Claire Gordon Movies
British director Derek Ford returns to the helm for this saucy sequel to his 1972 hit Suburban Wives. Whereas the first installment focused on the sexual exploits of bored British housewives, this sexual, told in six episodes, shows that ladies aren't the only ones looking for a little extramarital stimulation. Featuring Gabrielle Drake and Nicola Austin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Written and directed by Derek Ford, the British Suburban Wives is a spicy satire of modern manners and mores. Newspaperwoman Eve Whishaw relates the separate stories of eight married couples. The husbands are satisfied with their lot, but the wives are bored, bored, bored. The manner in which the ladies add a little fun to their lives originally earned this film an X rating. Current prints of Suburban Wives have been toned down to a hard "R". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two teenagers leave their small village behind and travel to London to make a life for themselves in the big city. Joe (Robin Askwith) convinces his girlfriend Carol (Janet Lynn) he has a job waiting in the motor trade and other connections. They spend the night together in a hotel and are swindled out of their money. Joe has no trouble convincing Carol to become a prostitute, and she continues the practice after landing a job as a successful model. Carol and Joe get work in pornographic films before they consider moving back to the quiet village once again. The seamy side of West End London is graphically illustrated. Jess Conrad, Stubby Kaye, Harry Baird and Pearl Hackney also appear in this exploitation film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Lynn, Robin Askwith, (more)
- 1968
Mae West was never permitted to make a film version of her bawdy historical romp Catherine Was Great, yet this British adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Great Catherine made it to the screen. Where is the justice in this? Anyway, Jeanne Moreau braves it through the nearly unplayable role of Catherine, mother of All the Russias, while Peter O'Toole and Zero Mostel struggle manfully to breathe life into the proceedings. The plot has something to do with Prince Patiomkin's efforts to splice Catherine with Captain Edstaston, thus assuring that the queen's reign will be a happy one. The Captain would rather dally with Claire (Angela Scoular) and spends the rest of the running time escaping the queen's wrath. Throughout Great Catherine, Shavian wit is given short shrift in favor of 2-reeler slapstick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Zero Mostel, (more)
- 1965
A British movie originally entitled Licensed to Kill, this is a satire on the James Bond brand of spy which has a bumbling agent attempting to foil the Russian acquisition of a Swedish anti-gravity formula. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Adams, Karel Stepanek, (more)
- 1961
Ticket to Paradise is an innocuous romantic comedy predicated on a plot device that's probably older than dirt. Travel agent Emrys Jones and tourist Patricia Dainton fall in love in sunny Italy. Jones has led Dainton to believe that he's fabulously wealthy, and she has likewise deceived him. When the truth inevitably outs, it hardly matters, since hero and heroine now love each other for themselves rather than their bank accounts. At 61 minutes, Ticket to Paradise is just long enough to avoid boredom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A British botanist goes bananas after he discovers a serum that turns his cuddly chimpanzee subject into a ferocious gorilla-sized ape. To further his hideous experiment, the scientist mesmerizes the chimp and sends into London to kill all of his former enemies. One of those he has killed is the lover of the girl the doctor wants for himself. This doesn't set well with the botanist's assistant and current gal who gets even by giving Konga the giant chimp an enormous amount of the strange serum and turns him into a Godzilla-sized monster. Just before going on a deadly rampage, the super-sized ape grabs the bad doctor in one of his enormous hands. Fortunately, the British army and all of its weaponry are able to stop the chimp before he destroys the town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Gough, Margo Johns, (more)
A rebellious teenager runs away from home and joins the SoHo beatniks when her widowed father remarries a much younger woman. But beatnik life isn't all it seems and she ends up hanging out as a stripper in a sleazy club, hoping to learn about her mom. There the creepy club owner attempts to seduce her, and his lover gets jealous and stabs him. Now the two must do something fast. The film is also known as Wild for Kicks, and features music from rocker Adam Faith, the John Barry Seven, and other beatnik acts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Farrar, Noëlle Adam, (more)
- 1960
Ruth Dunning plays a widow with two sons, one good, one bad. The bad one kills a pawnbroker, then begs Dunning to cover for him. She spends about three reels agonizing over the dilemma before she does the right thing. And Women Shall Weep is officially an Anglo-American co-production, but the "Britishness" of the whole affair dominates. Star Ruth Dunning was better known in Great Britain for her extensive work on television, often in similar tearjerkers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The weak story in The Bulldog Breed is an excuse to tie together a long series of funny episodes, slapstick incidents, and absurd situations. What does bring everything into a certain unity is the comic character type created by Norman Wisdom, an inept, likeable loser whose efforts to succeed against all odds somehow bumble through to final triumph. Playing Norman Puckle in this romp, he is heartbroken after being scorned by an unattainable blond and fails at a suicide attempt, only to end up in the Navy. Bungling most of his work there, he is surprised to discover that he has been chosen by the admiral to be the first man the Navy sends into space. This time, Norman's losing streak is up against a formidable phalanx of expertise -- what could possibly go wrong? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Ian Hunter, (more)
