Judith Furse Movies

Not a sequel to Richard Harris' A Man Called Horse as is sometime alleged, 1971's Man in the Wilderness nonetheless bears a marked resemblance to that earlier film. Star Harris plays a trapper who joins a Northwest Territory expeditionary group. Left for dead after running afoul of a grizzly bear, Harris struggles to regain his strength and exact vengeance against John Huston, the man who deserted him. Flashbacks reveal who Harris is and how he's come to this. Man in the Wilderness alternates between a blood-spattered retribution tale and a gutsy one-man show for frostbitten Richard Harris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gypsy Girl was originally released in England as Sky West and Crooked. With this production, John Mills became a one-time film director, guiding his daughter Hayley through a screenplay written by Mills' wife Mary Hayley Bell. Radically cast against type, Hayley plays a mentally traumatized young lady living in a remote North Country rural community. She falls in love with a handsome gypsy (Ian McShane), which stirs up the prejudices of her family and neighbors. In the end, it is the gypsy boy who rescues Hayley from being institutionalized. Less grim than one might expect, Gypsy Girl takes its time telling its story, though the acting makes up for any lulls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Britain's long-running (some would say interminable) series of "Carry On" comedies managed to satirize virtually every film genre ever conceived over three decades. Since espionage dramas were hot in 1964, it was inevitable that the unwary world would be treated to Carry on Spying. The "maguffin" in this yarn is the top-secret Formula X, which has been pilfered by that insidious organization S.T.E.N.C.H. (Society for Total Extinction of Non-Existent Humans). Enter the heroes, the men and women of British Operational Security--better known as B.O.S.H. The good guys are understaffed, thus novice agent Kenneth Williams is put in charge of smashing the evil machinations of Dr. Crow (Judith Furse) and The Fat Man (Eric Pohlmann). The level of wit in Carry on Spying is sustained by the character name of leading lady Barbara Windsor, who plays the delectable Daphne Honeybutt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seventh film in the long-running "Carry On" series (24 more were to follow), this chapter features Sidney James as Charlie, owner of the Speedee Cab Company. Business has been good for Charlie, so good that it's been a source of great aggravation for his wife Peggy (Hattie Jacques), who complains that he never spends any time with her anymore. When Charlie misses taking his wife out on their anniversary because he's busy with work, Peggy decides that she's had enough, and she fights fire with fire by starting her own taxi service, Glamcabs. Unlike the other cab companies in town, Glamcabs' fleet of drivers are exclusively beautiful women in skimpy uniforms, which not surprisingly makes them the taxi of choice for men in town. Glamcabs takes a big bite out of Speedee's business, which leads to an all-out war between Charlie and Peggy. The "Carry On" gang followed this with Carry On Spying; two more "Carry On" titles hit theaters before the end of 1964. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dr. Susan Hayward makes a tragic mistake when she leaves her Canadian practice to follow her ailing, married lover to England. Dying slowly and in great pain, her love begs her to help him die quickly. With great compassion, she does so with a large morphine injection. Unfortunately, her mercy lands her in court where she must face the ruthless and ambitious prosecuting attorney Peter Finch. Hayward ends up serving two years in prison. Afterward, her medical practitioner's license is revoked and she is left destitute and desperately alone until an anonymous party contacts her and invites her to take a job caring for the man's mentally ill wife. She goes to check out the situation and discovers the man to be Finch. Apparently his wife, Diane Cliento went mad after her father accidentally died. She accepts the position and soon finds herself deeply involved in a complicated situation where nothing is quite as it seems and where a death again leads her to stand trial in court for a crime she did not commit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In another standard British comedy of the absurd with the usual eccentric characters who play off each other like tennis pros on a court, A Weekend with Lulu centers on the misadventures of the occupants of an ice cream truck and its rundown trailer. Because of a mix-up, the four inside the truck -- two men at odds with each other, a harridan, and her voluptuous daughter -- do not end up at the seashore as they planned. Instead, they are rattling merrily through France, chased by a wild variety of irate groups -- racing cyclists, rogues, and distraught police. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Produced by Mike Todd Jr., Scent of Mystery was a misguided attempt to introduce a new gimmick to motion pictures. The plot involved the apparent murder of a mystery woman (Beverly Bentley, at one time the wife of writer Norman Mailer) and the disappearance of several valuables. Denholm Elliott, Peter Lorre and Paul Lukas were among the good and bad guys chasing all over Spain and England. Whatever cinematic value Scent of Mystery had was dissolved by the film's gimmick, dubbed "Smell-O-Vision." The idea was to rig up a device in each theatre, from which would emanate a scent that corresponded with whatever image was on screen: the smell of roses for a garden, the odor of fish for an ocean scene, and so forth. Mike Todd Jr. should have guessed what the critical response would be, but released the film all the same. Scent of Mystery, though beautifully photographed, was perhaps the only genuine stinker ever produced by the motion picture industry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this British farce, one assumes, does not refer to the producers' assessement of its box office success. Richard Murdoch, Sandra Dorne and Jon Pertwee star as, respectively, an American secret agent, a pretty British customs official, and a vain TV star. This less-than-dynamic trio sets about to foil a gang of smugglers. They do, but not before a lot of furniture is smashed and a lot of clothes torn asunder. Yes, it's funny, but for a whole 77 minutes? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This hastily assembled sequel to the popular British service farce Up the Creek finds David Tomlinson returning in the role of Lt. Fairweather, skipper of the not-so-good ship Aristotle. This time, however, Fairweather's enterprisingly larcenous bos'un is played not by Peter Sellers but by music-hall favorite Frankie Howerd. The plot finds the Aristotle being sold to a mythical middle-eastern country. Assigned to deliver the vessel to its new owners, Fairweather discovers that his faithful bos'un has once again sold tickets to passengers, in direct violation of regulations. The resulting comic complications are as predictable as they are hilarious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Writer/artist Roland Searle's diabolical "belles" of St. Trinian's Girls School return in this raucous British comedy. Because the girls cannot behave themselves, their headmistress (Alastair Sim in drag!) has been thrown in jail, and the school is surrounded by police and army troops. The students escape their durance vile by winning an all-expense-paid trip to Europe (by cheating, of course). While laying waste to the Continent (with Terry-Thomas driving the bus), the girls are enmeshed in a diamond theft instigated by the father (George Cole) of one of the students. The film ends with an elongated water polo game, played with the ladies' usual sense of sportsmanship and fair play. In the 1950s and 1960s, the "St. Trinians" series was as popular a British movie attraction as the "Carry On" films--but unlike "Carry On", they don't play quite as well with American audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mad About Men is the delightful sequel to the saucy British comedy-fantasy Miranda. Glynis Johns returns in the dual role of amorous mermaid Miranda and her somewhat more reserved "human" lookalike Caroline. Having inherited a house in Cornwall, Caroline goes on an extended holiday, whereupon Miranda takes her place as mistress of the estate. The dialogue is rather silly and obvious, but there's much fun to be had as Miranda casts out her net for every eligible male in the vicinity. Though not a big hit in the US, Mad About Men became a "Late Show" mainstay on TV, especially when color television came into common usage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this horror movie an Irish char woman must stop an insane inventor who is planning to take over the world with a monstrous-robot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide