Sean Kelly Movies
First Men in the Moon is an H.G. Welles cinemadaptation from director Nathan Juran. When scientists in the year 1964 are confused by evidence of a long-ago space flight, nonagenarian Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd) explains all. Back in 1899, Bedford, eccentric scientist Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) and heroine Kate Callender (Martha Hyer) took a trip to the moon in a home-made space vehicle. Once on the lunar surface, they encountered an alien civilization resembling an ant colony, complete with "queen," soldiers and workers. How they returned, and the aftereffects of their journey, comprise the film's final third. Peter Finch appears briefly as a messenger; he happened to be visiting the set when the actor hired to play the bailiff's assistant failed to show up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Judd, Lionel Jeffries, (more)
Cliff Robertson and George Chakiris star in this dumbed-down version of The Guns of Navarone. During World War II, the story concerns a Scandinavian underground leader, Erik Bergman (George Chakiris), who reports to British authorities the location of a German V2 fuel plant. As is the case in most World War II action films, the plant is in an impregnable location -- beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a highly defended fjord. The only way the British can hope to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it. In order to do that, light Mosquito aircraft must be utilized. This is the job assigned to Wing Commander Roy Grant's (Cliff Robertson) 633 Squadron. In order to assist Grant in his air attack, Bergman attempts a simultaneous ground attack, but the ground attack fails, and Bergman is captured by the Germans. When he is tortured in their efforts to uncover the RAF plans, Bergman may not be able to withhold the top-secret information. Howard Koch and James Clavell adapted their screenplay from Frederick E. Smith's novel, reportedly based on a true story. Though Koch and Clavell are each known for their excellent writing, Squadron 633 is notable mostly for its adept cinematography from the co-operative effort of John Wilcox and Edward Scaife. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, (more)
- 1963
Follow the Boys attempts to recapture the box-office magic of 1960's Where the Boys Are; sometimes it succeeds. Returning from the earlier film are Connie Francis and Paula Prentiss, here cast as Bonnie Pulaski and Toni Denham, tourists on the French Riviera. Together with their Gallic friend Michelle (Dany Robin), Bonnie and Toni are romanced by three sailors on leave: Smitty (Russ Tamblyn), Pete (Richard Long) and Hulldown (Robert Nichols). Also on hand for the fun are married couple Ben (Ron Randell) and Liz (Janis Paige), the latter justifiably jealous of the former. The plot serves as an excuse for a series of sprightly tunes, including the title number. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1963
An epic and unusual anti-war drama about WWII, writer-director Carl Foreman's heavily ironic saga is loosely based on the novel The Human Kind by Alexander Baron. It follows the adventures of an American infantry platoon based in Sicily that participates in the invasion of France, marches into Germany, and remains there for the Allied post-war occupation. Interspersed during the nearly three-hour film are vignettes of silly newsreel scenes from the home front. These are contrasted with disturbing incidents from the war. George Peppard plays Corporal Chase, who has an affair with a woman who wants him to desert to help her run a black market business. He visits the wounded Sergeant Craig (Eli Wallach) in the hospital and finds that most of his face has been blown away. Sgt. Trower (George Hamilton) takes up with a woman who turns out to be a prostitute The plot is highly episodic, with characters coming and going. Originally released at 175 minutes, the picture was withdrawn from distribution and edited down to 156 minutes to place greater emphasis on onscreen action. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Hamilton, George Peppard, (more)
- 1963
Joe Beckett (Alfred Lynch) forgoes working for a living in this seedy district of London. He hangs out in jazz clubs and chases women, which makes him lose what little money he has remaining. Ex-Army veteran Richard Dyce (Eric Portman) shows up at the club, and the two directionless louts begin to talk. Richard wants his Aunt killed for her money, and Joe agrees to do the deed. He travels to the Aunt's house on the South Coast, but Joe loses his nerve. He accidently pushes the woman to her death, leaving a miniature chess kit behind as evidence he was at the scene of the crime. Richard denies everything, and a stool pigeon sings like a bird to the cops, putting Joe in a gilded cage of his very own. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, (more)
- 1963
This routine wartime drama is set at sea and involves a British convoy trying to elude a group of German U-Boats. After one of the U-Boats is singled out and captured, the British admiral in charge of the current operation hits upon an ingenious but almost suicidal way of defeating the Nazi boats. He orders Lt. Commander Tarlton (Edward Judd) and a group of men to get in the captured U-Boat and then join the other U-Boats as though they had simply wandered off course for awhile. If done quickly and efficiently, Tarlton should be able to radio back the position of the enemy for a fast British offensive. Not an easy task in itself, and made much worse considering that the RAF and other British ships are going to consider the decoy U-Boat to be the enemy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Judd, Laurence Payne, (more)
Loosely based on a novel by John Hersey, this standard wartime drama stars Steve McQueen as Buzz Rickson, command pilot of a B17 bomber, and Robert Wagner as Ed Bolland, his co-pilot. When Buzz first comes on the scene, Ed admires him for his daring and skill in executing the bombing raids over Germany. But as time goes by, Buzz starts to fall for Ed's girlfriend Daphne (Shirley Ann Field) and at the same time, Ed begins to see that Buzz is only good at piloting bombers -- in civilian life he is a total washout. The contrasts between the men, Buzz's internal problems, and the love triangle provide the dramatic fodder throughout the 105-minute running time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, (more)
- 1961
Throughout his life, Stephen Bolt (Sean Kelly) has been tortured by a recurring nightmare, in which he is murdered at the hands of a stranger. This horrible dream has made a nervous wreck of Bolt, losing him the respect of his father and the love of his sweetheart. To purge himself of his inner demons, Stephen describes the face of his "nightmare killer" to a sketch artist, then sets out sea in hopes of finding his murderer and stopping him before the premonition comes true. This is one of several One Step Beyond episodes filmed in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this fast-paced actioner, an aging race-car driver finds that he is losing his competitive edge. He tries racing under the sponsorship of an American tire company. He soon falls in love with the sponsor's daughter who pleads with him to stop driving. Adding more pressure to the man's life is his younger brother who swore to his mother that he would not drive until his older brother retires. The older brother still wants to prove himself, and so enters a 1,000-mile Italian race. When his mechanic-navigator is killed, the aging driver quits and the younger brother finally gets to drive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Travers, Ed Begley, Sr., (more)
- 1959
The otherwise routine story and themes of this comedy are greatly balanced by talents of Anthony Newley as Jeep Jackson, a singing idol called up to serve in the British army and Lionel Jeffries as Bertie, a fussbudget adjutant. One of Jackson's superior officers is the brash Sgt. Lush (William Bendix) whose bark is much worse than his bite. Aside from the usual army types, Caroline (Anne Aubrey), the commander's daughter, adds a romantic nuance to the story when she falls for Jackson. And as in any story about a pop singer anywhere, Jackson manages to belt out a few songs. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Bendix, Anthony Newley, (more)
- 1959
Bandit of Zhobe is what actor Hans Conried once described as a "western in burnoose." Victor Mature plays the title character, one Kasim Khan. Cutting a swath of terror and pillage through India, Kasim Khan pauses only to romance the romanceable Anne Aubrey. Khan's principal foes are the British, who have wiped out his family--or so he thinks, until set aright in the final scenes. Anthony Newley co-stars as a comedy-relief British tommy, behaving as though he's just wandered in from another movie. Bandit of Zhobe was coproduced by Albert Broccoli, on the verge of bigger and better things as one of the mentors of the James Bond series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Anne Aubrey, (more)
- 1958
In this WW II adventure, five brave Allies endeavor to escape from an Italian POW camp in North Africa. They succeed, but their trials are not over as they must still cross the burning Libyan desert to get safely behind Allied lines. En route they are captured by a Nazi-loving sheik. The sheik takes considerable time to decide the fate of the escapees; in that time, the five manage to escape again. This time they kill their captors. The film is also titled No Time to Die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Anthony Newley, (more)
- 1958
A stellar cast redeems the tawdry European-filmed melodrama 3DThe Man Inside3D. Nigel Patrick plays Sam Carter, a mild-mannered British clerk who spends half his life fantasizing about stealing a valuable diamond. When he is finally able to pull off this heist, it is at the cost of another man's life. Escaping to the Continent, Sam lives like a king, throwing his money around and romancing an unending stream of willing females. Private detective Milo March (Jack Palance) suspects that Sam is in some way tied in with the jewel theft, as are several less reputable types. Among the latter category are femme fatale Trudie Hall (Anita Ekberg) and two-bit crooks Lomer (Bonar Colleano, whose last film this was) and Rizzio (Sean Kelly). Anthony Newley also shows up briefly as a comedy-relief cabbie. If 3DThe Man Inside3D seems like a dry run for the "James Bond" films of the 1960s, it may be because the film was produced by Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and scripted by Richard Maibaum, both mainstays of the Bond series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, (more)
In Nicholas Ray's WWII drama, two British officers, Captain Leith (Richard Burton) and Major Brand (German character actor Curd Jürgens, who would later play Bond foe Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me), a South African, are being considered to lead a daring raid to steal crucial documents from a Nazi stronghold in Libya. The two don't seem particularly fond of each other. Brand's wife, Jane (Ruth Roman of Strangers on a Train), arrives on the base. There's an odd awkwardness when Brand introduces her to Leith at the officers' club. It turns out the two already know each other, intimately. They were romantically involved long ago, until Leith broke it off without warning. Jane later met Brand. Leith and Jane keep their relationship a secret from Brand, but he realizes something's up when he goes out for a bit and comes back to find them dancing together. He later gets angry when his wife slips up and refers to Leith as "Jimmy." Brand and Leith are chosen to lead the mission together. Jane says goodbye to Leith, and Wilkins (Nigel Green of The Ipcress File) and some other soldiers see them together. The raid goes fairly smoothly, until Brand can't bring himself to kill a German sentry, and Leith feels compelled to step in and do it for him. Brand's resentment of Leith grows. The team steals the documents and heads out across the desert to make their escape. They're attacked by a German patrol, and after the melee, Brand arouses suspicious when he orders Leith to stay with three badly wounded soldiers while the rest of the group leaves for the rendezvous point. Bitter Victory is based on the novel by René Hardy. Jean-Luc Godard famously said of the film in his review, "Nicholas Ray is cinema." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Curd Jürgens, (more)
- 1957
In this drama, the commanding officer of a British Royal Air Force flight training school must deal with an ornery, irresponsible cadet. The lad reminds the officer of himself when he was young. It also reminds him that his own youthful arrogance and foolishness caused the death of the new recruit's father. The young man only settles down when the C.O. saves him during maneuvers. The boy is injured during the flight which gives him serious pause for thought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, (more)
