John Neville Movies

Candian filmmaker Peter O'Brian directs the comedy Hollywood North, set in Toronto during the late '70s. Matthew Modine stars as Bobby Mayers, a stressed-out Canadian producer trying to make an action film called "Flight to Bogota." The production is inevitably troubled by numerous problems with the cast, crew, and finances. Alan Bates stars as crazed Hollywood actor Michael Baytes, the leading man who takes over the set. Jennifer Tilly plays Gillian Stevens, the nymphomaniac leading lady who seduces her younger co-star Frankie Candido (Fabrizio Filippo). Meanwhile, filmmaker Sandy Ryan (Deborah Kara Unger) is trying to capture the whole thing for a making-of documentary. Hollywood North premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the Canadian TV movie The Stork Derby begins with the death of wealthy Toronto lawyer and lifelong bachelor Charles Vance Miller (Frank Fontaine). Going through Miller's effects, his lawyers discover that he intended to divide his fortune among the Canadian women who would deliver the most babies within a decade after his birth. Fueled by the circulation-hungry Toronto Daily Star, "The Great Toronto Stork Derby" held the Dominion in thrall throughout the Depression years, with hundreds and thousands of women hoping to escape the ravages of the Depression via mass procreation. The contest boils down to three front runners: French-Canadian Vivanne Kennelly (Pascale Montpetit), whose anxiousness to win at all costs leads to tragedy; Colleen Brant (Janine Thierault), who has multiple babies by multiple fathers; and Gina Bonaggio (Ellen David), an impoverished Italian immigrant. Dutifully chronicling each twist and turn of the contest is Canada's only female journalist Kate Harrington (Megan Follows), who at first regards the whole affair as demeaning to women, but ultimately becomes an ardent crusader for fair play when, during the 1938 court trial that will determine the winner, it becomes painfully obvious that the Canadian government will succumb to traditional colonial bigotry and see to it that no "inferior" women--that is, non-white non-Protestants--will benefit from Miller's legacy. Adapted from a book by Elizabeth Wilton, The Story Derby made its CBC debut on January 8, 2002, and shortly thereafter was shown in the U.S. courtesy of the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Canadian comedy, Richard (Gil Bellows) departs his office, driving north for a Christmas holiday at the country home of his fiancé Sarah (Kristin Leeman), the daughter of his boss George Billings (Leon Powhall). When his car collapses en route, he arrives instead at a house inhabited by a kooky family. He is subjected to various humiliations and indignities, but amid the madness and general goofiness, he soon finds himself attracted to the clan's sleepwalking Celia (Parker Posey), "the world's greatest hair stylist," causing him to question his planned marriage. Shown at the 1997 Mill Valley and Hollywood film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Billed as Benji meets Howards End, this charming Canadian children's film concerns the struggle between a philanthropic duke (John Neville) and his sniveling nephew Cecil (Oliver Muirhead), who worries that his uncle is wasting his money by spending it on the poor. When the duke dies halfway through the movie, his American niece Charlotte (Courtnee Draper) takes over. Soon Charlotte falls in love with a dashing laborer (Jeremy Maxwell), while Cecil plots to stain the moral standing of the duke's loyal dog, Hubert. Star Trek's James Doohan also appears as a snooty English butler. The Duke was screened at the 1999 Flanders Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Mary Swann, an Ontario farmer's wife, lead a fairly dull existence until she demonstrated a remarkable talent for poetry and became the darling of the literati. Tragically, she was ruthlessly slain by her own husband who then committed suicide. Mary's closest friend Rose is devastated by the death and so runs a small museum to keep Mary's memory alive. Sarah Maloney is a writer who wants to write a biography about Swann. Learning that a competitor has similar plans, Sarah hastily leaves Chicago and heads northward where she meets Rose. The ensuing friendship between the disparate women provides the film with some interesting comparison/contrasts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally broadcast in Canada, this war drama tells the true story of how over 900 Canadian soldiers bravely sacrificed their lives in an attempt and take the French coastal town of Dieppe back from the Nazis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A scientific expedition to the earth's center goes awry, leaving the explorers marooned in a fantastic underground world. Adapted from Jules Verne's classic adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Unearthly Stranger takes a romantic approach to standard sci-fi material. John Neville marries mysterious Gabriella Lucidi, but begins questioning his judgment when his new bride exhibits some curious behavioral traits. When he discovers that Lucidi has no pulse, Neville is really thrown for a loop. Inevitably, Lucidi reveals that she is a visitor from another planet, sent as the vanguard for an invading alien army. Neville could live with this, save for the fact that Lucidi's mind is being controlled by her outer-space superiors, forcing her to induce the deaths of anyone who draws close to her. Ultimately, Lucidi sacrifices herself for Neville, with whom she has truly fallen in love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mr. Topaze was based on a play by Marcel Pagnol, previously filmed twice before with John Barrymore and Fernandel. Peter Sellers stars as a French college professor, known far and wide for his integrity. He refuses to improve a grade on the paper of one student, whose influential father sees to it that Sellers is fired. Cast adrift in the business world, Sellers is hired by a crooked liquor executive (Herbert Lom) to act as "front" for the benefit of the authorities. When Sellers catches on how much money there is in the business, his honesty evaporates and he becomes as underhanded as the next fellow. The love of Joan Sims enables Sellers to change his ways before his dishonesty can become disastrous. Mr. Topaze was rereleased in 1963 as I Like Money; once again, however, no one wanted to see a "straight" Peter Sellers in a role that called out for the broad comedy he did so well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man who has been able to avoid the consequences of his actions for nearly 50 years suddenly finds he must answer pursuers on both sides of the law in this drama, based on the novel by Brian Moore and inspired by a true story. After France fell to German occupation during World War II, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government established a law-enforcement group known as the Milice, who were under the direct control of Nazi authorities. In 1944, Pierre Brossard (George Williams) is one of a handful of Milice officers who round up and execute seven Jewish resistance members in the village of Dombey. After the liberation of France, Brossard is tried and convicted for his crimes, but he manages to escape capture, and years later is pardoned. In 1992, Brossard (now played by Michael Caine) is an elderly man living a quiet life in Provence and modestly supported by fellow veterans of the Vichy regime when he's ambushed and nearly killed by a man whom he learns was a hired killer. Brossard discovers this is hardly his only problem; new legislation will allow Vichy-era war criminals who escaped punishment to be charged and tried again, and Anne Marie Livi (Tilda Swinton), a bright and aggressive French prosecutor, has joined forces with Col. Roux (Jeremy Northam) to bring Brossard, among others, to justice. While Brossard is still being clandestinely assisted by church officials and Vichy sympathizers, he must go on the run to avoid capture, and finds himself hiding from the French police as well as a cadre of underground assassins, whose alliances and purposes are frustratingly unclear. The Statement also stars Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and Frank Finlay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide