Jan Holden Movies
- 1985
In this sequel to the original miniseries, Lili (Phoebe Cates), having discovered the true identity of her mother, now begins looking for her father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Adams, Deborah Raffin, (more)
- 1970
- PG
The most horrifying part of this British spooker is seeing former clean-cut teen idol Frankie Avalon cast as Chris, a London hooligan who with his druggie friends decides to spend the night in a supposedly haunted house and hold a seance. The seance is a bust, so the buddies decide to do a little exploration and split up. Unfortunately, one of them gets brutally killed, leaving Chris and his surviving pals to wonder who did the deed. Was it one of them, or was it a monstrous demon? Not wanting to attract undue attention, the punks decide to hide the body, zip their lips, and split from the house. Unfortunately, the cops find out and begin questioning everyone, causing Chris and his friend to return to the house and look for clues. For poor Chris, it is a fatal mistake. Just for the record, though he plays a teen, Avalon was 30 years old when this film was made. In Britain the film was released as The Haunted House of Horror. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Avalon, Jill Haworth, (more)
- 1970
A well-to-do widower with a cozy mistress and a country estate falls for his young houseguest, the inexperienced daughter of a friend of his, and marries her. This causes his daughter, who is the same age, no little distress. While the relationship of the father and daughter grows rancorous, the young bride grows attached to a handsome next-door neighbor, a farmer who is her own age. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this British farce, the British Home Secretary satisfies the men of London by sanctioning a government-run brothel. This comedy chronicles what happens when secretary John Bird appoints Sir Francis Leybourne to run the place. Bird then has his lovely girlfriend Babbette act as the Madame. Sir Leybourne owns an opium plantation in India and one day goes there to see it. Unfortunately, he gets killed in an uprising, leaving his prim niece Josephine Pacefoot in charge of the cathouse. A staunch believer in social reform, she is quite sure what to do with the disreputable business. Leybourne's son has plenty of ideas too and wants the fortune and the bordello for himself. The ensuing struggle creates plenty of trouble and many laughs. Though the film originally received a British "X" rating, the sex is pretty tame by modern standards. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, Joanna Pettet, (more)
- 1968
Set in a futuristic world where man and machines compete, this comical fantasy centers upon a rather eccentric man who prefers raising his special giant, euphoria-producing mushrooms to working and spending time with his fiancee. He means well, for he believes that his funny fungus will help combat the increasing dehumanization of society. However, unable to withstand his bride's pressure, he finally takes a real job in a power plant. There he knocks out the power and then feeds his mushrooms to the authorities. While they walk around in a hallucinatory daze, he and his fiancee take a baby carriage filled with mushrooms and hightail it out of town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Warner, Cilla Black, (more)
- 1965
Another classic "Emma Peel" installment, this episode was first telecast in England on December 4, 1965. A series of mysterious deaths in the upper circles of International Finance have caused a great deal of panic among investors. Hoping to locate the source of all the trouble, Steed and Emma go undercover, with Steed posing as a prominent financier. Meanwhile, Emma faces death at the hands of a strange little man with an obsession for clocks. Written by Roger Marshall, "Dial a Deadly Number" was seen in the U.S. on July 24, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg
- 1963
The reclusive millionaire whom Steed was assigned to escort to New York has been spirited away to a private nursing home -- in a coffin. Investigating these mysterious goings-on, Cathy gets a job at the same home. Finally locating the missing person, Cathy discovers that the man has been replaced by an impostor. . .and that the mystery has only begun. A satiric jab at Britain's excessive inheritance taxes (the connection between this plot twist and the rest of the story is made obvious only in the final moments), "The Undertakers" was written by Malcolm Hulke. It was originally telecast in England on October 5, 1963, and it belatedly debuted in America on March 6, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this crime drama, a dancer and her assistants don interesting disguises to pull off a jewel theft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Loosely based on a cult of assassins in early 19th-century India known as "thaga" (pronounced "tahg"), the villains in this routine, part-horror, part suspense story are causing problems in the East India Company and throughout Bombay. It seems that someone is stealing cargo from the company, and many people are unaccountably disappearing. But as usual, the colonial attitude prevails and one officer in the company is too focused on his goal of playing polo in England to see clearly, while the others are equally opaque. So it takes awhile before these Brits realize that the "thaga" cult is strangling the population and inducting new people into its rituals every day. As the assassins wreak havoc in Bombay, one of the company's officers is captured and slated for execution. The cult became so notorious and well-known in its day that the word "thug" entered into common English usage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Rolfe, Allan Cuthbertson, (more)
- 1960
In this crime drama, an unemployed thespian gets a job as an escort-protector and winds up framed for murder after one of his wealthy clients is killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this romance, a crooked, over-ambitious clerk will do anything to make it to the top, even if it means getting engaged to a man she doesn't love. Her "beloved" is the son of her richest client. Fortunately, by the story's end, the woman reconsiders her goals and ends up falling for a minor executive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 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)
- 1958
In this mystery, a movie producer gets bored with his wife and begins an affair with a fiery actress. In the end, he jilts his mistress and returns to his wife. The trouble begins when someone stabs the actress and he is labelled the prime suspect by a detective. Later the producer discovers that the actress is still alive, and that the detective was her husband. A real murder follows and the producer is arrested. His loyal wife launches her own investigation and proves that her husband was innocent. The real killer, the husband of the actress, ends up killed in a car wreck. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Donna Reed, (more)
- 1958
Boyish leading man Jack Watling is caught up in a rather mature set of circumstances in Links of Justice. In concert with his mistress Kay Callard, Watling plots to murder his wealthy wife Sarah Lawson. The best laid schemes gang aft agley, and the wrong person ends up dead. In a variation of Dial M for Murder, a false murder accusation is dissipated by the timely arrival of a housebreaker. Chalk up another serviceable second-feature British melodrama for the production team of Edward and Harry Danzinger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this drama, an English doctor returns from the US with his fiancee and finds himself forced to choose between the young woman he loves and his overbearing, disapproving mother, whom he also loves. He marries the girl despite his mother's loud protestations. When she learns the girl has a fragile heart, the mother insists they move in with her. One day the mother accidentally gives her daughter-in-law the wrong medication and the hapless bride nearly dies. Fortunately, the doctor saves his wife; he then accuses his mother of attempted murder. Later it's discovered that the mix-up was the maid's fault. Things settle down as the three realize they need to call a truce. Peace descends upon their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this drama, the commanding officer of a British Royal Air Force flight training school must deal with an ornery, irresponsible cadet. The lad reminds the officer of himself when he was young. It also reminds him that his own youthful arrogance and foolishness caused the death of the new recruit's father. The young man only settles down when the C.O. saves him during maneuvers. The boy is injured during the flight which gives him serious pause for thought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, (more)
- 1957
Originally titled Quatermass II, Enemy from Space was the sequel to The Quatermass Xperiment (US title: The Creeping Unknown). Based on the British TV serial by Nigel Kneale (who reportedly disliked the finished product), the film stars Brian Donlevy, repeating the role of Professor Quatermass. This time, the good professor must contend with a "meteor shower" which turns out to be a secret alien invasion. The extraterrestrials arrive on earth in rocklike vehicles, then take over the minds and nervous systems of earthlings, the better to go about their business undetected. Subliminally a cruel satire of British bureaucracy and obfuscation, Enemy from Space also works on a pure-horror level, building slowly and methodically to a powerhouse finale. For many years a "lost" film due to legal tangles, Enemy from Space has recently become available again on video and cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Donlevy, John Longden, (more)
- 1957
The British Assignment Redhead stars Hollywood's Richard Denning as a devil-may-care secret agent. The blonde Denning is, of course, not the redhead of the title: that honor goes to luscious nightclub vocalist Carole Mathews. The girl is up to her pretty neck in intrigue, thanks to a $12 million robbery masterminded by chameleon-like criminal Ronald Adam. When she has the chance to ice Denning, Carole refuses to do so, throwing her lot with him to foil the villains. Based on a novel by Al Bocca, Assignment Redhead was released in the US (in a radically chopped-up version) as Million Dollar Manhunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This silly British-made space opera finds distant ancestors of the lost civilization of Atlantis -- all of them nubile young ladies, of course, and starved for male company -- residing for some unexplained reason on the thirteenth moon of Jupiter, where they are discovered by an Earth exploration team headed by Anthony Dexter. The Earthmen offer to help the Atlantean cuties return home and re-establish their fallen city, but only manage to rescue one of them after they come under attack from a cheesy monster known as the "Black God." The film's camp highlight comes when the maidens perform an interpretive dance to the music of Borodin. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1955
In this comedy, a clever chemist develops a pill that cures smokers of nicotine addiction. Realizing the marketing potential, he makes his discovery public, but encounters strong resistance from the international tobacco industry, which does its best to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
In this comedy, a jewel thief hides his loot on an abandoned scow. Later he is captured and thrown in jail after assaulting someone. Two models end up buying the boat. The barge is almost sunk in an accident. Later two tart old ladies end up with the goods. They then help the younger women get the reward money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
