John Le Mesurier Movies
Ubiquitous British actor John LeMesurier wasn't in every English comedy made between 1946 and 1979, though it sure seemed so. Nearly always appearing in one-scene cameos, LeMesurier's stock in trade was confusion mixed with foreboding; as such, he was perfect for such roles as worried businessmen, neurotic military officers and flummoxed fathers. From 1966 through 1977, LeMesurier starred in the internationally popular British sitcom, Dad's Army, which spawned a theatrical-feature version in 1971. An incorrigible prankster, John LeMesurier couldn't remain serious even when dealing with his own death; on that grim occasion, his self-written obituary appeared in the Times, noting that Mr. LeMesurier had "conked out." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Anthony Hopkins essayed the title role in the four-part British miniseries A Married Man. During his annual holiday, contentedly married barrister John Strickland (Hopkins) found himself casually entering into a brief extramarital affair. As noted by author Piers Paul Read, upon whose novel the miniseries was based, to fully understand the disastrous events following Strickland's indiscretion, one must have a basic knowledge of the English Legal Profession. By the time the story had ended, there was nary a viewer who didn't possess that knowledge. Co-produced by Channel 4 and London Weekend Television, A Married Man first aired in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Ciaran Madden, (more)
- 1980
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Robin Nedwell, (more)
- 1977
In this comedy, two soldiers stationed in Singapore set off in pursuit of the fairer sex instead of carrying out their orders. Soon after their arrival on the exotic island, the two visit a local brothel and there encounter a pair of lusty nurses who have also come in for a bit of erotic R&R. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Askwith, Nigel Davenport, (more)
- 1977
In this adaptation of Dickens' classic, Scrooge and company are animated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, (more)
- 1977
British sexploitation expert Derek Ford takes the helm for this raunchy comedy that is sure to quicken the pulse of men who like women in uniform. When Dr. Robert "Sweeney" Todd arrives to fill his post at a new hospital, he is shocked to see the lengths that the nurses go to in caring for their patients. Of course Dr. Todd is no prude, and it isn't long before he's joining in on all the lusty, after-hours fun. In the course of his erotic exploits, Dr. Todd makes it his mission to fully satisfy his boss' daughter Olivia even if it means putting in a little overtime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Comedian, actor, and author Barry Humphries wrote and co-stars in this sequel to the surprise international hit The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, based on the comic-strip character created by Humphries. Well-meaning but dunderheaded über-Aussie Barry McKenzie (Barry Crocker) is escorting his aunt, self-proclaimed "housewife superstar" Edna Everage (Barry Humphries), on a trip to France, where they've learned Barry's twin brother, Ken McKenzie, a progressive priest, will be speaking as part of a seminar on "Christ and the Orgasm." En route, a pair of Transylvanian agents, working under the command of the evil Communist vampire Count Plasma (Donald Pleasance), become convinced that Edna is actually Queen Elizabeth II, and not long after arriving in Paris, they kidnap Edna and spirit her away to the count's castle. When Barry learns that his aunt has fallen victim to foul play, he and his mates, including transplanted Australian Colin the Frog (Dick Bentley), set out to find her -- when they're not busy chasing "Shelias," swilling Foster's Lager, or projectile vomiting. In addition to playing Edna Everage, Humphries takes on two other roles in Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, and managed to persuade former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his wife to make a cameo appearance in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, (more)
- 1974
Ignoring the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," producer Carlo Ponti mounted a TV remake of the 1945 British masterpiece Brief Encounter. Sophia Loren (Mrs. Ponti) stars as a bored married woman who embarks upon a brief romantic fling with an equally married man (Richard Burton). Throughout their relationship, Loren and Burton are plagued by guilt; ultimately, they sacrifice their potential happiness in favor of "the right thing." John Bowne based his script on the 1936 Noel Coward playlet Still Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Richard Burton, (more)
- 1973
Val Guest, veteran director of many interesting British films covering a multitude of subjects, joined the nudie-cutie bandwagon of the 1970s with The Au Pair Girls. Anyone who's taken first-year French will probably know that the title refers to young foreign girls living in England who perform domestic chores in exchange for room and board and the opportunity to learn the English language. In this film, the girls' "services" range far beyond mere light dusting. It's the 1972 equivalent to those old stag reels of the 1950s with titles like Lucky Pierre Goes Fishing. Among the au pair girls in this R-rated effort are Gabrielle Drake, Astrid Frank, and Me Me Lai. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Astrid Frank, Gabrielle Drake, (more)
- 1973
File It Under Fear takes place in an outwardly normal rural British community. The tranquility is shattered by a series of brutal murders, all of them occurring in the library. As is often the case in stories of this nature, there's no lack of suspects, the "least likely" of which is of course the perpetrator. Maureen Lipman and Richard O'Callaghan head the cast. Videotaped in London, the 90-minute File It Under Fear first aired in America on October 9, 1973, as part of ABC's Wide World Mystery late-night anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This British made-for-television drama tells the story of an English spy living abroad. John Le Mesurier stars as Adrian Harris, an English diplomat who trades loyalties and becomes a Russian spy. Harris escapes to Moscow after his covert activity is uncovered and he lives in exile, until some journalists come sniffing around for his story. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
For fans of the British television series Dad's Army, this film is a bonanza. Including the entire cast from the television series, it is a comedy about the Walmington-on-Sea contingent of the Home Guard, set in 1940. These men are part-time soldiers, and their civilian situations often impinge on their defense duties, much to the exasperation of the (retired) regular military men in their group. Their mettle is tested when they must capture three German aviators who have parachuted into their midst. The Home Guard, or Local Defense Volunteers, consisted of people who, for a variety of reasons (usually age) were unable to serve in the regular military, and wanted to help with the war effort. At the time the Home Guard was formed, a German invasion was expected to occur almost any day. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The quintessential British caper film of the 1960s, The Italian Job is a flashy, fast romp that chases a team of career criminals throughout one of the biggest international gold heists in history. Michael Caine is Charlie Croker, a stylish robber and skirt-chaser just out of British prison. Shunning rehabilitation for recidivism, Croker takes over "The Italian Job," a complicated plan to hijack gold bullion from Italy -- right from underneath the noses of the Italian Police and the Mafia. The job, whose original mastermind was murdered, clearly requires the sponsorship of a richer, more established criminal than Croker. He turns to the auspices of the eccentric Mr. Bridger (Noël Coward in his last film role), a suave, regal, incarcerated English crime boss with a peculiar fascination with the Queen. Bridger provides Croker with a quirky group of Britain's most infamous computer hackers (including a lascivious Benny Hill), bank robbers, hijackers, and getaway drivers -- the ex-con is soon well on his way to relieving Italy of the gold. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Noël Coward, (more)
- 1968
Two steadfast members of Frank Sinatra's self-styled "clan," Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr., are the stars of Salt and Pepper. The boys run a swinging nightclub in London's Soho district (which explains their awful "mod" wardrobe) and also reluctantly double as secret agents. Their current assignment is to put the kibosh on a half-baked military officer (John LeMesurier), who plans to hijack a nuclear sub and hold England captive. The film is securely locked into the 1960s, with weird camera angles and out-of-focus optical effects, plenty of compliant young miniskirted damsels, and Bondlike action highlights. Salt and Pepper was followed two years later by a sequel, imaginatively titled One More Time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, (more)
Retired after years of international espionage, Agent 007 is lured back into action to battle the evil spy organization SMERSH in this notoriously incoherent parody of the James Bond films. David Niven portrays the aging Bond, who atypically rejects the advances of a variety of women, and agrees to battle SMERSH's hold on the lavish Casino Royale only after organization head M is murdered. Also mixed up in the affair are several other secret agents, all named James Bond, played by everyone from Peter Sellers and Woody Allen to a chimpanzee. Despite a star-studded cast, a large production budget, and a hit score by Burt Bacharach, the film was universally panned as a muddled, overlong failure, with the occasional amusing sequence lost in the unintelligible surroundings. The participation of several screenwriters and five different directors, including John Huston, only adds to the confusion. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, (more)
- 1967
When a builder writes a serious drama, the world views it as a comedy and it turns into a huge success. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1967
Adapted from the novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu, this satirical concentration-camp drama from Turkish-born French director Henri Verneuil stars Anthony Quinn as Johann Moritz, a Romanian peasant who experiences the horrors of World War II when the Nazis invade his country. Because local police chief Dobresco (Gregoire Aslan) is anamorous towards Moritz's wife Suzanna (Virna Lisi), he has the lowly fieldhand falsely labeled a Jew and sent to a work camp. Moritz's troubles continue to mount, as his wife is threatened with losing their property unless she divorces him. Also starring Michael Redgrave, La Vingt-cinquième heure is also known as The 25th Hour, though it should not be confused with and bears no resemblance to the 2002 Spike Lee film of the same name. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1967
A fine cast distinguishes this unusual supernatural thriller. When London-based vintner Phillippe de Montfaucon (David Niven) receives the bad news that dry weather is expected to destroy crops in his vineyard in France for the third year in a row, he immediately leaves for his castle on the continent, Bellenac, instructing his wife Catherine (Deborah Kerr) to stay behind with their children. However, Catherine's curiosity gets the better of her and she arrives at Bellenac to discover that the villagers who tend the grapes and watch the castle are members of a pagan cult, and that they believe the death of Marquis may be required for the future health of the crops. While pre-release editing left its narrative a bit fragmented, Eye of the Devil is certainly notable for its cast, which includes Donald Pleasance, Edward Mulhare, David Hemmings, and Sharon Tate. Kim Novak was originally cast as Catherine, but was forced to bow out midway through shooting due to an injury. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, David Niven, (more)
- 1966
This James Bond parody brings a new sort of jet-set secret agent to the screen -- one who hates flying, is afraid to shoot people, and would rather stay at home! Col. Mostyn (Trevor Howard) is the head of a special branch of British intelligence who is appalled to discover that a number of his best agents are either leaving the force or have turned out to be traitors. It is decided that Mostyn and his men need a special agent to ferret out those who leave his employ while knowing too much and silence them permanently. Mostyn decides the right man for the job is his old army buddy Boysie Oakes (Rod Taylor), but there's a bit of a problem -- while the job requires a globe-trotting assassin who can stare calmly into the face of death, Oakes is a mild-mannered fun seeker who is terrified of airplanes and faints at the sight of blood. None of this dissuades Mostyn, who still gives Oakes the assignment, but when he finds out that flying and guns are a big part of his new job, he hires someone else to do the dirty work for him. Oakes eventually develops a taste for the cars, women, gadgets, and danger of his new career, but the real acid test comes when he actually has to go on an assignment himself. The Liquidator was directed by Jack Cardiff, who along with a respected career as a director was one of the most distinguished cinematographers in the British cinema, lensing such classics as The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and Black Narcissus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Trevor Howard, (more)
- 1966
Films like Bang, Bang, You're Dead helped kill the movie career of Tony Randall in the mid-1960s. Randall plays an innocent oil company representative who gets tied up with a gang of crooks in Morocco. The head criminals, played by Herbert Lom and Klaus Kinski, plunge Randall into the middle of a complex espionage scheme involving the Red Chinese. There is one good scene in a massage parlor, but otherwise the film isn't wacky enough to be funny or intriguing enough to be taken seriously. Produced by the indefatigable Harry Alan Towers, who exercises his usual prerogative of hiring so many "guest stars" that hopefully the audience won't notice the plot deficiencies, Bang, Bang, You're Dead was sneaked out to theatres under several titles: Bang, Bang, Bang! Marrakesh, Our Man in Marrakesh, and I Spy You Spy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Randall, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1966
Steed infiltrates a school for butlers in order to unmask a traitor. While he is being drilled in the finer points of silent servitude, Emma attempts to charm her way into the heart of a suspected turncoat who is also a notorious lecher. If any doubts still lingered that The Avengers was not intended to be taken seriously, this episode would dispell them instantly. Written by Brian Clemens, "What the Butler Saw" first aired in England on February 26, 1966; it was subsequently shown on American network television on July 28, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Years before the story proper in The Wrong Box gets under way, a "tontine" is drawn up on behalf several young British boys. Each of the boys' parents had placed 1000 pounds in a pool, to be invested and expanded upon. The resultant fortune will go to the last surving member of the tontine. A series of montages depicts the various demises of the heirs (our favorite occurs when one of them is inadvertently beheaded while being knighted by Queen Victoria). Finally, only two of the tontine participants are left: aged brothers Ralph Richardson and John Mills. On his last legs, Mills is determined that Richardson will not outlive him, and to that end attempts to kill his brother; each attempt fails spectacularly, with the doddering Richardson none the wiser. Standing to benefit from the tontine are Mills' dimwitted med-student son Michael Caine and Richardson's greedy nephews Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. When Richardson is supposedly killed in a train wreck, Cook and Moore don't want the authorities to find out, so they appropriate what they think is their uncle's corpse and ship it home in a box. Thus it is that Caine finds the body of a perfect stranger on his doorstep. The farcical complications begin flying about thick and fast from this point onward. Among the participants in this wacky gigglefest are such formidable talents as Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Wilfred Lawson, Thorley Walters, Norman Rossington, Irene Handl and Cicely Courtenedge. Based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box is a delightful harkback to the glory days of Britain's Ealing comedies. We were so wrapped up in the story that we didn't even notice all those TV antennae sprouting up on the rooftops of Victorian London. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Ralph Richardson, (more)
- 1966
British pop star Cliff Richard and his band The Shadows (including influential guitarist Hank B. Marvin) star in this lighthearted blend of music, comedy, and espionage. An American fighter plane accidentally drops a small bomb on a Spanish town; the bomb fails to go off, but the community is thrown into a panic and the village is evacuated. When Cliff and the Shadows arrive in town to play a show, they're a bit puzzled to discover that no one is there; when they find out what has happened, the boys try to find the bomb so that it can be returned to the American pilots. However, it turns out that foreign agent Mr. X (John leMesurier) is also looking for the bomb and has blackmailed hotel owner Col. Roberts (Robert Morley) into helping him. As you might expect, Cliff and his band manage to squeeze in a few songs as they further the cause of Anglo-American unity. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Richard, The Shadows, (more)
