Anne Heywood Movies

Louis Gossett Jr. was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat in this two-part made-for-TV biopic. With 4 hours at its disposal, Sadat is able to trace its protagonist from his formative years fighting against the British occupiers of his country. The second part of the film is devoted in great part to Sadat's peacemaking efforts, culminating with his tradition-breaking truce with Israel's Menachem Begin (Barry Morse) in 1978. Lionel Chetwynd's script tends to deal in sweeping generalizations and stock characters at times, but the performances of Gossett, Morse and John Rhys-Davies as Gamel Abdel Nassar fully flesh out the film's occasional superficialities. Syndicated as an Operation Prime Time special on October 31, 1983, Sadat was an unqualified hit--everywhere but Egypt, where the film was banned because of its actual and alleged distortions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Frenchwoman vacationing with her daughter and a Viennese professor vacationing with his son meet in the Tyrolean Alps of Italy. Of a liberal persuasion, both parents actively encourage the two young people to get to know one another, and perhaps have their first sexual liaison; the two adults have long since gone to bed with one another. With many hesitations and missed opportunities, this is just what the daughter and son eventually do. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

From the Middle Ages onward, certain monasteries and nunneries were basically elegant retirement homes for rich noblemen and noblewomen. The position of abbot or abbess at one of these institutions often carried with it considerable wealth and worldly power. So it comes as no surprise that the elegant nuns of Sant'arcangelo in Naples should fight for the position of Mother Superior of their nunnery; it has a charter to huge quantities of gold from the New World. Nor should it surprise anyone that this squabble attracted the interest of powerful figures in the church. This Italian/French drama, based on a story by Henri Stendahl, focuses on the characters of the nuns, noblemen and churchmen involved in this dispute, which eventually came under the scrutiny of the Holy Inquisition. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

John Dexter's film explores the struggles faced by a young British man who wants to live as a woman and considers a sex change operation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In this nasty drama, a 17th-century Italian nun's long repressed sexual passion is awakened when a handsome nobleman rapes her. Confused by her unholy emotions, the nun sees that the aristocrat is arrested. Unfortunately, the louse impregnated her and shortly after bearing his child, she helps him escape from prison. Reunited, the two embark upon a passionate affair. One day another nun sees the two making love. Unfortunately, she dies before she can tell anyone. Later the offending nun is captured and given a life sentence for having sex and helping to murder her colleague. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone) directed this Cold War action thriller. Gregory Peck is the American Dr. John Hathaway, a Noble Prize-winning scientist, teaching at a university in London. Lieutenant General Shelby (Arthur Hill), from the American Embassy, asks Hathaway to go on a mission to Communist China to obtain an enzyme, being developed by his old teacher Soong Li (Keye Luke), that permits crops to grow in any climate. Since the country holding the formula to this growth enzyme would be able to control the world, Shelby tells Hathaway that both the United States and the Soviet Union are anxious that the enzyme not stay in China. Hathaway doesn't want to go because of a burgeoning love affair with attractive professor Kay Hanna (Anne Heywood) and an opposition he holds to American foreign policy. But a call from the President changes his mind, and he is off to China. A transmitter is placed in his skull so that he can communicate with London. But Hathaway doesn't realize that the head implant can also be detonated from London, if necessary, and blow Hathaway's brains out. In China, Hathaway works with his old mentor Soong Li to perfect the enzyme. As they are near completion, the Red Guard storms the laboratory and attack Soong Li because of his opposition to the new movement in China, and Hathaway has to flee the country. Detecting the transmitter in Hathaway's head, the Chinese are in full pursuit. Hathaway makes it to the Sino-Soviet border, but then Shelby decides to activate the explosive device in Hathaway's head once he crosses over into Russia. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Anglo-Czech coproduction 90 Degrees in the Shade stars British actress Anne Heywood as a grocery clerk embroiled in an affair with manager James Booth. Though she knows that Booth is good for nothing, she remains with him because of the intensity of their physical relationship. Company auditors Rudolf Hrusinsky and Donald Wolfit make life miserable for Heywood, who cannot bring herself to reveal the fact that Booth has been stealing from the store. Her subsequent suicide humanizes the strictly-business auditors, but the unrepentant Booth merely shrugs and casts about for another willing young woman. The title is a succinct assessment of the film's sex scenes, which were as hot as it was possible to get in a mainstream movie of the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Paul Vernon (Tony Britton) is a gynecologist who is estranged from his wife in this situation comedy of errors. He gets drunk at a party, picks up a pretty French girl and takes her home for a night of pleasure. The perplexed physician wakes up to find the French femme has spent the night in the other room. He then decides to offer her a job as his housekeeper. Things go smoothly until wife Lisa (Anne Heywood) shows up and announces she is pregnant. To complicate matters, the French maid is also with child. The noble doctor devises a plan to have his wife claim both children, keeping the single maid from shame. Lisa agrees to pretend she will give birth to twins. The plan goes haywire when the doctor discovers both women are pregnant with twins. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Any movie with a title like Petticoat Pirates would be hard to dislike--and equally hard to believe. Anticipating the "feminist" films of the 1970s, the plot concerns a group of female officers in the British Navy. Angered by the sexism inherent in the Admiralty, the uniformed ladies stage a mutiny, taking a timorous male stoker as a sort of hostage. Not terribly credible to begin with, the film ultimately veers off into fantasy. Petticoat Pirates is both innocuous and inconsequential; you may have seen it, but chances are you don't remember it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This uneven, wartime drama delves into the complexities of the political situation in Northern Ireland, compounded in World War II when the IRA collaborated with the Nazis against England, their long-time foe. Robert Mitchum stars as the heroic Dermot O'Neill, willing to join the IRA yet unhappy with their ties to fascist Germany. His interaction with the local IRA unit is intense and occurs at the same time as his love affair with Neeve Donnelly (Anne Heywood). His buddy Sean Reilly (Richard Harris) is also around to lend moral support when a situation calls for it. Between Dermot and his relationships and family clan, and the political intrigues, things can get a little crowded at times. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Herbert Wilcox wrapped up his long and prestigious film career as the director of Heart of a Man, which was produced by Wilcox' actress wife Anna Neagle. British teen idol Frankie Vaughn plays a sailor with a penchant for bursting into song. Vaughn has no intention of making a living as a vocalist, but a chance meeting with a whimsical hobo, coupled with a deepening relationship with nightclub thrush Anne Heywood, convinces Vaughn to go for the gold in the music world. In addition to enhancing the already successful career of Frankie Vaughn, Heart of a Man also gave a big boost to Anthony Newley, who popped up in a comic supporting role. As for producer Anna Neagle, this was the second and last of her Frankie Vaughn vehicles; after appearing in one more film (The Lady is a Square [59]) she followed her husband's lead and gracefully exited the British film industry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After years of suffering through lookalike MGM musicals (at least, that was his complaint), Howard Keel was able to sink his teeth into a dramatic role in the British Floods of Fear. Serving a life term for murder, Donavan (Howard Keel) breaks out of jail with sadistic convict Peebles (Cyril Cusack), taking along a wounded guard (Harry H. Corbett) as hostage. It is Donavan's intention to exact revenge against the man who framed him, but this will have to wait: a driving rainstorm is threatening to precipitate a raging flood. Taking refuge in the tiny house owned by the terror-stricken Elizabeth (Anne Heywood), the convicts and their captives nervously wait out the storm. Slowly, Elizabeth and Donavan are drawn to one another, while Peebles threatens to erupt into a fit of homicidal rage at any moment. When the flood reaches the danger level, Donavan performs several self-sacrificial acts of courage, prompting Elizabeth to try to save him from ruining what's left of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide