Helen Morse Movies
Best known internationally for appearing in the syndicated miniseries A Town Like Alice (1981), Australian actress Helen Morse began her decade of sporadic feature-film appearances with Jock Petersen (1974). Morse studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. One of her best-known film roles is that of Diane in Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1987
In this depressing melodrama, Iris (Monique van de Ven) runs away to the big city on her 18th birthday. She moves in with a successful architect and is content to keep house for a while, but she soon grows restless and decides to become a veterinarian. With an inheritance she purchases an existing clinic in a jerkwater town. Iris is leered at by the men and scorned by the women of the backwoods region. Practical jokes and malicious gossip eventually lead to violence. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Monique Van de Ven, John Kraaykamp, (more)
- 1984
Filmed in New Zealand, Iris is based on facts that were well known to its original target audience. Helen Morse, who previously had starred in the Australian TV serial A Town Called Alice, portrays famed journalist Iris Wilkinson. The film covers Iris' efforts to balance her public and private life, and the inevitable breakdown when the problems and pressures of one life spills over into the other, and vice versa. Iris was first telecast in the US over the A&E cable network. Its original domestic title was Out of Time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
When a political reporter disappears in Southeast Asia, it is up to his wife to find him. She enlists the help of a former boyfriend, who is still coping with his unresolved feelings for her. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Helen Morse, (more)
- 1981
Silent Reach is a two-part Australian TV movie. American actor Robert Vaughn returns to Man From UNCLE territory as a US intelligence agent who has just successfully pulled off an assignment. Unfortunately his methods are not "by the book," and he is fired. Licking his wounds, Vaughn takes a security job with a large Australian business concern that isn't quite as above-board as it seems. Silent Reach debuted in America over the Lifetime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute's novel of the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II, was first filmed as a theatrical feature in 1956. The six-part British TV adaptation of 1980, first shown in the US on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre beginning October 4, 1981, is more inclusive and sweeping in its adaptation. Much of the story concentrates on the oppression exercised upon the female British citizens of Malaya by the Japanese troops, including the infamous 6-week "death march" through the jungles. The miniseries begins just prior to the invasion, when the British citizens find it hard to believe that they're in danger. The subsequent horrors are seen through the eyes of two POWS: A British woman (Helen Morse) and an Australian soldier (Bryan Brown). Thrust together by the war and its related deprivations, the two prisoners fall in love. But at war's end they return to their separate countries of birth, and their ardor cools. After an awkward and inconclusive reunion, the lovers ultimately renew their relationship--a circumstance once more sparked by a crisis in their lives. A Town Like Alice was Masterpiece Theatre's first presentation of the 1981-82 TV season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that question. Vanessa Redgrave is cast as Ms. Christie, who vanished from her home not long after her husband (Timothy Dalton) informed her that he was leaving her. Nearly two weeks later, after being the subject of a nationwide search, Christie showed up none the worse for wear at a health spa in Yorkshire, insisting that she could remember nothing of her experiences during her disappearance. According to scriptwriters Kathleen Tynan and Arthur Hopcraft, Christie was located before her return by American reporter Wally Stanton (an uncomfortable-looking Dustin Hoffman), after enjoying a brief romantic fling with the authoress. The journalist decided to keep his discovery a secret. Another plot wrinkle concerns Christie's plan for revenge against her errant husband -- a scheme with all the earmarks of a Miss Marple or Poirot whodunit. Agatha represented former TV director Michael Apted's matriculation to A-pictures with major stars; he fared better with his subsequent endeavor, Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 1976
The "Caddie" in this Australian thriller is not of the golfing variety, but is instead the nicknamed bestowed upon the heroine. Helen Morse plays a barmaid in 1930s Sydney whose husband walks out on her. Left with two kids to raise by herself, Helen struggles to make ends meet without losing her self-respect. Her favorite customer is Takis Emmanuel, who likens Helen to an expensive Cadillac (or "Caddie"). Romance blossoms between the two lost souls. Also appearing in Caddie is ubiquitous Aussie character actor Jack Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helen Morse, Takis Emmanuel, (more)
Peter Weir's haunting and evocative mystery is set in the Australia of 1900, a mystical place where the British have attempted to impose their Christian culture with such tweedy refinements as a girls' boarding school. After gauzily-photographed, nicely underplayed scenes of the girls' budding sexuality being restrained in Victorian corsets, the uptight headmistress (Rachel Roberts) takes them on a Valentine's Day picnic into the countryside, and several of the girls, led by the lovely Miranda (Anne Lambert) decide to explore a nearby volcanic rock formation. It's a desolate, primitive, vaguely menacing place, where one can almost feel the presence of ancient pagan spirits. Something -- and there is an unspoken but palpable emphasis on the inherent carnality of the place -- draws four of the girls to explore the rock. Three never return. No one ever finds out why. The repercussions for the school are tragic, and of course Roberts reacts with near-crazed anger, but what really happened? Weir gives enough clues to suggest any number of explanations, both physical and supernatural. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, (more)
- 1974
This comedy follows the exploits of Tony Petersen (Jack Thompson), a mature married man with two children who decides to go back to school for an undergraduate degree. Tony has one problem, which he probably feels is only a minor complication: he is like catnip for women. Luckily for him, he likes them back. Luckier still, his wife understands this. When things on the campus get dicey for a young woman, the incredible social skills of Petersen enable him to save the day. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Thompson, Jacki Weaver, (more)
An undercover cop named Stone (Ken Shorter) infiltrates an outlaw biker gang called the Grave Diggers, only to discover that he has more in common with the two-wheeled warriors than he previously though after a professional assassin attempts to set them up for a big fall. A prominent environmental activist has just been assassinated, and the police suspect that the Grave Diggers are withholding crucial information relating to the killing. Realizing that the Grave Diggers will never speak to regular policemen, the cops recruit Stone to ride with the gang and find out what they know. Accepted into the fold after saving the life of a grateful Grave Digger, Stone begins to respect the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt) and his crew due to the fact that they operate by their own unique code of ethics. Later, as the Grave Diggers prepare to strike back against a rival motorcycle club, Stone suspects a set-up and attempts to convince them not to fall for it. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Stone was correct. When the violence finally erupts, no one is safe from the bloodshed that threatens to destroy the Grave Diggers, and consume Stone in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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