Sheila Keith Movies

John Cleese's knack for mining hilarity from the growing frustration of a dignified gentleman is fully exploited in the British comedy Clockwise. Cleese portrays Brian Stimpson, a perfectionist English headmaster who has been selected to make an important presentation before a group of his peers. When Stimpson sets out upon his journey, however, he finds himself facing a seemingly never-ending series of delays and inconveniences, which range from missing a train to becoming a fugitive from the police. The film goes no deeper than its farcical surface, but is nevertheless consistently entertaining, thanks to former Monty Python member Cleese's precisely tuned transitions from composure to complete collapse. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

The returning soldier is amnesia victim Alan Bates, who remembers nothing of his life before suffering shell-shock--not even his long-term marriage to snooty Julie Christie. Spinsterish Ann-Margret, who has long harbored a fondness for Bates, hopes to take advantage of his memory loss. But both Christie and Ann-Margret are challenged by a third woman, Bates' childhood sweetheart Glenda Jackson. Poor Bates deals with all of this by not dealing with it. A fairly faithful rendition of the Rebecca West novel on which it is based, Return of the Soldier ambles along at its own languid pace to a inconclusive conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British sleaze artist Pete Walker applies his characteristic sleazy, ultra-violent touch to this audacious, Catholic-bashing tale. A deranged, sex-mad priest (Anthony Sharpe) exploits the sanctity of his office as a means of harassing young women who confide their sins in his confessional, recording their confessions in order to blackmail them into doing his vile bidding. Eventually, evidence of these transgressions reaches other members of his parish (including his mother), prompting him to bump them off in creative ways, utilizing the trappings of his profession -- strangulation by rosary, arsenic-laced communion wafers, bludgeoning by incense burner, etc. Much criticism has been leveled against this film for its unabashed attacks on Catholicism, but it's really Walker's trademark amoral approach to filmmaking that elicits a strong urge to take a hot bath after viewing. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

This ghoulishly fun Grand Guignol horror piece from director Pete Walker features a tour-de-force performance by Sheila Keith as Dorothy Yates, who was committed to a mental hospital in 1957 for a series of cannibal-killings along with her devoted husband Edmund (Rupert Davies). They are judged sane and released 18 years later, whereupon they take up residence at an old farm. Edmund's daughter Jackie lives in the city, where she tries to take care of her wild sister Debbie (Kim Butcher), visiting only occasionally and not suspecting a thing. It isn't until Jackie's new psychiatrist boyfriend Graham (Paul Greenwood) starts poking around that she learns the truth. The truth is that Dorothy, far from cured, is drawing people to her home -- through classified ads promising Tarot readings -- and murdering them with metal pokers, electric drills and pitchforks. Not only that, but young Debbie turns out to be a chip off the old butcher-block herself, leading to a gory and harrowing finale. Sheila Keith is outstanding as the crazed Dorothy, and Davies is similarly terrific in a low-key turn as her doting husband, turning a blind eye to his beloved's homicidal lunacy until it is far too late to stop it. A creepy, entertaining bloodbath, Frightmare is highly recommended for horror fans. This 1974 film was rereleased on video in the U.S. during the early 80s and named 'Frightmare II' to advertise it as the sequel to an unrelated film, the 1983 Frightmare directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi