Virginia Maskell Movies
Expressive British actress
Virginia Maskell began hopscotching between the theatre and the screen in 1958. Despite her slightly melancholy features, Maskell was often seen in comedies like
Virgin Island (1958) and
Doctor in Love (1960). Even while essaying the stock role of
Peter Sellers' tiresome wife in
Only Two Can Play (1962), she managed to remain watchable and appealing.
Virginia Maskell died of a drug overdose at the age of 31; her last film,
Interlude (1968) was released posthumously. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

- 1968
- PG
Stefan Zelter (Oskar Werner) is a classical orchestra conductor who is sued for libel after statements made in a newspaper interview. He finds himself blacklisted and out of work and leaves his wife Antonia (Virginia Maskell) to be with the reporter Sally (Barbara Ferris). His wife nobly tells him he must never give up his music even though the two may never reconcile. This dramatic, romantic tearjerker has music by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff performed by the British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Comedian John Cleese has a straight role as a television publicist and Donald Sutherland plays the role of a mutual friend whose marriage is on the rocks. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Oskar Werner, Barbara Ferris, (more)

- 1967
-
Having been kidnapped and drugged after resigning his position, a British intelligence agent (Patrick McGoohan) awakens in the Village (a mysterious, Orwellian community). Now known as Number Six, he is expected to provide information to the enigmatic Number Two (Guy Doleman) if he ever hopes to escape the Village and return home. Things take an even more perplexing turn when Cobb (Paul Eddington), an old friend of Number Six, suddenly shows up...and just as suddenly kills himself. In one of her last appearances, (Virginia Maskell) guest-stars as "the Woman." "The Arrival" was co-written by series producer David Tomblin and George Markstein. This inaugural episode of The Prisoner first aired in England on October 1, 1967, and in America on June 1, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1964
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Originally released in Britain as The Wild and the Willing, this film stars Ian McShane as a young university scholarship winner. The product of a poor family, McShane runs up against a wall of prejudice and class consciousness. Rebelling against the intolerance of his professors and his fellow students, McShane becomes what would now be described as a "party animal", cutting up with his rebellious girlfriend Samantha Eggar. Sympathetic professor Paul Rogers tries to get through to McShane, but the boisterous student repays the "favor" by having an affair with McShane's wife Virginia Maskell. A social tragedy without any real discernable point, Young and the Willing is worth watching for an early supporting performance by John Hurt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1962
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Also titled The Wild and the Willing, this is a British production about a rebellious young man of the early 1960s. Harry Brown (Ian McShane) is a lower-class troublemaker at an upscale provincial university. He is brilliant but frequently drunk, and he constantly criticizes the elitism of his professors. Harry becomes the reluctant protégé of Professor Chown (Paul Rogers), who sees the boy's potential and hopes to tame him. Harry soon abandons his girlfriend Josie (Samantha Eggar) for a fling with Chown's wife Virginia (Virginia Maskell), a woman who frequently fools around with her husband's students. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, (more)

- 1962
-
Welsh librarian John Lewis (Peter Sellers), unhappily married to Jean Lewis (Virginia Maskell), falls in love with the glamorous Elizabeth Gruffydd Williams (Mai Zetterling). Zetterling is likewise saddled with a dull spouse, wealthy Vernon Gruffyd-Williams (Raymond Huntley). Finding themselves to be kindred spirits, Sellers and Zetterling plan an illicit affair. Alas, none of their carefully calculated schemes for a romantic tryst come to fruition thanks to a series of comic (but utterly credible) complications.
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, (more)

- 1961
-
The Risk is a mild melodrama concerning the political aspects of germ warfare. A group of British scientists led by Peter Cushing develop a means of wiping out the bubonic plague and typhus. Unfortunately the method is variable enough to run the risk of spreading the very diseases it is designed to destroy. When the British government refuses to allow the results of the experiments to be published, the scientists seek out support from a big-time publisher (Raymond Huntley) who has his own diabolical agenda. The Risk has moments of genuine tension, though not enough to fully realize the storyline's potential. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Tony Britton, Virginia Maskell, (more)

- 1960
-
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This is the fourth in a series of "doctor" films that began in 1953 with Doctor in the House. Unlike its predecessors, the chief medico is now Dr. Richard Hare (Michael Craig) and he tends to share the spotlight with a few colleagues, making this more of an ensemble effort. Dr. Hare is in his own hospital as a patient when he falls for the nurse (Moira Redmond) assigned to his room. That romance does not linger for long because he eventually meets the charming Dr. Barrington (Virginia Maskell) and really gives his heart away, metaphorically speaking -- this is not a transplant movie. Interspersed throughout the story of Dr. Hare and his colleagues are several funny episodes that have the imminently respectable protagonists turning up by accident at the wrong place -- such as a strip joint instead of a medical conference, or else they encounter unexpected characters, such as ladies of the evening, or they are involved in incidents that just seem to go from awkward to hilarious -- all making this a light-hearted spoof that would entertain any audience ready for an amusing film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Michael Craig, Virginia Maskell, (more)

- 1959
-
In this airborne disaster movie, a has-been brilliant scientist plants a bomb on a transatlantic jet to exact revenge upon a passenger whom he blames for his daughter's death -- she died during a plane crash. When the booby-trap is discovered and the passengers learn the motive for the scientists' actions, one of the passengers attempts to kill the man the scientist blames. A fight erupts and a window is shattered. The helpful passenger is sucked right out of the plane. Only when the scientist spies a child resembling his own lost daughter does he regain his humanity and disarm the bomb. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Stanley Baker, (more)

- 1958
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This soft-pedalled British comedy was adapted from Quiet Wedding, a play by Esther McCracken that had previous been filmed in 1940. On the eve of their nuptials, David (Ian Carmichael) and Janet (Janette Scott) have a serious falling out. It isn't really the couple's fault, however; as usual, their relatives have messed things up with their well-intentioned meddling. Patching up their differences, David and Janet decide that the best strategy is to hide out until the wedding, and to that end they embark upon a long motor trip. Unfortunately, a zealous traffic cop nearly prevents the couple's appearance at the altar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, (more)

- 1958
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The mental breakdown of a guilt-ridden man provides the drama in this fascinating psychological profile that stars Richard Attenborough as a scientist who can't live with himself after he accidentally kills the brother of his fiancee. In order to escape the pain, Attenborough changes his name and begins living in a ramshackle Victorian boarding house where he slowly begins losing his mind. Eventually the police show up and begin taking statements from the bewildered, frightened tenants. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, (more)

- 1958
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Based on Robb White's novel 3DOur Virgin Island3D (the film's original title), this harmless location-filmed comedy boasts an unusually impressive cast. With their combined life savings of $85, fiercely independent archeologist Evan (John Cassavetes) and his wife Tina (Virginia Maskell) purchase an island in the tropics. They create an idyllic home-away-from-home with the help of resourceful islander Marcus (Sidney Poitier). All is serene until Tina becomes pregnant--but the fun 3Dreally3D begins when she goes into labor while stranded with her husband in a rickety boat in the middle of the ocean. The "Philip Rush" credited as screenwriter is actually a joint pseudonym for blacklisted Hollywood scriveners Ring Lardner Jr. and Ian McClellan Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Virginia Maskell, (more)

- 1957
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Like many of his best works, filmmaker Douglas Sirk's Interlude is a remake of an earlier Universal soap opera. In this case, Sirk's source material is the 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer vehicle When Tomorrow Comes. Based on a story by (of all people) James M. Cain, the story concerns the romance between aspiring musician Helen Banning (June Allyson) and famed symphony conductor Tonio Fischer (Rossano Brazzi). Alas, Tonio is married, and his bibulous, vindictive wife (Marianne Cook) isn't about to give him a divorce. Meanwhile, stiff-necked American doctor Morley Dwyer (Keith Andes) waits patiently for his sweetheart Helen to come to her senses and return to his arms. Opulently location-filmed in Austria, Interlude was remade under the same title in 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- June Allyson, Rossano Brazzi, (more)