Pauline Jameson Movies

Tony Richardson attempts to re-create the glory days of Tom Jones in this adaptation of the 1742 Henry Fielding novel. Peter Firth stars in this picaresque tale as Joseph Andrews, a young servant switched at birth who undergoes a series of romantic escapades. Joseph even has the fortune of becoming the personal footman to Lady Booby (Ann-Margaret). Joseph's romantic peccadilloes cause consternation among a collection of stuffy noblemen and women in 18th-century England. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Night Watch a suspenseful, under-rated thriller tells the story of a lonely, unhappily married woman who believes that she sees a murder committed in the deserted house across her courtyard. Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor) spends her nights alone, drinking, wandering around her living room, and looking out the window. One night she witnesses a murder. She calls the police, who investigate, but find nothing. Her husband John (Laurence Harvey) believes that she has imagined the entire thing, but her friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw), while skeptical, is sympathetic to her deeply troubled friend. Director Brian G. Hutton fills the film with a number of distracting red-herrings and directs with a leisurely pace which tends to lessen the suspense. However, Taylor is splendid in the central role of a woman who seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she creates a sympathetic believable character. Laurence Harvey, in his final performance, is less effective but is believable as the neglectful, emotionally abusive husband. Night Watch has a bloody, surprise ending, which while stretching credibility, is perfectly in keeping with the melodramatic intensity created by Taylor. Night Watch, reminiscent in some respect of Gaslight will be of interest to fans of Elizabeth Taylor and should entertain any fan of psychological thrillers. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Murder Most Foul represented Margaret Rutherford's third appearance as Agatha Christie's spinsterish sleuth Miss Marple. The film opens with Marple serving on a murder-trial jury. She forces a mistrial because she considers the accused to be innocent; to prove her theory, she traces the trail of evidence to a down-at-the-heels repertory company run by Ron Moody. She auditions for the troupe with a stirring rendition of "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," securing the job by flashing a roll of bills in front of the covetous Moody. While snooping about backstage, Miss Marple discovers both murderer and motive-and, as is customary in the "Marple" films, she nearly loses her own life in the process. Based on the Agatha Christie novel Mrs. McGinty's Dead, Murder Most Foul co-stars Margaret Rutherford's real-life husband Stringer Davis as Marple's friend and confidante Mr. Stringer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a standard yet uneven drama featuring Judy Garland as Jenny Bowman, a powerful singer who obviously has a passion for the stage and performing. At the same time, she once had a passion for a certain British doctor, David Donne (Dirk Bogarde), that resulted in the birth of a baby boy. Unwilling to be a mom at this point in her career, Jenny gives the boy over to David, and he raises him as though he were an adopted son. David marries, and he and Jenny go their separate ways until many years have passed and, finding herself in London again, Jenny decides to visit her son. David is now a widower, and romantic sparks fly once he and Jenny get together -- raising the question of whether her passion for the stage is still stronger than her passion for David. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

After several years' absence, Dirk Bogarde returns to the popular British "Doctor" film series in Doctor in Distress. Where once Bogarde's Dr. Simon Sparrow was naive and wide-eyed, he is a bit more urbane in this edition. He even manages to offer romantic advice to his old mentor/nemesis Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson Justice). Sparrow's efforts to smooth the path for Sir Lancelot's amorous pursuit of physiotherapist Barbara Murray puts a strain on his own relationship with comely Samantha Eggar. Doctor in Distress is based on characters created by Dr. Richard Gordon, though the story is an original and not an adaptation of a Gordon novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two Living, One Dead examines the pitfalls of hero worship, and the culpability of the media in fostering misguided adulation. A robbery and murder is committed in a British pub, during which Bill Travers, a friend of the dead man, apparently acts with rare courage. His companion Patrick McGoohan, also apparently, did not lift a finger to help during the holdup. Travers is lauded publicly as a hero, while McGoohan is condemned as a coward. When the truth comes out, Travers is exposed not only for his feet of clay but for his intimate involvement in the fatal incident. Two Living, One Dead is an undeservedly obscure work from a major British director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A beautiful and wealthy woman in the market for a husband believes she has found the right man -- only to discover he isn't especially interested, in this comedy based on a play by George Bernard Shaw. Epifania Parerga (Sophia Loren) is a woman who has inherited a vast fortune, making her the wealthiest woman on Earth. All Parerga really wants is a happy marriage, but her first stab at matrimony, with Alastair (Gary Raymond), is a disaster, and when she visits a psychiatrist in hopes of learning what she did wrong, her analyst, Dr. Adrian (Dennis Price), attempts to seduce her. Parerga is nearly ready to give up when she meets Dr. Ahmed el Kabir) (Peter Sellers), a shy and well-mannered Indian physician who operates a clinic for the underprivileged. While Kabir is personable, he seems to have no interest in Parerga's money and is unfazed by her beauty; convinced he can love her simply for who she is, Parerga decides Kabir is the man for her. However hard Parerga tries to throw herself at him, Kabir refuses to budge, and even after she bankrolls a new clinic for him, he does not respond to her advances. Eventually, Parerga offers Kabir a challenge -- she bets him that he can't triple his profits at his new clinic in three months, while he in turn wagers her that she cannot live without money for the same period of time. A spin-off of the The Millionairess was a novelty song called "Goodness Gracious Me", in which Sellers and Loren duetting as a doctor from India and his alluring patient; a recording of the tune became a hit single in the United Kingdom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a young British factory worker living in the 1930s chucks his job in favor of motorcycle racing. He is quite successful, becomes an egomaniac, loses his wife, and learns his lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide