Gordon Heath Movies
Sam Fuller's last film as a director, made during his self-imposed European exile, stars Keith Carradine as once glamorous pop singer Michael, who has been reduced to a grizzled street bum scavenging for booze and food. The cause of his downfall was his affair with the beautiful Celia (Valentina Vargas), a mistress of ruthless crime boss Eddie (Marc de Jonge). The mobster punished the singer "where it hurts most" -- by slitting his throat and thus ruining his career. Years later, Michael crosses paths with Eddie and his thugs again and gets a chance for revenge. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Valentina Vargas, (more)
- 1969
- R
Homosexuality is only incidentally important in this drama of dependence and intimacy between two aging hair stylists, and nothing shocking to staid and heterosexual sensibilities takes place in this movie, a star turn for Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. Whether the original play was as patently offensive to actual homosexuals as this movie is, is open to question. What is certain is that it grossly exaggerates every unpleasant "fag" stereotype in the books, However, the lead actors skillfully make art out of these very same offensive tics, demonstrating the mysterious power of great performers to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. In the story, Charlie (Harrison) and Harry (Burton) have been roommates, business partners and intimates for many long years, and their convoluted mutual dependency is every bit as complicated as that between any aged but incompatible couple who have grown used to one another over the years. Charlie thinks he can do without Harry, but Harry knows better and patiently bears the barbs and arrows that come his way. One of the nicer aspects of the stereotypical portrayal is that both men get to demonstrate some beautifully sharp, barbed wit. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, (more)
- 1969
Taken from the popular play by Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman Of Chaillot has an international all-star cast, but the final result falls short despite the talents of the celebrated thespians. The madwoman in question is the extremely eccentric Countess Aurelia (Katherine Hepburn). Roderick (Richard Chamberlain) is the peace-loving activist who, along with a local rag picker (Danny Kaye), warns the Countess of a plot to destroy the city. A quartet of villains led by the Chairman (Yul Brynner) are after the oil reserves that bubble under the water supply. Along with the Broker (Charles Boyer), the Commissar (Oscar Homolka), and the Prospector (Donald Pleasence), the evil developers plan to secure the oil rights to the region with or without the consent of the unsuspecting public. The Countess invites Josephine (Dame Edith Evans) to judge the villains, who are locked in the Countess's cellar for their crimes against the people of Paris in this lethargic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer, (more)
In this wartime melodrama, Lieutenant Colonel Raspeguy (Anthony Quinn) is a French peasant who has worked his way up the military ladder during the French involvement in Indochina. Sent to Algeria, Raspeguy must mold a group of raw recruits into a competent fighting unit. He calls on Esclavier (Alain Delon), his sensitive assistant who eventually deserts the military out of frustration over the pointlessness of war. Raspeguy's other assistant is Boisfeuras (Maurice Ronet), the affable officer whose outside demeanor hides the heart of a vicious killer who loves the bloodlust of battle. Raspeguy takes up with Countess De Clairefons (Michele Morgan), the widow of a respected general. She promises Raspeguy she will marry him if he comes back from the conflict as a general. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, (more)
- 1965
A couple finds that their love is not accepted by society in the land of liberty, fraternity, and equality in this drama. Françoise (Françoise Giret) is a college student who is friendly with a group of idealistic bohemians living together in a Paris flat. An artist living with the beats introduces Françoise to Daniel (Gordon Heath), a medical student she spotted at a student cafeteria. Françoise is quite taken with Daniel, who is bright, friendly, compassionate, and handsome. However, Daniel is also black, and while Françoise, who is white, is not concerned with his race, she discovers not everyone around her is so open-minded. After several months together, Françoise discovers she's pregnant; her parents are shocked and demand that she have an abortion, and Daniel isn't certain what they should do, though his brave actions after a young black boy is abused by the police help her make up her mind. More thoughtful and less exploitive than its American release title would lead one to expect My Baby Is Black (released in France as Les Laches Vivent d'Espoir) was written and directed by Claude Bernard-Aubert. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Inter-racial love scenes are the most daring part of this slightly stilted romantic drama by Claude-Bernard Aubert. At the core of the action is the love affair between Françoise (Françoise Giret), a white French woman and Daniel (Gorden Heath), an African student. The couple are followed around Paris as they express their love for each other inside and outside of the bedroom, but their idyll begins to be tarnished by hostility from strangers and the open antagonism of Françoise's family. These sources of discord gnaw at the couple's relationship until it starts to falter, leading to questions about its stability in the face of undeniable social pressures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Giret, Gordon Heath, (more)
- 1959
Nigel Patrick and Michael Craig portray two Scotland Yard detectives who are investigating the murder of a young black woman who had been passing for white. As timely a topic today as when made in an England rampant with racial prejudice in the 1950s, it stays just this side of an in-depth indictment of racism and bigotry as the detectives investigate the vast array of suspects--everyone from the girl's white boyfriend and his parents who feared that the association would destroy his career to the boys that the girl had spurned when she was accepted by white society. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, (more)
- 1958
In this drama, set in a progressive Jamaican school, a hard working teacher endeavors to inspire a troubled young female student while simultaneously coping with his romantic troubles involving two women, a flight attendant, and the headmaster's wife who is always trying to break he and the other woman up. Not only does her jealousy affect his other relationship, it also destroys the trust between the teacher and his student, especially after the student catches him kissing the headmaster's wife. The ensuing scene causes the frightened young woman to flee into the face of a hurricane. Her death awakens the teacher who reconsiders his actions and returns to the flight attendant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, (more)
Also known as Mr. Arkadin, this flawed late effort by director Orson Welles recalls the structure of Citizen Kane, centering around an investigation into the past of a powerful millionaire. This time around, however, the millionaire is very much alive; in fact, it is Gregory Arkadin (Welles) himself who orders the inquiry, claiming to suffer from amnesia. The investigator soon gets a taste of the difficulty of his task, however, when several witnesses to Arkadin's past suspiciously turn up dead. Indeed, the closer he comes to the truth about Arkadin, the more he fears that he himself may be the next victim. While it aspires to intense suspense, Confidential Report suffers more than most of Welles' films from budgetary limitations and erratic shooting habits, with the final result often seeming choppy and needlessly confusing. Nevertheless, any Welles effort is by definition at least partially worthwhile, if only for further demonstration of his brilliant visual sensibility. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Michael Redgrave, (more)
- 1955
The British animation firm of John Halas and Joy Batchelor perform yeoman service in adapting George Orwell's allegorical novel Animal Farm to the screen. As any high-school English student can tell you,the original 1945 novel was Orwell's spin on the rise and fall of the Communist myth. A group of intelligent animals overthrow their corrupt human owner and set up their own self-sustained farm, predicated on an idealistic credo: "All Animals are Created Equal", "No Animal Shall Ever Drink Liquor", "Four Legs Good: Two Legs Bad" etc. But when Snowball the Pig (read: Trotsky) is overthrown by the despotic Napoleon (read: Stalin), all idealism goes out the window, and soon the pigs are ruling dictatorially over the other animals. Before long, Animal Farm operates on but one principle: "All Animals Are Created Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others." Orwell's ironic ending, in which it becomes impossible to tell the difference between the Pigs and the Humans, is blunted in favor of a grafted-on happy ending, perhaps to mollify the kiddie trade. Maurice Denham supplies all the character's voices, while Gordon Heath serves as narrator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
