Eileen Atkins Movies

Jack Nicholson becomes a werewolf in this bizarre comedy-horror film directed by Mike Nichols. Nicholson plays Will Randall, a book editor with a testosterone deficit who has just been sacked at his publishing firm by a new boss, Raymond Alden (Christopher Plummer). A colleague, Stewart Swinton (James Spader), whom Randall thought was his friend, betrays him. Randall's personality changes after he hits a wolf with his car and gets bitten by the creature. He immediately feels more powerful, has heightened hearing and vision, and sets about to right the wrongs in his life. He visits Alden at the publisher's mansion to protest his dismissal, and he is asked to leave -- but Alden's daughter Laura (Michelle Pfeiffer) asks him to stay for lunch. Laura loves to defy her father. Will tells her about the wolf bite, and she becomes attracted to him. But because werewolves usually kill the ones they love, Laura is in danger. Will reasserts his place in the publishing world, supported by his loyal secretary Mary (Eileen Atkins), and his relationship with Laura deepens. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The British producers of the internationally popular Upstairs, Downstairs were responsible for The House of Eliott. Set in the 1920s and 1930s, this series opened with a two-hour installment; all subsequent episodes ran 60 minutes. Two sisters, Beatrice (Stella Gonet) and Evangeline (Louise Lombard), are left penniless when their wealthy, philandering father dies. Unable to rely on their inheritance as they'd planned to do, Beatrice and Evangeline go into the dressmaking business; before long, the "House of Eliott" is the smartest, most prestigious establishment in London. The series traces the personal and professional trials and tribulations of the sisters throughout England, Europe and Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All the charm and joie de vivre of the 1953 Gregory Peck/Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday is purged from this hollow TV remake. The stunning but lifeless Catherine Oxenberg assumes the Hepburn role of a young princess who escapes the protocol of court life for a romantic fling in Rome. Tom Conti stands in for Gregory Peck as the American journalist who falls in love with the Princess. Ed Begley Jr. takes over Eddie Albert's part of the eccentric photojournalist who acts as comic relief to the leads. Heading the list of mistakes committed in this remake is the fact that Oxenberg behaves more like a bored Danielle Steele character than the impressionable, virginal heroine of the original. Rome may be eternal, but the 1987 Roman Holiday is terminal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grace Gardner (Lee Remick) is a money-minded television manager who hires out-of-work air personality James Marriner (Dirk Bogarde) to broadcast a religious program. When the show is broadcast in England, the country feels the Armageddon paranoia that paralyzes the religious right and their conservative followers of fickle faith. James tries to distance himself from the show when the ultra-right wing theme becomes too much for his insensitive stomach to handle. The film touches upon British concerns that programs from the United States are undermining British television shows. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The complicated relationship of two men who have given their lives to the theater forms the basis for this acclaimed drama. During World War II, an aging but once famous Shakespearean actor, addressed by his cast and crew only as "Sir" (Albert Finney), continues to tour the British theater circuit with a rag tag group of elderly and handicapped actors who are exempt from military service. Sir has grown frustrated, senile, and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown; he's come to rely upon his dresser Norman (Tom Courtenay), an endlessly loyal homosexual who would do anything for the man he's come to love. Norman tries to guide Sir through yet another tour of the hinterlands in The Tempest. This expanded film adaptation of Ronald Harwood's award-winning stage drama also stars Edward Fox as Oxenby, an unhappy member of Sir's company; Sir was said to be based on real-life actor Donald Wolfit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A sequel to 1980's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, this BBC miniseries once again focuses on British spy George Smiley (Sir Alec Guinness), once again called out of retirement, this time by the fussy Oliver Lacon Anthony Bate, to deal with a scandal in the British spy establishment. An ex-Russian general and British spy (Curt Jurgens) is found brutally murdered in a London park after frantically contacting the British Secret Service. His cryptic message: "Tell Max it concerns the Sandman." It seems that the general and his crony Otto Leipzig (Vladek Sheybal) were cooking up a scheme to blackmail the head of the Russian secret service, Karla (Patrick Stewart), when they were murdered. Smiley gathers his old associates (almost all the actors reprising roles from the first miniseries) and picks up the general's harrowing trail. He finds that Karla has been secretly supporting a daughter in the West through almost comically inept intermediaries such as Grigoriov (Michael Lonsdale). This information allows him to face off against his old adversary and avenge the humiliation he and his agency suffered with the double agent Karla had in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Made in 1982, the sequel has one major casting substitution: Michael Byrne instead of Michael Jayston as Peter Guillam, Smiley's faithful lieutenant. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

An old-fashioned thriller starring Malcolm McDowell and Eileen Atkins, this British period drama traces the battle of wills between a vacationing English gentleman and a villainous mistress. The year is 1922. Richard Chandos (McDowell) is on a Pyrenees vacation when he crosses paths with the malevolent Vanity Fair (Atkins) and her motley band of crooks. From high atop the turreted Chateau Jezreel, Fair plots to inherit millions by forcing her stepdaughter to marry. Little does Fair realize that the uptight Chandos is equally determined to thwart her plans by rescuing the young girl before the wedding vows are exchanged. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Richard Burton plays a psychiatrist who attempts to discover why young Peter Firth has taken to mutilating live horses. In probing Firth's psyche, Burton discovers that the source of the boy's obsession is his mother, Joan Plowright, who has raised Firth with a convoluted set of values. Even as he gets closer to the reason behind Firth's horrendous acts, Burton discovers many previously locked-away secrets within himself. Equus was based on the play by Peter Schaffer who received an Academy Award Nomination for his adapted screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fifth and final season of Upstairs, Downstairs covers the years 1910 to 1930, bringing the saga of the Bellamy household to a close. So much time has to be dealt with this season that the producers expanded the episode output from 13 to 16 hour-long episodes. And because virtually every one of those episodes deals with the events of a single year, the writers must for the most part abandon the "serialization" format in favor of self-contained plotlines. As the season begins, James Bellamy (Simon Williams), seriously wounded in WW1, has been invalided out of the service. The injuries sustained by James are compounded by the emotional impact of the death from influenza of his wife Hazel. Thoughout the rest of the season, James will desperately cast about for a purpose in life, ultimately entering into a "surefire" stock-speculation scheme that will bring financial ruin to the Bellamys and precipitate James' premature demise. Meanwhile, James' father Richard (David Langton), whose first wife Marjorie went down with the "Titanic" in 1912, marries Virginia Hamilton (Hannah Gordon), a war widow with two children of her own. Richard's ward Georgina (Leslie-Anne Down) returns from an extended stay in America in 1924, as rumors buzz about head butler Hudson (Gordon Jackson) and new housemaid Lily (Karen Dotrice); after a desultory romance with James and a tragic accident which nearly ruins her future, Georgina will eventually wed Robert Stockbridge (Anthony Andrews), the son of a family of noblemen. In 1925, Member of Parliament Richard Bellamy is appointed Britain's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and the following year, the "upstairs" and "downstairs" factions of the Bellamy household are virtually torn asunder by the General Strike of 1926. In the series' now-legendary final episode, head maid Rose (Jean Marsh) tearfully wanders through the empty halls of 165 Eaton, wistfully recalling the highlights--and a few of the lowlights--of the past 27 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inasmuch as Season One of the British drama series Upstairs, Downstairs covered the years 1903 to 1909, logic dictates that the second season should have moved on to the second decade of the 20th century. However, the produced decided for the time being to keep the action concentrated in the Edwardian era, thus Season Two was set between 1908 to 1909, necessitating a backward leap within the months occurring between episodes 12 and 13 of Season One. This resulted in a bit of confusion, especially when the focus was on Elizabeth Bellamy (Nicola Pagget) and her troubled relationship with new husband Lawrence Kirbridge (Ian Ogilvy). Proper continuity was restored when the first two seasons of Upstairs, Downstairs were merged into one for American TV play in 1974; unfortunately, in the process 13 of the combined 26 episodes were shelved, not to be seen in the U.S. for several years. Because of a prior theatrical commitment, Simon Williams makes only two appearances this season in the role of the irresponsible James Bellamy--but those appearances prove highly significant to the overall scheme of things, as James is faced with the prospect of illegitimate fatherhood as the result of his backstairs liason with reckless housemaid Sarah (Pauline Collins), and later throws the Bellamy household into turmoil when he returns from India with a new fiancée, Phyllis Kingman (Delia Lindsay), in tow. New to the cast this season are Jenny Tomasin in the comic role of dull-witted scullery maid Ruby; and John Alderton as the Bellamy's chauffeur Thomas Watkins, who after being offered up as a possible romantic interest for head maid Rose (Jean Marsh), ends up leaving 165 Eaton Place to take up housekeeping with the redoubtable Sarah, who is once again "with child" (namely, Thomas'). The futher adventures of this couple will be chronicled in the 1979 spinoff series Thomas and Sarah. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The internationally popular British series Upstairs, Downstairs was created by actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, and originally conceived as a contemporary half-hour situation comedy. By the time the series had been accepted by London Weekend Television, it had been revised as a hour-long period drama, covering the years 1903 through 1930. Most of the action was set at 165 Eaton Place, the fashionable London home of the prosperous Bellamy family. The series' title referred to the fact that the stories focused on both the "upstairs" members of the household--that is, the Bellamys--and the large retinue of servants, who lived "downstairs." David Langton was cast as paterfamilias Richard Bellamy, a Member of Parliament who during the series' first two seasons was married to the aristocratic Lady Marjorie Bellamy (Rachel Gurney). Seen as the Bellamys' troubled children were Simon Williams as James Bellamy, and (again during the first two seasons only) Nicola Pagett) as Elizabeth Bellamy. Ruling the roost "downstairs" was Gordon Jackson as loyal, resourceful and (generally) unflappable head butler Hudson, Angela Baddeley as irascible chief cook Mrs. Bridges, and series cocreator Jean Marsh as the prim maid Rose. After Lady Marjorie went down with the "Titanic" in 1912, Richard Bellamy's secretary Hazel Forrest (Meg Wynn Owen) became unofficial head of the household. Eventually, Hazel married Richard's son James, who went off to war and was seriously wounded. No sooner had James returned from the battlefield than Hazel succumbed to the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-19 (James' own death a decade later was brought about by the financial reverses of the Great Depression, which also wiped out the Bellamy fortune). Ultimately, James' father Richard remarried, taking Virginia Hamilton (Hannah Gordon), a war widow with two young children, as his bride. Elsewhere, Richard's rebellious daughter Elizabeth was briefly married to "radical" poet Lawrence Kirbridge (Ian Ogilvy)), but after bearing a child Elizabeth left Lawrence, briefly dallied with foreigner Julius Kareikin (Donald Burton), and relocated to America. During the war years, Richard Bellamy's ward Georgina Worsley (Leslie-Anne Down) joined the household; in the mid-1920s, Georgina became the wife of Lord Robert Stockbridge (Anthony Andrews). During the first few seasons, much of the intrigue amongst the Bellamy servants was precipitated by the reckless housemaid Sarah (Pauline Collins, in a role originally slated for series co-creator Eileen Atkins), who left the staff in disgrace after an unsavory episode with sinister manservant Alfred (George Innes). Allowed back into the fold a few years later, Sarah promptly entered into an illicit romance with James Bellamy, resulting in an illegitimate birth. Sarah was subsequently impregnated by the family's chauffeur Thomas Watkins (John Alderton). After they both departed the Bellamys, Sarah and Thomas moved in together, their subsequent adventures (and misadventures) chronicled in the 1979 spinoff series Thomas and Sarah. The war also took its toll on the servants, in particular Edward the footman (Christopher Beeny), who returned suffering from shellshock and depression. Even so, Edward's marriage to maid Daisy (Jacqueline Tong) proved to be a relatively happy one--more than can be said for the wartime romance between Rose and the ill-fated Australian sheepman Gregory Wilmott (Keith Barron). Despite the finality of the series' last episode, in which the Bellamy house was sold to pay off debts incurred by the irresponsible James, London Weekend Television had wanted the producers to continue turning out episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs. However, it had already been decided to conclude the saga in 1930, when the way of life represented by the Bellamys was beginning to fade in England. Originally telecast in the U.K. from October 10, 1971 through December 21, 1975, the 68-episode Upstairs, Downstairs was seen in America as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre beginning January 6, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide