Ronald Hines Movies

TheTV movie Jack the Ripper endeavors to shed new light on one of the most notorious unsolved cases in history. The Ripper, of course, was the London serial killer who, in 1888, killed and disemboweled five prostitutes. Michael Caine stars not as the Ripper but as a Scotland-Yard inspector who is assigned to the case. The trail of evidence leads Caine to some astonishing suspects--including at least one member of the Royal Family. As the public clamors for an arrest in the case of the unsolved evisceration murders of five East End prostitutes, Abberline narrows down his list of suspects: the four most likely to have committed the murders, according to the inspector, are American-actor Richard Mansfield (Armand Assante), Queen Victoria's personal psychic (Ken Bones), a certain Dr. Acland (Richard Morant) and socialist-gadfly Lusk (Michael Gothard). The British government is also pressuring Abberline to produce the killer. Unfortunately, if Abberline were to publicly release all the clues at his disposal, the revelation would probably rock the Empire to its foundations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by David Butler, the British drama series We'll Meet Again took place during WWII. The members of the U.S. 8th Air Force, 525th Bomb Group, found themselves billeted in the Suffolk community of Market Wetherby. The locals weren't altogether thrilled by the presence of the "overpaid, oversexed, and over-here" Yanks, but along the way a few of the flyboys managed to make headway with some of the British lasses in the region. Rich with period detail, the series invoked warm nostalgic feelings within most viewers, even though much of the dialogue dealt with rationing, buzz-bombing, and other wartime iniquities. Opening with a 90-minute episode on February 19, 1982, We'll Meet Again quickly settled into a weekly 60-minute slot, proving so popular with British viewers that its story line was serialized in a national newspaper. The 13th and final episode aired on May 14, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a restaurant tries to establish itself by advertising a new hamburger. The owner is helped out by an amiable bank manager. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Political, romantic, and religious intrigue confront Elizabeth Tudor (1533-1603) in this acclaimed six-part television series chronicling her early life as a princess and her reign as queen of England (1558-1603). While still a princess, Elizabeth (Glenda Jackson) exonerates herself from a plot to kidnap young Edward VI (Jason Kemp). Then, after Edward dies, Elizabeth's sister, Mary (Caroline Harris), assumes the throne and imposes Catholicism on her subjects, but Elizabeth refuses to disavow her Protestantism. After Mary announces plans to wed the Catholic king of Spain, the people rise up in favor of Elizabeth, but Mary imprisons her in the Tower of London. Happily for Elizabeth, Mary dies without an heir, and Elizabeth becomes queen. Although urged to marry, Elizabeth stalls, content to maintain a relationship with Robert Dudley (Robert Hardy), Master of the Horse, whom Elizabeth makes Earl of Leicester. Then Mary Queen of Scots (Vivian Pickles) claims the English throne, and Elizabeth tries to pacify her in an unsuccessful attempt to marry her to Dudley. Meanwhile, the French -- battlefield rivals of the Spaniards -- propose an alliance with England and urge Elizabeth to marry the French king's brother, the Duc d'Alençon (Michael Williams), a Catholic. Though officials draw up a marriage contract, Elizabeth ignores it. By this time, Mary Queen of Scots is in prison, and Protestant agents implicate her in a trumped-up plot against Elizabeth. Elizabeth orders her execution. The angry Spanish then attack with their mighty Armada, but the English defeat them and strengthen Elizabeth's hold on power. In the later years of her reign, Elizabeth attempts to appease an unruly court favorite, the Earl of Essex, with special appointments, but he eventually turns against her and leads an uprising against the crown two years before the queen's death. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

The Informers of the title are a loose grouping of underworld types, upon whom Scotland Yard inspector Nigel Patrick depends for crucial information. Patrick gets in trouble with his superiors when he refuses to reveal the identity of his informants. He gets into even more trouble, when, while investigating the murder of one of his snitches, Patrick is framed on a corruption rap by trollop Margaret Whiting. The Informers was based on Death of a Snout, a novel by Douglas Warner. It was also released under the titles Underworld Informers and The Snout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bryan Forbes' first directorial effort is set in a rugged Lancashire farm community. Three impressionable children, played by Hayley Mills, Diane Holgate, and Alan Barnes, come across a bearded vagrant named Arthur Blakey (Alan Bates) sleeping in their barn. Upon awakening, the ill-tempered bum takes a look at the white-eyed kids and mutters the imprecation "Jesus Christ!" In their innocence, the children assume that Arthur is Jesus Christ, and they spread the word to their friends. In truth, he is an escaped killer. But when the authorities come around looking for him, the kids, remembering Christ's persecution, do their best to protect their far-from-deserving new friend. Though the material, based on a novel by Mary Hayley Bell (Hayley Mills's mother) could have been mawkish and obvious in other hands, Forbes handles the situation and the characters realistically; even the blatant New Testament symbolism is logically incorporated into the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This WWII espionage drama is based on the true tale of a British spy, as told in the story by J. Alvin Kugelmass. Alex Schottland (Jack Hawkins) is a career agent for England, having served during WWI. He is assigned to Nazi Germany and rises to the rank of general as WWII breaks out. His contact is Cornaz (Felix Alymer), who pretends to be a clock seller. But Cornaz's identity is discovered, and he is brutally murdered. Schottland overcomes suspicions and makes contacts with a new British agent, Lili Geyr (Gia Scala), who is a nightclub singer. His love for her is first feigned as part of the spy game -- then becomes real. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide