Jane Downs Movies

Filmed in 1982, this Tony award winning production of Charles Dickens classic Nicholas Nickleby clocks in with an intimidating running time of nine hours, though it is considered to be one of the best adaptations of the original novel. Roger Rees plays the young Nicholas, who, along with his mother (Jane Downs), and sister (Emily Richard), are forced to seek financial assistance from Nicholas's smarmy uncle (John Woodvine). Ralph does provide Nicholas with a job, but it may have been kinder to leave him on the street--the school he has been sent to work for is run by a sadistic schoolmaster who delights in savagely beating his students. Nicholas leaves the school alongside Smike (David Threlfall), a limping, crooked-backed little boy who had been victim to much of the school's abusive policies. Once unemployed, Nicholas must find a way to to protect his family and come to terms with his own complicated emotions. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

This meticulous re-creation of the sinking of the Titanic was adapted by Eric Ambler from the best-selling book by Walter Lord, and it preceded the blockbuster Titanic by almost 40 years. The film covers the life and death of the huge vessel from its launching celebration to that fateful night of April 14, 1912, when the "unsinkable" ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Of the 2224 passengers on board, 1513 were drowned as a result of the bad planning of lifeboats and escape routes. Kenneth More heads a huge and stellar cast, with 200 speaking parts, as second officer Herbert Lightoller, from whose point-of-view the story unfolds. Also in the cast are Laurence Naismith as the ill-fated Captain Smith; Michael Goodliffe as conscience-stricken ship's designer Thomas Andrews; Tucker McGuire as feisty American millionaire Molly Brown, whose courage and tenacity saved many lives; and Anthony Bushell as the captain of the Carpathia, who launched a noble but vain rescue mission once he was apprised of the disaster. Also appearing are two future TV favorites: The Avengers' Honor Blackman as a woman who believes that she has nothing to live for, and The Man From UNCLE's David McCallum as a wireless operator. The climactic sinking of the vessel is re-created with painstaking accuracy; filmed in "real time," it is a mere 37 minutes shorter than the actual tragedy. Two years before the film's release, an American TV adaptation of A Night to Remember set a precedent as the most elaborate and technically complex "live" broadcast of its time. Some viewers will find this movie a more accurate and gripping representation of this sea disaster than the romance-heavy Titanic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide