Peter Finch Movies
Ruddy-faced British star Peter Finch was raised by relatives in France, India, and Australia after his parents divorced when he was two. He had several odd jobs during the Depression before working as a comedian's stooge in vaudeville. He began working in the legitimate theater in 1935 then in 1936 debuted onscreen in the Australian film Dad and Dave Come to Town. While sporadically appearing in Australian films over the next decade-plus, Finch continued working on stage and formed his own company; eventually he also became Australia's top radio actor. His work impressed Laurence Olivier, who brought him to London in 1949 where he performed impressively on the stage and landed supporting roles in numerous films. In the mid-'50s he began getting better film roles, becoming one of Britain's leading male stars. Between 1956-71 he won the British Film Academy "Best Actor" award four times. For his portrayal of a gay doctor in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) he received a "Best Actor" Oscar nomination. His last film was Network (1976); during a promotional campaign for the film, he died of a massive coronary. That year he was posthumously awarded the Oscar for "Best Actor"--making him the first actor in Academy Award history to do so. ~ All Movie Guide
Passion, whether sex or violence, is the root of conflict in this film which follows as the alcoholic Mercouri and her husband Finch travel with their daughter and Schneider across Spain. Being married does not stop Finch from fooling around with other women, however, and an affair flares up between him and Schneider. But it doesn't just stop between these two--things start warming up between Mercouri and Schneider as well. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, (more)
- 1977
This 1977 documentary feature closely examines the person, views and life of Norwegian actress Liv Ullman, perhaps best known for her many appearances in the famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's films. Clips of her films are included, as well as numerous interviews granted by her especially for this film, which was released shortly after her autobiography Changing was published. This documentary is subtitled: "Norway's Live Ullman/Liv Ullmann's Norway." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1946
A Son is Born was the maiden directorial effort of Australian producer Eric Porter. Future international star Peter Finch heads the cast of this sprawling drama, dealing with the rivalry between a headstrong father and his rebellious son. Ron Randell and Muriel Steinbeck, who like Finch were big favorites "down under" in 1946, also appear. Distribution of A Son is Born throughout the rest of the British empire was handled by Ealing Studios, long before the company began specializing in domestic comedies. American audiences were denied an opportunity to see A Son is Born until it began making the TV "Late Show" rounds in the mid-1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck, (more)
- 1956
A harrowing WWII drama that was a huge critical and commercial success in England, this British production was based on a novel by Nevil Shute. During the war, a group of prisoners, mostly women and children, are led by Japanese soldiers on a brutal march through Malaysia. Some die by the roadside and others are sadistically tortured. One of the women, Jean Paget (Virginia McKenna), is befriended by an Australian man who is also a prisoner of war, Joe Harman (Peter Finch). Joe tells Jean about his hometown of Alice Springs, an oasis in the Australian outback. When he steals a chicken to feed Jean and the others, Joe is caught and treated ruthlessly. The Japanese force Jean and the others to march on while Joe is put on a crucifix and left to die. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1938
In this early Australian comedy, an outback farmer is bequeathed a city fashion salon so he moves his family into town. There, he becomes known as "the farmer dressmaker." He will do almost anything to get business. He even does a radio spot with his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Bailey
Elephant Walk was several weeks into production when the film's original leading lady, Vivien Leigh, was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor (you can still see Leigh in a few long shots). Based on a novel by Robert Standish, the film casts Taylor as Ruth Wiley, the new bride of solemn plantation owner John Wiley (Peter Finch). At first thrilled at the prospect of living in the wilds of Ceylon, Ruth rapidly becomes a beautiful bird in a gilded cage. When American overseer Dick Carver (Dana Andrews) arrives on the scene, Ruth falls in love. Before she can leave her husband, though, the region is devastated by cholera. Making things worse, the local elephants go on a rampage, destroying her husband's mansion, which his father had maliciously built in the middle of the pachyderm's ancient right of way. Fraught with sexual symbolism, Elephant Walk works on a high-gloss soap opera level. The climactic stampede, however, is disappointingly filmed on a studio interior set, robbing what should have been a rousing climax of much of its credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, (more)
- 1973
Based on a novel by Graham Greene that uses the rise of Nazi Germany as its backdrop, this drama stars Michael York as Anthony Farrant, an idealistic young British businessman. On his way home after a trip to the Far East, Anthony takes a friend up on her advice and makes a stop in Germany, where he calls upon Erich Krogh (Peter Finch), a highly successful financier. While Anthony was taught to value fairness and decency, he soon falls under Erich's spell, in which opportunism, corruption, and decadence hold sway. England Made Me was filmed in Yugoslavia, doubling for both Germany and France; Tony Wollard's art direction was nominated for a British BAFTA Award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Michael York, (more)
- 1949
Released in the U.S. as Massacre Hill, the Australian Eureka Stockade was one of that country's biggest and most expensive postwar productions (it was nearly two years in the making!) Set during the 19th-century Australian gold rush, the film top-bills Chips Rafferty as boisterous prospector Peter Lallor. The gold bonanza is threatened by the arrival of claim-jumpers, usurpers and government bean-counters. At first, the prospectors intend to use random mob violence to ward off the invaders, but Lallor organizes the group into a strong, united front, as willing to mediate as to bust heads. Future star Peter Finch is eighth-billed as "Humffray." Eureka Stockade was remade years later as a TV miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chips Rafferty, Gordon Jackson, (more)
This 1967 version of Thomas Hardy's novel should have done better at the box office than it did, given the star power of Julie Christie and the visual and aural fidelity to its source material. Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a country heiress who is loved by three different men: Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Convinced that she is the intellectual superior of all three, Bathesheba loses many early opportunities for lasting happiness. Finally shedding herself of her haughty attitude, Bathsheba unconditionally accepts the love of Bates. The euphoric exuberance of Nicolas Roeg's photography is matched by the direction of John Schlesinger and the screenplay by Frederick Raphael. Only the nittiest of nitpickers would complain that some of the medium shots don't match the closeups (watch Terence Stamp's clown makeup in one scene). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, (more)
Peter Finch enjoyed one of his first major screen successes with this wartime drama from Australia. Milo Trent (Chips Rafferty) and Bluey Donkin (Grant Taylor) are two Aussie infantrymen who are fighting in North Africa during World War II when they meet Peter Linton (Peter Finch), a slightly pretentious British soldier with a fondness for poetry. The three men form an unlikely friendship struggling to fend off Rommel's Afrika Corps as the Australian army battles to retain control of Tobruk, a strategically important city in Libya. Released as The Fighting Rats of Tobruk, this drama was based on actual incidents. Australian forces successfully held Tobruk against heavy fire from Axis troops for 250 days, and the battle has been cited as a turning point in the war in North Africa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Taylor, Chips Rafferty, (more)
Rita Tushingham was propelled into stardom with The Girl with Green Eyes. She plays a gawky young rural Irish girl who takes a room with a wise-cracking Dublin lass (Lynn Redgrave). Enter a middle-aged writer (Peter Finch), who makes a beeline for the shy, lonely Tushingham--completely ignoring her more worldly roommate. Girl with Green Eyes was liberally based upon Edna O'Brien's novella The Lonely Girl. With this one film, Rita Tushingham not only became bankable, but also what is known as a "critic's darling", meaning that she could do no wrong in the eyes of certain male reviewers. The bloom was off the rose fairly quickly, and soon Ms. Tushingham found herself contractually committed to one second-string project after another, including an ill-advised reteaming with actress Lynn Redgrave and director Desmond Davis in the resistible Smashing Time (67). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham, (more)
- 1962
Dr. Susan Hayward makes a tragic mistake when she leaves her Canadian practice to follow her ailing, married lover to England. Dying slowly and in great pain, her love begs her to help him die quickly. With great compassion, she does so with a large morphine injection. Unfortunately, her mercy lands her in court where she must face the ruthless and ambitious prosecuting attorney Peter Finch. Hayward ends up serving two years in prison. Afterward, her medical practitioner's license is revoked and she is left destitute and desperately alone until an anonymous party contacts her and invites her to take a job caring for the man's mentally ill wife. She goes to check out the situation and discovers the man to be Finch. Apparently his wife, Diane Cliento went mad after her father accidentally died. She accepts the position and soon finds herself deeply involved in a complicated situation where nothing is quite as it seems and where a death again leads her to stand trial in court for a crime she did not commit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1963
In this drama of romantic intrigue and infidelity, Sam and Christine Bonner (Arthur Hill and Jane Fonda) are a married couple whose relationship has hit a rough spot. While Sam loves Christina very much and would do anything for her, she feels unsatisfied and suffocated by him; she wants more space for herself and would like to have a baby. Sam is more than willing to help, but matters become more complicated when he introduces Christine to Murray Logan (Peter Finch), a friend from work, and his wife Sybil (Angela Lansbury). Murray and Sybil are not at all happy together; ever since an auto wreck claimed the life of their son, Sybil has been emotionally on edge and blames her husband for the death of her child. When Murray meets Christine, he finds himself attracted to her; she is also interested in him, but neither are in a position to do anything about it. Sam arranges for the two couples to take a vacation to Greece together, hoping a change of scenery will bring a spark back into their lives. However, Sam's father Frederick (Alexander Knox) falls ill just as the couples are about to leave, and he's forced to stay behind. While in Greece, Murray and Christine finally succumb to their desires and begin an affair; an angry Sybil retaliates by both having a fling with a local man and spilling the beans to Sam about Murray and his wife. John Houseman, later to become famous as an actor, served as a producer on this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1955
In this romantic comedy, a womanizing uncle tells the story of his good-hearted but fickle niece, whose tendency to always champion the underdog causes her endless romantic woes. It all begins when she breaks up with her fiance on the eve of their wedding so she can marry and help out a half-starved aspiring playwright. With her moral support and his talent, the playwright makes it big. Unfortunately, her old fiance shows up. He has lost his fortune and must flee the police. The tender-hearted lass, unable to resist a hard-luck story, then falls for her former love until he is proven innocent. It is at that point that the niece chooses her man once and for all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, (more)
- 1965
A woman seeks justice for herself, her family, and her people in this emotional drama. Judith (Sophia Loren) is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp; she was once married to Gustav Schiller (Hans Verner), a German, but with the onset of WWII, he threw his support behind the ruling Nazi party, and when his marriage to Judith went sour, he turned her in as a Jew, along with their son. While Judith made it out of the camp alive, she has no idea what happened to her son. In 1947, Palestine, still under British rule, is being torn apart by fighting between Jewish and Arab forces, and Gustav, now wanted as a war criminal, has re-appeared there, leading a squadron of Arab terrorists. Aaron Stein (Peter Finch), is the head of an underground Jewish battalion called Haganah, and he needs help in ferreting out Gustav and learning what he's planning. He enlists the aid of Judith, who is just as eager as Stein to see Gustav put out of commission, as she seeks revenge for what he did to her and their child. Judith also features Jack Hawkins as Major Lawton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1960
- PG
Disney produced this historical adventure of old Scotland, based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. James MacArthur stars as David Balfour, a wealthy lad cheated out of his inheritance and sold into servitude by his duplicitous and greedy uncle, Ebenezer (John Laurie). Aboard the ship where he's been made cabin boy, David meets Alan Breck Stewart (Peter Finch), a Jacobite loyalist who thinks the vessel's skipper (Bernard Lee) is transporting him back to Scotland. When David learns otherwise, he and Alan become a team, escaping the ship and taking off across the Highlands. Accused falsely of murder, the pair must clear their names, evade redcoat troops, and restore David's fortunes. Although director Robert Stevenson was no relation to the famed author, the studio claimed otherwise at the time of the film's release, for publicity purposes. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, James MacArthur, (more)
- 1973
James Hilton's beloved fantasy novel about the land of Shangri-La was given an awkward musical treatment in this extravagantly produced flop. Larry Kramer's screenplay stays close to the 1937 Frank Capra original, as a plane fleeing China crashes in the Himalayas and a mixed group of survivors discovers the magical, peaceful land of Shangri-La. Here the film becomes a full-fledged musical, with songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David illustrating the distant realm's nature and the conflict that happiness causes amongst the survivors. Curiosity-seekers may be intrigued by the film's reputation as a notorious dud, but fans of the story would be better served by the classic original, despite a cast of well-respected names, including Peter Finch (in the Ronald Colman role), John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, and Charles Boyer. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, (more)
- 1954
While ethnic humor was pretty much avoided by Hollywood in the politically touchy 1950s, Great Britain continued to turn out comedies relying upon accents and gentle stereotypes for laughs. Make Me an Offer stars Peter Finch as a stylish antique dealer who covets a precious vase. Among the many people with whom Finch comes in contact is a Jewish antique specialist (Meier Tzelnicker) who offers the star (and the viewers) several amusing glimpses at the ins and outs of his trade. Based on a novel by Wolf Mankowitz, Make Me an Offer wasn't given much theatrical play in the US, though it showed up with some regularity on TV. In the 1960s, the film became a precious commodity in the rush by local television stations to load up on color product--even second-rate Eastmancolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Corri, Rosalie Crutchley, (more)
- 1939
Cherubic Cecil Kellaway heads the cast of the Australian Mr. Chedworth Steps Out. The title character is a milquetoast clerk who decides to kick over the traces and have a good time when chances across an abandoned bag of money. Unbeknownst to Mr. Chedworth, the cash is counterfeit, and before long he finds himself pursued by cops and criminals alike. Meanwhile, a romantic subplot develops between Chedworth's daughter (Jean Hatton) and a handsome treasury agent (James Raglan). Halfway through the film, Mr. Chedworth Steps Out unexpectedly becomes a semi-musical, with ingenue Jean Hatton rendering a couple of tunes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Raglan, Rita Pauncefort, (more)
A trenchant satire of "trash TV," Network seems to grow only more relevant with each passing year. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is put out to pasture because he "skews old." Network executive Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best friend, is forced to deliver the bad news. Beale can't stomach the idea of losing his 25-year post as anchorman simply because of age, so in his next broadcast he announces to the viewers that he's going to commit suicide on his final program. Network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is all for kicking Beale out then and there, but when it looks as though the UBS is going to have its greatest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming exec Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Hackett into treating that fateful final telecast as a special event. Naturally, Beale doesn't go through with it -- but he does begin rambling about the horrible state of the world in general and television in particular. He concludes his tirade by admonishing his viewers to "Go to the window and shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Howard Beale becomes the hottest TV personality in America, and Diana becomes the network's fair-haired girl. She draws up plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as garish entertainment (complete with a psychic), all built around the rants of Beale, billed as "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves." Network won Oscars for Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay as well as for three of four acting categories -- Dunaway for Best Actress, Peter Finch for Best Actor (in the only posthumous Oscar yet awarded), and Beatrice Straight for Best Supporting Actress, in one of the shortest-screen-time performances ever to win an Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, William Holden, (more)
- 1960
Peter Finch plays Johnnie Byrne, a British member of parliament. When Johnnie loses out on an important cabinet post, he's hardly surprised; he's been a loser so long that it's par for the course. Treated shabbily by his communistic wife Rosalie Crutchley, Johnnie begins an affair with fashion-model Mary Peach. His ardor causes him to miss an important House of Commons meeting, which subsequently leads to his disgrace in the eyes of his leftist political associates. A chance at a reconciliation with his wife is scuttled when Johnnie finds that he will lose a much-coveted cabinet seat if he does not sever his communist ties, both professional and personal. No Love for Johnnie was based on a novel by Wilfred Fienburgh, himself a Socialist MP who evidently knew whereof he spoke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Stanley Holloway, (more)
One of the covert operations at the beginning of World War II is enacted in this fast-paced docudrama about a government-approved diamond heist. A Major from the British army (Tony Britton) joins up with a Dutch diamond expert (Alexander Knox) and another adventurous Dutchman (Peter Finch) to steal a fortune in diamonds from a bank vault in Amsterdam before the Nazis completely close off the city. The trio are launched under the covering fire of a British battleship in the harbor and then chauffeured into Amsterdam by Anna (Eva Bartok), one of many people they encounter who could be either friend or foe. There is no time to waste in emptying the bank vault because it is estimated that the city will be overrun by the Nazi army in just fourteen hours. Meanwhile, the war is intensifying all around them, and the Nazi soldiers already on patrol are a continual threat. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, (more)
- 1955
A Richard Armstrong novel was the source for the British sea melodrama Passage Home. Set in 1931, the film takes place aboard a merchant ship, briefly harbored in South America. A young woman (Diane Cilento) boards the ship as a passenger, resulting in disharmony among the superstitious crew members. Virtuous seaman Anthony Steel protects the girl from the lecherous advances of captain Peter Finch. The film's predictable highlight is an outsized sea storm, during which a besotted Finch struggles to stay sober long enough to keep everyone from falling overboard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent British war dramas of the 1950s, The Battle of River Plate is the story of Britain's first significant naval victory in WW2. John Gregson heads the cast as Captain Bell, skipper of the Exeter, one of several vessels engaged in pursuit of the "indestructable" Geman battleship Graf Spee. Taking refuge in the neutral harbor of Montevideo, the Graf Spee is covertly protected by the Uruguayan government. Eventually, however, German captain Langsdorff (Peter Finch) is faced with a difficult decision: either stand his ground and fight a losing battle against the Exeter and its sister ships, or scuttle the Graf Spee and save the lives of his crew. Battle of the River Plate was released in the US as Pursuit of the Graf Spee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, (more)
Raid on Entebbe constitutes one of two all-star made-for-TV reenactments of the Entebbe rescue of July 4, 1976. On June 27, 1976, a jet carrying an international mix of passengers is hijacked by pro-Palestinian revolutionaries. The plane lands in Entebbe, Uganda, where President-for-life Idi Amin (Yaphet Kotto) struts about feigning concern, though his sympathy toward the hijackers is obvious. Many of the passengers are released, but 103 Israelis are kept in custody, and it becomes apparent that the revolutionaries plan to use these unfortunates as a bargaining chip for the release of imprisoned terrorists throughout the world. With virtually no other option, the Israeli government gives the go-ahead for Operation Thunderbolt, a commando raid on the Entebbe airport. The cast includes Charles Bronson as General Shomron, Jack Warden as Mordecai Gur, Sylvia Sidney as ill-fated passenger Dora Bloch, and, as Prime Minister Rabin, Peter Finch, whose performance (his last) won him an Emmy nomination. Raid on Entebbe first aired on January 9, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, (more)
