Derek Fowlds Movies

Somewhere in the Northeastern U.S., Alma (Olympia Dukakis) is a 60-year-old recent widow who has never been on her own since her early marriage to a domineering husband. Her son tries to immure her in a dowdy apartment in the basement of his house and showers her with perfunctory and thoughtless shows of public affection while preventing her from having any sort of life of her own. Her other child is a socially ambitious woman married to an ambitious Australian politician. Offended by the patronizing and heavy-handed attentions of her son, Alma flies off to see her daughter in Australia but swiftly discovers that she is not wanted there. In fact, she overhears her daughter and son-in-law talking about how to get her to leave. Rather than stay where she is unwelcome, she buys a vintage-model Chevy and charges off into the countryside, contemplating suicide -- or at the very least, kicking over the traces. She runs into Dutch (Derek Fowlds), a cantankerous but generous man about the same age as she is, and the two of them begin an impromptu tour of the glories of Australia. For the first time in her life, she has a romance between equals, and it takes her some time to adjust to it. While her daughter is worried that her neglect of her mother will reflect badly on her in public life and is anxious to track her down, Alma is having the time of her life and is discovering that she's a pretty spunky, capable woman in the bargain. This quiet little gem of a movie sparked little interest at the box-office but has done well in televised showings, and is available on tape. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Politically satirical British sitcom Yes, Prime Minister is formulated around the events in political office in the U.K. This set contains three episodes originally aired in 1991: "Official Secrets," "A Diplomatic Incident," and "A Conflict of Interest." ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide

This home video release features three episodes from the sequel to the popular British situation comedy Yes, Minister, following the political misadventures of James Hacker (Paul Eddington) after he suddenly rises from Minister for Administrative Affairs to Prime Minister of Parliament; of course, his old partners (and sometimes rivals) Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne) and Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) are still on hand to wage comedic verbal battle with Hacker. "The Grand Design" follows Hacker's conflicting emotions when he realizes he has his finger on the button of England's stockpile of nuclear weapons. When Hacker must make his first nationally televised speech, everyone begins coaching him on how to play for the camera in "The Ministerial Broadcast." And Hacker decides to do something about smoking by placing heavy taxes on tobacco in "The Smoke Screen" -- only to earn the enmity of the tobacco industry, as well as the national treasury. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This 16-episode "Britcom" was a sequel to the popular BBC comedy series Yes, Minister. Paul Eddington reprised his role as dimwitted Member of Parliament Jim Hacker, who on this occasion had rather incredibly been elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. Alas, Hacker was still plagued with subordinates who flaunted their intellectual superiority over him, notably scheming undersecretary Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne). Also returning from the earlier series were Derek Fowlds as Bernard Wolley, Diana Hoddinott as Anne Hacker, and John Nettleton as Sir Arnold Robinson. Lasting two seasons, Yes, Prime Minister was telecast from January 9 through February 27, 1986, then again from December 3, 1987 to January 28, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of Britain's most popular and best-remembered sitcoms, Yes, Minister starred Paul Eddington as thick-eared Tory politician Jim Hacker, who by some miracle of the democratic process was elected MP for Administrative Affairs. The basic joke was that every one of Hacker's subordinates was smarter than he, notably his long-suffering private secretary Bernard Wooley (Derek Fowlds). Each of the series' 21 episodes (plus one 60-minute special) was a battle of wits between Hacker and his scheming, conniving undersecretary Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne), with Appleby having twice as much "ammunition" than his dullard boss. Originally telecast from February 25, 1980 to December 23, 1982, with an additional holiday special on December 27, 1984, Yes, Minister was followed by a sequel with the same cast, Yes, Prime Minister. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nicki (Madeline Hinde) is a troubled teenage girl who feels guilty about her father's death. Her mother Anne (Renee Asherson) is a lonely woman who falls for opportunistic loafer Harry (Patrick Mower). When Harry tries to rape Nicki, she stabs him with a pair of scissors. Nicki is sent to a home for wayward girls where she becomes even more withdrawn. She is seduced by a lesbian and the two manage to escape the facility. They take temporary refuge with an old boyfriend and remain wanted criminals in this routine melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Hammer Studios followed up Evil of Frankenstein with this entertaining sequel, again starring Peter Cushing as the quintessential mad scientist obsessed with the reanimation of dead bodies and the creation of superhuman creatures. His latest project involves transferring the mind of a wrongly-executed man into the body of his lover (former Playboy centerfold Susan Denberg), whose own suicide left her horribly disfigured. After restoring her beauty, the Doctor performs the mind-transference, which comes off without a hitch... until the lust for revenge against his executioners begins to surface. He/she then pursues this vendetta by seducing and murdering those who wronged him. Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher directs this quirky entry with his usual flair -- aided considerably by a decent budget -- and spices things up with a fair share of titillation (courtesy of Ms. Denberg). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this confused parody, a lovely South Seas island girl travels to England following her father's death and becomes the ward of her cousin. The women is exotically beautiful and men turn into fools whenever she passes by. But the innocent lass has no idea that she is so lovely and seductive. At one point she poses nude for an artist and nearly starts a riot amongst the normally staid upper-crust gentlemen. In the end, the beautiful native girl marries the son of her kindly cousin who eventually becomes the head of his father's school. Meanwhile his father moves to the girl's native island. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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