Wolfe Morris Movies

Kewpie-doll voiced Melanie Griffith does a sexed-up Nancy Drew turn in David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issacs' novel Shining Through. Set during World war II, Griffith plays Linda Voss, a spunky New York girl who applies for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas). Ed hires her immediately when he finds out that she speaks German fluently. The reason Ed is so interested in Linda's language skills is because Ed is an undercover OSS officer who needs a German translator. Their business relationship translates into love, but when America enters the war, Ed abandons his law practice to become a full-time spy. Utilizing Linda's charms, she travels to Berlin and infiltrates the Nazis as a domestic to try to discover information about "a bomb that can fly by itself." But Linda has personal as well as patriotic motives for agreeing to go undercover, since she has Jewish relatives in Berlin and wants to find out their whereabouts. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the Islamic faith and the story of the prophet Mohammed -- who, in accordance with the tenants of Islam, is never seen or heard (any physical depiction of the prophet is considered a heinous sin within the faith). In Mecca in the 7th century, Mohammed is visited by a vision of the Angel Gabriel, who urges him to lead the people of Mecca to cast aside the 300 idols of Kaaba and instead worship the one true God. Speaking out against the corrupt political and military leaders who rule Mecca, Mohammed and his followers struggle to worship God as they see fit, which eventually leads them into exile in Medina. However, one day God gives Mohammed a message to return to Mecca and take up arms against their oppressors -- while recruiting as many followers as they can along the way. With the help of his uncle, a brave warrior named Hamza (Anthony Quinn), Mohammed and his followers return to Mecca to liberate the city in the name of God. The Message (originally screened in the U.S. as Mohammed, Messenger of God) proved to be highly controversial during its production and initial release. Unfounded rumors had it that Mohammed would not only be depicted in the film, but that he was to be played by Charlton Heston or Peter O'Toole. This resulted in angry protests by Muslim extremists, until director Moustapha Akkad hired a staff of respected Islamic clerics as technical advisors. The advisors butted heads with Akkad, and they quit the production, which led the Moroccan government to withdraw their permission to film in their country. In time, Akkad ended up shooting on location in Libya under the sponsorship of Muammar Qaddafi, which presented a whole new set of political and practical problems for the filmmakers. Finally, when the film was scheduled to premier in the U.S., another Muslim extremist group staged a siege against the Washington D.C. chapter of the B'nai B'rith under the mistaken belief that Anthony Quinn played Mohammed in the film, threatening to blow up the building and its inhabitants unless the film's opening was cancelled. The standoff was resolved without explosion or injuries, though the film's American box office prospects never recovered from the unfortunate controversy. The Message was shot in two versions, one in English and one in Arabic (entitled Al-Ris-Alah), with different actors taking over some of the roles due to language requirements. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This anthology picture about a bad-luck mansion is a thriller with four episodes--all framed by a police investigation. A review of the files of the local policeman (John Bennett) shows that everyone who has owned the mansion has died in a horrible fashion. In the first episode, "Method for Murder," the obsessions of a mystery writer (Denholm Elliott) provide his wife with an opportunity to do him in. In the second, "Waxworks," Peter Cushing is the unhappy recipient of the attentions of a jealous husband. The third, "Sweets to the Sweet," has Christopher Lee fall victim to his charming little daughter, who plays with voodoo dolls. In "The Cloak," Jon Pertwee (best known for his TV portrayal of Dr. Who) is a horror-film star who insists on authenticity in his costumes. Somehow, he is given the cloak of a real vampire, with humorously ghoulish results. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this British farce, the British Home Secretary satisfies the men of London by sanctioning a government-run brothel. This comedy chronicles what happens when secretary John Bird appoints Sir Francis Leybourne to run the place. Bird then has his lovely girlfriend Babbette act as the Madame. Sir Leybourne owns an opium plantation in India and one day goes there to see it. Unfortunately, he gets killed in an uprising, leaving his prim niece Josephine Pacefoot in charge of the cathouse. A staunch believer in social reform, she is quite sure what to do with the disreputable business. Leybourne's son has plenty of ideas too and wants the fortune and the bordello for himself. The ensuing struggle creates plenty of trouble and many laughs. Though the film originally received a British "X" rating, the sex is pretty tame by modern standards. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the six-part story "The Abominable Snowmen," the Great Intelligence is poised to release his army of Yeti robots on the helpless world. The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) finally hits upon a method to banish the Intelligence forever. But what effect will this have on the Doctor's ancient and venerable comrade, Padmasmabhava (Wolfe Morris)? Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, "The Abominable Snowmen, Episode 6" first aired on November 5, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fourth episode of the six-part story "The Abominable Snowmen," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) must figure out a method of escaping the evil Great Intelligence, which has enslaved the denizens of a remote Tibetan monastery. The danger increases as the villain's army of robotic Yetis converge upon the TARDIS. This last-mentioned sequence is the only known surviving fragment of "The Abominable Snowmen, Episode 4." Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, the episode first aired on October 21, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Regular viewers were in for a jolt when, early in the proceedings of the December 18, 1965, episode "Two's a Crowd," hero John Steed was killed right before their eyes. Actually, the dead man was a double of Steed, an enemy agent hired by a mysterious masterspy known as Psev. As the real Steed tries to get to the bottom of things, Emma becomes convinced that her partner isn't her partner at all, and thus is a candidate for elimination. Written by Philip Levene, "Two's a Crowd" made its British TV debut on December 18, 1965, and its American TV bow on May 9, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Decapod" is the professional name of a wrestling champion who the Avengers suspect of being an assassin. When the secretary of a Balkan ambassador is murdered, Steed's assistant Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) takes the dead woman's place. Trailing the killers, Venus ends up at a professional wrestling match, while Steed does some grappling of his own to fend off the real assassin. Written by Eric Paice, this episode was originally telecast October 13, 1962; its American debut was delayed until January 29, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this remake of the British thriller, a young TV journalist assists Scotland yard with the strange murder of a reclusive millionaire whose corpse was found locked in a vault. The key to the vault was on the table beside the corpse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This hastily assembled sequel to the popular British service farce Up the Creek finds David Tomlinson returning in the role of Lt. Fairweather, skipper of the not-so-good ship Aristotle. This time, however, Fairweather's enterprisingly larcenous bos'un is played not by Peter Sellers but by music-hall favorite Frankie Howerd. The plot finds the Aristotle being sold to a mythical middle-eastern country. Assigned to deliver the vessel to its new owners, Fairweather discovers that his faithful bos'un has once again sold tickets to passengers, in direct violation of regulations. The resulting comic complications are as predictable as they are hilarious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a so-so early Hammer horror film from Nigel Kneale, who also wrote The Quatermass Experiment. Forrest Tucker and botanist Peter Cushing lead an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains (actually the Pyrenees, but who's complaining?) in search of the legendary Yeti. Several mysterious locals tell them to stay away with the sort of cryptic warnings found only in horror movies, but they carry on regardless. As expected, the furry beast is alive and well and mangles the explorers one by one until the predictable final showdown. The monster isn't shown very often and looks silly when it finally shows up, but there is a fair amount of atmosphere, and the stars are always fun to watch. Director Val Guest's career continued to slide from its 1940's highs until, by the '70s, he was making leering nonsense like The Au Pair Girls. ~ Robert Firsching, 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