Bruce Forsyth Movies
- 2000
A local bingo emporium finds itself competing against the big boys in this easygoing comedy. The La Scala is a theater in Wales that has offered drama, music, and movies to local audiences over the years, but is now being used as a bingo hall. The hall's manager, Giovanni Anzani (Freddie Jones), serves up free pasta in a bid to keep his dwindling clientele happy, but when it's announced that a major national chain, Mega Bingo, is opening a brand new hall just down the street, things look grim for Anzani and his staff. Linda (Kelly Macdonald) is especially upset. She's deep in debt following her mother's death, and her boyfriend Gavin (Jason Hughes) has just taken a job as a caller for the new bingo hall. Desperate, Anzani cuts his staff's salaries and scrapes up the money to use La Scala as part of a National Bonanza bingo tournament. If one of his patrons wins the million pound jackpot, his share would pull the hall out of debt and put him squarely in the black. In the midst of all this, Linda has recently discovered that she has a sort of ESP that allows her to predict the numbers before they're pulled, though she's not sure if or how she should put this gift to work. House! was directed by Julian Kemp, a newcomer to feature films with a strong background in children's television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Chegwin, Gwenllian Davies, (more)
- 1991
Created by Jonathan Hodge, the British cartoon series Fiddley Foodle Bird featured veteran actor-singer Dennis Waterman as the voice of the title character. The plot was set in motion by the son of an explorer couple, who upon finding a magic book, made a wish, bringing a picture of the Fiddley Foodle Bird to life. Blessed with the ability to change his color and size at will, the titular bird led his new human friend on all sorts of merry adventures. Assembled by H.A.P.P.Y. Productions, the ten-minute Fiddley Foodle Bird episodes first aired over BBC1 in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Something of a dry run for the British game show Don't Try This at Home, You Bet! trafficked in headstrong contestants who claimed that they could perform wild, dangerous, and near-impossible stunts. One-hundred members of the studio audience and three celebrity panelists wagered whether or not the contestants could make good their boasts. If indeed the brag was backed up by results, the audience members received cash prizes, while the celebrities turned the earnings over to their favorite charities. In addition to the physical challenges, the contestants also had to answer general-knowledge and pop-culture questions, and to participate in games of skill. Originally hosted by the seemingly inescapable Bruce Forsyth, You Bet! (based on the German series Wetten dass...?) was broadcast in the U.K. from 1989 to 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Forsyth, Matthew Kelly, (more)
- 1986
Much to the amazement of one and all, Rick (Larry Manetti) returns from vacation with a million dollars and a new fiancee. The money is the result of Rick winning a lottery, and the girlfriend, presumably, is the result of the money. Inevitably, the burden of instant wealth has a negative effect on Rick, nearly ruining everything he holds near and dear. Meanwhile, in their battle to prevents an evil land developer from bulldozing a clubhouse for underprivileged kids, Magnum (Tom Selleck) and T.C. (Roger E. Mosley end up getting arrested--three times! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This biographical film -- a bit long for most viewers, even in its cut version -- is made especially for ballet aficionados. Focusing on the short life of the remarkable Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1882?-1931), it features several dance sequences and provides a backdrop of the historical events in the Soviet Union and Europe during her life. Pavlova (Galina Belyayeva, better as a dancer than an actress) was born in Saint Petersburg and her interest in the ballet began early. As a little girl (Lina Boultakova), Pavlova would watch the ballet students in training, and she eventually entered the Imperial Ballet company, quickly rising to the position of prima ballerina. Before long, she perfected a style especially evident in her dancing of Giselle and Swan Lake. In her brief tenure at the Ballets Russes established in Paris in 1909 by the famed Russian expatriate impresario Sergei Diaghilev, Pavlova was inspired by dancers like Vaslav Nijinsky and obtained further training under a master, traveling extensively with the company. But the famous ballerina was not without personal problems, and at one point had to take a two-year advance on her salary in order to pay off her husband's debts so he would not go to jail. There are several intriguing aspects of this biography that would recommend it to general viewers: varied locations from Mexico to Cuba to Europe and the USA, good ballet performances, some noted bit players (Martin Scorcese as Gatti Cassaza) and a critically recognized Michael Powell, the director of Red Shoes in his last professional role, as an editor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Galina Belyayeva, James Fox, (more)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks was produced several years after Walt Disney's death and released in the fall of 1971. As it turned out, Bedknobs was frequently compared to Mary Poppins -- probably thanks to several striking similarities between the two productions, notably the presence in the cast of David Tomlinson, the use of Cockney children as central characters, and the inclusion of sequences that combine animation and live-action. Set in wartime England, Bedknobs stars Angela Lansbury as Eglantine Price, a would-be witch who hopes to use her newly acquired conjuring powers to forestall a Nazi invasion. Saddled with three surly kids who've been evacuated from London, Lansbury wins over her charges by performing various and sundry feats of magic. And, yes, she manages to foil a few Germans along the way. The film's most famous episode is an elaborate undersea fantasy, which combines animation with live-action on a gargantuan scale, dwarfing all previous Disney sequences along these lines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, (more)
- 1971
A collection of English humor in the form of sketch film are provided on this film which was assisted by comedians Feldman and Chapman. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Forsyth, Joan Sims, (more)
- 1969
- R
Singer, songwriter, and actor Anthony Newley produced, directed, co-wrote, scored, and starred in this bizarre autobiographical musical in which a famous entertainer takes a look back at the circumstances of his life. Legendary singing star Heironymus Merkin (Newley) stands by the sea, surrounded by a small mountain of souvenirs of his life and times, with his mother (Patricia Hayes) and children (Tara Newley and Alexander Newley, Newley's real life daughter and son) by his side. As Merkin shows his captive audience reel after reel of footage from the story of his life, the film crew making the movie grows impatient, wishing Merkin was more cooperative and waiting for an ending to the script. We learn that Merkin was raised without a father, and his Uncle Limelight (Bruce Forsyth) encouraged him to become an entertainer at a young age. As Merkin enjoys a hit with the tune "Piccadilly Lilly" that catapults him to fame, he becomes partners with Goodtime Eddie Filth (Milton Berle), a cheerful demon who introduces Merkin to the pleasures of women. As Merkin stumbles into a short-lived marriage with Filigree Fondle (Judy Cornwell) and enjoys a more successful relationship with Polyester Poontang (Joan Collins, Newley's spouse at the time), he finds it difficult to resist the temptation to bed nearly every attractive woman who crosses his path, and develops a lifelong obsession with the young, innocent, yet nubile Mercy Humppe (Connie Kreski). Meanwhile, Merkin is frequently visited by The Presence (George Jessel), who seems to hold the power of life and death as he cracks one old joke after another. Also starring Stubby Kaye, Victor Spinetti, and Margaret Nolan, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe And Find True Happiness? was rated X for its original release in 1969, though a slightly edited R-rated version was soon shipped to theaters, though it didn't prevent the film from becoming a critical and financial flop. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, (more)
Touted by 20th Century-Fox as a follow-up to their enormously successful The Sound of Music, Star! reteams that earlier film's leading lady Julie Andrews and director Robert Wise. Andrews plays legendary musical comedy star Gertrude Lawrence, while Daniel Massey appears as Lawrence's friend, co-worker and severest critic Noel Coward (Massey's real-life godfather). The film jumps back and forth in continuity at times, its transitions bridged by fabricated newsreel footage; essentially, however, William Fairchild's script traces Lawrence's progress from ambitious bit actress to the toast of London and Broadway. Her success is offset by a stormy private life, which is given some ballast when she falls in love with an American financier (Richard Crenna). The film is way too long for its own good, though the musical set pieces -- especially the Andrews-Massey duets -- are superb. Julie Andrews welcomed the chance of playing a character as far removed from her goody-two-shoes heroine in Sound of Music as possible; Gertrude Lawrence was temperamental, sarcastic, profane and at times self-destructive, and Andrews makes a meal of the role. Unfortunately, Andrews' fans, conditioned by the Fox publicity machine to expect a continuation of Sound of Music, rejected her outright in this "new" characterization. Star! was a huge box-office bomb, so much so that Fox desperately attempted a shortened re-release under a misleading new title, Those Were The Happy Times. They weren't: it remained a financial disaster, though it has developed a loyal cult following in recent years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, (more)
