Grace Kennedy Movies
- 1985
Filmed on location, this first episode of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Six opener (originally telecast in a single two-hour timeslot) finds Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Higgins (John Hillerman) journeying to London at the behest of their boss, novelist Robin Masters. As Higgins explains the duties of managing Masters' new British estate to caretaker Ian MacKerras (Peter Davison), Magnum looks an old war buddy, Geoffrey St. Clair. The detective has been plagued of late by eerie premonitiions suggesting that Geoffrey has met with disaster--and sure enough, no sooner has he arrived than Magnum is informed that Geoffrey has died. Against his better judgement, our hero finds himself falling in love with his unfortunate friend's widow Penelope (Francesca Annis). Meanwhile, Higgins braces himself for a visit with his father, whom he hasn't seen nor spoken to in over thirty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Unleashed just as the disco phenomenon had peaked and was slipping out of public favor, this one-of-a-kind pop musical is set in 1994, when a Mephistophelean entrepreneur named Mr. Boogalow (Vladek Sheybal) controls the international recording industry through the Worldvision Song Contest. Boogalow's wildly theatrical protégés, a decedent dance-pop group called Bim, seem a sure bet to walk off with the grand prize and worldwide fame, but at the last minute Alphie (George Gilmour) and Bibi (Catherine Mary Stewart), a folk duo from Canada, nearly steal their thunder with their song "Love, the Universal Melody." While Boogalow rigs a victory for Bim, he sees moneymaking potential in Alphie and Bibi and offers to sign them to a contract. Alphie, suspicious of Boogalow, declines, but Bibi leaps at the chance, and is soon remodeled into a stylish pop star while heart-broken Alphie throws in his lot with a gang of hippies living in the park. Bibi comes to regard fame and wealth as hollow and empty, but discovers walking away from Boogalow is easier said than done. Featuring an inarguably remarkable finale, The Apple was shot primarily in Germany, despite being set in the United States; while George Clinton is credited with writing lyrics for several of the original tunes, be advised it's not the same George Clinton who led Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s and '80s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Stewart, George Gilmour, (more)
