Betty McDowall Movies

Satan's son has arrived on Earth and He's not about to let human parents get in the way. When his wife Katherine's (Lee Remick) pregnancy ends in a stillbirth in a Rome hospital, U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) substitutes another baby, whose mother died. Little Damien (Harvey Stephens) thrives, but, at his fifth birthday party, his nanny mysteriously dies; Father Brennan (Patrick G. Troughton) also expires after warning Thorn that he has adopted Lucifer's son. While sinister new nanny Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) assiduously protects Damien, Thorn's fears escalate when photographer Jennings (David Warner) shows him pictures from Damien's party with marks suggesting how the nanny and Brennan would die. Thorn seeks out Bugenhagen (Leo McKern), an exorcist who confirms Damien's identity and tells Thorn that the only solution is to kill his adopted son. As the bodies pile up, Thorn tries to do his duty, but trust the law to get in the way of saving the world from future Armageddon. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

This James Bond parody brings a new sort of jet-set secret agent to the screen -- one who hates flying, is afraid to shoot people, and would rather stay at home! Col. Mostyn (Trevor Howard) is the head of a special branch of British intelligence who is appalled to discover that a number of his best agents are either leaving the force or have turned out to be traitors. It is decided that Mostyn and his men need a special agent to ferret out those who leave his employ while knowing too much and silence them permanently. Mostyn decides the right man for the job is his old army buddy Boysie Oakes (Rod Taylor), but there's a bit of a problem -- while the job requires a globe-trotting assassin who can stare calmly into the face of death, Oakes is a mild-mannered fun seeker who is terrified of airplanes and faints at the sight of blood. None of this dissuades Mostyn, who still gives Oakes the assignment, but when he finds out that flying and guns are a big part of his new job, he hires someone else to do the dirty work for him. Oakes eventually develops a taste for the cars, women, gadgets, and danger of his new career, but the real acid test comes when he actually has to go on an assignment himself. The Liquidator was directed by Jack Cardiff, who along with a respected career as a director was one of the most distinguished cinematographers in the British cinema, lensing such classics as The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and Black Narcissus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

First Men in the Moon is an H.G. Welles cinemadaptation from director Nathan Juran. When scientists in the year 1964 are confused by evidence of a long-ago space flight, nonagenarian Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd) explains all. Back in 1899, Bedford, eccentric scientist Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) and heroine Kate Callender (Martha Hyer) took a trip to the moon in a home-made space vehicle. Once on the lunar surface, they encountered an alien civilization resembling an ant colony, complete with "queen," soldiers and workers. How they returned, and the aftereffects of their journey, comprise the film's final third. Peter Finch appears briefly as a messenger; he happened to be visiting the set when the actor hired to play the bailiff's assistant failed to show up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A spy ring is responsible for the death of Betty McDowall's husband as discovered by reporters. ~ All Movie Guide

Adapted from the book Lake of Darkness, the story concerns an innocent young man who tries his hand at gambling. After winning a bag of loot, he finds himself mixed up with a sorry bunch of undesirables. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Suspenseful, interesting, and macabre, this period piece by Robert S. Baker overcomes a weakness in characterization by sheer dint of storyline and action. Jack the Ripper still remains the unidentified killer of at least three, probably five, and possibly even eight prostitutes living or working in London's East End in 1888. The murders occurred in August, September, and November of that year and were never solved. Because various internal organs of the dead victims (their throats were cut after they were strangled into unconsciousness) were removed rapidly and with an accurate surgical technique, investigators have postulated that the demented serial killer was a surgeon. In this cinematic version, the murders are shown as they happened while Inspector O'Neill (Eddie Byrne), along with an American detective Sam Lowry (Lee Patterson) try to track down suspects and prevent the next killing. The theory put forward here is that Jack the Ripper was looking for one particular woman. As the tension mounts, his suggested identity -- and what happened to him -- is revealed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an American gumshoe goes to Johannesburg, South Africa to prove the innocence of a native accused of stealing diamonds. While there, he meets an American beauty who turns out to be the leader of the smuggling ring that framed the native. The detective falls in love and then finds himself faced with a difficult decision--should he follow his heart or his sense of duty? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Victor Mature stars in this European-based crime thriller. Mature is an FBI agent on the trail of a drug smuggling operation, following his quarry all over the Continent (with accompanying pretty pictures of Portugal, Spain, France etc.) The criminal mastermind (Trevor Howard) is something of a lunatic, who has already strangled Mature's sister to death just for the hell of it. Anita Ekberg plays Howard's luscious courier; as usual, her "acting" consists to breathing heavily in a low-cut dress. The title Pickup Alley was the invention of Columbia's New York office: The film's original British title was Interpol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide