Catherine Neilson Movies
- 1993
Teresa Russell plays dual roles as twins in this made-for-television English thriller. Based on the book of the same name by Dylan Jones, Russell stars as twin sisters Debbie and Jo. When Jo is killed in a car accident, twin Debbie assumes her sister's life and family, making everyone suspicious of Jo's death -- including Jo's husband. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theresa Russell, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
Directed by Ken Russell, Prisoner of Honor is a made-for-cable retelling of the 1894 court-martial of French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus. The historical drama stars Richard Dreyfuss (no relation) as the head of counter-intelligence who uncovers several damning pieces of evidence. It turns out that the French government has sent an innocent man to prison for their own suspicious reasons, and Dreyfuss is the only man willing to fight for the prisoner's freedom. Prisoner of Honor also stars Oliver Reed and Peter Firth, as well as featuring Lindsay Anderson, Brian Blessed, Jeremy Kemp, and Peter Vaughan. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed, (more)
Something of a sleeper in its 1990 release, White Hunter, Black Heart is one of Clint Eastwood's most engaging films. It is based on Peter Vietel's novel about the location shoot of John Huston's immortal The African Queen. But the focus is never on Bogie and Hepburn. Egomaniacal director John Wilson (Eastwood) is far more interested in killing an elephant than in making a movie. His old friend and scriptwriter Pete Verrill (Jeff Fahey) and his producer, Paul Landers (George Dzundza), are on hand to try and talk him down from this pursuit. Eastwood's verbose, outlandish performance will be particularly remarkable to fans who tend to think of him as the soft-spoken tough guy. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Jeff Fahey, (more)
- 1990
One of a handful of British "culture clash" cop shows of the 1990s, Yellowthread Street was set in Hong Kong during its waning days as a British colony. The six hour-long episodes focused on a group of police officers stationed in one of the colony's toughest and most vice-ridden districts. Leading the multicultural law-enforcement squad was Ray Lonnen as Chief Inspector Vale. Based on the best-selling police novels by William Marshall (described by one critic as "one-part Ed McBain, one-part Suzie Wong), Yellowthread Street originally aired in 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Lonnen, Mark McGann, (more)
- 1989
This five-part British drama series starred Nigel Terry as John Fairling, a special investigator for the Home Office. It was Fairling's task to track down a renegade research psychologist who harbored a yen for all things electronic. The villain intended to infect all communications in the U.K. with a vicious computer virus -- but not if Fairling was able to de-bug the bugger. An early example of the TV techno-thriller genre, Wipe Out first aired in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nigel Terry, Ian McElhinney, (more)
- 1989
Based on John Trenhaile's A Man Called Kyril, this byzantine-plotted spy melodrama stars Ian Charleson in the title role. Kyril is a supposed Soviet defector who relocates in London. In fact, his defection is a smoke-screen: Kyril has been sent by the KGB to seek out a British mole in Moscow Centre. At four hours, Codename: Kyril affords plenty of breathing space for the various plots and counterplots, but its excess of espionage verbiage may prove confusing to the average viewer. Filmed for British television in locales ranging from Norway to Holland, Codename: Kyril was first telecast in the US on the Showtime cable network on April 27, 1988; a videocassette version running 115 minutes was made available in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Based on one of the most scandalous murders in British history, White Mischief transpires in Kenya at a time just before the beginning of World War II. Jock Broughton (Joss Ackland) is a wealthy rancher who becomes taken with a young gold-digger named Diana (Greta Scacchi). Even though he is fully aware of her reasons for doing so, the pair wed. Broughton falls on hard times and loses his fortune. The hedonistic Earl of Erroll (Charles Dance) realizes this change of fortune may make Diana more open to engaging in an affair. One evening, Erroll is found murdered. Broughton is tried for the crime. Michael Radford would not direct again for seven years, but returned with the international hit Il Postino in 1994. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, Charles Dance, (more)
- 1986
- PG
Based on the characters created by popular fantasy author Capt. W. E. Johns, Biggles: Adventures in Time casts Neil Dickson in the title role. Biggles is a World War I British flying ace with a gift for time travel. Sucked into Biggles' adventures is a 1980s fast-food entrepreneur, played by Alex Hyde-White. Once he's figured out what's what, Hyde-White vows to help Biggles stay alive. Also along for the ride is Hyde-White's girlfriend Fiona Hutchinson. The beauty part of Biggles: Adventures in Time is that the audience is just as disoriented and confused as Hyde-White; as a result, the film never lowers itself to the Pat and Predictable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neil Dickson, Alex Hyde-White, (more)
- 1983
Faye Dunaway stars in Michael Winner's labored re-make of the 1945 swashbuckler, which was co-scripted by Leslie Arliss, the original director of the 1945 film. Dunaway is Lady Barbara Skelton, a lady of the royal class, who becomes a highway robber, taking up with Captain Jerry Jackson (Alan Bates), a highwayman and her lover. Because of a notorious whiping scene in which Lady Barbara and Jackson's girlfriend (Marina Sirtis) take horsewhips to one another, tearing their clothing to strategically-placed ribbons, the film was held back from release because Winner refused to cut the salacious footage. After corralling author Kingsley Amis, and directors John Schlesinger, Karel Reisz, and Lindsay Anderson to attest to the redeeming social value of the scene, the scene stayed in the film. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Alan Bates, (more)
- 1983
Created by Lynda LaPlante, the British TV drama series Widows focused on the wives of three professional criminals, all of whom were apparently killed during a bungled robbery. Taking matters in their own hands, the widows, led by Dolly Rawlins (Ann Mitchell), vowed to finish the larcenous job that their husbands had started, and to wreak vengeance on those responsible for their widowhood. They were joined by a fourth woman, Bella O'Reilly (played first by Eva Mottley, then by Debbie Bishop), who claimed that her boyfriend was also part of the original caper. First telecast from March 16 through April 20, 1983, Widows was followed by Widows II, which aired from April 3 to May 8, 1985. On this occasion, it was revealed that one of the "dead" husbands was still alive, and very insistent that he be cut in on the loot. The subsequent rounds of betrayal and backstabbing culminated in a third series, She's Out. Widows was remade for American television in 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Mitchell, Maureen O'Farrell, (more)
- 1955
Adapted by Don M. Mankiewicz from his own novel, Trial is a surprisingly timely story of how justice can sometimes be compromised by "special interests". It all begins when Mexican youth Angelo Chavez (Rafael Campos) is placed on trial for the murder of a white teenaged girl. Battling the lynch-mob mentality in and out of the courtroom is relatively inexperienced defense attorney David Blake (Glenn Ford). Believing that anything done on behalf of his client is for the common good, Blake approves the organization of an "Angelo Chavez Society" to pay the boy's court costs and ostensibly see that justice is done in the face of small-town prejudice. Soon, however, Blake discovers that both he and his client are being used as dupes by a Communist lawyer, who hopes that Chavez will be found guilty and executed, thereby creating a martyr for the Red cause. Much was made in 1955 of the fact that the presiding judge is a black man, played by Juano Hernandez. A bit creaky at times, Trial nonetheless still packs a wallop when shown today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
