Frank Middlemass Movies

Ian Sharp's Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War concerns itself with Thelma Caldicot (Pauline Collins), whose life changes radically after the death of her husband. After her spouse dies, thanks to an errant cricket ball, Thelma is taken out of her home by her son Derek (Peter Capaldi) and her daughter-in-law Veronica (Anna Wilson-Jones). She is admitted to the Twilight Years Rest Home, which is run by Hawthorne (John Alderton). Upset with the care she and the other patients receive, Thelma leads a revolt. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The eighth season of As Time Goes By finds golden-age sweethearts Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer) and Jean (Judi Dench) fretting over the breakup of the romance between Lionel's publisher Alistair (Philip Bretherton) and Jean's daughter Judy (Moira Brooker). At the same time, Jean's employee Sandy (Jenny Funnell) calls it quits with her policeman boyfriend Harry (David Michaels). Midway through the season, Alistair has linked up with Sandy, and Judy is going out with Harry. Fun and games of a different nature occur when Lionel and Jean make a foredoomed effort to build a second bathroom in their house. On a more serious note, a financially strapped Lionel is faced with the possibility that he may have to sell his beloved country house. Things brighten up considerably by season's end, as Alistair returns to Judy and Sandy patches things up with Harry. ~ Rovi

The sixth season of As Time Goes By finds senior-citizen newlyweds Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) and Jean Parteger (Judi Dench) more or less adjusted to their marital status. Still, Lionel remains a blustery blowhard, the better to make a fool of himself when trying to prove that he's just as capable of doing things as well today that he did forty years earlier. Meanwhile, the implacable Jean blithely forgets her many promises to retire from running her secretarial service -- in fact, she's now working harder than ever. In other developments, Jean's wearisome sister-in-law, Daisy (Zoe Hilson), incurs Lionel's wrath when she considers moving next door to the couple; and having broken up with Jean's daughter Judy (Moira Brooker), Lionel's publisher Alistair (Philip Bretherton) becomes engaged to another woman -- an arrangement Jean hopes to rend asunder for her daughter's sake. The season closes with a typically hilarious situation as Lionel stumbles in his efforts to inject some "surprise" in his marriage. ~ Rovi

The fourth season of As Time Goes By finds acerbic author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) upset over the fact that his sweetheart, Jean Parteger (Judi Dench), with whom he has moved in as a means of rekindling their romance from four decades earlier, has invited lovelorn employee Sandy (Jenny Funnell) to move in with the couple as well. Later on, Lionel and Jean are forced to play host to Jean's tiresome sister-in-law Daisy (Zoe Hilson). Publisher Alistair (Philip Bretherton) insists that Lionel "sex up" the TV-movie script based on Lionel's latest novel and to that end hires a troublesome secretary, Gwen Flack (Vivienne Martin). Despite innumerable quarrels and personal and professional travails, Lionel and Jean decide to get married. The wedding goes off as well as possible considering the amount of nervousness and family meddling surrounding it, but things do not bode well for the senior-citizen "newlyweds" when Jean refuses to retire, even though she'd implicitly promised Lionel that she would do so. ~ Rovi

In the second season of As Time Goes By, author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) and businesswoman Jean Parteger (Judi Dench) are still toying with the notion of resuming their romance which had been interrupted years earlier. In the course of the season's half-dozen episodes, Jean expresses surprise upon meeting Lionel's widowed father, Rocky (Frank Middlemass), who is as eccentric and boisterous as Lionel is persnickety and patronizing. Later on, the couple is put in a variety of situations wherein they must deny that they are still very much attracted to one another. At season's end, Lionel's latest book is published, whereupon he embarks on an autograph tour -- with Jean not far behind, despite her own professional duties. ~ Rovi

This award-winning TV production tells the true story of a heroic woman's underground operation to spirit Allied soldiers out of Nazi-occupied France. Her name is Mary Lindell, a British-born Red Cross nurse living in France with her two teenage children, Maurice and Barbé, by Lindell's marriage to Count de Melville. The story begins in Paris in 1940 when a downed British flier, Maj. James Legatt (Sam Neill), stumbles to a table at a sidewalk cafe. Dressed in a shin-to-shoulder overcoat and dizzy with fatigue, he plops into a chair. At a table nearby, Lindell (Judy Davis) notices his boots -- British issue and a dead giveaway. When German soldiers approach the flier, Lindell walks to his table and slaps him smartly, pretending he is her drunken husband. The ruse works. Lindell then takes Legatt to her home in a taxi and nurses him to health. During their time together, they fall in love -- chastely, without overtly disclosing their affection for each other. Using her feminine wiles and forceful personality to bamboozle SS hounds, she effects his escape back to England, then dedicates herself to rescuing other allies. All goes well until a flier botches his escape. An investigation and trial send Lindell to prison for nine months, which she barely survives. After her release, her son and daughter hide her and restore her to health, and Lindell goes back to work smuggling Allies across the border -- this time with the aid of a priest (Denholm Elliot) and Maj. Legatt, who tracks her activities from his headquarters in England. She eventually ends up in the Ravensbrück concentration camp north of Berlin, and in the conclusion of the production, viewers learn the ultimate fate of Lindell and Legatt. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Produced for British television, this multipart adaptation of Dickens' Great Expectations stars Anthony Hopkins as the mysterious convict Magwich, who secretly finances the education and entree into society of young Pip. With 6 hours at its disposal, this version is able to cover the length and breadth of the Dickens original, without resorting to the heavy cutting and telescoping inherent in previous film versions. The most piquant bit of casting in the 1989 Great Expectations is that of Jean Simmons. In the 1946 film version, Ms. Simmons played the fickle Estrella as a child. Here, she essays the meatier role of the reclusive, half-balmy Miss Havisham, she of the rotting wedding cake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"The Blue Carbuncle" is an episode of the television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It's an excellent adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories, produced in Britain for Granada TV. In this episode, Jeremy Brett portrays the famed detective aided by his companion Dr. Watson (David Burke) as the two help find the thieves of a famous blue gemstone stolen from the Countess of Morcar (Rosalind Knight). This series re-creates the adventures of Conan Doyle's Victorian detective with impeccable faithfulness to the original story first published in the Strand Magazine during the late 19th century. 13 of the Holmes short stories were adapted in this series, which was followed by two sequels, The Return of Sherlock Holmes and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes as well as several TV movie adaptations. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

The Island, a turgid action drama directed by Michael Ritchie, revolves around the adventures of Maynard (Michael Caine), a newspaper reporter who tries to solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Maynard, and his son crash-land on a remote island ruled by a gang of pirates who kill anyone who intrudes there. From beginning to end, The Island is slow, uninvolving and very bloody. The terrible script by Peter Benchley, who also wrote Jaws, is jagged and the dialogue is cliched. The film was an economic disaster and is only of interest because of a good score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Vincentio (Kenneth Colley), Duke of Vienna, is a good and kindly ruler, but his leniency has allowed vice to thrive. So he decides to leave town temporarily, putting in charge his stern chief deputy, Angelo (Tim Piggott-Smith). Immediately, Angelo condemns the young nobleman, Claudio (Christopher Strauli), to death for getting his sweetheart, Juliet (Jacqueline Pearce), pregnant. Isabella (Kate Nelligan), an aspiring nun who is Claudio's sister, is disgusted by Angelo's suggestion that she "lay down the treasures" of her body to save her brother's life. Meanwhile, the Duke returns to town in the guise of a friar to see how his domain is faring in his absence. When he spies around, he learns of Claudio's imprisonment, and he overhears the dilemma that Angelo has created for Isabella. The helpful ''friar'' then suggests to Isabella that Mariana (Jacqueline Pearce), who was once betrothed to Angelo, take her place in the darkness of Angelo's bedroom. Mariana agrees, and the scheme goes according to plan. However, Angelo reneges on his promise because he fears Claudio will seek revenge if he is released, and instead he orders Claudio's immediate execution. However, Duke Vincentio, still disguised as a friar, persuades the prison warden to spare Claudio and to trick Angelo into thinking Claudio is dead. When Duke Vincentio doffs his disguise and reappears as himself, Angelo, realizing the game is up, asks to be executed to avoid a degrading trial. But Mariana, steadfast in her love for Angelo, pleads for his life. Mercy and a happy ending triumph. Claudio returns from the dead to wed Juliet. Angelo is spared and marries Mariana. The Duke then begs the hand of Isabella. He tells her, ''Dear Isabel, I have a motion much imports your good; whereto if you'll a willing ear incline, what's mine is yours and what is yours is mine.'' ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Of the many stage, screen, and television adaptations of Leo Tolstoy's mammoth novel War and Peace, this multi-episode British TV version is widely regarded as one of the most thorough and entertaining. The grim days of Napoleonic wars and the "Little Corporal's" ill-fated invasion of Russia were shown through the eyes of a large, interwoven group of protagonists, including the sensitive intellectual Pierre (played by a young Anthony Hopkins, who won the BAFTA Best Actor award) and the ethereally lovely Natasha (Morag Hood). Of the supporting cast, Alan Dobie as Prince Bolkonsky and David Swift as Napoleon were standouts. The 20 45-minute episodes of War and Peace first aired in the U.K. from September 28, 1972 through February 8, 1973. The series was syndicated in the U.S. courtesy of PBS beginning November 20, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi