Beatrix Lehmann Movies

Adapted from the novel by H.E. Bates, the British miniseries Love for Lydia featured Mel Martin in the title role. A young and giddy heiress, Lydia spent the better part of the 1930s holding several eligible bachelors in her thrall. Meanwhile, long-suffering Edward Richardson (Christopher Blake), convinced that he'd be the heroine's one true love if only given the chance, stood quietly on the sidelines as the impulsive Lydia toyed with the emotions of his rivals. The 13 hour-long episodes of Love for Lydia were originally aired over London Weekend Television in 1977, then telecast in America as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre anthology beginning September 23, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A follow-up to the previous Doctor Who adventure "The Pirate Planet," "The Stones of Blood" was the series' 100th story arc. The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) continue their efforts to locate the missing segments of the Key to Time, which will restore the balance between good and evil. It turns out that the Key's third segment rests within the Nine Travellers, an ancient Druidic stone circle on the planet Earth. Locating the segment is the easy part -- the trick is to wrest the item from its pagan guardians. Written by David Fisher, episode one of the four-part "The Stones of Blood" originally aired on October 28, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Stones of Blood," the Doctor (Tom Baker) hopes to retrieve the third segment of the Key to Time from an ancient Druidic stone circle on planet Earth. The Doctor and Romana (Mary Tamm) are aided in this pursuit by a pair of female archeologists, Amelia Rumford (Beatrix Lehmann) and Vivien Fay (Susan Engel). Unfortunately, a group of latter-day Druids are dead set against the "desecration" of the circle -- and they're willing to commit murder to show they're not kidding. First telecast November 11, 1978, "The Stones of Blood, Part 3" was written by David Fisher). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Of the many stage, screen, and television adaptations of Leo Tolstoy's mammoth novel War and Peace, this multi-episode British TV version is widely regarded as one of the most thorough and entertaining. The grim days of Napoleonic wars and the "Little Corporal's" ill-fated invasion of Russia were shown through the eyes of a large, interwoven group of protagonists, including the sensitive intellectual Pierre (played by a young Anthony Hopkins, who won the BAFTA Best Actor award) and the ethereally lovely Natasha (Morag Hood). Of the supporting cast, Alan Dobie as Prince Bolkonsky and David Swift as Napoleon were standouts. The 20 45-minute episodes of War and Peace first aired in the U.K. from September 28, 1972 through February 8, 1973. The series was syndicated in the U.S. courtesy of PBS beginning November 20, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran) is a professor who specializes in the behavior and collecting of butterflies. One day, he discovers he can watch his beautiful neighbor Penny (Jane Birkin) through a crack in the wall of his apartment. He is soon overtaken by his voyeuristic tendencies and engages in a series of psychedelic daydreams as he watches the beautiful woman in various stages of her life and lovemaking. The musical score is provided by George Harrison. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold stars Richard Burton as a dispirited, end-of-tether British secret agent. He comes in from "the cold" (meaning he is pulled out of field operations) to act as a undercover man behind the Iron Curtain. To make his staged defection seem genuine, Burton goes on an alcoholic toot and is imprisoned and publicly humiliated. Once he has been accepted into East German espionage circles, Burton discovers that what he thought was his mission was a mere subterfuge--and that he's been set up as a pawn for an entirely different operation. Though Ireland and England "stand in" for East Berlin, Spy Who Came In From the Cold has the air of authenticity throughout, thanks in great part to the bleak black and white photography by Oswald Morris. The film was condemned as incomprehensible by those filmgoers accustomed to the simplistic melodramatics of James Bond; seen today, the double-crosses and double-double crosses seem all too clear and credible. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alfred Lynch and Sean Connery star as a pair of klutzy RAF members, during World War II, who are more interested in running petty confidence scams that toting rifles. Though they doggedly avoid extra effort of any kind, Pope (Lynch) and Pascoe (Connery) are sent on a top-secret mission. The more the duo screws up, the more they succeed in pulling off their assignment, and through no real input of their own they become heroes. On the Fiddle more closely resembled an American service comedy than a British film, thus it was logical that its U.S. title was Operation SNAFU. During the James Bond craze, the film was retitled Operation Warhead and Sean Connery's participation was played up in the ads -- complete with the anachronistic inclusion of bikini-clad starlets! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British stage star Jessie Matthews, who lit up the silver screen in England during the '30s, returned to the screen for her first starring vehicle in five years in Candles at Nine. Adapted from Anthony Gilbert's novel Mouse Who Couldn't Play Ball, it's a haunted house/mystery film along lines that intersect with Gaslight, Rebecca, and a dozen lesser influences from the same genre. Matthews plays Dorothea Capper, a plucky, unpretentious chorus girl who suddenly inherits 100,000 pounds (easily the equivalent of several million dollars in the British economy of the early '40s) from an eccentric great-uncle whom she never even knew. The problem is the disappointed would-be heirs, who would like her out of the way -- one of whom tries to take care of that matter before she even goes to claim her inheritance. The estate itself, called Brakes, is a pretty forbidding place, especially as maintained under the housekeeper Miss Carberry (Beatrix Lehmann), who likes shadows (as opposed to Dorothea, who loves the sunlight). So not only must she contend with the rivals, but with Miss Carberry as her diametrical opposite in just about every way possible, hating the fact that Dorothea is now the mistress of Brakes. And neither the heroine nor the audience can be certain that detective Bill Gordon (John Stuart), who is trying to protect her, is quite up to the job. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this drama, "The Rat" is the moniker for a notorious jewel thief whose life suddenly changes when a friend facing life imprisonment asks him to take care of his daughter. She does a good job of helping in the thief's home, but then a woman falls for him and throws her own boy friend out. The jilted lover decides to get revenge, goes to the Rat's home, and attempts to kidnap the young girl, who fights back so hard she kills him. The kindly thief then takes the rap for the murder, but at the last moment in court, the other woman appears and provides him with a real alibi causing the girl to go to prison. Fortunately, in lieu of the circumstances, she is given a light sentence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi