Philip Locke Movies

The biblical story of Jacob explored in this made-for-TV movie starring Matthew Modine as the titular religious figure and Lara Flynn Boyle as his love Rachel. Set against the backdrop of Jacob's many trials from God throughout his life, Turner Pictures' production focuses on the romantic aspect to present what many consider to be the best love story in the Bible. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

British character actor Alfred Molina contributes another top-rank characterization in Virtuoso. Molina essays the role of real-life concert pianist John Ogden. The film touches briefly upon Ogden's performing genius, then takes a dark turn by concentrating on his descent into mental illness. Alison Steadman co-stars in this made-for-British-TV production. Virtuoso was first seen in the US over the A&E cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in Italy, The Inquiry uses the Bible as a launching pad for speculative fiction. Shortly after the Crucifixion, Roman investigator Titus Valerius Taurus (Keith Carradine) is dispatched to the Holy Land. His mission: to find out who removed the body of Jesus Christ. Carradine is hampered in his investigation by governor Pontius Pilate (Harvey Keitel), who is anxious to keep the details of Jesus' last moments on Calvary from becoming public knowledge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Box of Delights, based on the children's book by English poet laureate John Masefield, was produced by the BBC, from a screenplay by Alan Seymour under director Renny Rye in mid-1984. Set in 1934, the six-part miniseries tells the story of young Kay Harker (Devin Stanfield), who, while on his way home from school to join his family for Christmas, meets an old Punch and Judy man named Cole Hawlings (Patrick Troughton), and then a pair of clergymen (Geoffrey Larder, Jonathan Stephens) who seem to have picked his pocket -- and all of whom seem to know all about Kay, who he is, and where he is going. Before long, he is in the center of a struggle for the title object, an artifact dating from pagan times that allows the holder to manipulate time and space. The evil Abner Brown (Robert Stephens) wants the box and will stop at nothing, including kidnapping and murder to get it, while Cole Hawlings, who is actually a 500-year-old alchemist, has sought out Kay's help to keep Brown and the forces he serves from stealing the box. Kay's adventures include a visit to an embattled Arthurian camp beset by wolves, an encounter with flying unicorns and other magical beasts, and other fantastic visions. Kay gradually comes to understand the magical world he has entered, but can he learn enough of the powers he controls before Abner -- who has embarked on a final great wickedness, culminating on Christmas Eve -- can succeed? ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this intriguing mystery set in the textile and lace-making center of Nottingham, Harry Webster (David Lyons) appears to be a normal, middle-aged husband and father with a decent job, a married daughter, and not much at all to complain about in life. Then one day after his birthday party, he walks out of the house and is never seen again. Except for a note that cryptically says he is tired of leading a "double life," there are no clues as to what other kind of a life he had. His wife Liz (Annette Crosbie) goes out to search for her husband, with the help of a curious reporter (Cornelius Garrett). As the search continues, there are hints that Harry may have been a Luddite (named for Ned Ludd, said to have destroyed textile machinery in 1779) -- a member of a revived group of rebel workers from the Nottingham area that destroy machinery -- and there have been factory bombings in the area of late. Liz continues her search throughout the region, leaving no stone unturned, yet her prospects for success begin to wither as days and weeks go by with no luck at all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This evocative look at a 1914 ocean voyage to scatter the ashes of a world-famous opera singer (Janet Suzman) is by turns charming, funny, and bizarre. Among the ship's passengers are aristocrats, politicians, singers, and a rhinoceros. Their episodic interactions form the core of the film, with complications (including a group of refugee Serbs boarding the vessel) carefully orchestrated by screenwriters Federico Fellini and Tonino Guerra to highlight the decay of European society prior to World War I. The ship sails on an artificial ocean against an artificial sky, crafted by art director Dante Ferretti in the studios of Cinecitta, with a result that is both disconcerting and oddly comforting. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In the conclusion of the four-part story "Four to Doomsday," the Doctor (Peter Davison) discovers that the alien Urbankans intend to wipe out humankind, then repopulate the earth with androids designed to resemble the planet's various ethnic types. Only by hoodwinking the androids into performing a series of frenzied ritualistic dances will the Doctor be able to prevent this cataclysmic disaster. Stratford Johns guest stars as the frog-like Urbankan Monarch. First telecast January 26, 1982, "Four to Doomsday, Episode 4" was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like Watership Down, Plague Dogs is an animated cartoon feature based on a novel by Richard Adams and produced by Martin Rosen. And also like Watership Down, it is more appropriate for an older audience. Two dogs escape from a British government research lab. As the authorities hunt down the canine fugitives, the two dogs search for their original master and for a place where they'll be free from the iniquities and cruelties of Mankind. Plague Dogs was completed in 1982, but was not released in the US until two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second episode of the four-part story "Four to Doomsday," the Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companions are trapped aboard a space vessel commandeered by the frog-like Urbankans. Likewise in the same predicament are four other passengers, all apparently earthlings, each from a different race (Greek, Chinese, Mayan, and Aboriginal Australian) and different time periods. First telecast January 19, 1982, "Four to Doomsday, Episode 2" was written by Terence Dudley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Doing Time is the American title for the British-made Porridge. Based on a popular TV sitcom, the film stars Ronnie Barker as the unofficial leader of a group of cut-up inmates in Slade Prison. These lovable lawbreakers engineer the escape of a timorous first offender who has been railroaded into a long sentence. Barker accidentally winds up "outside" with the escapee--and spends the rest of the film struggling to break back into jail. British fans of Porridge weren't happy with this film version, citing attenuated material and repetition as its chief shortcomings. For the record, Porridge was the basis for a brief American sitcom titled On the Rocks, which ran (not without resistance from the National Association for Justice) from September 1975 to May 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alec Guinness plays against stereotype, imbuing his Adolf Hitler with an introverted solemnity in Ennio De Concini's Hitler: The Last Ten Days. Set almost entirely inside Hitler's Berlin bunker, the film chronicles the dying days of the Third Reich as the Allied armies close in on Berlin. Guinness's Hitler is an enclosed depressive who sinks slowly into madness, depression, and ultimately suicide as his 1,000-Year Reich collapses around him. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Steed and Emma are called on the scene when several members of the British Venusian Society, an astronomical organization, suddenly die of extreme old age. It turns out that all of the dead stargazers had been looking directly at Venus, which, according to "expert" testimony, is poised to invade the Earth. The truth is a bit more prosaic, but no less threatening for our hero and heroine. The first full-color Avengers episode, "From Venus with Love" was also the initial offering of the series' fifth season. Written by Philip Levene, the episode first aired in England on January 14, 1967; six days later, it was seen on American network television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi