Howard Lang Movies

Set in 1940, the fourth episode of the seven-part, eighteen-hour miniseries The Winds of War finds American troubleshooter Cmdr. "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) heading to England on a secret mission for President Roosevelt. Here he is reunited with his secret love, Pamela Tudsbury (Victoria Tennant) and later has a tense showdown with Winston Churchill (Howard Lang) over policy matters. Barely escaping the Nazi bombs during the first London blitz (a spectacular sequence), Henry survives to fly in a retaliatory raid over Germany--while both the women in his life (the other being his long-suffering wife Rhoda [Polly Bergen]) wait and worry. The Winds of War was adapted by Herman Wouk from his own novel. ~ 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 trio of aspiring crooks plan to steal a million dollars in this crime comedy. Lord Nicholas (David Warner) and his Swiss wife Britt (Ursula Andress) are the jet-set couple who have spent all their money and seek a loan from the bank. She asks Graham (Stanley Baker) for a loan, but the mid-level manager has plans of his own to pad his retirement account by means of larceny. Graham approaches both Nicholas and Britt to help him in his plan. Britt sleeps with both men, willing to take off to Rio with the first one who gets his hands on the money. Nicholas and Graham both are under the assumption they are the masterminds of the plot that is highlighted by amusing twists. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In the tradition of Kind Hearts and Coronets (49), Nothing But the Best is a sparkling British "comedy of murders." Alan Bates stars as a lowly real estate clerk who wants to crash the British upper class. To that end, Bates hires down-and-out gentleman Denholm Elliott to "train" him for the noblesse. The clerk is a fast learner, and is soon wooing the daughter (Millicent Martin) of his blueblood boss. Just as he's on the brink of becoming one of the "better people," his mentor Elliot disdainfully threatens to reveal the truth about Bates. With nary a moment's hesitation, Bates strangles Elliot with his own school tie, and hides the body in Elliot's own school trunk. From this point forward, Bates moves onward and upward, and since the high-class folks in this film are shown to be shallow phonies, the audience is half rooting for Bates to get away with his little murder. The film ends just as Bates' old lodgings are about to be demolished--leaving Our Hero waiting in wry, bemused anticipation for that incriminating trunk to be uncovered. Frederick Raphael based his screenplay for Nothing But the Best on Stanley Elkins' black-humor masterpiece The Best of Everything. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of the four-part story arc "An Unearthly Child," Doctor Who (William Hartnell) and his companions, Ian and Barbara (William Russell, Jacqueline Hill), are still stranded in the era of the Great Cold some 100,000 years ago. Having managed to escape both the Cave of Skulls and the Forest of Fear, the Doctor and his companions are unable to elude their pursuers, a hostile cave-dwelling tribe. The only hope for salvation lies in the Doctor's ability to create fire and to show the tribesmen how to do the same -- but how to accomplish this, with next to no materials at hand? Originally telecast on December 14, 1963, "The Firemaker" was written by Anthony Coburn. Subsequently, the entire "An Unearthly Child" saga (also known as "The Tribe of Gum" and "100,000 BC") was novelized by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this second episode of the four-part story arc "An Unearthly Child," Doctor Who (William Hartnell) and schoolteachers Ian and Barbara (William Russell, Jacqueline Hill) have journeyed some 100,000 years back time. Captured by a pre-civilized race, the Doctor and his companions are thrown into the Cave of Skulls. There they must figure out a method of summoning up that remarkable new invention called "fire" -- or else face a horrible death at the hands of their captors. Written by Anthony Coburn, "The Cave of Skulls" first aired on November 30, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A British officer must save the Barbary apes on Gibralter at all costs in this WW II farce. He does this, because it is believed that if the apes leave the rock, Britain will fall. The trouble begins when the only male ape dies. To save the rest, the officer and his side-kick sneak in to Zurich and steal an ape from a German circus. This results in a promotion for the officer, and now he and his partner are assigned to protect the ravens in the Tower of London. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime thriller, a convicted embezzler kidnaps his son after his release from prison, not knowing that the boy is diabetic and will die without insulin injections. The police launch a massive manhunt. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi

In this drama, an American journalist goes to England and winds up assisting a prominent lawyer's nephew after he is falsely accused of murdering a girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A troubled teen discovers that reform isn't always easy in this drama. The lad is on probation for robbery when he falls in love with a wealthy young girl. Wanting to help him out, she gets him a job in her father's textile mill. Things are swell there until her father is unable to find his wallet. Due to the boy's dubious recent past, he is naturally the first suspect. Afraid that no one will believe him innocent, the boy takes off. In desperate need of quick cash, he robs a store. Eventually the police catch up to him, but by this time the wallet has been found and the boy's gal convinces him to go face his crime and go straight for good. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. Adapted by Karl Tunberg and a raft of uncredited writers including Gore Vidal and Maxwell Anderson, the film once more recounts the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who lives in Judea with his family during the time that Jesus Christ was becoming known for his "radical" teachings. Ben-Hur's childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) is now an ambitious Roman tribune; when Ben-Hur refuses to help Messala round up local dissidents on behalf of the emperor, Messala pounces on the first opportunity to exact revenge on his onetime friend. Tried on a trumped-up charge of attempting to kill the provincial governor (whose head was accidentally hit by a falling tile), Ben-Hur is condemned to the Roman galleys, while his mother (Martha Scott) and sister (Cathy O'Donnell) are imprisoned. But during a sea battle, Ben-Hur saves the life of commander Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who, in gratitude, adopts Ben-Hur as his son and gives him full control over his stable of racing horses. Ben-Hur never gives up trying to find his family or exact revenge on Messala. At crucial junctures in his life, he also crosses the path of Jesus, and each time he benefits from it. The highlight of the film's 212 minutes is its now-legendary chariot race, staged largely by stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Ben-Hur's Oscar haul included Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Welsh actor Hugh Griffith as an Arab sheik. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this British detective yarn, a Yankee sleuth teams up with Scotland Yard to catch the culprits behind a successful counterfeiting ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi