Ursula Howells Movies

Joan Hickson stars as Miss Jane Marple in this made-for-TV adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery tales. An odd advertisement appears in the Chipping Cleghorne Gazette, which announces that a murder will take place on October 5 at 7 p.m. at a cottage in Little Paddocks. While the neighbors and assembled curiosity seekers who show up are expecting some sort of a stunt, it turns out the advertiser was good to their word, and three shots ring out, leaving a man dead. So who is the killer, and why did they commit such a bizarre crime? Could it be retiree Mrs. Blacklock (Ursula Howells), her cousins Julia (Samantha Bond) or Patrick (Simon Shepherd), her close friend Miss Bunner (Renee Asherson), or gardener Mrs. Haymes (Nicola King), all of whom happened to be living at the scene of the crime? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A sort of mannered, British version of The Odd Couple (1970), this drama won four of the seven major BAFTA Awards for which it was nominated. Albert Finney stars as Reggie Cunningham-Jarvis, a former Royal Air Force squadron leader who is utterly debilitated by the death of his wife, allowing his estate to decay. At the suggestion of a social worker, Reggie is paired with Roy Southgate (Tom Courtenay), a retired milkman, orderly homebody, and fellow recent widower. Roy moves in and begins caring for Reggie's manor, and an unlikely friendship between the two men develops, although Reggie treats Roy more as a servant than a roommate. Their relationship becomes tested, however, with the arrival of Lizzie Franks (Joanna Lumley), a shop owner hoping to seduce Reggie for his riches. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

This lugubrious spy yarn finds Philip Scott (Stephen Boyd) posing as a toy manufacturer to hide his real purpose in life. He and his faithful operative Harris (Michael Redgrave) battle the evil Smith (Leo McKern) in Austria, England and West Germany. Toni Peters (Camilla Sparv) is the love interest in Philip's life, which is in constant danger from shadowy spies and double agents. The low-key direction ends up having no key to unlock anyone's imagination, but there's nothing inspiring about much of anything in this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Though Roger Moore was born in England and established himself as star of the British TV series The Saint, Crossplot represents Moore's very first British theatrical film. He stars as an advertising executive swept up in a plot to murder a visiting African statesman. Lensed in "swinging" London, the film is "mod" to an almost depressing degree, obscuring what is at base a solid espionage thriller. Moore ultimately thwarts the villains by decoding a message secreted in a crossword puzzle -- hence the film's title. A climactic shootout in Hyde Park tops this dry run for Roger Moore's subsequent stint as James Bond. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with David Hewitt's abominable Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (AKA The Blood Suckers), this clever horror omnibus is one of the better early anthologies from Amicus Productions, thanks to Freddie Francis' stylish direction and a tongue-in-cheek approach from writer Milton Subotsky (who would later apply the same sardonic treatment to the EC Comics-based productions Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror). The framing story is set in a train car, where five passengers have their fortunes told by the all-seeing Dr. Schreck (Peter Cushing), who refers to his ominous tarot deck as his "House of Horrors." Their respective stories involve all manner of occult happenings: a jazz musician's involvement with a voodoo curse; an estate haunted by a werewolf; a doctor (Donald Sutherland) who suspects that his wife has become a vampire; a cottage besieged by a monster kudzu vine; and the most entertaining segment, in which arrogant art critic Christopher Lee is avidly pursued by a snubbed artist's severed hand. In the end, it doesn't take a jaded horror buff to deduce Schreck's true identity or the ultimate destination of the train passengers, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. Not all of the stories work (the vampire story's "twist" ending is rather silly, the voodoo tale painfully dated), and the effects are generally sub-par, but Francis keeps the pace snappy throughout, giving the entire film a throwaway, Halloween spook-house feel. Hammer horror fans will certainly find this a keeper on the strength of Cushing and Lee's performances. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Three generations of a Scottish clan are chronicled in this melodramatic saga. The film starts with the death of a sickly med student in a Glasgow slum. His fiancee also dies in childbirth. Her brother, who survives, begins raising her baby girl who grows up to have an affair with a lab assistant. Her "father" disapprove and threatens to destroy the wedding. She retaliates by poisoning him and then gets married. She bears a son. Unfortunately she has never recovered from the guilt of her earlier murder and ends up taking her own life. Later her son grows up to discover a vaccine for a fatal disease. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the recent success of The Blue Lamp, I Believe in You is a multiplotted British drama about parole officers. Several short character vignettes pass our way as the film studies the various methods employed by the officers in dealing with their charges. The film settles upon Cecil Parker, a compassionate official who takes special interest in the parolees. Parker tries simultaneously to reform a hardened criminal, and to dissuade a budding juvenile delinquent from a life of perdition. The semi-documentary approach established early in I Believe in You gives way to sentiment as the film winds down. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the summer of 1937, wealthy timber importer William Cazalet (Frederick Treves) and his wife, Kitty (Ursula Howells), host their children -- Hugh, Edward, Rupert, and Rachel -- and grandchildren for an extended holiday at William's idyllic Sussex estate. At dinner, William invites Rupert (Paul Rhys), a struggling artist, to join his other two sons, Hugh and Edward, in his thriving firm. Idealistic Rupert declines the offer. While attempting to justify his decision to his self-centered wife, Zoe (Joanna Page), whom he married after his first wife died, Rupert also must cope with his adolescent daughter's resentment of her stepmother. Meanwhile, rumors of war with Germany unsettle the family, and they monitor radio broadcasts closely. Hugh (Hugh Bonneville) knows well the perils of soldiery. In the Great War, he lost the use of his left hand and suffered a head injury that causes recurring headaches. His wife, Sybil (Anastasia Hille), worries about him, and he in turn worries about her, especially when her health mysteriously declines. Edward (Stephen Dillane), on the other hand, worries only about getting caught cheating on his wife, Villy (Lesley Manville), who is pregnant. His lustful behavior becomes truly detestable when he gropes his own daughter. His sister, spinster Rachel (Catherine Russell), is his opposite: reserved, always thinking of others. But a secret longing distresses her, and she vies with it in silence. Meanwhile, Villy, Zoe, and Edward's mistress all become pregnant; Sybil develops cancer; Rupert enlists when the Nazis go on the march; and a nephew comes to the Cazalet estate to escape his autocratic father. The war, familial conflict, and Sybil's illness test the family as never before. The final two hours of the six-hour saga reveal whether the Cazalets have the mettle to choose selflessness over self. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Rex Harrison is The Constant Husband in this delightful British comedy. It all begins when amnesia victim Charles Hathaway (Harrison) tries to reconstruct his past with the aid of psychiatrist Llewellyn (Cecil Parker). Our hero would have been better off had his memory remained lost: Llewellyn discovers that he's had seven wives -- simultaneously! Lady lawyer Chesterman (Margaret Leighton) tries to keep Llewellyn out of jail, though in fact he'd prefer incarceration to multiple matrimony. Of the seven spouses, Kay Kendall (the real-life Mrs. Rex Harrison) stands out with a sparkling comic characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

American actor Alex Nicol heads the cast of the British crime melodrama The Gilded Cage. Nicol and Michael Alexander play Steve and Harry Anderson, a pair of siblings who become involved in an art theft. Accused of leading the crooks, Harry is thrown into the pokey. Steve, a customs inspector, spends the rest of the film trying to prove his brother's innocence. Gilded Cage was produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman, the same team responsible for the TV adventure series The Saint. Veronica Hurst, an English actress best known for her work in the American horror melodrama The Maze, is the woman in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a Mafioso decides to go straight and turn states evidence against the mob. The mob retaliates by kidnapping the squealer's son. To get him back, the ex-gangster enlists the aid of a dancer, a worker for the American embassy, and Scotland Yard. At the end of it all, the boy is returned and the Mafia is temporarily destroyed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide