Peadar Lamb Movies

Zach Gray helms the Gaelic-flavored, spiritually charged mystery Secret of the Cave -- one of the first major cinematic productions of Southern Adventist University. The story unfurls on the idyllic, rocky coasts of Ireland, where a young boy, Roy Wallace (Kevin Novotny), is spending the summer with his Irish dad (Patrick Bergin of Love Crimes and Sleeping with the Enemy). Soon, inexplicable, otherworldly events befall the village, and rumors swirl through its streets of strange spirits and hauntings. Initially, Roy tries to tie these events to any number of locals -- everyone from an oddball hermit to an eccentric fisherman. He also notices that each event impacts the hamlet in a beneficial way. In time, Roy traces the events to their origin -- a strange sea cave characterized by many as a source of enchantment -- and vows to unveil the grotto's mystical secrets. Joseph Kelly and Sean Murphy co-star; Gray, Scott Fogg, David George, and Aaron Adams co-adapted Arthur S. Maxwell's children's novel. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A young, priest falls irredeemably from grace in this Irish drama that is comprised of two films put together. He is defrocked and sent to a home for troubled priests. There he meets a bishop who has come home after being exiled to remote missions overseas after he too stumbled and fell. The younger priest, an alcoholic child-molester, encourages him to tell his story. When the bishop was but a young pastor himself and stationed on a lonely island, he was confronted with a suicidal lass whom he took into his household as a servant and later into his bed as a secret lover. They were quite happy until they realized that she was pregnant. He then confessed his actions to his parishioners; the ensuing scandal caused the girl to flee the island, and he lost his parish. Later he was promoted to bishop. Much of the bishop's downfall was filmed silently in sepia-tones; his present-day story was filmed in black and white with dialogue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The first theatrical feature for director Michael White, The Railway Station Man is based on the novel by Jennifer Johnston and tells the story of an Irish woman, played by Julie Christie, recently widowed when her husband is killed by the IRA. As she slowly attempts to recover from the tragedy, she meets an American man, played by Donald Sutherland, who is in town working on the railroad station. When the two grow closer, she finds herself torn between romantic feelings and suspicions about the mysterious man's past. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Richard Harris was nominated for several awards (including the Oscar and Golden Globe) for his performance in The Field. The time is the mid-1930s; the place, western Ireland. For many years rugged individualist Bull McCabe (Harris) has been cultivating a small plot of rented land, nurturing it from barren rock into a fertile field. Now, however, the widow who owns the land plans to sell it at auction. The infuriated Bull shows up at the bidding, secure in his belief that none of his neighbors will dare bid against him. But Bull has not taken into consideration a wealthy Irish-American (Tom Berenger), who intends to pave over the land and bring new industry to the area. "This is deep, very deep, deeper than you think" warns Bull, as he sends his grown son (Sean Bean) to "persuade" the American to withdraw his bid. Armed with the foreknowledge that Bull's tenacity has caused heartbreak and tragedy in the past, the audience steels itself for the awful consequences still to come. Punctuating the storyline are the periodic appearances of the toothless village idiot, played by John Hurt. Originally produced for British television, The Field was based on the landmark play by John B. Keane, and directed by My Left Foot's Jim Sheridan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thoughtful black-and-white drama, the story of a priest living and working on Clare Island in County Mayo, Ireland is shown. Except for his vocation, he is a fairly normal fellow, so when a lovely woman is fished out of the sea and delivered into his care, he can't help but notice that she's easy to look at. Eventually she becomes his housekeeper, and before too long she is his mistress. Soon, she is visibly pregnant, and the priest must explain to his tolerant parishioners what has been going on. However, he must also explain the same events to his considerably less-understanding bishop. The way he chooses to do this is to write a novel about the whole thing. The ensuing publicity upsets the bishop even more than the events themselves, and throughout the film the bishop is seen writing his response to this errant shepherd. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This film of the wartime exploits of Baron Von Richthoven, who was also known as the "Red Baron," was a relatively lavish Corman-brothers production, and is directed by Roger Corman. The film's airborne dogfight sequences are among its most notable features. Vintage World War I airplanes were used, and accidents during filming resulted in one death and several injuries. The evolution of airborne warfare from being a sporting game between gentlemen to its use as an instrument of total war is integral to the story. Von Richthoven (John Phillip Law), who becomes an air ace and an important German hero, was an early aeronautical rival of Hermann Goering (Barry Primus). So important was he to German morale that he was asked to retire from fighting, so that he could assume a position in the post-war German government. He refused, and was killed by a young Canadian (Don Stroud) in an airborne battle. Spookily enough, even though he died in the air, his plane is reputed to have landed intact. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide