Marjorie Lawrence Movies
- 1982
In this slice-of-life film shot in 1981 for British television, a wide-ranging group of Royal Navy men -- very young men -- try to have one last reprieve on land before they take off for NATO duty. Each sailor is confronted with a unique challenge: Mark (David John) tries to help out a victim of a severe beating, Malcolm (Martin Barrass) is enjoying more than a nip or two from the bottle as he barrels toward the embarkation point on a passenger train, and a few other recruits have their love lives high on a list of priorities. Steve (John Altman) has some personal adventures as he tries to advance a romantic liaison, and Douglas (Timothy Spall) worries over leaving his pregnant wife behind, knowing she will give birth while he is gone. At times a bit slow, this drama won first prize at the 1983 Taormina Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Ashton, Martin Barrass, (more)
- 1968
Subtitled A Film About London, this drama is a quintessential experimental counter-culture film of the late 1960s that centers on the questions raised by the Vietnam war. Renowned Shakespearean theater director Peter Brook serves as producer and director. It includes many members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, such as London actors Mark Jones, Robert Lloyd), and Pauline Munro, who essentially play themselves. They become obsessed with a photograph of a wounded Vietnamese child and begin discussing the war with their friends and fellow actors. They attend a series of lectures and teach-ins, discussing the issues of the day with a number of activists, including the American Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael. The discussions are combined with newsreel footage in a bizarre collage of images. Moved to do something, the group of actors puts on a series of skits about the war. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Jones, Pauline Munroe, (more)
The famously inept but accidentally brilliant Inspector Clouseau returns to help foil a group of daring robbers in this comedy, the only film in the long-running series not to feature Peter Sellers as the bumbling inspector. Instead, the talented Alan Arkin assumes the role, blundering his way through the expected series of absurd, slapstick situations. The plot centers on a series of Swiss bank robberies under investigation by an uptight Scotland Yard inspector (Patrick Cargill), who naturally becomes infuriated by Clouseau's unwelcome intervention. Meanwhile, the robbers decide to confuse matters by wearing Clouseau masks, offering further opportunities for farcical mistaken identities. Due to the absence of both Sellers and director Blake Edwards, Inspector Clouseau has largely been forgotten in comparison to the other Pink Panther films, though it maintains some interest as a curious aberration in the popular comic series. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Arkin, Frank Finlay, (more)
- 1967
Cop-Out is a distressingly "mod" remake of the 1941 French film Strangers in the House. Taking over the role originally played by Raimu, James Mason stars as a retired, scotch-swilling attorney residing in France. Mason disapproves of his daughter's (Geraldine Chaplin) new boy friend (Bobby Darin), but rises to the young man's defense in court when the boy is arrested on a suspicious murder charge. The casting of Chaplin and Darin was meant to "reach" the youth market, but both are way too old for their characters. Cop-Out would have worked better (especially with audiences of the 1990s) without its trendy camerawork and wearisome generation-gap propaganda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Geraldine Chaplin, (more)
- 1964
British pop performer Michael Sarne stars as young Ricky, a kid from London's East End who is yet another victim of urban socio-economic blight. Discouraged and frustrated, Ricky gets involved with a local gang hoping to support his family by turning to a life of crime. Rita Tushingham, in her third film appearance, plays the role of Ricky's girlfriend Catherine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham, (more)
- 1963
This British comedy drama of the lower classes features actors with such thick cockney accents that some prints of the film were subtitled. James Booth stars as Charlie, a merchant seaman who returns home to the East End after two years to find that his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor) has taken up with another man, a married bus driver named Bert (George Sewell). After taking his brother Fred (Roy Kinnear) hostage in a pub, Charlie gets a reunion with Maggie, who shows up pushing a pram. It seems she's given birth to a child, and the father's identity is uncertain. Charlie and Maggie reconcile, but not before a vicious row with Bert, who doesn't want to give up his girl. Windsor, a BAFTA Best Actress nominee for her role, also performed the film's title song. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Booth, Barbara Windsor, (more)
Considered a bit too sacrilegious for general consumption in 1963, the Boulting brothers' Heavens Above was simply ahead of its time, and has since accrued a loyal and vocal following. Peter Sellers plays an idealistic British reverend with a bad habit of telling the truth at all times. He also follows his conscience whenever possible, resulting in several cleric decisions that shock his wealthy, landed-gentry parishioners. By inviting such "undesirables" as gypsies and West Africans to worship freely in his church, Sellers rouses the ire of the rest of his white-bread flock. He does, however, compel the selfish owner (Isabel Jeans) of a laxative firm to "see the light" and to sell off all her holdings on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Unfortunately, by doing this the woman wrecks her business--which is the principal source of income for the community where Sellers works. Retreating from town with an angry mob on his heels, Sellers relocates on a tiny island in the Pacific. Since the island is the site of a missile base, and since the local astronauts have shown signs of agnosticism, where else is there for Sellers to go...but up? Heavens Above was inspired by a notion cooked up by iconoclastic British satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, (more)
- 1962
Welsh librarian John Lewis (Peter Sellers), unhappily married to Jean Lewis (Virginia Maskell), falls in love with the glamorous Elizabeth Gruffydd Williams (Mai Zetterling). Zetterling is likewise saddled with a dull spouse, wealthy Vernon Gruffyd-Williams (Raymond Huntley). Finding themselves to be kindred spirits, Sellers and Zetterling plan an illicit affair. Alas, none of their carefully calculated schemes for a romantic tryst come to fruition thanks to a series of comic (but utterly credible) complications.
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1955
Interrupted Melody is the inspirational filmed biography of world-renowned Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence. Eleanor Parker plays Ms. Farrell, while her vocal renditions, ranging from selections from Madame Butterfly to MGM's own Over the Rainbow, were dubbed by Eileen Farrell, who would be with the Met from 1960-1966. The story traces Marjorie's long, hard road to the top, her success on two continents, and her turbulent marriage to American doctor Thomas King. While touring South America, Lawrence is stricken with polio, which not only abruptly ends her career but briefly robs her of the will to live. The rest of the film is devoted to Ms. Lawrence's emergence from depression and her triumphant comeback. William Ludwig and Sonya Levien shared an Academy Award for their cinemadaptation of Marjorie Lawrence's autobiography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Eleanor Parker, (more)
