Frank Finlay Movies

The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several years' absence, Dirk Bogarde returns to the popular British "Doctor" film series in Doctor in Distress. Where once Bogarde's Dr. Simon Sparrow was naive and wide-eyed, he is a bit more urbane in this edition. He even manages to offer romantic advice to his old mentor/nemesis Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson Justice). Sparrow's efforts to smooth the path for Sir Lancelot's amorous pursuit of physiotherapist Barbara Murray puts a strain on his own relationship with comely Samantha Eggar. Doctor in Distress is based on characters created by Dr. Richard Gordon, though the story is an original and not an adaptation of a Gordon novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dirk Bogarde plays one of those "reluctant spies" so common to adventure films of the 1960s. A poverty-stricken author, Bogarde is sent to Czechoslovakia by the British government as an unofficial "goodwill ambassador" to an industrial firm. It soon dawns upon him that his real assignment is to gather facts for his government's secret service; unfortunately, neither Bogarde's bosses nor his adversaries let him in on just how much danger is involved. After an excellent--and quite funny--opening, the film bogs down into an uninspired James Bond parody (we should have been warned what was coming by the very first scene, in which Agent 007's file is marked "Deceased"). Also known as Agent 008 3/4, Agent 8 3/4 was originally screened in England as Hot Enough for June; the British version ran nearly twenty minutes longer than the American release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1965 Othello is literally a photographed stage play: a filmed record of the National Theatre Production of 1964, as staged by John Dexter and starring Laurence Olivier. As the easily led, fatally jealous Moor of Venice, Olivier wears thick black-faced makeup and speaks in an uncharacteristically deep, bellow-like voice. Some considered his portrayal of Othello to be an unflattering stereotype; others regard Olivier's interpretation as one of the finest Shakespearean performances ever captured on film. Less flamboyant, but no less effective, are Frank Finlay as Iago, Maggie Smith as Desdemona, Derek Jacobi as Cassio, and Joyce Redman as Emilia. Oscar nominations went to Olivier, Finlay, Smith, and Redman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sexy comedy an affianced woman decides to sow one last wild oat before becoming a devoted wife. She therefore dresses up in a slinky black number and goes to her company Christmas party. The shapely lass impresses both her boss and a sales manager for the cosmetic company. The manager then sends her a new dress and she goes to his hotel room to have a little lunch. When he makes a pass, she flees and returns to the party and spikes the punch. When her fiance shows up, they all kick him out. Soon the drunken party-goers begin cozying up to one another. The girl realizes she has gone too far and sets off the company sprinkler system to sober them up. Things are suitably dampened and the partiers begin getting rather glum until they hear that one of the employee's wives has given birth. Later, the troublemaker makes nice with her fiance and they leave. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Horace Quilby (Michael Bentine) is a sandwich-board advertising man who gets a tour of London and sees some of the city's most offbeat and outrageous characters in this situation comedy. British blonde bombshell (Diana Dors) co-stars. Watch for Michael Chaplin (son of Charlie) as a beatnik artist. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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

The imprisoning aspects of Success are humorously analyzed in this British-made film. Oliver Reed plays a wealthy advertising man who feels he has sold his soul and wishes to return to his happier earlier existence as a poor but swinging Londoner. Reed is goaded on by his boss, Orson Welles, who represents all the mercenary crassness that Reed despises. Handed a crucial commercial account, Reed plans to destroy himself by producing as offensive and confusing an ad campaign as possible. But Welles and the client are delighted by the "insult," and the disgruntled Reed is more successful than ever. Directed in the fragmentary "psychedelic" style typical of the late 1960s, I'll Never Forget What's'is Name gained notoriety upon its initial release by being the first mainstream British film in which the "F" word was spoken on-screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The famously inept but accidentally brilliant Inspector Clouseau returns to help foil a group of daring robbers in this comedy, the only film in the long-running series not to feature Peter Sellers as the bumbling inspector. Instead, the talented Alan Arkin assumes the role, blundering his way through the expected series of absurd, slapstick situations. The plot centers on a series of Swiss bank robberies under investigation by an uptight Scotland Yard inspector (Patrick Cargill), who naturally becomes infuriated by Clouseau's unwelcome intervention. Meanwhile, the robbers decide to confuse matters by wearing Clouseau masks, offering further opportunities for farcical mistaken identities. Due to the absence of both Sellers and director Blake Edwards, Inspector Clouseau has largely been forgotten in comparison to the other Pink Panther films, though it maintains some interest as a curious aberration in the popular comic series. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This scientific documentary discovers the wonders of the human body while using external and internal cameras. Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Finlay are the commentators of this project that combines the knowledge of the world's most renowned human biologists and anatomical experts. Unlike many presentations, this is an entertaining feature that avoids the dry and often monotonous tone taken by films of similar subject matter. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Someone is sexually assaulting and (usually) killing the students of a girls' school. There are entirely too many suspects to make the job of the Scotland Yard detective (Frank Finlay) an easy one. The girls' persistent use of the shortcut through the woods in which the crimes occur has only compounded the problem. Although one of the victims has survived the attack, shock has erased her memory of the event, and the detective's investigations are perforce guided by the vague impressions of the school's art mistress (Suzy Kendall), who witnessed something. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Part spoof and part "straight," Gumshoe comes off as an affectionate tribute to the hard-boiled detective films of yore. Albert Finney stars as Eddie Ginley, a Liverpool bingo-caller and erstwhile comedian who has been weaned on the novels of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett. Fancying himself an ace detective, Ginley quits his job to form his own agency. Before long, he is involved in a complex mystery with decided echoes of The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, replete with femme fatale (Janice Rule) and sinister fat man (George Silver). Armed with little more than a slick line of patter, Ginley plunges into this baffling case, while his level-headed brother (Frank Finlay) and sister-in-law (Billie Whitelaw) try to talk him out of it. Despite its satirical content, Gumshoe turns out to be a fascinating mystery yarn on its own terms. Albert Finney also produced the film, while none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber supplied the musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide