Claire Kelly Movies
American supporting or character actress, onscreen from the '50s. ~ All Movie Guide
In this thriller, a naive young woman travels from Liverpool to London to search for a man willing to sire her child. She meets a perfectly charming fellow and decides that he is the one. Unfortunately, "Mister Perfect" turns out to be a psychotic killer. The film is also titled Til Dawn Do Us Part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Brazen, determined CEO of the Mother Knows Best Toy Company, Julie Newmar, goes to extremes to convince introverted, sexually repressed company salesman Wally Cox to market the wooden dolls he designs as a hobby. He refuses though. So she persuades her son to hire a prostitute to convince him. Later she finds out the salesman is secretly in love with her, not because she is drop-dead gorgeous, but because she reminds him of his domineering mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Two British nurses -- Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) -- take a vacation in the French countryside. Jane actually wants to tour the countryside, while Cathy wants to spend the time enticing men. After an argument while in a small French village, Jane leaves. When she returns, Cathy is gone. And if that weren't worry enough, it appears that the handsome young man Cathy flirted with on their journey is apparently a sex-crazed serial killer. In a panic, Jane tries to get some help from the villagers, but the townspeople are curiously uncooperative. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Actor Don Murray wrote, produced, and starred in this drama about an alcoholic former serviceman who falls in with gangsters until he has a spiritual awakening and decides to devote his life to helping others. The supporting cast includes Linda Evans, Logan Ramsey, and Angelique Pettyjohn. Also shown under the titles Childish Things, Tale of the Cock, and Cockadoodle-Do. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Murray, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1969
- PG
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Mrs. Marrable (Geraldine Page) is a bereaved widow who takes to hiring housekeepers then kills them for their money in this shadowy macabre drama. When Miss Tinsley (Mildred Dunnick) disappears, her former employer Alice (Ruth Gordon) investigates. Posing as a maid, she gains employment with the murderous Mrs. Marrable. Her nephew Mike (Robert Fuller) helps Alice and manages to fall in love with the girl next door (Rosemary Forsythe). When Alice exposes the murderess, she risks her life, and her disappearance leads to the title of the film. Look for Second City alumnus Peter Bonerz in a minor role. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, (more)
- 1969
- R
Nicol Williamson stars as a Liverpool/Irish layabout who inherits a business from his father. Even in his executive togs, Williamson remains out of step with society. Already a surly sort, Williamson becomes even less likeable as the film progresses, especially when seeking to avenge a long-ago slight against his father. The film is a belated but still compelling entry in Britain's "Angry Young Man" cinematic cycle, with the "protagonist" remaining on top at the expense of his soul. Reckoning was based on The Harp That Once, a novel by Patrick Hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicol Williamson, Ann Bell, (more)
- 1969
Michael Callan guest stars as Harry Springer, an otherwise honest salesman who becomes an amateur extortionist. Actually, Springer's intentions are honorable: He intends to save his brother from a trumped-up murder charge by putting the heat on Alexander York (Simon Scott), prosecution witness whom Harry suspects of being the real killer. Unfortunately, Springer gets in way over his head--and as a result, it's likely that not even Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) can save the salesman from a Mob rub-out. In a rare TV appearance, film favorite Laraine Day is cast as the murder suspect's wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This amusingly weird, painfully threadbare production pits a town of lethargic ex-hippie parents against their own offspring, who have been transformed into pasty-faced zombies (with cute little black fingernails) after their school bus passes through a cloud of radioactive fallout from a nearby nuclear plant. The kids' condition makes it difficult to for their deadbeat parents to reach out to them, thanks to their newly-acquired tendency to turn everyone they touch into an overcooked brisket in two seconds flat. In keeping with zombie-movie rules of engagement (as established in Night of the Living Dead), the bodies begin piling up before the nominal hero (local sheriff Gil Rogers) arrives at an effective zombie-killing method -- which in this case involves cutting off the children's hands. The most entertaining moments in this cheap and silly film come from its painfully bad attempts at horror and -- even more laughable -- social commentary. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In the hip and swingin' London of the '60s, a young window washer, Ginger (Victor Henry) divides his time between picking up the cleaning rag and picking up women in the hip London pubs. One girl he meets is the pretty and demure Jill (Susan George), who his best friend Dwyer (Jack Shephard) takes a shine to. When Ginger agrees to becomes a caretaker at an old man's mansion and a wild party results, he asks Dwyer to look after Jill. Dwyer takes that invitation as a chance to seduce Jill. Later, when Ginger is informed by Jill that she is pregnant, he takes it upon himself to marry her. No sooner are they married than Jill's intimidating mother arrives to announce that she will be taking up quarters with the newlyweds. Now Ginger has to decide whether he should trade in his swingin' ways for a staid domestic life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Henry, Susan George, (more)
Ed Stander (Robert Morse), with the help of an all-star cast, teaches Paul Manning (Walter Matthau) the fine art of philandering in A Guide for the Married Man. Paul, happily married to sexy Ruth (Inger Stevens), has no burning desire to cheat, but Ed makes the prospect sound very attractive. Finally taking the "big step" with a glamorous brunette after months of careful preparation, Paul finds that he loves his wife way too much to betray her -- while the ever-careful Ed ends up in divorce court. Among the myriad of "advisors" peppered throughout Guide for the Married Man are Art Carney, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Jayne Mansfield, Terry-Thomas, and Carl Reiner. The best guest-star vignette features Joey Bishop as a man caught in bed with another woman by his wife -- whereupon he calmly puts on his clothes, straightens up the room, and quietly responds to his wife's outrage by saying "What bed? What girl?" Adapted by Frank Tarloff from his book of the same name, Guide for the Married Man was directed by Gene Kelly, who makes a cameo "appearance" of his own as a voice on a TV set. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, (more)
- 1967
The magnificent Julie Newmar guest stars as April Conquest, the owner of a busy laundromat. Before the episode is half over, all four Monkees have fallen in love with the enchanting April, and all are engaged in an intense rivalry over the lady's affections. Claire Kelly appears as Dr. Sisters, a Joyce Brothers takeoff, while British comedy-writer Digby Wolfe (who later co-created Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In) shows up in a bit as "the man with the paper." Songs: "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere" and the series' theme song. Originally telecast on April 3, 1967, "Monkees Get Out More Dirt" was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The satire in Evelyn Waugh's darkly comic novel The Loved One was originally double-edged. The book was not only an attack on the Southern California funeral industry but also a lampoon of Hollywood's "British colony," those clannish, cricket-playing English actors of years gone by who bemoaned the artificiality of Tinseltown while eagerly accepting the demeaning and insignificant movie roles they were offered. The film version of The Loved One, anxious to live up to its ad-campaign promise of containing "something to offend everybody," downplays the British-colony business (save for the presence of the magnificent Robert Morley) and pumps up the "death" gags. Innocent British poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) falls in love with funeral-home cosmetician Aimee Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), who in turn is loved by prissy funeral director Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger). The latter lives with his obese mother (Ayllene Gibbons), whose eating sequence is far more hilarious (and more tasteless) than many of the film's calculatedly "black" jokes. A huge guest-star cast is headed by Jonathan Winters in a dual role as a funeral home manager and his covetous twin brother, who operates an elaborate pet cemetery. Musician Paul Williams is also on hand as a 13-year-old aeronautics genius who develops a method of sending corpses into "eternal orbit" (a plot device that Waugh neglected to include in his novel). Film historian William K. Everson has commented that The Loved One is one of the best and most underrated comedies of the 1960s. For others, especially those who might feel guilty chuckling at the sight of Anjanette Comer committing suicide with an embalming needle, it's purely a matter of taste...or lack of same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morse, Anjanette Comer, (more)
During the first worldwide flush of Beatlemania in 1964, United Artists wanted to ship out a movie with The Beatles before their vogue was over. Working within a tight $500,000 budget, director Richard Lester turned out A Hard Day's Night in a fast 6 1/2 weeks; the picture was in the theatres three months after shooting commenced. Using a variety of techniques cribbed from Hollywood slapstick comedies, the French "new wave" movement, and his own experiences as a TV-commercial director, Lester, with screenwriter Alun Owen, fashioned an exhilarating study of a "typical" 36 hours in the lives of the Fab Four. Onto a plot about getting to the Big Show on time are hung a series of instant-reaction gags, character vignettes, and musical setpieces. Much of the humor arises from Paul McCartney's efforts to keep his grandfather (Wilfred Brambell), a "clean old man," from getting into mischief. Also good for several laughs is the hookey-playing Ringo Starr, whose mistimed declaration of independence lands him in jail. We are also treated to a war of nerves between the unflappable John Lennon and an uptight TV director (Victor Spinelli), who worries that, should the Beatles not show up at broadcast time, he'll be demoted to "News In Welsh." George Harrison stars in a sequence in which he is mistaken for an auditionee by the producer (Kenneth Haigh) of a superficially trendy, teen-oriented TV weekly. Then there's Norman Rossington and John Junkin as The Beatles' managers, who carry on a battle royale simply because one man is taller than the other. The supporting cast includes comedienne Anna Quayle, cartoonist Bob Godfrey, TV host Robin Ray, dancer Lionel Blair, Harrison's future wife Patti Boyd, and director Lester himself. The songs include "I Should Have Known Better," "And I Love Her," "Tell Me Why," "If I Fell," "Can't Buy Me Love," and the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, (more)
- 1962
Discovered lying on the side of a road, an auto crash victim turns out to have a fortune in diamonds hidden in his stomach. Following the trail of evidence, Steed and Cathy discover that the estate of a dying philanthropist is slowly and methodically being stolen and smuggled out of the country. First telecast November 17, 1962, "Death of a Great Dane" was written by Roger Marshall and Jeremy Scott. The episode was broadcast in America on February 5, 1991 -- and, some 23 years earlier, was refilmed as the "Mrs. Peel" episode "The 50,000-Pound Breakfast." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Viewers know they're in a 1959 comedy film early in the proceedings of Ask Any Girl, when secretary Shirley MacLaine is advised by her new supervisor Jim Backus to wear a sweater "a size too small." But she is a good girl: like Doris Day, she won't offer any carnal favors unless a wedding ring is part of the bargain. She targets irresponsible CEO Gig Young for matrimony, asking Young's sober-sided older brother David Niven to help her out. The highlight of Ask Any Girl is Shirley MacLaine's extended drunk scene in the club car of a commuter train. The film was based on a satirical novel by Winifred Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1958
Snowfire is a family picture in more ways than one. Its producer-directors were brothers Dorrell and Stuart McGowan, the same sibling duo responsible for TV's Death Valley Days; most of the characters are named McGowan; and one of the supporting players is Dorrell McGowan's daughter Melody. The title character is a wild horse who is tamed by young Molly, the daughter of rancher Don Megowan (no relation). The villains try to capture Snowfire for their own nefarious purposes, but Molly manages to outwit the bad guys. Filmed on location at Bryce Canyon, Utah, Snowfire was later re-edited into a 60-minute TV pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Peter Van Hook (Alan Ladd), alias The Dutchman, is nearing the end of a stretch in Yuma Territorial Prison for a gold robbery that he didn't commit. Released early with the unwitting -- and unwilling -- help of fellow inmate John McBain (Ernest Borgnine), he sets about getting even with the men and the mining company whose original owner got him into trouble, in a plan of double- and triple-crosses for which he needs the reluctant help of McBain. The latter wants nothing more than to go back to the life of a rancher -- and then he discovers something equally important in life, when he steps in to help a victimized Mexican woman (Katy Jurado). Suddenly, McBain is very interested in the Dutchman's scheme, and with the help of explosives expert Vincente (Nehemiah Persoff), they pull off what looks like an absolutely perfect robbery of a gold mine -- even the evidence that a crime was committed ends up being covered up. But Cyirl Lounsberry (Kent Smith), the financier who's supposed to fence the gold, has other ideas, and a crooked lawman (Adam Williams) to back him up. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1958
The many undersea exploits of a Navy frogman provide the basis of this episodic adventure based on the true story of naval commander Francis D. Fane. The exciting underwater sequences include actual footage of divers swimming with sharks and a 300-foot dive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Claire Kelly, (more)
- 1956
Taking shaky aim at Tinseltown scandal sheets, this murder mystery centers on an actor who is accused of murdering the reporter who recently smeared his name. As a result of the accusation, the actor loses his studio contract. Fortunately, all is not lost for another is working to prove his innocence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Paul Richards, (more)
- 1956
Several low-budget films came out in the 1950s "exposing" such scandal magazines as Confidential. Most of them came off as sleazy as the publications they were targetting. Republic's Scandal, Inc. is one of the more subdued examples of this genre; in fact, it's so low-key that at times it induces slumber. His good name sullied by a tell-all rag, movie star Robert Hutton threatens dire consequences to the reporter responsible. When that reporter turns up murdered, Hutton is naturally the prime suspect. Attorney Paul Richards takes on Hutton's cause, simultaneously clearing him of the murder charge and the earlier scandal that ruined him in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
