John Fortune Movies

A clandestine love affair sends one man's charmed life into a tailspin in this dark, disturbing drama written and directed by Woody Allen, his first film set and shot in Great Britain and one his few films sans any humor. Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is an Irish tennis player with an impoverished background. Just accomplished enough to make his way onto the professional circuit, but not skilled enough to be a consistent winner, he now works as an instructor at a London tennis club. The wealthy Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), who is as impressed by Chris's charm and good looks as he is by his game, takes a tennis lesson from the young man. Chris's intelligence and wit also make a strong impression on Tom's pretty sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), who soon falls for him. It isn't long before Chris and Chloe are engaged to be married, a match that pleases both Tom and his father, Alec (Brian Cox), a successful businessman who believes Chris has a bright future in his firm. However, Chris also feels an overwhelming attraction to Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), a sexy blonde from the United States who is dating Tom. Though Nola initially puts up some resistance, Chris gently nudges her in the direction of an affair. Passion soon ignites between the two, and they have a one-time sexual encounter, even as Chris and Chloe plan their wedding. Nola resists, however, when Chris makes additional attempts to wheedle her into bed. Nola drops out of Chris's life shortly before his wedding, but a chance meeting a few months later resurrects the relationship as Chris and Chloe try to start a family. Match Point received its world premiere in an enthusiastically received presentation at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set amidst the controversy of the handover of the Panama Canal from America to Panama in late 1999, this espionage thriller follows seductive British spy Andrew Osnard (Pierce Brosnan), who has found himself recently banished to Panama. When Osnard stumbles into a tailor shop, he meets Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a garrulous sort with an unmatched penchant for "fluence" -- that is, fabricating wild tales with real-life details. Osnard threatens to expose his shady past, until Pendel agrees to provide him with information about the political situation in Panama. Pendel's wife Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis) tries to remain unscathed by her husband's constant follies, which escalate and put him in the midst of international discord, while also threatening the shaky relationship between himself and Osnard, who cannot escape each other's grasp. Based on John le Carré's popular 1996 novel, the film also features Catherine McCormack, David Hayman, and young Daniel Radcliffe, who completed this film before his starring role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, released later in the year. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

Peter Davison stars as bespectacled, aristocratic private detective Albert Campion in this two-part adaptation of Margery Allingham's novel The Case of the Late Pig. The title character is Roland Isidore "Pig" Peters (Mike Charles), a lifelong bully who had been Campion's principal tormentor during his school days in the early 1900s. Although Campion would just as soon never see Peters again, he accepts a curiously poetic invitation to "Pig"'s funeral. Three months later, a former girlfriend of Campion asks him to solve a recent murder -- and the victim is none other than "Pig" Peters, who apparently has died twice! Ingredients essential to the story include the wrong body (and wrong species) in Peters' coffin, a shady information peddler (played by Michael Gough, better known as Alfred the butler in the Batman theatrical films), and a handful of ice cubes. In America, "The Case of the Late Pig" was telecast October 12 and 19, 1989, as the first "Campion" story to appear on the PBS anthology Mystery! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This British horror spoof was conceived as a star vehicle for then-popular TV comedian Kenny Everett, who plays an occult scientist whose team of paranormal researchers are measuring psychic disturbances at a rural English estate called "Headstone Manor." Once the site of a bloody massacre, the house is haunted by the very real presence of a moronic devil-worshipping coven and their exasperated leader, "The Sinister Man" (Vincent Price, who seems to enjoy serving up the ham). The inept Satanists are determined to prevent the so-called psychic experts from completing their task. Despite a few clever gags and some very funny asides from the mugging Price, viewers expecting a Monty Python-style satire of horror films will be rather disappointed. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

The highlights of two benefit concerts staged in support of Amnesty International are collected in this British performance film, which features ample helpings of both music and comedy. The members of the Monty Python comedy troupe serve as headliners, performing live variations on some of their most famous sketches. Additional humor is provided by such luminaries as Peter Cook, while the musical segments include performances by Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and Sting, amongst others. While all of the performers deliver the goods, the film's overall effectiveness is unfortunately limited by the purely functional direction and often poor image quality. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

The setting for this British sitcom was the Earl's Court District of London. By day a photographer and sculptor, John Dally (John Bird) moonlighted as a private eye. Dally's hectic if well-balanced existence was upset by the arrival of John Chance (John Fortune), who claimed to have been a college pal of Dally's from Cambridge. Presumptively moving in with his "old friend" for what was supposed to be a few days, Chance remained on the premise for what seemed to be forever -- or at least, for the duration of the series' seven episodes. Written by its two stars, Well Anyway was originally broadcast from September 24 to November 5, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two of Britain's most brilliant comic talents, Eleanor Bron and John Fortune, joined forces for the weekly sketch series Where Was Spring. Bron and Fortune not only wrote all the material, but starred in all the segments. Ned Sherrin of That Was the Week That Was fame served as producer, while incidental music was provided by no less than the Kinks. Five 30-minute and seven 25-minute episodes of Where Was Spring were telecast from January 27 to February 24, 1969, and from July 12 to August 23, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi