Jon Finch Movies

This compelling low-budget horror-fantasy from Welsh filmmaker Julian Richards made a splash at several fantasy film festivals, where it often garnered a more favorable reception than Hollywood big-budget product. The plot follows the investigations of English journalist Frazer Truick (Craig Fairbrass) into the disappearance of a colleague's brother in South Wales. His snooping unearths the elaborate political machinations of a long-standing, ultra-conservative faction known as "Regeneration," whose followers, under the leadership of businessman David Keller (Jon Finch), intend to return Wales to its ancient Celtic ways... including the practice of human sacrifices. Insidious plot twists abound, all of which point to Truick's unknowing role in the sect's master plan. Richards' excellent script may draw its thematic inspiration from The Wicker Man, and those familiar with that film may not be entirely surprised by the climax; the story nevertheless contains many unconventional surprises, and it maintains an effective balance between political allegory and pure suspense. Further enhanced by excellent photography and an intense performance from Fairbrass, Darklands represents a remarkable debut from an assured genre talent. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

When a well-known psychiatrist reports that his wife has disappeared, the police discover an anonymous note stating that he has killed her. Under suspicion now of having murdered his wife and done away with the body, he becomes entangled in a suspenseful mystery as he tries to clear his name. One of several such movies, this one stands out of the pack. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Doktor Faustus was adapted from Thomas Mann's epic novel of the same name about a composer, Adrian Leverkuehn (Jon Finch), who sells his soul to the devil for the acquisition of genius in his lifetime. Leverkuehn intentionally contracts syphilis from an infected prostitute because he believes that a side-effect of the disease is intense, sustained creativity; no matter that death from syphilis as it enters the brain is extremely unpleasant -- the composer wants his moment of greatness. That is where Satan comes into the picture, and Leverkuehn agrees to Satan's terms in exchange for creative genius: he is not to have any close human contacts. Being only too human, the composer violates the terms only to see his two closest friends, a cellist and his little nephew, die as a consequence. At this point, after extensive philosophizing and rumination, the Satanic deal just does not have the same allure, and Leverkuehn's own life is quickly deteriorating, much faster than he can handle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, 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

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

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

A British writer goes to live in a Spanish village while he looks into the mysterious life of a 19th century wanderer who was allegedly slain by La Sabina, a mythical lady dragon. The writer becomes lovers with an American visitor and then falls in love with an enigmatic beauty from town. Things get really confusing when the writer's good friend arrives with his wife. When the writer's all-out campaign to seduce the local woman fails, tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this chilling horror movie, loosely based on a tale by H.P. Lovecraft, a group of people in an ancient church find themselves beleaguered by terrifying monsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

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