Jane Merrow Movies
British lead actress, onscreen from the early '60s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1983
Having long carried a torch for the beautiful Vivian Brock Jones--aka Lady Wilkerson, the Duchess of Witt--Higgins (John Hillerman) gallantly offers to protect the lady from thieves who covet her priceless jewels. Rather forgetting himself, Higgins composes a love letter to the lady, which she thinks has been sent by HER dream man Magnum (Tom Selleck). This comedy of errors turns deadly serious thanks to a kidnapping scheme which inconvenently occurs just as Magnum is preparing for Rick's annual surf-ski race. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this British supernatural thriller a terrifying force takes possession of a classical musician and her father, compelling them to commit brutal murders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This true-life TV movie stars Glenda Jackson as Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal and Anthony Page as her author husband Roald Dahl. In 1964, Neal is felled by a stroke, which endangers not only her life but the life of her unborn child. Both survive, but it looks as though Neal will never be able to speak coherently again. Dahl bullies, cajoles and caresses his wife into recovery; she rallies under this treatment and is finally able to resume her career and lead a normal life. The film does not touch upon the serious domestic problems which would lead to Neal and Dahl's later divorce, nor does it dwell on the "dark side" of the notoriously mercurial Mr. Dahl. Nonetheless, both Neal and Dahl felt that the book upon which Patricia Neal Story was based, (Barry Farrell's Pat and Ronald) was far too revelatory for their tastes. They severed their longtime friendship with author Farrell and never spoke to him again; nor did they have anything to say publicly about The Patricia Neal Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a well-known psychiatrist reports that his wife has disappeared, the police discover an anonymous note stating that he has killed her. Under suspicion now of having murdered his wife and done away with the body, he becomes entangled in a suspenseful mystery as he tries to clear his name. One of several such movies, this one stands out of the pack. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Time for Love, aka New Kind of Love, was the pilot for an unsold anthology series. The throughline of the anthology was to have been "Opposites Attract," to which many viewers added, "Yeah? And then what?" The two stories comprising the pilot both trod the tired old "Shy and Nonshy" route. In one story, conservative junior executive John Davidson falls for swinging convention hostess Lauren Hutton. In the other, timid teacher Bonnie Bedelia is enchanted by rock star Chris Mitchum, who is trying to escape his screaming fans. Time for Love was the brainchild of Stirling Silliphant, one of the most prolific and successful writers of TV's so-called Golden Age. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The Rampart emergency staff can't understand why Federal agents are so closely hovering over one of their patients (Hedley Mattingly), an apparent schizophrenic. Other problems vexing the staffers this week include an urgent summons to a fireboat, which yields surprising results; a possible suicide; and a brand-new life that may be over before it begins. And in a lighter vein, paramedic John (Randolph Mantooth) is confused when his rather less charismatic partner Roy (Kevin Tighe) suddenly attracts a bevy of admirers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Featuring a smorgasbord of has-beens and never-weres only a Love Boat casting director could love, this silly '70s movie-of-the-week involves a demonically-possessed Druid artifact from an English monastery coming to supernatural life aboard a transatlantic airline flight, taking control of one of the passengers, and causing lots of made-for-TV mayhem. Panicked personnel include William Shatner as a besotted former priest, Buddy Ebsen as a boisterous tycoon and Chuck Connors as the gung-ho pilot. Even Gilligan's Island alum Russell Johnson is along for the ride. Shatner's performance falls a bit short of his eye-popping histrionics as another terrorized air traveler on an episode of The Twilight Zone. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This oft-filmed Conan Doyle story is given the TV-quickie treatment, with Stewart Granger as master sleuth Sherlock Holmes. The Great Detective is engaged to protect the life of Henry Baskerville, a young man whose life has been put in jeopardy, ostensibly by an ancient family curse. Holmes sends his assistant Dr. Watson (Bernard Fox) to investigate at Baskerville Hall, a desolate estate surrounded by the forbidding Grimpen Mire. Though Watson doesn't know it, Holmes has come to the Mire in disguise, to burrow through the case undetected. Working together, Holmes and Watson discover that a distant Baskerville relative plans to use a giant hound to kill young Henry and claim the estate for himself. If not the weakest film version of this classic suspense tale, Hound of the Baskervilles is certainly the shoddiest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Hammer's trademark gothic style permeates this suspenseful thriller, considered one of the acclaimed British studio's superior efforts, thanks largely to the directorial skills of Peter Sasdy. This marked his last feature-length collaboration with the studio until 1980, when he returned to direct installments of the Hammer House of Horror television series. In the film's prologue, young Anna, the infant daughter of the notorious Jack the Ripper, witnesses her mother's brutal murder at her father's hands. Years later, the lovely teenage Anna (Angharad Rees) is plagued by traumatic memories of the incident and repressed impulses in which love and death are inextricably linked. These impulses finally turn homicidal when her emotions are stirred, spelling doom for anyone who arouses her. Anna's case is handled by the repressed psychoanalyst, Dr. Pritchard (Eric Porter), whose growing physical attraction to the girl could result in far worse than a mere breach of professional ethics. Sasdy weaves the psychological elements through the story with finesse, paralleling the sexual tension between the doctor and his patient with the mounting horror of the inevitable outcome. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, (more)
- 1970
The IMF heads to London with instructions to identify the head of an espionage ring, a mysterious figure known only as K. To flush out their quarry, the agents enlist the unwitting aid of the beautirful and aristocratic enemy agent Lady Cora Weston (Jane Merrow). Maneuvering Lady Cora into a romantic triangle, Phelps and Paris nearly scuttle the mission when one of the men falls genuinely in love with the woman. The magnificent John Williams also appears as the cuckolded Lord Williams. First seen on February 22, 1970, "Lover's Knot" was written by Laurence Heath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
- 1970
Also known as Return of the Boomerang, Adam's Woman is set in the rough-and-tumble Australia of the 1840s. Beau Bridges plays Adam, convicted of a crime he didn't commit and shipped off to the penal colony "Down Under". Enduring brutal treatment, he escapes, only to be captured again. Thanks to the intervention of a reform-minded warden John Mills, Adam is offered a fresh start in life. An unexpectedly vicious climax finds Adam and his new wife (Jane Merrow) fending off a group of scurrilous ex-prisoners headed by Adam's onetime cellmate (James Booth). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Jane Merrow, (more)
The year is 1183. Like many a modern-day politician, Britain's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) finds it occasionally useful to take his wife out of mothballs and parade her before the public. Henry's Queen Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn), long exiled to a faraway castle, is "invited" to join Henry and their three sons for a family reunion. In this way, Henry hopes to maintain a stronghold on his Empire and to prevent the balance of power from shifting to Eleanor or to one of his sons: Richard the Lion-Hearted (Anthony Hopkins in his movie debut), Prince Geoffrey (John Castle), or Prince John (Nigel Terry). Also on hand for the get-together is Henry's mistress Princess Alais (Jane Merrow) -- who covets the King's influence -- and the Princess' brother, King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). Despite Henry's efforts to keep his wife and offspring at arms' length (and away from the throne), Eleanor successfully reunites the brood, assuring that her power will not only be restored, but will last long after her death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
- 1967
This lugubrious spy yarn finds Philip Scott (Stephen Boyd) posing as a toy manufacturer to hide his real purpose in life. He and his faithful operative Harris (Michael Redgrave) battle the evil Smith (Leo McKern) in Austria, England and West Germany. Toni Peters (Camilla Sparv) is the love interest in Philip's life, which is in constant danger from shadowy spies and double agents. The low-key direction ends up having no key to unlock anyone's imagination, but there's nothing inspiring about much of anything in this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, (more)
- 1967
Number Six awakens one morning to find that his appearance has been radically altered and that he has been reassigned the "identity" of Number Two. Compounding his confusion, he comes face to face with the new Number Six, who looks exactly like his "old" self (Patrick McGoohan plays both roles). It's all part of a scheme by the New Number Two (Anton Rodgers) to break down the protagonist's resistance --- and possibly, his sanity. Jane Merrow costars as Alison, a woman claiming to have a mental link with Number Six (but which one?) Written by Terence Feely, "The Schizoid Man" first aired in England on October 29, 1967, and in America on July 6, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The famed British horror trio of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and director Terence Fisher brought John Lymington's sci-fi novel Night of the Big Heat to the screen in this slow-moving shocker. The plot concerns a small British island where alien protoplasm creatures are attempting to raise the temperatures to match those of their home planet. The result is a winter heat-wave so intense that most of the island's residents go up in flames. Lee and Cushing are among the few survivors able to battle the malignant extraterrestrial scourge. Fisher proves once again that his deliberately paced directorial style is better suited to Gothic horror than to what should be fast-moving sci-fi. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The title sets the tone for what may well be the most incredible episode in the history of The Avengers. Steed and Emma are summoned to investigate when several people and a number of huge objects (including an armored tank) seemingly vanish. The cause of these disappearances is a newly developed shrinking machine, which villains intend to use to "miniaturize" their enemies. The silliness reaches its summit when a teeny-tiny John Steed rescues a normal-sized Emma. Written by Philip Levene, "Mission. . .Highly Improbable" was the final episode of the series' sixth season, making its British TV debut on November 18, 1967. Curiously, it was chosen as the first entry in the third American season of The Avengers, on January 10, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, (more)
- 1966
The System is a "Swinging London" comedy with an unsettling undercurrent of bitterness and cynicism. Oliver Reed plays a girlie-magazine photographer, the self-appointed leader of a group of handsome but unscrupulous bachelors who hang out in a British seaside resort. Their avowed goal is to seduce and abandon as many wealthy young girls as possible. One of the group, jealous of Reed's success, uses their "system" to hoist the leader on his own petard. Michael Winner solidified his reputation as a "mod" director in The System--and also displayed his utter contempt for the pretty young people he depicts. The film was released to the US under the more bankable title The Girl Getters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow, (more)
- 1965
In this creepy thriller a husband and his conniving boss conspire to murder his overly-demanding crippled wife. The friend wants her gone so that the husband will begin dating her niece. The husband is doing it because his boss is blackmailing him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Merrow, Georgina Cookson, (more)
