William Lucas Movies
British leading man William Lucas came to films at age 30, after a decades' worth of stage experience. Lucas' first important movie role was an unusually complex part in X the Unknown (1955). While he made occasional film appearances thereafter, most of his time was taken up by stage and TV work. In the 1990s, William Lucas was a regular on two British TV series: The New Adventures of Black Beauty (1990) and Eldorado (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1961
A normally placid pussy turns into a ferocious feline hell-bent for revenge against the treacherous trio who murdered her mistress in this interesting horror film. One of the killers was the woman's husband; the other two were her servants. The woman was quite wealthy, and the avaricious trio killed her to get at her fortune. Unfortunately, the crime was witnessed by the cat. Later the husband tries to convince his niece that the cat and the will must be destroyed. Soon after, the killer kitty leaps out and literally scares him to death. The cat then takes the niece and her lover to her aunt's corpse. In the end, the three inherit the fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andre Morell, Barbara Shelley, (more)
- 1960
The Motion Picture Production Code was still in effect (albeit weakly) when Sons and Lovers was filmed in 1960, so don't expect a thoroughly frank and faithful adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence novel. Set in an English mining town, the film focuses on Paul Morel (Dean Stockwell), the sensitive son of a roughhewn, alcoholic miner (Trevor Howard) and his gentle, repressed wife (Wendy Hiller). Intent on becoming an artist, Paul is not above depending upon the financial kindnesses of the young women of the town. Many of the girls carry a torch for him, but his strong bonds to his mother leave him emotionally sapped. Freddie Francis's evocative, grimy industrial-town cinematography won him an Academy Award. Despite censorial restrictions, this admirably captures the essence of the dour Lawrence original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Dean Stockwell, (more)
- 1960
Three stars appear in two separate but intertwined stories of romantic triangles gone wrong in this ambitious drama. In the first segment, Hagolin (Orson Welles) is a loutish construction worker with an unhappy wife, Eponine (Juliette Greco). The wife becomes involved with a swarthy working man, Larnier (Bradford Dillman), and their passion knows no boundaries of caution or safety. Eventually, Eponine's and Larnier's lust drives them to madness, and they murder Hagolin. The second tale concerns an up-and-coming young lawyer, Claude (Dillman), whose mentor is a highly successful veteran attorney, Lamerciere (Welles), with a beautiful young wife named Florence (Greco). Claude finds himself defending Larnier and Eponine, while Lamerciere dies of a heart attack after he discovers that Florence has been unfaithful to him with Claude. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck also wrote the screenplay, under the pen name Mark Canfield. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Juliette Greco, (more)
- 1960
In this crime drama, a renowned safecracker, just out of the slammer, finds himself immediately involved with a plot to rob a bank by entering the vault via the sewer system below. The plot goes awry and they all go back to the pokey. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Escaping from an insane asylum, Ellen Summers (Lana Morris) calls upon "Invisible Man" Peter Brady, claiming that she being held against her will by sinister forces. She further explains that her fiance George Wilson has been falsely convicted of murder and condemned to death. With only a few hours before the execution, Peter must deploy his invisibility to round up the miscreants who have misused Ellen and rescue Wilson from the hangman's noose--assuming, of course, that the girl is telling the truth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this drama, the commanding officer of a British Royal Air Force flight training school must deal with an ornery, irresponsible cadet. The lad reminds the officer of himself when he was young. It also reminds him that his own youthful arrogance and foolishness caused the death of the new recruit's father. The young man only settles down when the C.O. saves him during maneuvers. The boy is injured during the flight which gives him serious pause for thought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, (more)
In this British comedy, a luckless London window washer loses his job and ends up working in an enormous country estate that boasts more windows than any place in England. Things get worse when the self-centered heir of the manor forces the worker to accompany him to a local hotspot. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson, (more)
- 1956
X the Unknown is a well-crafted imitation of the Quatermass British sci-fi pictures of the 1950s. A group of soldiers on maneuvers in Scotland stumble across a gravel pit which emanates an unusual amount of radiation. Several deaths occur before the radioactive material is mysteriously stolen. Researcher Dr. Adam Royston (Dean Jagger) speculates that the thief is some sort of inhuman monstrosity dwelling at the Earth's core. He points out that past radioactive disturbances have been occurring at 50-year intervals, each followed by sudden deaths and the disappearance of the material. Royston suggests that the unknown monster has been resuscitated by humankind's recent atomic experiments. Sure enough, the monster manifests itself as a huge slab of glowing radioactive mud (laugh now if you must -- you won't laugh when you see it). X the Unknown works well within its limited budget; unfortunately, many TV prints have been truncated, robbing some of the best horrific moments of their full impact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, (more)
- 1956
In its television version, The Strange World of Planet X was a seven-part serial (or, as we might call it today, a mini-series) shown on Britain's ITV network as part of its Saturday Serial anthology series. The script was authored by actress-turned-writer Rene Ray, based on her own book of the same name, and the program was co-directed by Arthur Lane and Quentin Lawrence. The story involved a group of scientists performing visionary and dangerous experiments involving time travel and its consequences. The program had a distinguished cast headed by theater and screen veteran Helen Cherry (aka Mrs. Trevor Howard) and William Lucas (X The Unknown), and presented a fairly cerebral concept in an engrossing, even exciting way that held audience attention for nearly two months on the tiny fledgling network, this at a time when there were only a relatively small number of television sets in England. That success led to a subsequent film adaptation, made two years later, which utilized a very different plot by another screenwriter, Paul Ryder -- he also drew his story from elements of Ray's original novel, but went for more accessible visual chills in the denouement, involving giant mutated insects. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Lucas, Helen Cherry, (more)
Postmark for Danger was filmed in England, where it was released as Portrait of Alison. Terry Moore stars as an American actress who becomes the unwitting dupe in a diamond-smuggling schemes. Ingredients essential to the action are a beautiful strangulation victim (Josephine Green), an unusual charm bracelet, a curiously labelled bottle of chianti, and a hastily sketched drawing on the back of a postcard. The screenplay, by cinematographer Guy Green (who also directed), was adapted from a popular British TV serial. Released stateside by RKO Radio, Postmark for Danger was produced by Tony Owen, the husband of actress Donna Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry Moore, Robert Beatty, (more)
- 1955
An 18-month-old baby disappears in London. The parents, US embassy worker David Knight and his wife Julia Arnall, are panic-stricken. Detective David Farrar tries to locate the child, but clues are scarce. At the last possible moment, Farrar rescues the infant from a grueling fate and collars the kidnappers. This nail-biting film is filled to capacity with many of Britain's top supporting players, including Thora Hird, Everley Gregg, Joan Sims, Shirley Anne Field, Joan Hickson, Dandy Nichols, Mona Washbourne, Barbara Winsor and George Woodbridge. Released in the US by Republic, under the title Tears for Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Farrar, David Knight, (more)
