Bill Nagy Movies
Born in Canada, actor Bill Nagy spent the bulk of his career in England...playing Americans. He was particularly adept at gangsters and thugs, as witness such films as Joe MacBeth (1956) and Mickey Spillane's The Girl Hunters (1963) and his TV guest-star stints on The Avengers, The Saint, and Secret Agent. Nagy had a varied choice of roles in British/American productions like Road to Hong Kong (1962), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) and The Adding Machine in Hong Kong...er, The Adding Machine (1968). In First Man into Space (1957), Nagy convincingly played a New Mexico police chief, although the film's British countryside was decidedly more forrested than the real American Southwest. In a later sci-fi assignment, Nagy played the President of a quasi-American nation where reproduction is a capital crime in the futuristic Z P G (1972). Perhaps the biggest moneymaking film with which Bill Nagy was associated was Goldfinger; as Midnight, Nagy was a member of a powerful gangster cartel which was inhospitably rubbed out by the villainous Mr. Goldfinger (Gert Frobe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2002
Unlike other syndicated courtroom series which focused on a "celebrity" judge, We the Jury lived up to its title by taking its cameras into the jury room. Each half-hour episode featured an actual court case, albeit reenacted by professional performers for the purposes of drama and economy. The jurors, however, were genuine, and their decisions were binding -- even if they differed from the decisions made in the "real" case. A collaboration between Chambers Productions and Telco Productions, We the Jury was nationally syndicated by TVi Media beginning September 9, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This satirical fantasy is based upon an Elmer Rice play from 1923. A hard-working office employee is rewarded for his years of slavish devotion to the company by getting fired just prior to retirement and being replaced with an adding machine. Now, with only his nagging wife waiting at home to add more misery to his dreary life, the man has nothing left and goes over the edge. He murders his boss and then goes on trial. He is convicted and put to death. He dies a happy and free man, thinking that he will surely go to Hell. Strangely enough, he ends up in a heavenly waiting area with other killers who are all there to be reassigned to new lives back on Earth. While waiting, he meets his new guardian angel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Milo O'Shea, (more)
- 1968
In this rabid anti-communist science fiction tract, scientist Arnold Kramer (Peter Arne) convinces the Pentagon that the communist Chinese are digging a complex series of tunnels from China and beneath the United States, from which they plan to detonate nuclear weapons and destroy the free world. Kramer enlists Commander Jonathan Shaw (Kerwin Mathews) to assist Kramer in trying to prevent the literal and final collapse of the U.S.A. Shaw sets up shop inside an extinct Hawaiian volcano, attempting to destroy the main supply tunnel coming from China. But before the team can complete their mission, they are captured y the evil Chinese. Now it is up to Shaw and Kramer to escape the clutches of the Chinese in order to activate a nuclear stockpile inside the tunnel and incinerate the Chinese forces. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerwin Mathews, Vivienne Ventura, (more)
- 1968
CIA agent Donovan (Gene Barry) travels to Britain to untangle a web of international spies. He falls for the estranged wife of local secret agent Langley (Tom Adams). Anne (Joan Collins) starts a romance with Donovan before her son is kidnapped by rival agents. While any other mom would worry herself sick, Anne spends her time getting her hair done and selecting a fabulous gown in which she appears in the following scenes. Donovan narrows the suspects down to a trio of agents, all who may have reason to turn double agent and place their country in political turmoil with counter espionage. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Barry, Joan Collins, (more)
- 1968
Bill McLean (Van Heflin) is a former CIA agent living in London. He had been fired when he stuck up for one of the men in his command who turned out to be branded a Russian defector. The embittered ex-agent combines forces with another operative to deliver a top Russian secret police official for a price. Before he can deliver the Russian, a trail of corpses and double crosses changes his plans. When his partner who concocted the scheme is murdered, McLean returns the check to the CIA. They offer him his old job back, but the proud man refuses in this suspenseful spy yarn with plenty of intriguing twists and turns. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Heidelinde Weis, (more)
- 1967
Charles Chaplin wrote, directed, and scored this old-fashioned romantic comedy, which proved to be his last film. Wealthy American diplomat Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) is sailing from Hong Kong to Hawaii, where he hopes to meet and reconcile with his estranged wife Martha (Tippi Hedren). However, while the ship takes on passengers in Hong Kong, a stowaway slips into Mears' suite. Natascha (Sophia Loren) is a White Russian countess who was forced to flee the country following the revolution and ended up in Hong Kong, where she earns a meager living as a dime-a-dance girl in a sleazy ballroom. When Mears discovers that Natascha is an uninvited guest in his quarters, she begs him to help her emigrate to the United States; when he refuses, Natascha tries a new tack, threatening to tell Martha that they've been sharing a stateroom if he doesn't cooperate. Mears grudgingly allows Natascha to stay with him and keep her secret until he can figure out a clever way to get rid of her. Margaret Rutherford has a showy supporting role as an eccentric passenger, and Chaplin gives himself a silent cameo as a bumbling porter (no fewer than four of his children also appear). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1965
Dr. Love (David Niven) is a suave British secret agent sent to Lebanon to investigate the murder of his colleague Parkington (Nigel Davenport) by an enemy agent in this spy spoof. With the help of the beautiful Vikki (Francoise Dorlac), Love uncovers a plot by Russian agents to kill a Middle Eastern Prince who favors the British. The story was taken from the novel Passport To Oblivion by James Leasor. Niven carries the feature with his typical aplomb. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Françoise Dorléac, (more)
With Goldfinger, the James Bond series took a turn away from relatively straightforward spy thrillers and toward campy gadgetry, extravagant sets, and kitschy jokes. Bond (Sean Connery) has to prevent a notorious gold smuggler, appropriately named Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe), from robbing Fort Knox. Goldfinger is surrounded by evil henchmen such as the sexy female pilot Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and Oddjob (Harold Sakata), who kills with his steel-rimmed bowler hats. In order to stop Goldfinger, Bond has to survive several perilous situations, including a huge, deadly laser. Goldfinger is one of the most popular films in the James Bond series, and it set the tone not only for the rest of the series but also for most of the action/adventure films of the late '60s and early '70s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, (more)
- 1963
Novelist Mickey Spillane portrays his own creation, Mike Hammer, in The Girl Hunters. Hammer has spent seven years in an alcoholic funk after the supposed death of his secretary, Velda. He is brought back to the land of the living by his old friendly enemy, police lieutenant Pat Chambers (Scott Peters), who wants Hammer to extract some information out of a dying federal agent. This puts Mike on the trail of a subversive communist organization, the key to which seems to be sexy Laura Knapp (Shirley Eaton), the widow of a murdered senator. When Hammer determines that following this espionage trail may lead to relocating Velda, who might not be dead after all, he pursues matters with his usual fascistic tendency to pummel first and ask questions later. The Girl Hunters is the film in which Mike Hammer incapacitates an opponent by literally nailing the latter's hands to the floor. But that's kid stuff compared to the fate in store for the treacherous Laura Knapp. The Girl Hunters was filmed in its entirety in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Spillane, Shirley Eaton, (more)
This was the last trip in the "road" comedies that Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and a bevy of female stars that featured Dorothy Lamour once made famous. In this road to Hong Kong and parts far beyond, Chester and Harry (Hope and Crosby) are a couple of failed vaudeville stars looking for a way to riches in the confidence game. Chester's memory goes kaputz, and the two end up involved with Diane (Joan Collins), a spy looking for a secret formula, and a bunch of hoodlums who plan on sending up a rocket to the moon with special equipment allowing them to rule the planet earth. The pair of heroes gets caught in the rocket instead of the originally intended monkeys, and the monkey business continues in outer space -- where it seems to be all along. In this mixed collage of events, several stars pop up in cameo roles: Peter Sellers, Dean Martin, David Niven, Frank Sinatra among them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, (more)
- 1962
In this crime drama, a young woman goes undercover at a stripjoint to investigate the murder of her brother, a police detective. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
The title refers to an astronomical phenomenon that might bring about the end of the world. The only scientist who knows for certain what's in store for mankind is brutally murdered, bringing Steed and Cathy in on the case. As the Avengers elude various villains and sidestep government cover-ups in order to get to the truth, the "dwarf" -- actually a meteor -- draws nearer and nearer to the Earth. An interesting precursor to the X-Files school of justifiable paranoia, "The White Dwarf" was written by Malcolm Hulke. First seen in England on February 16, 1963, the episode made its American TV debut exactly 28 years and nine days later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this British thriller, an avaricious, ambitious fellow, desiring to hold the reins for a major auto company, must frame someone for murder before he can get what he wants. He chooses a reformed embezzler who works for the company. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
After a town in Asia Minor is reduced to rubble by an earthquake, an American named Hadley (Peter Dyneley) volunteers to help locate the injured survivors. Also pitching in to help is a mysterious stranger, who after rescuing seven people from certain death perishes himself. When the fingerprints of the unknown Good Samaritan are taken and matched with police records, the authorities are in for quite a shock. This is the first of several One Step Beyond episodes filmed in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this crime drama, an FBI agent and a vengeful sister pursue diamond thieves who pulled their latest caper by placing a time-bomb aboard a plane piloted by the woman's brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Set in post WW II-Vienna this British spy adventure centers on an international effort to thwart the communists that is led by an American newspaper journalist trying to save the two innocents from certain death. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This is an unimpressive spy-comedy from director Stanley Donen who inserts his specialty, a small song-and-dance number, into the odd proceedings. Gangster Nico March (Yul Brynner) has been ordered out of the United States because of his unsavory activities and back to the Greek island from whence he came (actually Rhodes). Once on the island, various characters enter the picture, including a local, corrupt police chief. Nico decides to send for a bundle of money left in the States but his double-crossing "friends" send him a bundle of feminine wiles instead, Gabby Rogers (Mitzi Gaynor). Obviously, Nico is none too pleased with the lousy substitution for hard cash, though he does not yet realize he is sure to fall in love with her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Bill Nagy, (more)
- 1960
In this comedy set in Spain, Paco (Maurice Reyna) is a young boy with a part-time job as a messenger at a local bank. Paco's father drives a taxicab but has fallen deep into debt, and he loses his hack when he's unable to pay a mechanic for needed repairs. All day long, Paco hears about people getting loans from the bank to pay their bills, and, unaware of the way these things work, he "borrows" one million pesetas from the till to help his father along. It doesn't take long for someone to notice the money is missing, and not only is the bank eager to get it back, a group of local mobsters are after Paco's new fortune as well. A number of cleverly designed chase sequences enliven the second half of this story, which was shot on location in Valencia, Spain. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virgilio Teixeira, Maurice Reyna, (more)
- 1960
Set in Canada, this nasty little fable is about a respectable village elder (Patrick Allen) who is also a sexual deviate. Using candy as bait, he persuades two little girls to dance naked for him. When the girls complain to their parents, the old man is taken to court, but his prestige in town assures an acquittal. Inevitably, the man's perversities lead to the death of a child. The British title for this repellant film was Never Take Sweets From a Stranger; it was based on John Hunter's play The Pony Cart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwen Watford, Patrick Allen, (more)
- 1959
A full thirty years before Look Who's Talking would hit the screens with its verbose little infant, Max Bygraves and Shirley Jones starred in this routine comedy about a talking baby. Little Bobbikins (Steven Stocker) is the 14-month-old son of Benjamin and Betty (Bygraves and Jones) who is perfectly normal until his father comes home from his stint in the Navy and decides to reprise a career in show business. When nothing seems to go right for him, little Bobbikins decides to give Dad a few helpful hints. He never talks to anyone else, and this leads others to think his father is hearing things. Soon the baby gives some hot tips when his Dad becomes friends with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, leading to a killing on the stock market. Now rich and definitely affected by it, this new Dad has baby wondering if there is something he could do to bring him back down to earth again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Bygraves, Shirley Jones, (more)
- 1959
Filmed not long after the launch of Russia's Sputnik satellite, First Man Into Space benefited from a surface realism made possible by enhanced public knowledge of space-travel jargon and paraphernalia. Dashing astronaut Lt. Dan Prescott (Bill Edwards) disappears from view when his experimental spacecraft vanishes in a mysterious cloud. The space capsule returns to Earth, covered in a bizarre extraterrestrial coating. Shortly thereafter, a hulking, half-human creature raids a blood bank, killing the nurse on duty and gulping down the supplies. More bizarre, unexplained events occur before Prescott's older brother Cmdr. C.E. Prescott (Marshall Thompson) concludes that the monster is actually his missing brother, transformed by his experiences in space into a mutant, vampiric beast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, (more)
- 1958
If official documentation didn't exist, we'd never believe a fantastic yarn like I Was Monty's Double. Actor M.E. Clifton James plays himself, a British stock-company actor who becomes an unsung hero during World War II. It seems that James, serving his country as a junior officer, is the exact double of General Montgomery. Major John Mills trains James to impersonate Montgomery to the last detail, then sends the actor on a tour of North Africa, the better to divert the German's attentions away from the real "Monty." Based on James' own written reminiscences, I Was Monty's Double was released in the U.S. under the baffling title Hell, Heaven or Hoboken! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Cecil Parker, (more)
Filmed on location in Africa, Mark of the Hawk stars Sidney Poitier as a London-educated African who returns to his homeland to take a political post. Poitier's brother Clinton Macklin is in charge of a rebel organization, determine to topple the white-dominated government. Poitier must choose between seeking out racial equality through peaceful means, or casting his lot with Macklin: it is (at least in this film) a struggle of Right against Right. Eartha Kitt is top-billed, but her role is decidedly secondary to Poitier's. Released in Britain as Accused, Mark of the Hawk has been retitled Shaka Zulu on video, though it should not be confused with the 1985 TV miniseries of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eartha Kitt, Sidney Poitier, (more)
