Arthur Malet Movies
British actor Arthur Malet came into prominence in the 1960s, playing old codgers while still relatively young. As banker Dawes Jr. in Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), he shared a funny musical moment with Dick Van Dyke; later on, he appeared on Van Dyke's television show, playing a doddering hotel plumber in the memorable episode wherein Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) gets her foot stuck in a bathtub faucet. Malet went on to play a village elder in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974), and was frequently seen as butlers in both films (Heaven Can Wait) and TV (Dallas, Easy Street). And in the otherwise ponderous Peter Pan sequel Hook (1991), Arthur Malet has a delightful scene in which, as the aged "Lost Boy" Tootles, he regains his childhood flying skills and circles merrily around Big Ben. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A privileged, free-spirited young girl tries to adapt to life in a strict boarding school in this charming, critically acclaimed children's fantasy. Adapting a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, also the author of The Secret Garden, the film shifts the story's setting to World War I. 10 year-old Sara Crewe (Liesel Matthews) has been left in a respected New York City boarding school while her British father heads overseas to fight. Filled with wild stories and a playful attitude, the unconventional Sara becomes popular amongst her classmates but quickly comes into conflict with the harsh headmistress, Miss Minchin (Eleanor Bron), who attempts to quash the child's individuality. The young girl's situation takes a serious turn for the worse when she unexpectedly receives word of her father's death, and, suddenly impoverished, is forced into life as a servant. Treated as a lesser class of person by her former companions, Sara instead befriends her fellow servants and turns to the power of imagination in order to maintain hope for the future. In addition to changing the story's setting, screenwriters Richard LaGravenese and Elizabeth Chandler add a layer of Indian mythology to the tale, allowing director Alfonso Cuaron the chance to punctuate the riches-to-rags fable with a series of lush, imaginative fantasy sequences. Though A Little Princess had difficulty attracting audiences during its initial run, its visual splendor and touching storytelling were praised by many critics, several of whom proclaimed the film one of the best family-oriented productions of its time. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, (more)
- 1973
When Cliff Robertson was toasted by Ralph Edwards on the TV series This is Your Life in 1972, Robertson was standing on the set of Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies. This production was announced as an "upcoming release"-though as it turned out, the film lay on the shef for several years thereafter. Robertson plays a barnstorming stunt flyer of the Roaring Twenties. Accompanying him from job to job is his 11-year-old son, Eric Shea. Despite having a child in tow, Robertson has no trouble scoring with the local lovelies wherever they go. 20th Century-Fox had so little faith in Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies that the company changed many of the names in the production credits: producer "Boris Wilson" was really Robert Fryer, director "Bill Sampson" was actually John Erdman and screenwriter "Chips Rosen" was known to friends and family as Claudia Salte. Only poor Cliff Robertson was denied the opportunity to cloak himself in an alias. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
When this seriocomic TV film first aired March 28, 1988, it was titled Addicted to His Love. Evidently to pacify certain feminist factions, the film was rechristened Sisterhood for syndication. Either way, this is the story of a smooth lothario, played by Barry Bostwick. In the course of 97 minutes, Bostwick finds time to romance and betray four women, played by Linda Purl, Coleen Camp, Erin Grey and Dee Wallace-Stone. Instead of getting mad upon learning that they're sharing Bostwick's affections, the four ladies join forces to get even. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Lucy Baldwin (Eileen Heckart) hopes to escape her domineering invalid mother (Madge Kennedy) by marrying her new beau, Arthur (Don DeFore). Assuming that Arthur is just a fortune hunter, Lucy's mom refuses to allow the marriage, prompting Lucy to commit murder. Ultimately, Lucy and Arthur are wed--but their troubles have only just begun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The most fascinating thing about Beastmaster 2 is how well the cartoonish sword-and-sorcery characters blend in to contemporary Los Angeles -- it may as well be documentary. Marc Singer plays Dar, a muscle-headed barbarian whose main claim to fame is his ability to communicate with a wide array of animal friends. Dar is informed that his evil brother Arklon (Wings Hauser) has nefarious designs on the universe. Arklon has teamed up with Lyranna (Sarah Douglas), a sexy witch who cracks wise in Valley Girl vernacular, a parlance picked up during her travels through the portal of time to a netherworld called L.A. Arklon has to find a quick way to decimate the universe, so Arklon and Lyranna travel through the portal to steal a neutron detonator from a military base close to Los Angeles. Dar and Southern California teen Jackie Trent (Kari Wuhrer) -- who had gotten stuck in the portal and ended up in Togaland -- pursue Arklon and Lyranna as they make their way through the time hole. Once in La-La land, Dra and his companion find themselves pursued by the LAPD, which considerably slows up their race to catch Arklon. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Singer, Kari Wuhrer, (more)
- 1967
When the Witches Council announces their intention to banish Aunt Clara for her misfire spells, Clara asks Samantha to defend her before a jury of her peers. A tense situation is made even more so when Clara's legal briefs get mixed up with important business papers belonging to Darrin's boss, Larry Tate. The guest cast includes Arthur Malet as warlock Judge Bean, and Nancy Andrews and TV horror-show hostess Ottola Nesmith as Sam's aunts, Hagatha and Enchantra. Written by Ed Jurist, "Trial and Error of Aunt Clara" was first broadcast on February 2, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
This standard, tongue-in-cheek, gangsters and good guys saga is carried on the star power and screen presence of Clint Eastwood as Lt. Speer, a taciturn, tough, play-it-by-the-book cop, and on Burt Reynolds as Mike Murphy, Speer's old friend in the force, now turned private eye but still a captivating rogue at heart. With a sub-text of playing their well-known screen personas off each other, Eastwood and Reynolds provide more than a surface interpretation of the characters that made them famous. After Murphy's partner is murdered, he focuses on pitting one mob boss against another in an attempt to have both mobsters kill each other. In the meantime, Lt. Speer -- who has never approved of Murphy's private detective business -- does not really know if Murphy is for or against the two top gangsters. Set in the era of speakeasies and Prohibition, an added layer of "film noir" can be discerned under the complex plot, verbal repartée, and episodes of toned-down violence (a kind of parody in themselves). Although this may not be the best film either star has made, it is still interesting to see them together on screen. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, (more)
- 1962
Based on the autobiography of convicted killer John Resko (played here by Ben Gazzara), this routine biographical drama looks at the crucial years between 1931 and 1949 in the convict's life. That period begins when Resko is convicted of killing a store owner and is sentenced to life in prison. After his arrival in prison Resko eventually gets involved in creating art, an activity that leads to a transformation in his character. That change became evident enough to garner the attention of the powers-that-be and by 1949, Resko receives a pardon. The prison system is shown as improving between the killer's first internment and his release, which in itself might make some viewers wonder what happened then, in the years between 1949 and the present. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Stuart Whitman, (more)
Warren Beatty directed and starred in this big-budget action comedy featuring Chester Gould's square-jawed, two-dimensional comic strip detective. Ruthless gangster Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) touches off a gang war against underworld boss Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino), with Big Boy and his minions rubbing out enough of Manlis's goons (along with Manlis himself) to take over his nightclub, and a healthy percentage of the city's criminal activities in the process. Caprice also gains proprietary rights to Manlis's girlfriend, nightclub chanteuse Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Big Boy's next move to is unite the rest of the city's crooks under his command; this wave of corruption attracts the attention of lawman Dick Tracy, who is determined to smash Caprice's criminal network once and for all. As Tracy plots to put Big Boy behind bars where he belongs, Breathless uses her considerable charms in an attempt to sway Tracy from the path of righteousness; this causes no small amount of anxiety for Tracy's long-suffering female companion, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), and the street-smart kid (Charlie Korsmo) they've been keeping an eye on. The various bad guys, heavily made up to resemble Gould's cartoon characters (though Beatty is not made up to resemble Tracy), include Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, R.G. Armstrong, and William Forsythe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, (more)
- 1979
It's Airplane on the rails in the made-for-TV Disaster on the Coastliner. A crazed engineer holds his employers responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. He gets even by setting two passenger trains on an irrevocable collision course. Salvation comes from a most unexpected corner in this otherwise thoroughly predictable disaster flick. The requisite all-star cast includes Mike Connors, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Fuller, Pat Hingle, E. G. Marshall, Yvette Mimieux and William Shatner. Disaster on the Coastliner premiered October 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Devious socialite Gene Barry stands to come into one million dollars. The catch is (and don't ask us why) that he must convince the authorities that he's dead. He arranges to switch identities with Lloyd Bridges, who is terminally ill. Diane Baker plays Barry's wife, who must needs be willing to "take this stranger" for the plan to succeed. Do You Take This Stranger? was a made-for-TV entry in NBC's Tuesday Night at the Movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
