Vincent Ball Movies

Directed by Craig Lahiff, Black and White is a story about bigotry, social injustice, and a real-life murder trial that made Australian headlines in the late '50s. On a December afternoon in 1958, the body of a nine-year-old white girl is discovered in a cave off the coast of Southern Australia. Detective Paul Turner (Roy Billing) quickly arrests a half-aboriginal fair-worker named Max Stuart (David Ngoombujarra), who signs a confession. However, being that Max is illiterate, the legitimacy of the confession is contested by his legal aid representatives, David O'Sullivan (Robert Carlyle) and Helen Devaney (Kerry Fox). Despite the questionable confession, Max is found guilty by the all-white, all-male jury, and sentenced to be hanged. O'Sullivan lodges a series of appeals, but no conclusive evidence of Max's guilt or innocence has been found to this day. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Sex, religion, and morality are the key ingredients in this Australian comedy set in the 1930s. Rev. Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant) is a liberal, forward-thinking Anglican priest who is sent on an unusual assignment. Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill) is a popular and highly controversial artist whose paintings often feature voluptuous nude women; his latest major exhibition is to feature a work called The Crucified Venus, which depicts a naked female impaled on a cross. Outraged, the Anglican Bishop of Sydney wants Campion to visit Lindsay and persuade him to remove the work from his show. Rev. Campion and his wife, Estella (Tara Fitzgerald), travel to Lindsay's Blue Mountain estate, where the artist is hard at work with a bevy of lovely nude models in tow, including Sheela (Elle MacPherson), Giddy (Portia de Rossi), and Pru (Kate Fischer). The Reverend is quietly appalled by the open sensuality of Lindsay's household, and Estella is mortified; they're even more upset when Lindsay calmly but firmly refuses to remove The Crucified Venus from his show. However, the longer the Campions stay with Lindsay in hopes of changing his mind, the more they find themselves drawn into the sensuous pleasures of his world. Sirens was based on an actual incident and Norman Lindsay was a real artist of the period (his life was depicted in the film Age of Consent, in which he was played by James Mason). But audiences were probably less interested in art and cultural history than in the opportunity to see supermodel Elle MacPherson appear undraped; she also gives a fine and charming comic performance, as do Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Pop star Phil Collins abandoned his usually sunny persona for a more sinister role in this unusual comedy thriller from Australia. Jonathan Wheats (Hugo Weaving) and his best friend Michael Allen (Peter Mochrie) have a fondness for pranks and a childish sense of humor that is a frequent source of aggravation for his wife Beth (Josephine Byrnes). One night, Beth arrives home in the midst of a robbery. She impulsively grabs a crossbow and kills the masked intruder, who appears to be Michael. While the law clears Beth in what is judged to be an accidental death, Jonathan files the claim on the stolen property including a silver cutlery set. But the insurance company sends out Roland Copping (Collins) to investigate the crime; Copping has a strange kind of wit to rival Jonathan's, as well as a bitter and vengeful streak against the couple who he feels are trying to cheat him. Frauds was the debut feature for writer and director Stephan Elliott, whose next film would be the international hit The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Phar Lap, the legendary New Zealand-bred racing horse, is as well-known today for his mysterious death as for his fabulous accomplishments in life. Beginning at the end, the film flashes back to the day that Phar Lap, despite his lack of pedigree, is purchased on impulse by trainer Harry Telford (Martin Vaughan). Phar Lap loses his first races, but Telford's faith in the animal is unshakable. Suddenly the horse becomes a winner, thanks to the love and diligence of stableboy Tommy Woodcock (Tom Burlinson). American-promoter Dave Davis (Ron Leibman) arranges for Phar Lap to be entered in several top races, where his "long shot" status results in heavy losses for the professional gamblers. Just after winning an important race in Mexico, Phar Lap collapse and dies; though the film never comes out and says as much, it is assumed that the horse was "murdered" by the gambling interests. The film is based on a book by Michael Wilkinson. The real-life Tommy Woodcock appears in the film as an elderly trainer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After receiving a cryptic warning while playing with a Ouija board, a young woman (Joanne Samuel) becomes more than a little apprehensive about her upcoming 19th birthday party. It seems her late father is sending her a message, attempting to dissuade her from attending the celebration at the cottage of her aunt and uncle -- where a secret society of Druids plan to offer her body as a vessel for an ancient Celtic god. This small, low-key Australian production features some interesting plot twists and a fair amount of suspense, and is marked by the appealing presence of Samuel (the doomed wife of Mel Gibson's Mad Max). Produced by actor David Hemmings and released initially in 1979, the film was eventually picked up for U.S. distribution in 1984. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Some time after retiring, an international courier is re-hired to deliver a dangerous package to Australia. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Not Tonight Darling runs the gamut from soft-core silliness to turgid melodrama. Luan Peters plays a beautiful suburbanite, tired of her husband and her empty lifestyle. Businessman Vincent Ball enters Luan's life, armed with little more than a smooth line. Luan falls in lust with Ball-the first step towards her descent into the world of crime. The moral (?) of Not Tonight Darling seems to be "get a hobby and stay with hubby". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Don Chaffey's Sex Clinic stars Georgina Ward as a woman who runs the title business. She offers an outlet for those with more unusual sexual kinks, but in turn blackmails those same customers. Georgina becomes involved in a lesbian relationship, and her son has come sniffing around trying to connect with his estranged mother. The supporting cast includes Maria Coyne, Windsor Davies, and Carmen Silvera. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

An expensive but enormously profitable war picture, Where Eagles Dare centers upon a daring rescue and even more daring escape. Disguised as Nazi officers, commandoes Maj. John Smith (Richard Burton), Lt. Morris Schaffer Clint Eastwood and six other courageous souls parachute behind enemy lines. Their mission: to rescue an American general, held captive in a supposedly impenetrable Alpine castle. Aiding and abetting the commandoes are Allied undercover agents Mary (Mary Ure) and Heidi (Ingrid Pitt). Also on hand is a British officer (Patrick Wymark), who masterminded the mission. Somewhere, somehow, someone amongst the Allies is going to turn out to be a traitor. There's also a neat plot twist in store when the commandoes manage to reach the American general -- which leads to yet another twist. The vertigo-inducing climax has made Where Eagles Dare one of the most sought-after of "early" Eastwood starring features. The film was written directly for the screen by espionage novelist Alistair MacLean. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

From Richard Lester, the director of 1980's Superman II and the 1964 A Hard Day's Night, comes this less-successful sequel to the The Mouse that Roared. The Prime Minister of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Ron Moody) is in a bind because he has no money to renovate his castle and there is a serious problem with his small country's main export, wine. The stuff tends to explode. So the Prime Minister asks the U.S. for aid to develop space research, knowing full well they are not going to give him money to remodel his castle. Once the U.S. grants a cool million to the country, Russia adds in a used rocket, and things start popping. Like it or not, the Duchy is suddenly involved in space research and contributing to the madness is the discovery that its unique wine makes good rocket fuel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The "WHO" in A Matter of Who isn't a "who" but a "what". The word is an anagram for the World Health Organization, a curious subject for a British comedy--especially one which utilizes a communicable disease as a plot device! WHO operatives Terry-Thomas and Alex Nicol trace the outbreak of a smallpox epidemic to ruthless oil millionaire Guy Deghy. Offsetting the (literal) unhealthiness of the plotline is Terry-Thomas' romance with Sonja Ziemann, the widow of a smallpox victim. A Matter of WHO was picked up for U.S. distribution by MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi