Frank Finlay Movies
RADA-trained British stage actor Frank Finlay was 31 when he made his London stage debut. The following year, he scored his first significant theatrical success, playing an elderly Jewish patriarch in Chicken Soup With Barley. In 1962, the RADA-trained Finlay made the first of his infrequent film appearances in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. In 1964, Finlay toured with the National Theatre of Great Britain, playing Iago opposite Laurence Olivier's Othello. When Othello was committed to film in 1965, it was Finlay who received the lion's share of excellent notices; he was also nominated for an Academy Award. Most of Finlay's film characters have had sturdy literary pedigrees: he played Porthos in The Three Musketeers (1973) and its two sequels; Inspector Lestrade in a brace of Sherlock Holmes films, A Study in Terror (1965) and Murder by Decree (1979); Jacob Marley in the 1984 George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol; and Sancho Panza in a 1973 made-for-TV adaptation of Don Quixote. Among the historical figures portrayed by Frank Finlay are John Carter in Cromwell (1969), Sergei Alleluveya in Stalin (1992), the title roles in the British TV productions The Last Days of Hitler and Casanova, and the part of Salieri in the London staging of Amadeus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1984
Much of 1919 takes place in 1984, but the spectre of that year looms large over the proceedings. Paul Scofield and Maria Schell play two of the surviving patients of Sigmund Freud. Currently residing in the US, Schell happens to see Scofield being interviewed on a TV show. She decides to seek her fellow patient out and compare notes. As they recall their long-ago therapy, the film fades back to the past, with Colin Firth and Claire Higgins playing, respectively, the younger Scofield and Schell. Freud himself is never seen, though his voice is heard (courtesy of actor Frank Finlay). Concluding that Freud wasn't all that he was cracked up to be, Scofield and Schell emerge from their nostalgia session with a mutual affection and attraction. The first dramatic effort of documentary filmmaker Hugh Brody (whose recreation of Times Past is succinct and remarkably accurance), 1919 was originally a coproduction of Britain's Channel Four and the British Film Institute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Scofield, Maria Schell, (more)
Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale of one man learning the true meaning of Christmas is brought to the screen once again in this made-for-TV movie. Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott) is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money, and who regards compassion as a luxury he can't afford. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley (Frank Finlay), his former business partner, who arranges for Scrooge to be visited by three spirits in an attempt to show him the error of his ways -- the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Angela Pleasence), Christmas Present (Edward Woodward), and Christmas Yet to Come (Michael Carter). The spirits force Scrooge to examine the failings of his own life, as well as the bravery and optimism of his loyal but ill-treated employee Bob Crachit (David Warner). A Christmas Carol also features Susannah York as Mrs. Crachit, Anthony Walters as Tiny Tim, and Joanne Whalley as Fan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott
- 1984
The made-for-TV Sakharov stars Jason Robards as famed Soviet nuclear physicist D. Andrei Sakharov. Lauded by his government for his scientific achievements, Sakharov nonetheless becomes an outspoken critic of Russia's human rights violations. He is reclassified as a "non-person" and exiled to the cloistered city of Gorky. He is also awarded the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize. Originally slated for a September 1984 premiere, Sakharov debuted over the HBO cable service on June 20. This coincided with Sakharov's internationally publicized hunger strike, designed to secure much-needed medical attention outside the Soviet Union for his second wife, Dr. Yelena Bonner (played in the film by Glenda Jackson). Sakharov was filmed in England and Austria with two separate crews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., Glenda Jackson, (more)
- 1983
A writer displays a troubling streak of opportunism in his personal and professional lives in this British drama. As the Falkland Islands war rages, journalist and aspiring historical writer James Penfield (Jonathan Pryce) is working on a book that will examine the 1965 Suez crisis in a manner compatible with the current political climate. James is also pursuing Susan Barrington (Charlie Dore), a documentary filmmaker whose mother Ann (Rosemary Harris) is a noted expert on the Suez crisis and an outspoken leftist. While James has assured his publisher that his book will take a conservative view, he tells Susan and Ann that he's a socialist and that his book will reflect that position as he attempts to glean information from them. James also sleeps with Ann as his relationship with Susan hits a rough patch, but he isn't especially forgiving when he discovers that Susan has had a fling with Jeremy Hancock (Tim Curry), a tabloid journalist who has worked with both of them. The Ploughman's Lunch includes a sequence where the characters attend the 1982 Conservative Party conference, which was shot at the actual event (and includes a speech Margaret Thatcher delivered to the assembled Tories). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, (more)
- 1983
The Black Death has not only decimated half of England, but has also forced King Richard IV (Brian Blessed) into his sick bed. Hoping to curry favor with the populace and become King himself, the duplicitous Edmund declares that the plague is the result of witchcraft, thus he hires the infamous Witchsmeller (Frank Finlay) to root out all sorcerors in the land. Alas, the first "witch" whom the Witchsmeller smells is Edmund himself! "The Witchsmeller Pursuivant" was originally telecast on July 13, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, (more)
Directed by TV-anthology veteran Jeannot Szwarc, Enigma has a certain small-screen "feel" to it. Adopting a musical-comedy foreign accent, Martin Sheen plays Alex Holbeck, an Iron Curtain defector who returns to East Germany at the behest of the CIA. His mission is to save five political "undesirables" from the communists. Holbeck runs up against some formidable opposition, namely ambitious KGB agent Dimitri Vasilkov (Sam Neill) and a quintet of highly trained Soviet assassins. Brigitte Fossey co-stars as Holbeck's former love, whom he involves in his escape plans by asking her to romance the susceptible Vasilkov. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
The returning soldier is amnesia victim Alan Bates, who remembers nothing of his life before suffering shell-shock--not even his long-term marriage to snooty Julie Christie. Spinsterish Ann-Margret, who has long harbored a fondness for Bates, hopes to take advantage of his memory loss. But both Christie and Ann-Margret are challenged by a third woman, Bates' childhood sweetheart Glenda Jackson. Poor Bates deals with all of this by not dealing with it. A fairly faithful rendition of the Rebecca West novel on which it is based, Return of the Soldier ambles along at its own languid pace to a inconclusive conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Alan Bates, (more)
The murders by the infamous British criminal, Jack the Ripper, catch the attention of Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer), but he does not receive the expected call from Scotland Yard because he is being purposefully excluded from the investigation. Instead, Robert Lees (Donald Sutherland), a psychic who volunteered information to the police about the murders, provides the Great Detective with the necessary incitement to action. As the murders proceed, it becomes clear to all concerned that it is more important to stop them than to announce their solution, and Holmes enters the fray with the help of his trusty aide, Dr. Watson (James Mason). The former mistress of a "prominent personage," Annie Crook (Genevieve Bujold), provides crucial information leading to a final confrontation on London's docks. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, James Mason, (more)
- 1978
This made-for-TV fantasy is a tale from the well-known Arabian Nights fable featuring a flying carpet, a prince, a pretty maiden, and a genie. Roddy McDowall, Ian Holm and Peter Ustinov appear in this Middle Eastern adventure. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
The plot of this of this adaptation of the Daniel Carney's novel, sprinkled throughout a series of extended Sam Peckinpah-inspired action sequences, deals with a collection of mercenary toughguys -- Colonel Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton), Lieutenant Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore), Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), Pieter Coetzee (Hardy Kruger) -- who are hired to parachute into the African bush country and abscond with deposed African president Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona) and reinstall him as a reigning monarch of an African country, to satisfy British mercantile interests. The action sequences were successful enough to spawn a sequel -- appropriately titled Wild Geese II. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Roger Moore, (more)
Count Dracula is a three-part British television adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. Louis Jourdan plays the count not as villain or pathetic victim of circumstance, but a charismatic charmer, who doesn't need to suck the blood of his lady victims to make them faint. Part One takes place in Transylvania, with British attorney Jonathan Harker (Bosco Hogan) arriving at Dracula's castle to close a real estate deal--and to nearly lose his life and soul to his sinister host. Part Two finds Dracula at large in England, beckoning the unfortunate Lucy (Susan Penhaligon) into the world of the Undead. The story grows more intense in Part Three, with vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing (Frank Finlay) rallying the forces of Good against the elusive Dracula. Count Dracula was first telecast in the US on PBS' Great Performances series in March of 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
An upper class family attempts to keep secrets of incest and betrayal in this melodrama. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- PG
This comic interpretation of Alexandre Dumas's classic adventure saga picks up where 1974's The Three Musketeers left off, as D'Artagnan (Michael York), Athos (Oliver Reed), Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), and Porthos (Frank Finlay) scuttle the plans of Lady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) to remove Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) from the seat of power. De Winter is determined to get revenge against the Musketeers, and when she learns that D'Artagnan is infatuated with the lovely Constance (Raquel Welch), she first tries to foil their romance by seducing D'Artagnan herself, and then by persuading Rochefort (Christopher Lee) to kidnap Constance. She then engineers the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward), a close friend of D'Artagnan; when word of the Duke's death and Constance's imprisonment reaches D'Artagnan and his comrades, the foursome ride off to rescue the fair lady and see that justice is done against de Winter. The Four Musketeers was filmed concurrently with The Three Musketeers; it was originally intended to be one film, but when director Richard Lester realized the movie would be over three and a half hours long, the decision was made to release it as two separate features instead. This led to lawsuits filed by several of the stars, claiming that they were hired under false pretenses and entitled to be paid for making two films rather than one. The actors won their case, but their settlement was significantly less than the salary they hoped to receive. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, (more)
With minimalist production values and little dialog, this romantic fantasy takes place on the barren Isle of Jersey where a troubled wife has come to sort out the tumult of her life. She encounters a lighthouse-keeper there and they quickly become lovers. Together they flee to Scotland. One day they are making love on a beach when the lighthouse keeper dies. Things don't get better when he returns from the dead to haunt her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In the third and last in the original Shaft (1971) series of action-packed "blaxploitation" pictures, private eye John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) travels to the "motherland," where he breaks up a modern slavery ring. Shaft is hired by a diplomat, Emir Ramila (Cy Grant), to infiltrate the criminal empire of the evil Vincent Amafi (Frank Finlay), who is kidnapping poor Africans and shipping them to Europe as slave laborers. Amafi murdered Ramila's son when he attempted to expose the illegal operation, and Ramila, now aware that his investigation of Amafi has been compromised, needs an unfamiliar to face to help bring the ring leader down. After undergoing some training at the hands of a comely tutor so that he'll be able to pass muster as an African, Shaft travels to Ethiopia and allows himself to be shanghaied by Amafi's men. However, the high-ranking Wassa (Debebe Eshetu) is the traitor in Ramila's ranks, and he has betrayed Shaft. As the tough private eye attempts to free the slaves being held captive in a former Nazi prison below a French chateau and bed any beautiful women who crosses his path, he must also dodge a series of assassination attempts by Ramila's men. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers was only the latest of many when released in 1974, but it arrived with a spirit all its own, one influenced as much by Lester's '60s work as the Alexandre Dumas classic. Even so, it followed the plot of Dumas' novel fairly closely, its liberties in interpretation taken elsewhere. Coming off the success of Cabaret, Michael York plays D'Artagnan, the provincial, would-be swashbuckler who travels to Paris to make his name. There he encounters the eponymous heroes: cynical Athos (Oliver Reed), dashing Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), and arrogant Porthos (Frank Finlay). The trio introduces him to the world of court intrigue as they work to protect the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) from the schemes of the villainous Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and his followers, Rochefort (Christopher Lee) and Milady (Faye Dunaway). Lester shot the film in conjunction with its sequel, The Four Musketeers. Originally intended as a single film, the split prompted a lawsuit from the cast demanding payment for both films. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Charlton Heston, (more)
Made for British television, The Death of Adolf Hitler covers ground previously explored in such films as The Last Ten Days and The Bunker. Frank Finlay stars as Hitler, a trembling shell of a man who tries to put on a brave front as his Third Reich topples all around him. Sequestered in his private Bunker in April of 1945, Hitler, his mistress Eva Braun, and his most trusted associates continue to lie to themselves that their defeat at the hands of the Allies is only temporary. Though the story is a familiar one, the film avoids the standard cliches, even expanding upon the known facts with recently unearthed historical tidbits concerning Hitler's last days on earth. The Death of Adolf Hitler is underplayed throughout, rendering the sick spectacle of Der Fuhrer's fall disturbingly realistic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
In between gigs writing two of the first films from director John Boorman and the sequel to The French Connection (1971), writer Alexander Jacobs adapted this bloody, violent drama from a pulp crime novel. Oliver Reed stars as Harry Lomart, a dangerous convict who's been planning a breakout with a fellow inmate, Birdy Williams (Ian McShane). Before the two men can abscond, word comes that Harry's wife Pat (Jill St. John) has been having an affair with another man and has become pregnant with the man's child. That brings the total number of scores that Harry's got to settle once he's on the outside up to two. After a spectacular escape, the pair of hardened criminals are supposed to lie low until it's safe for them to leave the country, but a furious Harry won't allow his wife to get away with her betrayal, and he sets out to find and kill her, as well as her lover. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Jill St. John, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, (more)
- 1970
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
This grim historical drama from director Martin Ritt was loosely based on real-life events. Richard Harris stars as James McParlan, an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1876. The Pinkertons have been hired by a major coal company to infiltrate and expose an underground terrorist organization, the "Molly Maguires," operating within the impoverished mining communities of Pennsylvania. As most of the miners are Irish, the recently emigrated McParlan is selected to pose as a new worker just arrived in the area. He quickly wins the trust and loyalty of the local terrorist leader, Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery), as well as the affection of his landlord's beautiful daughter, Mary Raines (Samantha Eggar). As it becomes clear that the group he's supposed to betray is protesting truly wretched working conditions, the lawman's loyalties become divided between the law and his fellow countrymen. The Molly Maguires (1970) was Oscar nominated for Best Art and Set Direction. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Richard Harris, (more)