This second presentation of the classic dramatic anthology Du Pont Show of the Month is a lavishly mounted adaptation of Mark Twain's historical novel The Prince and the Pauper. Although virtually every film version of this work has either cast twin boys in the roles of young Prince Edward and his ragamuffin lookalike Tom Canty, or has employed split-screen photography to convey the impression that one child actor is actually two different people, this production aired live and was unable to recruit twins at such short notice. Thus, Rex Thompson, best known for his portrayal of Prince Chulanlongkorn in The King and I, plays Edward, while the remarkably similar-looking Johnny Washbrook, previously the star of the TV series My Friend Flicka, plays Tom. Twain's familiar plot remains intact, with the royal Edward and the peasant Tom trading places, leading to all manner of complications for the high- and lowborn citizens of 16th century England. Heading what was advertised as "a cast of 60" is Christopher Plummer as Sir Miles Herndon, who while seeking revenge against the brother who betrayed him befriends the incognito Prince Edward; Hurd Hatfield as that evil sibling, Sir John; Rosemary Harris as the brothers' mutual sweetheart Lady Edith; and Sir Cedric Hardwycke as the scheming Earl of Hartford, who knows that the youngster claiming to be the Prince of England isn't anything of the kind. Also seen is a very young Patty Duke as Edward's sister Princess Elizabeth. "he Prince and the Pauper" was adapted for television by Leslie Slote, who spent much of the 1950s fronting for fellow writers who had been blacklisted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Rosemary Harris, (more)
It was "The Night HE Came Home," warned the posters for John Carpenter's career-making horror smash. In Haddonfield, Ilinois, on Halloween night 1963, 6-year-old Michael Myers inexplicably slaughters his teenage sister. His psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) can't penetrate Michael's psyche after years of institutionalization, but he knows that, when Myers escapes before Halloween in 1978, there is going to be hell to pay in Haddonfield. While Loomis heads to Haddonfield to alert police, Myers spots bookish teenager Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and follows her, constantly appearing and vanishing as Laurie and her looser friends Lynda (P.J. Soles) and Annie (Nancy Loomis) make their Halloween plans. By nightfall, the responsible Laurie is doing her own and Annie's babysitting jobs, while Annie and Lynda frolic in the parent-free house across the street. But Annie and Lynda are not answering the phone, and suspicious Laurie heads across the street to the darkened house to see what is going on ... . ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
Opting for light entertainment after the critical satire of Shampoo (1975), producer-director-writer-star Warren Beatty remade the 1941 comic fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Dimly amiable L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is prematurely called to Heaven by an over-eager escort (Buck Henry, who co-directed) after a traffic accident. When archangel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers the error, he offers to return Joe to his body, only to find that it has been cremated. On the verge of playing in the Super Bowl, Joe demands a fit body rather than the old about-to-be-murdered industrialist Farnsworth he has been offered, but he reconsiders when he sees environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) in Farnsworth's house. Assuming Farnsworth's body while keeping his sweet self, Joe hires his beloved coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get him in shape (after convincing Max who he really is), sets Farnsworth's business on an eco-friendly path, and romances Betty. Farnsworth's homicidal wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin), however, are still determined to succeed in their plan to kill him. When Mr. Jordan finally finds the Super Bowl body Joe wanted, Joe has to trade his old self for the new life -- but will he remember his love for Betty? Heaven Can Wait offered contemporary yet old-fashioned escapism and tapped into the late-1970s vogue for nostalgic fun, becoming one of 1978's most popular summer movies after Grease. Updating the original while following its blueprint, Beatty and co-writer Elaine May switched Joe's sport and turned Joe into a man of his '70s moment, adoring Betty for her convictions and favoring "green" policies over corporate greed. Gently breathing life into a classic form, Heaven Can Wait found romantic innocence in a jaded time, and it went on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, (more)
Steven Spielberg filters J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan through a distinctly 1990s sensibility in Hook. Peter Pan has become Peter Banning (Robin Williams), a 40-year-old mergers and acquisitions lawyer with a permanent scowl on his face and a cellular phone in his belt. Banning has lost any memory of being Peter Pan, and he is also in danger of losing his wife Moira (Caroline Goodall) and two children, Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott). Peter and his family travel to London to visit Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith) who recalls Peter's lost youth and asks him, "Peter, dear, don't you know who you are?" With Peter's children asleep in the same bedroom where the original Peter Pan story began, there is a blinding flash. Peter comes into the room to discover a note from Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), informing Peter that he has kidnapped his children. Granny Wendy now tells him who he really is and encourages him to re-discover his happy thoughts, transform himself into the Peter Pan of the past, and go rescue his children. With the encouragement of Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts), Peter recalls the birth of his son and once again takes wing. Then it's off to Never Land to rescue his kids. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
- 1969
Having learned of the upcoming wedding of Jeannie (Barbara Eden) and Tony (Larry Hagman), Jeannie's magical uncles Azmire (Ronald Long) and Vasmir (Arthur Malet) show up. According to family tradition, if only one of the uncles disapproves of Tony, the wedding is off. Unfortunately, Azmire and Vasmir dislike each other, so much so that one of them invariably disagrees with the other on everything, and vice versa--meaning that Tony is toast no matter what happens! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, (more)
James Clavell incorporated a few of his own experiences as a British POW in his novel King Rat. Bryan Forbes' film version stars George Segal as the mastermind of all black market operations in a Japanese prison camp. He is called "King Rat" because of his breeding of rodents to serve as food for his emaciated fellow prisoners; the nickname also alludes to Segal's shifty personality. British officer James Fox helps Segal expand his operation to include trading with the Japanese officers. Though on surface level a thoroughly selfish sort, Segal saves the ailing Fox's life by wangling precious antibiotics from the guards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Tom Courtenay, (more)
Dick Van Dyke stars as U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Robinson Crusoe in one of Disney's weakest comedies. Like in the Daniel Defoe story, Crusoe finds himself alone on a deserted island, but this time he arrives there after ejecting from his disabled plane on a mission in the South Pacific. He befriends a chimp who is part of the space program and long thought to be lost at sea. Soon he meets his girl Wednesday (Nancy Kwan), and the duo is chased by her tribal chieftain father (Akim Tamiroff) who wants his daughter to marry Crusoe. Only the popularity of Dick Van Dyke from his television show and his wonderful performance in Mary Poppins could attribute for the $8 million this misfire brought in at the box office. The highlights of the feature are the special effects. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan, (more)
Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, (more)
- 1970
Assigned to assist in the defection of Anna Kerkoska (Julie Gregg), the daughter of a recently deceased IMF dictator, Phelps becomes aware that both he and Anna have been set up as "dead ducks" by the woman's government. With his usual professional aplomb, Phelps contacts his fellow IMF agents and concocts a sting operation that will hoist the villains on their own petard. But he hadn't counted on falling in love with the beautiful Anna. Written by John D.F. Black, "Decoy" first aired on November 7, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
- 1966
Herman Munster and his ghoulish clan leave the confines of their 1960s television series The Munsters to try their luck on the big screen in this feature length comedy that chronicles their adventures in merry England where Herman has inherited a large estate. Unfortunately, the Munsters do not realize that their new home is already inhabited by a ring of counterfeiters determined to frighten the family back to the United States. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1966
Mrs. Brown's ne'er-do-well brother Alvin (Gavin McLeod) persuades Martin (Ray Walston) to collaborate in the marketing of a "domestic" robot, the Wannamaker's Widdle Wife Saver. Unfortunately, the device turns out to be a worthless piece of junk, foisted on the gullible Alvin by con artist Dr. Dunlap (Arthur Malet). In his efforts to turn the tables on the crook, Martin succeeds only in making a bad situation worse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the third and final film in the Oh, God! franchise, Bobby Shelton (Ted Wass) is a struggling musician who can't get a break, which bothers him all the more now that his wife, Wendy (Roxanne Hart), is about to have a baby. Desperate and depressed, Bobby announces that he'd sell his soul to get ahead. Suddenly, Harry O. Tophat (George Burns), Satan's earthly representative, appears and offers Bobby a deal -- seven years of unprecentented fame and fortune in exchange for his soul. Bobby cynically accepts and discovers that the devil is true to his word, but he finds that the trappings of fame and wealth are empty pleasures, and he loses Wendy along the way. When Bobby declares that he's made a horrible mistake, God (Burns), who has been watching over Bobby, offers to help get his soul back as the devil offers Bobby's place in eternity as the prize in a poker game. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Ted Wass, (more)
- 1966
Can armed robbery help save a marriage? These and other questions about modern relationships are pondered in this comedy. Penelope Elcott (Natalie Wood) married James (Ian Bannen) after a very brief courtship, and as his star has begun to rise in the banking business, he spends less and less time with her, leading Penelope to wonder if he still cares for her. Penelope comes up with what she thinks is a good way to get James's attention -- disguising herself as an old lady and robbing his bank of $60,000. The robbery, however, goes off without a hitch, and wracked with guilt, Penelope confesses her crime to her analyst, Dr. Gregory Mannix (Dick Shawn). Mannix, however, isn't much help, since he's crazier than any of his patients and madly in love with Penelope to boot. Penelope also features Jonathan Winters in a one-scene role as Dr. Klobb. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Wood, Ian Bannen, (more)
