Oscar Homolka Movies

One of Our Own stars George Peppard as Dr. Jake Goodwin, the chief neurosurgeon of an inordinately busy hospital. As he makes his rounds, Goodwin becomes involved in a vast array of medical cases, solving virtually every problem he's confronted with. It looks, however, as though he's going to have tough sledding with the film's Major Crisis: A seriously injured doctor, and the two colleagues who battle over how to save his life. Originally telecast in May of 1975, One of Our Own was obviously conceived as a pilot for a George Peppard weekly series. But when that series premiered in September 1975, it had sprouted the new title of Doctor's Hospital (as opposed, perhaps, to Lawyer's Hospital). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical biography of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (Torval Maurstad) is based on the play of the same name. Living in poverty after graduating from a music conservatory, Grieg scandalizes his family by marrying his cousin Nina (Florence Henderson). Grieg has an affair with a former schoolmate, Therese Berg (Christina Schollin), a wealthy woman who makes a deal with her influential father to end the romance if he'll arrange a concert for Grieg in Stockholm. Grieg eventually travels to Rome, where his significance as an artist begins to find appreciation. His association with Therese is not really finished and Grieg's humble piano, a gift from the self-sacrificing Nina, is overshadowed by Therese's gift of a grand piano. Back to back with the subsequent and equally unsuccessful The Great Waltz (1972), the last two films of writer, producer, and director Andrew Stone ended his nearly 50 year career. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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

In this made-for-television version of Stevenson's classic tale of terror and suspense, a crazy doctor develops a formula that turns him into a madman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Harry Palmer (Michael Caine), the reluctant secret agent from The Ipcress File (1965) and Funeral in Berlin (1966) -- both (like the source for this movie) based on novels by Len Deighton -- is back again in Ken Russell's Billion Dollar Brain. Having left Britain's espionage service, Palmer is scraping out a living as a private investigator, but he's still willing to give his old boss Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman) the bum's rush out of his office when he comes calling, offering a raise and promotion if he'll return. But Palmer ends up working for Her Majesty's government anyway -- a letter arrives, with a key and money, and telephoned instructions by a mechanical voice connect him up with a carefully sealed parcel (filled with what an x-ray reveals as eggs) that he must transport to Helsinki. No sooner does he get there than he discovers that an old friend, Leo Newbigin (Karl Malden), and his young lover Anya (Françoise Dorléac) are behind the trip, and that the man who was supposed to receive the parcel is dead. The eggs contain dangerous viruses stolen from a secret British laboratory, and England wants them back and wants to know why they were stolen. That assignment immerses Palmer in a deadly game of deception, double-dealing, and triple-crosses on all sides, as he finds that Leo is working for a privately operated intelligence network, set up by a rabidly right-wing Texas oil man, General Midwinter (Ed Begley Sr.).

The billion-dollar super-computer of the title, built by Midwinter, runs a network of spies and assassins aimed at the destruction of the Soviet Union. That interests Palmer's old friend, Soviet security chief Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka, in an almost movie-stealing performance), very much, and he, too, wants to know what Palmer knows. And then there's Leo, who has taken millions from Midwinter, supposedly to establish a secret underground in Latvia, waiting for the signal to rise up against the Soviets occupying their country that will spread across the Baltics and beyond and bring down the Soviet government. He's taken the money, but all Harry find when he goes into Latvia is motley bunch of broken-down black marketeers whose orders are to kill him and make it look like the work of the Soviets. And there's Anya, who is sleeping with Leo, trying to seduce Harry, and seems to have an agenda all her own, but in whose interest? If it's all a little confusing, so was the book on which it was based, but there's enough striking visual material, courtesy of cinematographer Billy Williams, and engrossing performances (and a wry sensibility), courtesy of director Ken Russell and screenwriter John McGrath, that the leaps in plot, logic, and setting don't matter that much, and it is great fun. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this romantic drama based on a novel by Betty Smith, Carl Brown (Richard Chamberlain) is a student in law school who wants to marry his sweetheart, Annie McGairy (Yvette Mimieux). However, Carl and Annie's parents knew each other when they grew up in Ireland before emigrating to America, and Carl's father Patrick (Arthur Kennedy) vehemently objects to their engagement. The young couple decide to tie the knot anyway, and Patrick retaliates by cutting off financial support to his son. The young couple deal with the usual tribulations of newlyweds while they struggle to keep their heads above water -- Carl takes a job as a night watchman, while Annie makes a few dollars babysitting for Beverly Karter (Joan Tetzel), a married woman who is cheating on her husband with Stan Pulaski (Oscar Homolka), a married man. Living in a tiny apartment on the shabby side of town, Carl and Annie get to know other people too poor or too different to fit in elsewhere in an upscale college town. When Annie becomes pregnant, she leaves Carl, not wanting to burden him so that he can continue with his education. This sends Carl into an emotional tailspin, and Patrick tries to patch up the marriage he once opposed for the sake of his son's happiness. Joy in the Morning marked the first and only feature film role for TV and stage actor Donald Davis, who played Anthony, a gay florist who befriends the young couple. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This long, 135-minute feature is divided into four different segments, three highlighting fairy tales and the first introducing the two Brothers Grimm. Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) is the dreamer, and Jacob (Karl Boehm) is the practical one, and between them, some marvelous fairy tales develop. Seguing into the first tale about the "Dancing Princess," co-directors Henry Levin and George Pal -- also the producer -- allow their special-effects artists full rein. In-between dancing, the princess (Yvette Mimieux) falls in love with a charming woodsman (Russ Tamblyn). In the second story about the "Cobbler and the Elves," a Christmas miracle of dedicated labor helps the cobbler out when he most needs it. In the last story, a fire-breathing dragon threatens the kingdom until a lowly servant (Buddy Hackett) saves the day. One of the highlights of this production are the Puppetoons, and another is Cinerama -- three projectors working to create a three-paneled (sometimes visibly so), wide-screen panorama. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This children's movie details the adventure of a boy (Kevin Corcoran) who tries to unravel the secrets of the Mooncussers, a group of pirates who destroy ships by guiding them onto rocks with a fake lighthouse. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Cypriot shopkeeper Carpius (Oscar Homolka) falls in love with the beautiful Elptheria (Danielle de Metz), promising to give her anything her heart desires. To demonstrate the length and breadth of his devotion, Carpius sneaks into a monastery in search of the rare Ikon of Elijah, which he plans to steal for Elptheria's sake. Alas, Carpius is caught in the act, and is ordered to pay penance for his misdeed...and pay...and pay...and pay.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Key was adapted by Carl Foreman from Stella, a novel by Jan De Hartog. The time is WW2: The place, Plymouth England. Canadian tug captain David Ross (William Holden) and his British counterpart Chris Ford (Trevor Howard) pay a visit to Ford's lady friend Stella (Sophia Loren). Before the men leave, Ford is handed Stella's apartment key. It turns out that this key is harbinger of death; it has previously been held by Stella's former lovers, all tug captains, all dead. When Ford is killed in combat, Tennant comes into possession of the key, returning to Stella to commence a torrid love affair. However, she is unable to fall in love with Tennant, sensing that his demise is imminent. Eventually, she does fall for him, vowing that if he survives the war, she will never pass her key along to any other man. As a result, Tennant begins exhibiting hesitance in battle, as if determined to break the "jinx" at the expense of his fellow seamen. It would be the height of bad form to give away the ending at this point. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Alexander Pushkin story The Captain's Daughter, Tempest is set in Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great. A Russian ensign named Peter Griniev (Geoffrey Horne), banished by Catherine (Viveca Lindfors) to a distant outpost, saves the life of Pugachov (Van Heflin), leader of a peasant uprising. Allowed to escape, Griniev tries to warn of the Pugachov's plans, but the Russian generals refuse to listen. When Griniev attempts to remove Pugachov's daughter (Silvano Mangano) from harm's way, he is accused of desertion. This time it is Pugachov's turn to rescue Griniev by convincing Catherine that the boy is innocent of treason. Tempest compensates for its overall dullness with a few brilliantly staged battle sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Farewell to Arms is the second film version of Ernest Hemingway's World War One novel--and also the last film produced by David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind). Rock Hudson plays an American serving in the Italian Army during the "War to End All Wars". Jennifer Jones is his lover, a Red cross nurse. They have a torrid affair, which results in Jones' pregnancy. As the months pass, Hudson and Jones lose contact with one another, and Jones believes that Hudson has forgotten her. But a battle-weary Hudson finally makes it to Switzerland, where Jones is hospitalized. The baby is stillborn, and Jones dies shortly afterward, murmuring that her death is "a dirty trick." Filmed on a simpler scale in 1932 (with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes starring), A Farewell to Arms was blown all out of proportion to "epic" stature for the 1957 remake--so much so that its original director, John Huston, quit the film in disgust. Still, the basic love story is touchingly enacted by Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide