Alan Seymour Movies

The Glass Virgin is a 1995 UK television miniseries directed by Sarah Hellings, adapted from the best-selling novel by Catherine Cookson. In 19th century England, wealthy young Annabella Lagrange lives a comfortable and secluded life on her family's country estate, where her parents (Nigel Havers and Christine Kavanagh) own a glass works. As a child (played by Samantha Glenn), she develops a special friendship with the charming stable boy Manuel Mendoza (Brendan Coyle). When she turns 18 (played by Emily Mortimer), she marries her cousin Stephen (Anthony Walters) and sees what the world is really like. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A mission of mercy sends two children to a magical world in another dimension in this made-for-TV fantasy adventure for the family. Eustace (David Thwaites) and Jill (Camilla Power) are two misfit schoolchildren who discover that a garden shed on the school's grounds is actually a gateway to the magical land of Narnia. Eustance had visited Narnia years before, and is troubled to discover King Caspian (Geoffrey Russell) has aged considerably. Caspian is troubled by the disappearance of his son, Prince Rilian (Richard Henders), who had been kidnapped years earlier. With the help of the King's helper Puddlegum (Tom Baker) and the enchanted lion Aslan (voice of Alisa Berk), Eustace and Jill set out to find the lost prince and reunite him with his father. Produced by the BBC (where it originally aired as a mini-series), The Silver Chair was based on The Chronicles Of Narnia stories by C.S. Lewis. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Ian Ogilvy headed the cast of the obscure three-part British miniseries Menace Unseen. Ogilvy played Duncan Free, a computer consultant. When one of his co-workers was murdered, Duncan used his technological savvy to determine the culprit -- who, of course, had no intention of being exposed. Boasting an unusually strong supporting cast, Menace Unseen was distributed by Anglia Television in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Children escaping from the realities of war find themselves battling evil in an enchanted fantasy world in this made-for-TV drama. During the height of World War II, four children -- Peter (Richard Dempsey), Susan (Sophie Cook), Edmund (Jonathan Scott), and Lucy (Sophie Wilcox) -- are evacuated from London and find themselves staying in a small castle in the country owned by a mysterious professor (Michael Aldridge). While playing in the attic, the kids discover an old wardrobe, and when they walk inside, they're transported to the mythical land of Narnia. In Narnia, the wicked White Witch (Barbara Kellerman) has taken control, and now the nation is in a constant state of winter (and without any Christmas to make the snowy period tolerable). Guided by Aslan (voice of Ailsa Berk), a talking lion, the children set out on a crusade to defeat the White Witch and banish her from Narnia. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was the first of three films produced by the BBC based on C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia books; it was originally aired as a four-part mini-series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Box of Delights, based on the children's book by English poet laureate John Masefield, was produced by the BBC, from a screenplay by Alan Seymour under director Renny Rye in mid-1984. Set in 1934, the six-part miniseries tells the story of young Kay Harker (Devin Stanfield), who, while on his way home from school to join his family for Christmas, meets an old Punch and Judy man named Cole Hawlings (Patrick Troughton), and then a pair of clergymen (Geoffrey Larder, Jonathan Stephens) who seem to have picked his pocket -- and all of whom seem to know all about Kay, who he is, and where he is going. Before long, he is in the center of a struggle for the title object, an artifact dating from pagan times that allows the holder to manipulate time and space. The evil Abner Brown (Robert Stephens) wants the box and will stop at nothing, including kidnapping and murder to get it, while Cole Hawlings, who is actually a 500-year-old alchemist, has sought out Kay's help to keep Brown and the forces he serves from stealing the box. Kay's adventures include a visit to an embattled Arthurian camp beset by wolves, an encounter with flying unicorns and other magical beasts, and other fantastic visions. Kay gradually comes to understand the magical world he has entered, but can he learn enough of the powers he controls before Abner -- who has embarked on a final great wickedness, culminating on Christmas Eve -- can succeed? ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi