Barbara Ferris

Peter Medak directed this fact-based drama, chronicling the lives of the infamous Kray Brothers, notorious celebrities in 60s London. The Krays were twin gangsters who ruled London's stylish East End club scene, staking out their territory by committing the most violent crimes imaginable, preferring to perform the most torturous acts themselves. The film stars Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp, founding members of the pop group Spandau Ballet, as Ronald and Reginald Kray. The film opens as their mother Violet Kray (Billie Whitelaw) recalls a dream in which she is a swan from which two beautiful babies have hatched. She can't tell if the swans are angels or demons, but the film soon answers that question for her. Brought up in London's East End in the 1930s, Ronald and Reginald Kray are raised in the resentful world of Violet, who is hateful of her lot in life and bitter at the control men have in running the world ("Housework is a lethal business," she says). The twins react to each other almost telepathically and they take out their anger by clogging the nose of their sleeping father (Alfred Lynch), pushing around fellow schoolboys, and even beating each other to pulp at a boxing match. When her mother chastises them for their fight in a fairground boxing ring ("You fight them up, but you don't fight each other"), the twins veer into the London underworld. In their self-contained world of Us-Against-Them, the Krays rapidly rise to the height of power, first taking over the territory of a petty mobster by violent means and then putting together an underworld empire of posh clubs, cars, and fancy suits. But at the height of their fame, the twins begin to break from each other. Reginald falls in love with Frances (Kate Hardie), while Ronald gets involved in a homosexual relationship with one of his underlings. Ronald, in a jealous rage over Frances stealing his brother away from him, becomes even more brutal in his crimes and while the brothers' backs are turned, a group of older mobsters challenge the Krays' authority, invoking a horrible bloodbath that effects not only the two brothers but Frances and Violet as well. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Wealthy metallurgist Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) lives to regret his extramarital affair with pretty young Cini (Kelly Preston). A trio of vicious blackmailers (John Glover, Robert Trebor, Clarence Williams III) show Mitchell a videotape of his most recent roll in the sack with Cini. They demand a huge amount of hush money, but Mitchell calls their bluff, going so far as to tell his politicially ambitious wife Barbara (Ann-Margret) about the affair. But the extortionists haven't even gotten started yet. Tying Mitchell to a chair, they force him to watch a tape of Cini being horribly murdered-with the evidence arranged so that Mitchell will be accused of the crime. But Mitchell remains firm in his refusal to pay up, whereupon he mounts a "fight fire with fire" plan all his own. 52 Pick Up was based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, which was previously filmed in 1984 as The Ambassador. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The lavishly produced British historical series The Strauss Family chronicled the lives of rival "Waltz Kings" Johann Strauss -- both senior and junior -- in 19th century Vienna. Though initially forbidden to study music, Johann Strauss Jr. (Stuart Wilson) eventually became a celebrated composer, much to the chagrin of his more celebrated (and intensely competitive) father Johann Strauss Sr. (Eric Woolfe). Caught in the middle of the familial hostilities was Johann Sr.'s long-suffering wife, Anna (Anne Stallybrass), who, after being shut out of her husband's life, devoted her energies to promoting the career of her son, Johann Jr. Surviving the political upheaval of 1848, when Johann Sr. was forced into exile for siding with the Hapsburg regime, Johann Jr. went on to weather many a personal tragedy and professional setback, finding solace and comfort in his music. Among the stars-to-be seen in this seven-part miniseries were Derek Jacobi as Johann Jr.'s half-brother Josef and Jane Seymour as Russian belle Karolin. The music was provided by the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Cyril Ornadel. Premiering over Britain's ATV on November 7, 1972, The Strauss Family was later picked up by America's ABC network, where it was telecast on Saturday evenings from May 5 to June 16, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stefan Zelter (Oskar Werner) is a classical orchestra conductor who is sued for libel after statements made in a newspaper interview. He finds himself blacklisted and out of work and leaves his wife Antonia (Virginia Maskell) to be with the reporter Sally (Barbara Ferris). His wife nobly tells him he must never give up his music even though the two may never reconcile. This dramatic, romantic tearjerker has music by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff performed by the British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Comedian John Cleese has a straight role as a television publicist and Donald Sutherland plays the role of a mutual friend whose marriage is on the rocks. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

At one time, The Dave Clark Five were considered the Beatles' key rivals in international pop stardom, and so, when the Fab Four made a smash at the box office with A Hard Day's Night, Mr. Clark and his partners followed with Catch Us If You Can (also known as Having A Wild Weekend). Dinah (Barbara Ferris) is a famous model and actress who is getting tired of life in the limelight and wants to take a break. While shooting a commercial spot for meat, she meets Steve (Dave Clark), a stuntman. Dinah and Steve hit it off and decide to head to an island to get away from it all (bringing along four of Steve's friends, Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Denis West Payton, and Rick Huxley, who -- surprise! -- play music with him). Before long, Dinah is reported missing and everyone is looking for her, making their getaway anything but tranquil. While A Hard Day's Night launched director Richard Lester into international success, Catch Us If You Can was the feature debut for John Boorman, who similarly went on to bigger and better projects. Songs featured include "I Can't Stand It," "Catch Us If You Can," and "Having A Wild Weekend." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This British comedy drama of the lower classes features actors with such thick cockney accents that some prints of the film were subtitled. James Booth stars as Charlie, a merchant seaman who returns home to the East End after two years to find that his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor) has taken up with another man, a married bus driver named Bert (George Sewell). After taking his brother Fred (Roy Kinnear) hostage in a pub, Charlie gets a reunion with Maggie, who shows up pushing a pram. It seems she's given birth to a child, and the father's identity is uncertain. Charlie and Maggie reconcile, but not before a vicious row with Bert, who doesn't want to give up his girl. Windsor, a BAFTA Best Actress nominee for her role, also performed the film's title song. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

It's Hoppity Goes To Town with sex in this 1963 British version of the old chestnut concerning an innocent country lass who travels to the big city and becomes corrupted, in this film version of Patrick Hamilton's novel The Street Has a Thousand Skies. Janet Munro runs the gamut of emotions as Jennie, a young girl from Wales who, with her girlfriend, is seduced and abandoned by a couple of heartless creeps in London, where she is later befriended by a kindly bartender John Stride. But Jennie snubs the bartender and takes up with a an unfeeling playboy. However, Jennie has gone around the park one time too many and is now torn between going back home or committing suicide. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Based on James Barlow's novel The Burden of Proof, this is a thoughtful drama revolving around the relationship between a schoolteacher and his students, in particular a fifteen year old girl (played by the debuting Sarah Miles, although she was in fact 21 at the time), who has become infatuated with him. But when he rejects her advances during a school trip to France, out of spite she accuses him of rape. The resulting court-case dominates the latter stages of the film.
In its depiction of school life there does seem to be a ring of truth, even if the situations are somewhat exaggerated and for its time this was very strong stuff with its controversial scenario. But the early 60s was an era when film-makers were challenging social taboos, and subjects that had until then remained off-limits were being explored. Victim (1961) is another good example of this trend. As the movie also examines the precarious state of the man's marriage, this also gives more poignancy to his predicament. A fine cast is employed here, including a young Terence Stamp who went on to become a major star of the late 60s. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

Like many of his best works, filmmaker Douglas Sirk's Interlude is a remake of an earlier Universal soap opera. In this case, Sirk's source material is the 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer vehicle When Tomorrow Comes. Based on a story by (of all people) James M. Cain, the story concerns the romance between aspiring musician Helen Banning (June Allyson) and famed symphony conductor Tonio Fischer (Rossano Brazzi). Alas, Tonio is married, and his bibulous, vindictive wife (Marianne Cook) isn't about to give him a divorce. Meanwhile, stiff-necked American doctor Morley Dwyer (Keith Andes) waits patiently for his sweetheart Helen to come to her senses and return to his arms. Opulently location-filmed in Austria, Interlude was remade under the same title in 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide