to appear in the crime caper The Italian Job. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Baker, Joanna Pettet, (more)
- 1965
- Add The Knack ... And How to Get It to QueueAdd The Knack ... And How to Get It to top of Queue
Colin (Michael Crawford, who much later won a Tony Award for his role in Broadway's Phantom of the Opera) is an uptight schoolteacher whose housemate, Tolen (Ray Brooks) is a consummate womanizer. Colin imagines a long line of young women in tight white sweaters on his stairwell, waiting to get into Tolen's room. Jealous of Tolen's incredible success with the ladies, Colin asks Tolen for advice on how to get a girl. When Tolen's advice doesn't seem very practical, Colin decides that his first order of business is to get a bigger bed. Colin is also trying to find a third roommate to take a spare room. Tom (Donal Donnelly), who seems compelled to paint everything in sight, happens by the house, and inserts himself in the spare room without so much as saying "hello." Nancy (Rita Tushingham of A Taste of Honey) is new in town, and wanders the streets of London in a fruitless search for the YWCA. She runs into Colin and Tom at the dump, where they are procuring a gigantic bed. They offer her a ride, and proceed to race through London on the bed. Colin seems too shy to speak much to Nancy, despite Tom's encouragement. Eventually, the trio reach Colin's house, where Tolen works his gruff magic on Nancy, and havoc ensues. Capturing late 1960s London in black-and-white, Richard Lester's The Knack. . .and How to Get It was released between the director's two successes with the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night and Help. The script, by Charles Wood (An Awfully Big Adventure) is based on a play by Ann Jellicoe. Future stars Jacqueline Bisset, Charlotte Rampling, and Jane Birkin appear briefly amid all the attractive young women in the film. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks, (more)
- 1965
This farcical British comedy follows the eccentric misadventures of a family who have their own rather unusual way of doing things. Mr. Groomkirby (Eric Sykes) is redecorating his living room to resemble the courtrooms at Old Bailey, with a mind toward staging mock trials for fun. His wife, Mrs. Groomkirby (Alison Leggatt) hates to see leftovers go to waste, so she hires a woman to eat them. Their daughter Sylvia (Julia Foster) is fascinated by primates and spends much of her time at the zoo, and son Kirby (Jonathan Miller) believes that scales can have other uses rather than just weighing things -- they can be used to make music, too! Based on a popular novel, One Way Pendulum was directed by Peter Yates, who would go on to make Bullitt and Breaking Away. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Sykes, George Cole, (more)
- 1962
The Avengers' second season came to a close with this episode, which originally aired on March 23, 1963. Written by John Lucarotti, the plot concerns an effort to smuggle valuable ambergris. Steed and Cathy become part of the action in a circuitous manner, when Cathy agrees to manage an up-and-coming prizefighter (Kenneth Farrington). Certainly one of the more labyrinthine Avengers episodes, "Killer Whale" wasn't given an opportunity to baffle American cable TV fans until March 2, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
