Richard Carpenter Movies

Baroness Orczy's frequently filmed adventure novel The Scarlet Pimpernel has been the subject of two different British TV series, the second of which aired nearly half a century after the first. Debuting on BBC1 on January 24, 1999, the "new" Scarlet Pimpernel was, like its predecessor, set during the dark days of the French Revolution. The estimable Richard E. Grant starred as Sir Percy Blakeney, an insufferably haughty British dandy. Unbeknownst to virtually everyone (including his wife, Marguerite, played by American actress Elizabeth McGoven), Sir Percy spent his evenings in the guise of the dashing, fearless Scarlet Pimpernel, savior of many French noblepersons who would otherwise have been condemned to the guillotine by the Revolutionary Tribunal. Together with a small band of confederates, the "damn'd elusive Pimpernel" enjoyed nothing more than thoroughly confounding his perennial nemesis, the skulking Citizen Chauvelin (Martin Shaw). Though played with tongue firmly in cheek, the series boasted some pretty impressive fencing sequences, staged by the talented Terry Walsh. Six 90-minute episodes of The Scarlet Pimpernel were seen in Britain in weekly clusters of three each, the last one airing on November 1, 2000. The series was produced in association with the American A&E cable channel, which ran the six episodes on a monthly rather than weekly basis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the famous children's novels by Mary Norton, this BBC production stars the diminutive Ian Holm as the even-more-diminutive patriarch of The Borrowers, a family of thumb-sized creatures looking for a new place to live. Directed by John Henderson. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Created by Richard Carpenter, the British adventure series Smuggler took place in 1802 during the early stages of the Napoleonic wars. The central character was former British naval officer Jack Vincent (Oliver Tobias), who elected to enrich himself by becoming a smuggler. Avoiding violence whenever possible, Vincent enjoyed outwitting British revenue officers and tweaking the nose of the French higher-ups by indulging in various espionage activities. Others within Vincent's orbit were petty thief Honesty Evans (Hywel Williams Ellis), to whom Jack owed his life, and the gorgeous, kidnap-prone Sarah Morton (Lesley Dunlop). Telecast by HTV in 13 half-hour installments from April 5 to July 19, 1981, Smuggler proved popular enough to warrant a sequel, titled The Adventurer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When he inadvertently contacts an alien race, astronomer Dr. Joe Burke, accompanied by his building and those within it, is transported to another galaxy. Upon arrival, the humans see a futuristic scenario of Earth's fate, as this barbaric world was once a civilized society. Terrornauts is based on a Will F. Jenkins novel, The Wailing Asteroid which Jenkins published under his pseudonym of Murray Leinster. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

In this British children's fantasy, a group of kids fly to Belgium to retrieve stolen plans for a steel alloy. Much of the story was filmed on location in Belgium. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Damn the Defiant! is an 18th-century seafaring drama from director Lewis Gilbert. Alec Guinness plays the stern but compassionate captain of a British warship, engaged in the Napoleonic wars. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be said for his new second-in-command Dirk Bogarde. When Guinness tries to modify Bogarde's sadistic adherence to discipline, Bogarde responds by mistreating Guinness' cabin-boy son, knowing that the captain cannot intervene under the edicts of British maritime law. During an incipient mutiny, Bogarde is accidently killed, and Guinness knows that the crewmen responsible must hang once they reach shore. But after these same men perform courageously in battle, Guinness suffers a crisis of conscience: How can he condemn these fearlessly patriotic men to death, as he knows he must? Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this wartime drama, a band of soldiers prefer to drink, steal, and leave the army to fighting. They change their tunes when they are assigned a suicide mission. Their brave commanding officer leads the men to successfully blow up an important bridge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide