Gary Hope Movies
New York cop Jack Grimaldi (Gary Oldman) has a nice home, a stunning wife Natalie (Annabella Sciorra), and a sweet, if stupid mistress, Sheri (Juliette Lewis). Jack also earns extra money by betraying mob witnesses to Mafia-boss Don Falcone (Roy Scheider). Assigned to guard the viciously sexy Russian-born hit woman, Mona Demarkov (Lena Olin), Jack is almost instantly seduced and allows Mona to escape. Falcone orders Jack to find and kill Mona, and threatens to murder him if he fails. Mona offers to pay Jack to help her eliminate Falcone and fake her own death. Several plot twists and turns later, Jack is left with his life in shambles. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, (more)
- 1983
- R
One-dimensional characters tend to fall flat, and that seems to be the case in this low-budget parody of a James Bond spy-thriller that has stretched the bravado of the spy genre beyond its elastic limits. The story involves a British agent, Charles Bind (Gareth Hunt) sent on a mission to find Lord Dangerfield (Noel Johnson) and along the way eliminate the evil Lucifer Orchid (Gary Hope). Lucifer is using plastic surgery to create doubles of the U.S. vice-president, agent Bind, and others in order to install the doubles in power and take over the world. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gareth Hunt, Nick Tate, (more)
- 1973
The Big Zapper is based on the popular British comic strip of the same name. Linda Marlowe plays a lady private eye, while Gary Hope co-stars as her long-suffering sidekick. They go from one life-threatening adventure to another, Modesty Blaise style. As in the original comic strip, the adventure content is overridden by humor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
Gilbert Wynne stars in this British programmer as Harry Clegg, detective. His mission: To track down the crazed prostitute responsible for a string of murders. When he catches up to his quarry, Clegg learns that a wicked man is truly responsible for the carnage. Gilly Grant costars as the killer hooker, who bears the risible moniker Suzy the Slag. Clegg may well be forgettable, but you won't know that for certain unless you see it for yourself--if you can find it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Invited to an airborne costume party, Steed and six other guests find themselves stranded on a desert island. The castaways then learn that there's a highly trained assassin in their midst. As the festivities degenerate into a campy replay of Ten Little Indians, Emma tries to figure out a means of rescuing her partner. As was the case with many fifth-season episodes, this one benefits from a superb guest-star roster, including Donald Sutherland, Brian Blessed, and Charlotte Rampling. Written by Brian Clemens, "The Superlative Seven" first aired in England on April 8, 1967, and made its American TV bow on April 21 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
A British movie originally entitled Licensed to Kill, this is a satire on the James Bond brand of spy which has a bumbling agent attempting to foil the Russian acquisition of a Swedish anti-gravity formula. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Adams, Karel Stepanek, (more)
- 1963
British teens struggle to win the right to vote in this swinging musical from England. When the established political parties pay no mind to the young campaigners and so the youths decide to start their own party and use some of England's most popular singers to help them campaign. Among the artists lending their support are Freddy Cannon, Bobby Vee, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, the Spotniks and Joe Brown and the Breakaways. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Wynter, Bobby Vee, (more)
Adapted from the novel by John Wyndham, this intelligent British monster movie begins with a meteor shower so intensely bright that it blinds the majority of the world's population, rendering them vulnerable to attack from hordes of carnivorous plants known as "Triffidus Celestus" grown from meteor-borne spores. As the plant-monsters continue to multiply and seek human prey, the remaining sighted people join forces to combat the veggie invaders. One such survivor, an American seaman (Howard Keel) whose eyes were bandaged during the meteorite impact, battles his way through the Triffid ranks. Meanwhile, a couple (Kieron Moore and Janette Scott are trapped in a lighthouse. Good production values make this low-budget effort look more expensive than it probably was; the uncredited assistance of Freddie Francis -- who directed several scenes with a second unit -- also helps. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Kieron Moore, (more)
- 1963
One-and-a-half seconds after his election, a muckraking politician is murdered. Hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery, Steed arranges for Cathy to take the dead man's place. But it turns out that the "murder victim" is very much alive, and he intends to detonate a nuclear warhead in London on Guy Fawkes' Day. Originally telecast in England on November 2, 1963 (three days before the annual Guy Fawkes celebration), "November Five" was written by Eric Paise. The significance of its title (and its topicality) was lost to American viewers when the episode made its U.S. TV debut on March 12, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Ian Hendry made his final appearance as Dr. David Keel in this episode, which originally aired on in the December 30, 1961. Steed and Keel go after unscrupulous businessman Lemuel Potts (John Bailey), who has a habit of crushing those less powerful than he. The latest victim is an elderly packager who was cheated out of a shipment of bananas. In true Avengers fashion, the good guys beat the villain at his own game -- several times over. First telecast December 23, 1961 (though it was videotaped several months earlier), "A Change of Bait" was written by Lewis Davidson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
