Barbara Leake Movies
- 1971
In the third episode of the four-part story "Terror of the Autons," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) comes face to face with his old enemy, the renegade Time Lord known as the Master (Roger Delgado). Relishing the moment, the Master gleefully reveals his scheme to reawaken the Nestene Consciousness (the antagonist of the previous season's adventure "Spearhead From Space") and thereby take over the world. Knowing that the Master is savvy to his arsenal of Time Lord trickery, the Doctor must rely upon other methods to save Mankind. Written by Robert Holmes, "Terror of the Autons, Episode 3" originally aired on January 16, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, (more)
- 1971
In the second episode of the four-part story "Terror of the Autons," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) continues his investigation of the disappearance of the last Nestene Intelligence Energy Sphere. Having previously escaped death at the hands of the Nestene's Auton warriors, the Doctor is naturally on his guard. That guard intensifies when the hero is warned that his arch rival Time Lord, the Master, has arrived on earth. Roger Delgado makes the first of many appearances as the redoubtable Master. Written by Robert Holmes, "Terror of the Autons, Episode 2" originally aired on January 9, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, (more)
- 1966
Based on the novel by Margaret Adams, this British drama features young Rupert Davies as David, a seven-year-old boy who is unsure of how to act around his seven-year-old nephew. He wants to be a child but feels he should take responsibility for his nephew. His confusion grows and he becomes unsure about how he should act around any children. David even begins to withdraw from his schoolmates and his family. Eventually, he comes to understand that everyone in his family, including his father, with whom he's had some disagreements, wants him just to be himself. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rupert Davies, Brenda Bruce, (more)
- 1966
In A Study in Terror the ever popular Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson search for the Victorian serial killerJack the Ripper in this well-made and exciting mystery produced, written and directed by James Hill. In this adaptation of the popular character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes (John Neville) aided by Dr. Watson (Donald Houston) and his brother Mycroft (Robert Morley) are called in to help catch the crazed killer of prostitutes. This film combines all the elements beloved by fans of Sherlock Holmes resulting in a satisfying and well-acted mystery. John Neville is good as the cool, logical Holmes and Robert Morley adds a nice dash of humor to liven up the story. A Study in Terror is highly recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes and should be enjoyed by any viewer who loves vintage mysteries. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Neville, Donald Houston, (more)
- 1963
In this thriller, an orphan with ESP is engaged to help solve the abduction of a wealthy Englishwoman by her aunt. The rich woman's brother and the local cabbie believe in the girl's mysterious talent. They are terrified that she will lead the authorities to the woman's corpse. The brother stops the girl, then pays off the cabbie for the murder. Unfortunately, the police witness the pay-off. A high-speed chase ensues and the avaricious brother crashes his car. He then confesses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
A venerable stage farced by Talbot Rothwell was the springboard for the British comedy Three Spare Wives. Feckless Robin Hunter prepares for a financial windfall when his rich Arabian uncle dies. Unfortunately, Hunter's legacy consists of three beautiful wives. We say "unfortunately" because Our Hero is already married to the excessive jealous Susan Stephen. You'll be able to guess the outcome of this one even as the opening credits are flashed upon the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Dumpy, dough-faced British comedienne Margaret Rutherford was not precisely the physical type Agatha Christie had in mind for the prim, tweedish sleuth Miss Marple. Still, Rutherford's first "Marple" movie Murder, She Said did so well at the box office that there was no question she would continue appearing in the role in the inevitable sequels. In this initial effort, Marple witnesses a murder being committed on a speeding train. She informs the authorities, but they find no evidence of a killing and write off Marple as a doddering eccentric. Determined to prove that she's not imagining things, Marple investigates the area around the stretch of railroad track where the murder occurred. She winds up on the estate of James Robertson-Justice, disguised as a maid. Many family skeletons are exhumed by Miss Marple before she proves that she indeed saw a murder and pinpoints the guilty party. Stringer Davis, Margaret Rutherford's husband, makes his first appearance as Miss Marple's chaste companion Mr. Stringer. Based on Agatha Christie's 4:50 From Paddington, Murder, She Said was released in some markets as Meet Miss Marple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, (more)
- 1955
In this thriller, a murderous writer kills his blackmailer and his ex-lover and then tries to convince his fiancee to help him hide the bodies. She does until she learns that he is planning to frame innocent people for his crimes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Basil Dearden was co-producer and co-director of the British "slice of life" drama Out of the Clouds. Filmed in quasi-documentary fashion, the story takes place during one unusually busy day at London's Heathrow Airport. The dramatis personae includes Gus Randall (Anthony Steel), a pilot with a chronic (and potentially fatal) gambling weakness; chief duty officer Nick Milbourne (Robert Beatty), who yearns to be a pilot himself; American engineer Bill (David Lorenz), who finds romance in the form of Jewish girl Leah (Margo Lorenz); and Captain Brent (James Robertson Justice), whose doubts about a new aircraft prove to be well-founded. The obligatory romantic triangle involves Gus, Nick and airline -hostess Penny Henson (Eunice Gayson). Out of the Clouds is an intriguing small-scale precursor to the Airport school of multicharactered drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty, (more)
- 1952
In this British drama a veteran laborer rises above the turmoil of unionization to become the governor of Artista, an industrial island that finds itself further embroiled in a terrible fight over low pay and terrible working conditions. A strike ensues, but the new governor remembers what it feels like to be an abused working stiff and so refuses to call out troops to break the strike. He tries to use his experiences on both sides of the fence to mediate between the angry laborers, but it's to no avail and the governor must make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Cecil Parker, (more)
Alec Guinness gets to die eight times, playing a line of successors to a dukedom, in the Ealing black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) is ninth in line to inherit the dukedom from the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family. Louis vows to kill all eight people who stand between him and the duke's title. Aside from two cases of natural causes, Louis works through the list, eliminating rivals (all played by Guinness). Along the way he romances Sibella (Joan Greenwood), a childhood friend who ends up marrying a dullard, and Edith (Valerie Hobson), the beautiful widow of one of his victims with whom he plans to share his title. But just when Louis is ready to assume the D'Ascoyne mantle, a bizarre irony strikes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, (more)
- 1949
The British Don't Ever Leave Me stars "cute" Jimmy Hanley as a would-be criminal who is dragooned into a kidnapping plot. Among the potential victims is teenaged Sheila Farlane (Petula Clark), the daughter of Shakespearean actor Michael Farlane (Hugh Sinclair). When the plan goes awry, Sheila and her friends decide that they're having fun being kidnapped and refuse to go home! Featured in the cast is a young Anthony Newley, who'd recently gained fame as the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. Don't Ever Leave Me is hardly memorable, though it managed to get plenty of American TV airplay in the 1950s and 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Hanley, Petula Clark, (more)
- 1948
This lush 18th century period romance, based on historical fact, was the first color film from Britain's famed Ealing Studios, but it proved to be such a box office disappointment that Ealing never attempted such a lavish costume drama again. Sophie Dorothea (Joan Greenwood) is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull). George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark (Stewart Granger). The feeling is mutual, and an affair begins, the couple carefully plotting to flee England to begin a new life together. Disaster strikes when they are overheard by Countess Platen (Flora Robson), a jealous former lover of Konigsmark's who takes her information to the king. Adapted from the Helen Simpson novel, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) was an early film for writer Alexander Mackendrick, who would later direct the classic Sweet Smell of Success (1957). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1948
There's dirty work backstage in the British melodrama My Sister and I. Sally Ann Howes plays Robina Adams, an aspiring actress who lands a job at the provincial repertory company managed by Miss Havisham-like Mrs. Camelot (Martita Hunt). Still carrying a torch for her late husband, Mrs. Camelot makes everyone's life miserable until she is found dead of gas poisoning. The solution to the murder is hinted at in the film's title, which is all that can be revealed for now. A subplot concerns the romantic tug-of-war between Robina and her two would-be swains, actor Graham Forbes (Dermot Walsh) and lawyer Roger Crisp (Patrick Holt). ies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hazel Court, Helen Goss, (more)
- 1947
Set in the early 20th century, The Loves of Joanna Godden stars Googie Withers in the title role. The heir to a prosperous farm in the Romney Marshes, the headstrong Joanna shocks and outrages her tradition-bound neighbors by running the farm herself, refusing to enter into an arranged marriage with neighboring farmer Arthur Alee (John McCallum). She also "defies nature" by performing then-revolutionary crossbreeding experiments with her stock. All this she does to provide a steady income for her beloved, convent-educated younger sister Ellen (Jean Kent). Joanna is therefore understandably put out when Ellen turns out to be an ungrateful strumpet, who herself sets her cap for the wealthy Alee. It is only through this plot twist, coupled with Joanna's own unhappy romantic affairs, that Joanna and Alee discover that they truly love each other after all. Based on a novel by Sheila Kaye-Smith, The Loves of Joanna Godden is decked out with an impressive musical score by Vaughan Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Googie Withers, Jean Kent, (more)
- 1945
Considered the greatest horror anthology film, the classic British chiller Dead of Night features five stories of supernatural terror from four different directors, yet it ultimately feels like a unified whole. The framing device is simple but unsettling, as a group of strangers find themselves inexplicably gathered at an isolated country estate, uncertain why they have come. The topic of conversation soon turns to the world of dreams and nightmares, and each guest shares a frightening event from his/her own past. Many of these tales have become famous, including Basil Dearden's opening vignette about a ghostly driver with "room for one more" in the back of his hearse. Equally eerie are Robert Hamer's look at a haunted antique mirror that gradually begins to possess its owner's soul, and Alberto Cavalcanti's ghost story about a mysterious young girl during a Christmas party. Legendary Ealing comedy director Charles Crichton lightens the mood with an amusing interlude about the spirit of a deceased golfer haunting his former partner, leaving viewers vulnerable to Cavalcanti's superb and much-imitated closing segment, about a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) slowly driven mad when his dummy appears to come to life. Deservedly acclaimed and highly influential, Dead of Night's episodic structure inspired an entire genre of lesser imitators. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, (more)
