Jon Finch Movies

This British film examines the choices individuals must make when confronted with a romantic relationship which is rewarding but does not offer them everything they want. In this sympathetic and psychologically precise drama, Alexandra Greville (Glenda Jackson), "Alex" to her friends, has a younger man as her sometime lover, the young sculptor Bob Elkin (Murray Head). Elkin is completely open about the fact that he is also the lover of her acquaintance, Dr. Daniel Hirsch (Peter Finch). These relationships continue in some kind of equilibrium until Alex and Bob agree to house-sit the children of a couple known to the three of them. In their roles, neither Head nor Finch "swished," or otherwise catered to homosexual stereotypes, and theirs was considered to be a groundbreaking, sympathetic portrayal of this kind of relationship, not condescending in any way. One highlight of the film is a scene in which Dr. Hirsch attends the Bar Mitzvah of his nephew. This critically well-received movie was unexpectedly successful at the box office. The film's director and screenwriter, as well as Jackson and Finch, were nominated for Academy Awards. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Alfred Hitchcock entered the 1970s with his commercial reputation virtually in tatters, a far cry from his stature at the start of the 1960s. Then, he'd been in the middle of the massively successful trio of movies, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, and was a ubiquitous presence on television thanks to his anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- but the series ended, and he'd suffered three expensive box-office failures in a row, Marnie, Torn Curtain, and Topaz, in the second half of the 1960s. He redeemed himself with Frenzy, however, which marked his return not only to England for the first time in 20 years but also to the subject matter with which he'd started his career in thrillers back in 1926 -- murder, and a hunt for a serial killer in London. As the latest female victim of the "Necktie Murderer" is found in the Thames, raped and strangled, we meet Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), a bitter, belligerent ex-Royal Air Force officer who can't seem to find his way in life. He drinks too much and holds grudges too easily, and has an explosive temper, which is very near the surface as he's just lost his job. We also meet his girlfriend, a barmaid (Anna Massey); his ex-wife, a professional matchmaker (Barbara Leigh-Hunt); and his best friend, Covent Garden fruit seller Bob Rusk (Barry Foster). Their connection to the necktie murders will be clear to us in the first 30 minutes of the movie and, not coincidentally, completely misinterpreted by the police, as Chief Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowan) and his men tighten a circle around the wrong man, who rapidly runs out of options and allies.

The chase and suspense are classic Hitchcock, favorably recalling a dozen of his earlier movies, from The Lodger and The 39 Steps through Saboteur and Spellbound to Dial M for Murder and North by Northwest, with some new twists and the added energy afforded by the extensive use of actual London locations. There's also a good deal more sex and nudity here than Hitchcock was ever allowed to use in his earlier movies, owing to the relaxation of "decency" standards that had taken place in the years leading up to this production. The suspense derives from multiple interlocking and overlapping layers of uncertainty -- when will each of the two men, suspect and murderer, slip? (And which will slip first?) When and how will the police realize their mistake, and will it be in time to save the innocent man? Amid the straightforward storytelling and thriller elements, Hitchcock manages to slip in a few bravura cinematic moments, the best of them a pullback shot down a flight of stairs into a busy street as the killer invites his next victim into his home, as well as a scene aboard a truck, with a murderer desperately wrestling with a corpse hidden in a sack of potatoes. Frenzy was adapted from Arthur La Bern's novel Goodbye Picadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by mystery aficionado Anthony Shaffer, but for all of that and its decidedly modern trappings of sex and violence, it bears the indelible stylistic stamp of Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Jon Finch stars as Jerry Cornelius, swinging London's leading scientific genius, in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. As the world teeters on the brink of collapse following a nuclear war, Jerry discovers that a batch of microfilm containing "the final programme" -- the plan for an ideal, self-replicating human being, which was designed by his father -- has fallen into the wrong hands. With the assistance of Miss Brunner (Jenny Runacre), a voracious and bisexual computer expert, Jerry discovers the programme has been taken by his unscrupulous brother Frank (Derrick O'Connor), and Jerry and Miss Brunner must recover it and put the system to work, leading to the creation of a new messiah (which isn't quite what one would expect). The distinguished supporting cast for this thoughtful bit of satire includes Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden, and George Coulouris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this modern retelling of the classic Dangerous Liaisons, a virtuous young woman becomes the target of the schemes of an amoral womanizer who is in the habit of wooing women and killing their lovers and husbands in duels. When she finally succumbs to him, she discovers his true nature, and her newly awakened joy in passion turns to dust. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Peter Ustinov began his long association with the Hercule Poirot character of murder mystery novelist Agatha Christie with this lavish but financially disappointing follow-up to the popular Murder on the Orient Express (1974). During a luxurious pleasure cruise down the Nile aboard a lavish vessel populated with wealthy passengers, widely despised heiress and home wrecker Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles) is murdered. Also aboard is famed Belgian detective Poirot (Ustinov) and his taciturn traveling companion, Colonel Race (David Niven). Poirot undertakes an investigation into Ridgeway's killing. Among the colorful suspects are Salome (Angela Lansbury) and Rosalie Otterbourne (Olivia Hussey), Doctor Bessner (Jack Warden), Mrs. Van Schuyler (Bette Davis), Miss Bowers (Maggie Smith), and Jacqueline De Bellefort (Mia Farrow). As more bodies pile up, however, it appears that nearly everyone aboard has a motive. The script for Death on the Nile (1978) was adapted by Anthony Shaffer, the writer of Sleuth (1972) and the identical twin brother of Amadeus (1984) author Peter Shaffer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A quarrel erupts between the Duke of Hereford, Henry Bolingbroke (Jon Finch), and the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray (Richard Owens). According to Bolingbroke, Mowbray misappropriated government money and plotted the death of the Duke of Gloucester. Mowbray denies the charges, accusing Bolingbroke of being a slanderous coward. King Richard II (Derek Jacobi) first approves their proposal to settle their differences in a jousting duel, then decides to banish both of them -- Norfolk for life and Bolingbroke for six years. The lighter sentence for Bolingbroke masks Richard's hatred of Henry, who is so popular with the people that he poses a threat to the crown. While Bolingbroke is in exile, his father, the much-loved John of Gaunt (Sir John Gielgud), dies, and Richard appropriates his estate -- Henry's inheritance -- to help pay for a military campaign he personally conducts against rebels in Ireland. Nobles protest seizure of the inheritance, siding with Bolingbroke. Heartened, Bolingbroke returns from exile, organizes his supporters, and executes two of Richard's friends. Richard returns from Ireland to defend his realm. But after 20,000 Welsh troops desert to Bolingbroke, Richard takes refuge in Flint Castle, then surrenders to his foe. After being forced to give up the throne, Henry imprisons Richard in the Tower of London and announces his own coronation. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Part of a television series entitled "The Shakespeare Plays," this second of the Henry IV series has young Prince Hal diligently applying himself to his future role of leadership. This episode ends with the death of Henry IV and the coronation of Prince Hal as Henry V. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

This 1981 motion picture follows in the footsteps of the first Christians, led by Peter and Paul, during three decades of evangelizing in the Mediterranean region. The 195-minute version of the original TV miniseries begins in Jerusalem four years after the death of Jesus Christ when Stephen, a disciple of the new religion, dies by stoning after Jews find him guilty of blasphemy. Among the Jewish accusers is Paul of Tarsus (Anthony Hopkins), a leader in the campaign against the Christians. However, when he reaches down for a stone to throw, he hesitates while other Jews carry out the sentence. Later, on his way to Damascus to root out Christians there, he is thrown from his horse. When he looks up, he sees a bright light and hears a voice -- the voice of the Christian God -- reproaching him for his persecution of the Jews. Paul then converts to Christianity and preaches on its behalf in Damascus, where authorities flog and jail him. He escapes and returns to Jerusalem. There, another Christian, Barnabas (Herbert Lom), introduces him to Peter (Robert Foxworth). At first, Peter suspects Paul is a spy. But after Paul persuades him that he has truly converted, the two men unite in their efforts to win souls to Christ. While Peter remains behind to labor in Jerusalem and other parts of Judea, then a Roman province, Paul goes north to preach in Antioch, Perga, Lystra, and other cities. However, because he converts Gentiles without requiring them to accept Jewish religious law and traditions, the Jerusalem branch of Christianity chastises him. Later, when Peter and others meet with Paul to strike a compromise, asking him to require Gentiles to accept a limited number of Jewish religious practices, Paul angrily rejects their proposal. Eventually, however, Paul and Peter reconcile and end up ministering in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero (Julian Fellowes). There, they become martyrs to their faith. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Comparatively unknown, the British And Nothing But the Truth is a blistering indictment of government-sanctioned corruption, as well as the "facts of life" of the television industry. Filmmaker Glenda Jackson and reporter Jon Finch head to South Wales, where a farm family has taken on the local village government. Accusations have been raised that a powerful corporation has (within legal limits) bribed the village to permit encroachment upon local farm land. In pursuit of the truth, Jackson and Finch are subjected to character assassination and overt threats. Only gradually do they discover that their own bosses are also on the take. And Nothing But the Truth was originally titled Giro City. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hosted by Elvira, this film follows the problems that crop up when a married composer is seduced by a lovelorn witch, much to the dismay of his wife. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a former US agent attempt to rejoin society as he endeavors to reopen his deceased father's chateau. Soon he again finds himself surrounded by mystery and danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Ken Russell returns to the D.H. Lawrence territory that had earlier served him well in Women in Love. Sammi Davis plays Lawrence's Welsh heroine Ursula Brangwen, daughter of a wealthy mine owner, who is first seen as a child given to literally chasing rainbows. Disappointed that she can never have the real thing, the older Davis seeks out figurative rainbows in the form of sexual fulfillment. Neither heterosexual nor homosexual affairs fully satisfy Davis, because no one lover can match the "ideal" the girl has created in her imagination. Davis' disappointment in the world is paralleled with the sorry lot of the wives of the local coal miners, who have adapted to their lives--something Davis can never do, will never do. Stately despite its raw subject matter, The Rainbow was filmed just before Russell's outrageous sword-and-sorcery fantasy Lair of the White Worm; since both films utilize many of the same cast members, the two pictures might make an astonishing double feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British made-for-TV movie, a reporter stumbles across an intriguing mystery while visiting in Wales with a friend. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide