Jennie Linden Movies
British actress Jennie Linden made the transition from stage to films in 1963. Linden has the distinction of co-starring in the first Dr. Who movie, playing the resourceful Barbara in Dr. Who and the Daleks. Her later film roles include Mrs. Elvsted in Glenda Jackson's 1973 filmization of Hedda Gabler and silent-screen star Agnes Ayres in Ken Russell's Valentino (1977). On television, Jennie Linden starred as Patsy Cornwallis-West in the 1978 miniseries Lillie, and was later seen in the 1991 weekly Trainer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideThe "endless game" is espionage, which goes on and on despite government upheavals and changing international attitudes. Albert Finney plays a retired secret agent called back to active duty. Finney is entrusted with the task of finding out why his fellow retirees are being killed off. One of the victims is a woman who'd once been Finney's lover. Anthony Quayle makes his final screen appearance in this made-for-cable suspenser. Endless Game was written and directed by Bryan Forbes--surprisingly, his first foray into the spy-film genre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This version of the classic tale of estranged twin brothers, one good and one evil, whose lives and swords cross as adults, was made for British television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
David Hemmings plays Charlie Muffin, a working-class British secret agent who suffers fools and aristocrats not at all well, and as such is in constant conflict with his superiors. Unlike James Bond, Charlie bleeds when you prick him...and he cares, deeply. Britain's M16 unit reluctantly assigns Charlie the task of protecting Valery Kalenin (Pinkas Braun), head of the KGB. Kalenin is ostensibly defecting, but Charlie gloms onto the truth of the whole affair early on. He also figures out that those unseen assassins taking potshots at him are not only in the employ of the KGB, but also the M16. Originally released in 1979, Charlie Muffin did not receive widespread American exposure until its October 1983 telecast on PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, Pinkas Braun, (more)
Rudolph Valentino, born in Italy in 1895 as Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Philibert Guglielmi, emigrated to the U.S. and became for a time the reigning male romantic lead of the silent-film era. He died in 1926, having led a short, troubled and tempestuous life which included several stints in prison. The crowds surrounding his coffin before and during his funeral were among the largest ever seen in the U.S. In this film, Ken Russell has used events from the famous actor's life as the basis for an extended meditation on the nature of stardom, and especially on what it means to be a sex idol. Beginning and ending with the funeral of Valentino (Rudolf Nureyev), the story chronicles his rise to Hollywood stardom from life as an Italian emigrant dishwasher and show-dancer. Often embroiled in controversies about his manliness (or perceived lack of ), in the film he dies as a result of internal injuries suffered in a boxing match he fought in to defend his honor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Nureyev, Leslie Caron, (more)
Hedda is a tasteful, literate cinematic translation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Glenda Jackson plays Hedda, the restless, free-spirited daughter of a Norwegian military officer. Hedda is married to George Tesman (Timothy West), a dull professor whom she does not love. Bored with her lot, Hedda begins playing with the life of the trusting Thea Elvstead (Jennie Linden) and pushes her former love, the poetic Eilert Lovborg (Patrick Stewart), into attempting suicide. Hedda's machinations come to naught when she is threatened with exposure by the lascivious Judge Brack (Peter Eyre); the judge agrees to keep mum if Hedda will become his mistress. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Jackson, Timothy West, (more)
This horrendous horror spoof stars David Niven, who manages to keep a stiff upper lip as the title character. The Count, by now too old to dine out, must instead host tours of his castle in order to lure fresh victims. Hoping to resurrect his dead lover through the blood of a suitably beautiful woman with the correct type, he fortunately manages to rent the old homestead to a group of voluptuous Playboy bunnies for a photo shoot; he winds up draining the blood of a gorgeous black model who fits the bill. Much to his surprise, his lover returns as Teresa Graves, and he too becomes black by the end of this startlingly unfunny (and mildly racist) attempt at a sexy spoof of the standard Dracula theme. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Teresa Graves, (more)
Sister Mary is a fictional character in a popular British soap opera. When Sister Mary is killed off by the scriptwriters, a mentally unbalanced fan objects. The fan insinuates himself (or herself?) on the set of the program and begins bumping off the other actors. Jennie Linden plays the title character in this predictable thriller, while top-billed George Maharis tries to prevent further carnage. Videotaped in London, Death to Sister Mary debuted in America on May 21, 1974, as part of the late-night anthology ABC Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lee Remick made her TV movie debut in And No One Could Save Her. She plays an American heiress whose husband (Frank Grimes) has apparently disappeared in the middle of a transcontinental flight. Remick heads to Ireland, her husband's original destination, to get to the bottom of things. And No One Could Save Her was the first TV production of the Robert Stigwood Group (Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Can't Stop the Music etc.) The film originally aired February 21, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This sophisticated black comedy sex romp is based on the novel by Iris Murdoch, which she also turned into a stage play (with J.B. Priestley). Ian Holm, is hapless wine-taster Martin Lynch-Gibbon who has both a mistress (Jennie Linden) and a nymphomaniac wife, Antonia Lynch-Gibbon (Lee Remick). His best friend, psychiatrist Palmer Anderson (Richard Attenborough), is having an affair with Antonia. Palmer's half-sister Honor Klein (Clair Bloom) is having sexual relations with him also, which he is slightly apologetic about. The wine taster has had a lifelong antagonism for his friend's half-sister, but after his wife and mistress leave him, he takes up with Honor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough, (more)
Women in Love is set in 1920s England, where free-spirited artist Gudrun (Glenda Jackson) and her schoolteacher sister Ursula (Jennie Linden) make the acquaintance of lifelong friends Gerald (Oliver Reed) and Rupert (Alan Bates). The foursome attends a picnic in honor of a pair of newlyweds, who put a damper on the proceedings (literally!) by drowning in a nearby lake. Evidently unscathed by this tragedy, Gerald and Rupert participate in a nude wrestling match later that evening (this was the sequence that got the most press, thanks to fleeting glimpses of the male stars' privates). Gerald marries Gudrun, Rupert weds Ursula, and the foursome embarks upon a Swiss honeymoon. The holiday is marred by infidelity and sudden death, leaving Rupert to wonder aloud just what it is that makes men and women "tick." An Academy Award went to Glenda Jackson, while nominations were bestowed upon screenwriter Larry Kramer and cinematographer Billy Williams (who received an uncredited assist from director Ken Russell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, (more)
Dr. Who was/is the longest-running entertainment series ever to run on the BBC, and for a variety of reasons, including its sassy humor, delightfully idiotic sets and special effects, and some first-class star-turns by a series of usually underrated actors in the title role, it generated a fanatic and devoted following in the U.K. One of the earliest "Doctors" in the movies was the great horror favorite Peter Cushing, and in this movie he saves the universe and, not incidentally, our dear old earth, from domination by the mostly robot and decidedly anti-biological Daleks (predecessors of the Borg, no doubt), a group of endearingly awfully designed (and made) A-frame shaped robots which, when massed together, appear to be engaged in a bumper-car race. No matter, the story races along at a furious and improbable pace, punctuated by wisecracks and gags, most of them from the almost-wise Doctor himself as he races about in his infinitely large (on the inside) antique London telephone booth known as "the Tardis" (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), protecting the innocent. Fans of the series will be delighted with the film, but as is so often the case, newcomers to the series will wonder what all the fuss is about. The cumulative cheesiness of the whole Dr. Who concept does take quite a bit of getting used to, and any attempt to take the series or this movie seriously is doomed to failure. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, (more)
Honor Blackman made her final Avengers appearance as Cathy Gale in this episode, which was originally broadcast on March 21, 1964. The plot is set in motion when a British agent is burnt to death. The only clue to his murder is an odd-looking chess piece, which leads Steed and Cathy right into the clutches of a nasty drug-smuggling ring. Several possible endings were filmed for this episode before the final one was chosen, wherein Steed makes a subtle reference to Honor Blackman's upcoming appearance in the James Bond theatrical film Goldfinger. Written by Richard Lucas, "Lobster Quadrille" wasn't shown in America until April 6, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Legendary cinematographer (Freddie Francis) directed this Hammer horror film of madness and murder. The story concerns young Janet (Jennie Linden), a student at finishing school who is suffering from a series of recurring nightmares, having witnessed her mother stabbing her father to death. When her nightmares intensify, Janet is brought to the home of her guardian, Henry Baxter (David Knight). Henry is not home, but Janet is put into the care of his live-in nurse, Grace (Moira Redmond). Janet's nightmares continue, in which she sees a woman in white beckoning her into her parents' bedroom. Following the apparition, Janet sees the woman lying in bed, with a knife sticking from her chest. When Henry returns home, he is told by the doctors that Janet should be confined to a mental institution. Henry refuses, but the arrival of Henry's wife changes all that -- when Janet sees Henry's wife, who resembles the woman from her dreams, she grabs a knife and stabs her to death. Janet is committed to an institution for the criminally insane. However, it turns out that Grace had deliberately disguised herself as the woman in white to drive Janet over the brink and kill Henry's wife, so that they could be married. Henry and Grace get married, but Grace then receives reports that Janet has escaped from the institution and is returning to Henry's estate, bent on revenge. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Knight, Moira Redmond, (more)














