David Andrews Movies
Hammer Studios attempted to inject new blood into their Dracula series by setting their next installment in ultra-mod '70s London, where the Count is revived after 100 years by a gang of devil-worshipping swingers led by the not-so-cleverly-named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), and later joined by Jessica (Stephanie Beacham), granddaughter of the legendary vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing, returning to the role after more than a decade). After the group manages to resurrect the Count, he sets about the task of destroying the house of Van Helsing once and forever, leading to a battle in a de-sanctified cathedral. Despite some well-staged scenes, a thrilling prologue (involving a tense battle between Lee and Cushing aboard a runaway coach) and the presence of the stunning Caroline Munro, this is definitely one of the weaker entries in the series, and the script gives Lee very little to do with the hissing, red-eyed villain. Lee may have been bored with reprising the role altogether, as he would only return for one more sequel, The Satanic Rites of Dracula. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
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)
More of a corny propaganda film for a British social engineering policy program of the 1960s than a serious attempt to tackle an issue, this youth drama is notable chiefly because it features an early performance by David Hemmings, four years before he rose to prominence in Blow-Up (1966). Bert (Hemmings), Bill (David Andrews), and Johnnie (Ray Brooks) are a trio of juvenile delinquents in Bristol who lose their driver's licenses after a 100 mile-per-hour accident on their motorcycles. Bored without their speed machines and alienated in their economically-depressed factory town, they assemble a rock band with the aid and encouragement of Smith (Kenneth More), the choir director of a local church who offers his facilities for rehearsal space. The band becomes involved with a youth awards program devised as a community outreach vehicle by the Duke of Edinburgh and the British government, and despite some lingering moments of dissension, they begin to turn their lives around, encouraged all the while by a hopeful adult community. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Ray Brooks, (more)
This episode was originally telecast May 27, 1961. The title refers to an organization that specializes in "persuading" people to do their bidding via brutal beatings. The head of the crooks is a man called The Deacon (Willoughby Goddard). The current target for the Frighteners is a man who disapproves of his daughter's fiancée, a man who specializes in marrying wealthy women in order to square his debts. As Steed tries to establish a link between the fiancée and the Frighteners, Dr. Keel goes undercover in hopes of exposing the Deacon, or at least to beat him at his own game. "The Frighteners" was written by Berkley Mather. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When media mogul Amos Kyne (Robert Warwick) dies, his business, which includes a major newspaper, a television station, and a wire news service, is turned over to his sole heir, his foppish, ne'er do well son (Vincent Price). The younger Kyne has no knowledge of how to run the company his father built, preferring to spend his time spending the money that it generates, and he decides to let the heads of the three divisions -- newspaper editor John Day Griffith (Thomas Mitchell), wire service chief Mark Loving (George Sanders), and photo chief Harry Kritzer (James Craig) -- fight it out among themselves, winner-take-all. Each one has a key alley: Griffith, in Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews), a top reporter who is lately appearing on television as well; Loving, in resourceful but sluttish columnist Mildred Donner (Ida Lupino), who has her own way of digging up secrets; and Kritzer, who doesn't think he needs to dig up secrets because he's sitting on the biggest one of all, his "friendship" with Kyne's ex-model wife, Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming). Mobley becomes a focal point because the story-of-the-moment concerns the "Lipstick Killer," a serial murderer, burglar, and sex fiend who has been terrorizing the city -- break that case first and the job is won, and Mobley's specialty is crime reporting. The Lipstick Killer, a disturbed teenager named Robert Manners (John Drew Barrymore), continues to elude the police, and Loving's stumbling attempts to get information out first don't aid in the manhunt. Meanwhile, Mobley, using his own deductive powers and some basic psychology, manages to get under the killer's skin from afar on television and in print; however, unbeknownst to the reporter, the murderer is feeling more pressure to commit his crimes, and taking a very personal interest in targeting Mobley and his fiancée, Nancy Liggett (Sally Forrest). The two interwoven stories all get pulled together in a chase through the streets and into the city's subway tunnels, with Mobley, Nancy, Police Lieutenant Kaufman (Howard Duff), and the killer all crossing paths. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, (more)











