Sam Kydd Movies

An old-fashioned drama about old-fashioned values in an old-fashioned town called Shillingbury, this conventional film may not be quite the ticket for a more cynical, demanding audience (whatever their age). Pop musician Peter (Robin Nedwell) and his wife Sally (Diane Keen) take refuge in Shillingbury when their mod, mad life in the Big City gets more than they can handle. The problem is that the small town's band assaults the senses, especially the musical senses, every time the group gathers to play. They can empty out a room quicker than a fire alarm. So Peter agrees to take them on, coach them, and bring back an audience. As a result, the band members rebel because they love their old leader, Saltie (Trevor Howard) and resent his being shoved aside. Their rebellion, it turns out, produces exactly the opposite of what everyone in the town had expected, including themselves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The British "Confessions" film series was reminiscent of the "Carry On" series, albeit far, far dirtier. Many fans consider the first entry, Confessions of a Window Cleaner, to be the best of the batch. Based on a supposedly autobiographical novel by Timothy Lea, the film stars Robin Askwith as an apprentice window washer with a voyeuristic streak. Nearly everyone with whom Askwith comes in contact is an oversexed, underdressed female. Potato-shaped
Dandy Nichols plays the protagonist's mother. An anachronism even before it was released, Confessions of a Window Cleaner was nonetheless successful enough to inspire several sequels, none of which were released to American theatres. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

10 Rillington Place is the true story of British mass murderer John Reginald Christie, played with chilling "normality" by Richard Attenborough. Throughout the late '40s, Christie lures middle-aged women to his London flat promising to cure their ailments with nitrous oxide, then kills them, assaults their dead bodies, and buries them. One of his victims is Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson), who misguidedly comes to Christie seeking an abortion -- and in the process, not only loses her own life, but sets in motion a horrid sequence of events that threatens to endanger her husband as well. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A spaceman -- with a raygun -- for hire takes on a crooked land baron in this drama that moves Western themes into outer space. In the year 2021, Bill Kemp (James Olson), the first man to walk on Mars, is an astronaut for hire, renting his services to the highest bidder. J.J. Hubbard (Warren Mitchell) is a multi-millionaire who pays Kemp to help blast an oncoming asteroid out of its orbit so that it will avoid the Earth and crash into the moon. However, Hubbard's goal is hardly benevolent. The moon is being excavated for mineral resources, and since fragments of the asteroid in question resemble jewels, it will allow Hubbard to fraudulently jack up land prices on the lunar surface. Kemp also learns that Hubbard was responsible for the death of the brother of Clementine Taplin (Catherine Schell), the woman he loves. Kemp realizes that he can no longer do business with Hubbard, and he sets out to foil Hubbard's schemes before it's too late. Moon Zero Two was directed by Roy Thomas Baker, who also made a number of pictures for Hammer Films, including the respected sci-fi cult film Quatermass and the Pit. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The British television series Til Death Do Us Part was the forerunner to the American TV hit All in the Family. The original series' Archie Bunker was Alf Garnett, a bigoted, profane cockney played by Warren Mitchell. The "Edith" was the dimwitted Else, portrayed by Dandy Nichols. The British series' catchphrase was not "Stifle yerself, dingbat" but instead "You silly moo!" Eschewing the heavy-handed social commentary indulged in by All in the Family producer Norman Lear, Til Death Do Us Part existed principally to invoke loud (and sometime embarrassed) gusts of laughter. Several feature films were spun off from the property: the first of these, Alf 'N' Family flashed back to Alf and Else's marriage, skipped ahead to the wedding of the Garrett's daughter Rita (Una Stubbs) to unwashed hippie Mike (Anthony Booth), and concluded with the family's move from their crowded flat to a home in the suburbs. Alf 'N' Family was scripted by Til Death Do Us Part creator Johnny Speight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An experiment gone wrong gives new meaning to the saying "you can't get there from here" in this sci-fi drama. Professor Steiner (Bryant Halliday) is a scientist working on a machine that will "project" matter from one place to another; while he's making considerable progress, the device is not yet perfect. Steiner believes that he's close to a breakthrough, but his superior Dr. Blanchard (Norman Wooland) doesn't believe in the project and cuts off Steiner's funding. Not willing to give up on his invention, Steiner learns that visiting researcher Prof. Lembach (Gerard Heinz) might be willing to back him, so with the help of his assistant Shelia (Tracey Crisp), he attempts to "project" himself into Lembach's hotel room with his experimental machine. However, the equipment goes awry, and Steiner emerges as a hideous electrically charged mutant whose touch can kill, sending him on a spree of revenge against those who tried to stop him. The Projected Man was the sole directorial credit for TV writer Ian Curteis. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this thriller, an insurance detective looks into a car crash and discovers that it is part of a scam. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Risk is a mild melodrama concerning the political aspects of germ warfare. A group of British scientists led by Peter Cushing develop a means of wiping out the bubonic plague and typhus. Unfortunately the method is variable enough to run the risk of spreading the very diseases it is designed to destroy. When the British government refuses to allow the results of the experiments to be published, the scientists seek out support from a big-time publisher (Raymond Huntley) who has his own diabolical agenda. The Risk has moments of genuine tension, though not enough to fully realize the storyline's potential. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this romantic adventure set in Italy around 1815, a courageous soldier endeavors to find a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. He then escorts the daughter of a murdered explorer on a quest to find the map they need to locate the loot. The daughter doesn't trust the soldier, but after he kills a few of their foes, she changes her mind. Finally, after many adventures, they find the valuable chest, but upon opening it, they find it to be filled with nothing but chains and ropes as the real treasure was aboard a different ship. Somehow the two seekers are not too disappointed as along the way, they have fallen in love. The film is also titled Treasure of Monte Cristo. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This romp through the comedic world of spy-chase stories starts with Dick Lanchester (David Tomlinson), a less-than-brilliant British diplomat, taking an atomic scientist to a NATO meeting. A simple escort service turns into disaster when the so-called scientist steals major secrets and escapes with the sensitive material on a roll of film -- but not for long. The precious negatives are gobbled up by a racehorse, and the chase begins. The scientist and his fellow spies are after the racehorse, the British security network is after the spies, and meanwhile, there is the matter of how to retrieve the film... ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When an ex-con changes his name and tries to make a new start, everything seems to conspire against him in his efforts. First of all, he is trying to fend of the attentions of his boss' wife. Then, to make things worse, an ex-cellmate shows up and blackmails him by threatening to tell about his past. Push comes to shove and our man, innocent of any crime, winds up back in jail with a murder conviction hanging on him. Not as interesting as it sounds. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi