Anne-Louise Lambert Movies
Lead actress, onscreen from the '80s. ~ All Movie Guide
Loosely based on the real-life story of Bea Miles, an eccentric character living in Sydney, this fine Australian drama tells the tragic tale of Lilian Singer, a woman whose cruel father placed her in a mental institution where she spent forty years. The story looks at the circumstances surrounding her commitment as a young woman, her childhood and life after she is finally released. In the opening scenes, Lilian leaves the asylum and is taken to a seedy downtown hotel frequented by prostitutes and other shady characters. Fortunately, the working girls prove friendly and sympathetic. Lilian becomes convinced that she is in love with a stodgy bank manager, but her love abruptly dies when he calls the police upon her. She next meets her long-lost lover Frank, who has unfortunately turned into an alcoholic and is unable to respond to her. As Lilian has more experiences, flashbacks gradually reveal the terrible things her father did to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Aimed at children, this live-action Australian adventure follows an adorable golden retriever puppy on a cross-country search for the dingoes who comprise his doggy roots. Though the cocky young puppy's real name is Muffin, he prefers to think of himself as Napoleon. His quest begins at a children's birthday party where he frolics gaily with the children until he lands in a basket that has several helium balloons tied to it and is suddenly carried away. Eventually he lands on the rocky shore of distant Sydney Harbor. There he is befriended by a parrot-like galah named Birdo Lucci (other sly in-jokes for film buffs abound in the story). Together, the two buddies head into the bush in search of Napoleon's forebears. Along the way, they encounter a variety of native Australian critters including a koala, a kindly mother kangaroo, a hissy frill-necked lizard, a mean snake and a terrifying black cat who mistakes Napoleon for a giant mouse. Eventually, Napoleon meets his distant relatives too. Like the animals in Babe, this film's closest relative, the animals in this outing are endowed with human voices and qualities. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Croft, Philip Quast, (more)
- 1992
In this independently produced political thriller, a writer whose book about corporate corruption is about to be released believes that the kidnapping of his son has something to do with that book. What he doesn't know is that the businessmen, unable to tell which of his several girlfriends and female acquaintances are of importance to him, have kidnapped one of them instead, and his son was kidnapped for an entirely different reason. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Anne-Louise Lambert, (more)
- 1991
- R
In this myth-driven, highly allegorical feminist fable, Beatrice (the guide for Dante in the last two books of his Inferno trilogy) travels the world with her daughter Maeve, gathering experiences in landscapes that evokes everything from medieval primitivism to post-nuclear holocaust, and everything in between. Along the way, she tucks various things into her shopping bag and occasionally interacts with a man called "Herman," a symbolically inferior knock-off of feminine beings (her-man) -- who is also a somewhat androgynous being whose purpose is to travel and communicate (Hermes-man). "Daytime" logic and storytelling are deliberately submerged into a flow of images emulating the free-associative workings of the unconscious. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne-Louise Lambert
- 1988
This sequel to the 1987 Australian miniseries Fields of Fire was set in 1946. Having weathered WWII, British expatriate Bluey (Todd Boyce) had wed Dusty (Melissa Docker), one of his co-workers in the Australian cane fields. Once this occurred, the focus of the action shifted to a pair of new characters: Gina (Peta Toppano), an Italian refugee, and Franco (Joseph Spano), Gina's black-marketeer husband. Telecast by Australia's Nine Network in two installments on May 22 and 23, 1988, Fields of Fire II was, like its predecessor, inspired by Robert Donaldson's novel Cane. A third and final derivation, Fields of Fire III, aired in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Budgeted at six million dollars -- a hefty sum for Australian television -- the six-hour miniseries Great Expectations: The Untold Story helpfully endeavored to plug the plot holes thoughtlessly left behind by Charles Dickens in his original novel. The emphasis was on the escaped convict Magwitch (John Stanton), who, after being helped out by the young Pip (Danny Simmons), was captured by the authorities and transported to Australia. There, Magwitch turned over a new leaf and went into business, building up a huge and profitable operation. Still grateful to Pip for past kindnesses, Magwitch bequeathed his entire fortune to the boy, and it was at this point that the miniseries' narrative ended and the original Dickens story line took over (albeit briefly). Representing a rare collaboration between writer/director Tim Burstall and his producer son, Tom Burstall, Great Expectations: The Untold Story was broadcast by Australia's ABC network in February of 1987. The project was subsequently released theatrically as a feature film, pared down to a more manageable length -- and eliminating an important subplot involving Pip's erstwhile lady friend, Estella (Anne Louise Lambert), in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The story in this two-part TV biopic was probably "untold" mainly because it was untrue. According to the revisionist script by Stirling Silliphant, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (overplayed by George C. Scott) may have been a fascist, a tyrant, a mass murderer and an intimate of Adolf Hitler, but he also had his warm and fuzzy side. This was manifested in his genuine love for his gorgeous mistress Clara Petacci (Virginia Madsen), whose devotion to Il Duce was equally strong, so much so that she willingly went to her death along with him when the Axis collapsed and the ex-dictator was summarily shot. Despite his extramarital shenanigans, Mussolini had plenty of affection left over for his long-suffering wife Rachel (Lee Grant) and his children. With a cast comprised largely of non-Italians (notably the aggressively Irish Gabriel Byrne as Mussolini's son Vittorio), this epic had more phony dialects than a Marx Bros. picture. Despite its distant relation to the facts and its flaccid treatment of one of history's darkest periods, Mussolini: The Untold Story (filmed not in Italy but in Yugoslavia) garnered respectable ratings when it was originally telecast by NBC on November 24 and 26, 1985--and also earned a brace of Emmy award nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1982
In the third episode of the four-part story "Four to Doomsday," the Doctor (Peter Davison) is still imprisoned on an Urbankan space vessel, still at the mercy of two frog-like aliens who hope to conquer the world. Hoping to prevent this catastrophe, the Doctor enlists the aid of four earthling passengers, each from a different race and time period. Unfortunately, this foursome is not quite what they appear to be. First telecast January 25, 1982, "Four to Doomsday, Episode 3" was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, (more)
- 1982
In the conclusion of the four-part story "Four to Doomsday," the Doctor (Peter Davison) discovers that the alien Urbankans intend to wipe out humankind, then repopulate the earth with androids designed to resemble the planet's various ethnic types. Only by hoodwinking the androids into performing a series of frenzied ritualistic dances will the Doctor be able to prevent this cataclysmic disaster. Stratford Johns guest stars as the frog-like Urbankan Monarch. First telecast January 26, 1982, "Four to Doomsday, Episode 4" was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, (more)
- 1982
Adapted from the 1979 novel by Thomas Flanagan, the Anglo-French co-production The Year of the French was set in the Ireland of 1798. Long dreaming of independence from the British, a hardy band of Irish freedom fighters from County Mayo rose up against their English Oppressors, with the help of a group of French revolutionaries who'd "invaded" the country at Kileummin Bay. The musical score for this six-episode series was provided by the Chieftains, and proved to be a best-seller on its own. The Year of the French debuted in the British Isles over the Radio Telefis Eireann (RTS) broadcasting organization in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stephens, Niall O'Brian, (more)
- 1982
The Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companions materialize on a huge Urbankan space vessel. They soon learn that their frog-like "hosts" intend to attack and plunder the earth -- but at first, the Doctor does not know how this is going to be accomplished. Beginning its four-episode run on January 18 1982, "Four to Doomsday" was the first adventure to feature Peter Davison as the fifth Doctor, but was telecast second, after the season-opening "Castrovalva." It was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, (more)
- 1982
In the second episode of the four-part story "Four to Doomsday," the Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companions are trapped aboard a space vessel commandeered by the frog-like Urbankans. Likewise in the same predicament are four other passengers, all apparently earthlings, each from a different race (Greek, Chinese, Mayan, and Aboriginal Australian) and different time periods. First telecast January 19, 1982, "Four to Doomsday, Episode 2" was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, (more)
Peter Greenaway's first fiction feature (after the mock-documentary The Falls) made him immediately famous and was named one of the most original films of the 1980s by British critics. The action is set in the director's beloved 17th century. Ambitious young artist Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins) is invited by Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) to make 12 elaborate sketches of her estate. Besides money, the contract includes sexual favors that Mrs. Herbert will offer to the draughtsman in the absence of Mr. Herbert. Entirely confident in his ability to weave a web of intrigues, Mr. Neville eventually becomes a victim of someone else's elaborate scheme. The film is structured as a sophisticated intellectual puzzle like the ones popular in the 17th century. There is a lot to pay attention to besides the intrigues -- fancy wigs, conversations by candlelight, English parks, Purcell-inspired baroque music by Michael Nyman, all to please the eyes, soothe the ears, and stimulate the mind. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, (more)
Peter Weir's haunting and evocative mystery is set in the Australia of 1900, a mystical place where the British have attempted to impose their Christian culture with such tweedy refinements as a girls' boarding school. After gauzily-photographed, nicely underplayed scenes of the girls' budding sexuality being restrained in Victorian corsets, the uptight headmistress (Rachel Roberts) takes them on a Valentine's Day picnic into the countryside, and several of the girls, led by the lovely Miranda (Anne Lambert) decide to explore a nearby volcanic rock formation. It's a desolate, primitive, vaguely menacing place, where one can almost feel the presence of ancient pagan spirits. Something -- and there is an unspoken but palpable emphasis on the inherent carnality of the place -- draws four of the girls to explore the rock. Three never return. No one ever finds out why. The repercussions for the school are tragic, and of course Roberts reacts with near-crazed anger, but what really happened? Weir gives enough clues to suggest any number of explanations, both physical and supernatural. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, (more)
