Carolyn Pickles Movies
First filmed as a theatrical feature in 1982, Agatha Christie's 1940 mystery novel Evil Under the Sun was remade as a two-hour episode of the off-and-on British TV series Poirot. David Suchet is back as the infuriatingly brilliant and fussy Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who after suffering a fainting spell at a posh restaurant is whisked off to a fancy health resort along the Devon Coast. As he recuperates, Poirot is able to relax, secure in the belief that he can give his sleuthing a bit of a well-deserved result. Alas, this is not to be. Another guest at the resort, a world-famous actress, is murdered -- and virtually everyone else in the vicinity had both motive and opportunity to do the dirty deed. First telecast in the U.K. in 2001. Evil Under the Sun made its America bow on July 13, 2003, courtesy of the A&E cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, (more)
- 2002
Jordan Frieda, the son of British pop singer Lulu, plays the title role in this made-for-TV biopic. The film covers three years in the life of the young and handsome Prince of Wales, from the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997, to his entry into St. Andrew's College in 2000. The young Prince's predilection for irreverence and mischief is duly noted, as is the pathos attending his strained relationship with his father Prince Charles (Martin Turner) and grandmother Queen Elizabeth (Rosemary Leach), and his inability to maintain any sort of private life (he has only to kiss a girl on date for every photographer on earth to crawl out of the bushes). The bulk of the film chronicles William's efforts to keep his mother's memory alive, and to come to terms with his "second mother", the controversial Camilla Parker Bowles (Carolyn Pickes). Because of its mildly anti-Royal sentiments, as well as a melodramatic subplot intimating that "sinister forces" intended to do William harm, the film garndered a huge amount of attention from both Buckingham Palace (who refused to give official sanction to the production) and the British tabloids. Filmed in Ireland, Prince William made its ABC network debut on September 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordan Frieda, Eddie Cooper, (more)
- 2000
The 11th feature-length episode of the British detective series Midsomer Murders, "Blue Herrings" finds Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby (John Nettles) taking a "working vacation" so he can redecorate his digs. But first, Barnaby pays a visit to his Aunt Alice (Phyllis Calvert), who is convalescing from an operation at the Lawnside Nursing Home. Murder inevitably rears its ugly head when several of Alice's fellow patients die mysteriously after altering their wills. First telecast in the U.K. on January 22, 2000, "Blue Herrings" made its American cable-TV bow on September 23 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Nettles, Daniel Casey, (more)
John Hurt plays the British jockey Bob Champion in this true story of how Champion overcame cancer and the rigors of chemotherapy for an impressive personal and professional comeback. Just as Champion is in the middle of a vacation in Kentucky, he finds out he has cancer, and, like others before him, submits to the full, painful treatments of multiple injections and radiation, suffering as much or more from the cure as from the illness (these treatments are graphic). Gaunt and nauseous, Champion also endures realistic meetings with his doctors that hold forth no guarantee of a cure. His eventual remission leads to yet another grueling physical schedule to get him back into shape for the Grand National Steeplechase -- a 30-fence, well-publicized race that offers difficult hurdles for both the horses and their jockeys. If the 115-minutes running time of this film were cut in places, it would create a better, trim and slim, fast-paced telling of an even more focused tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Edward Woodward, (more)
- 1984
A notorious, internationally known sex symbol (Phoebe Cates) attempts to track down her birth mother in this glitzy, deliciously trashy melodrama. The mother could be one of three women, all of whom have vowed to never reveal the secret truth behind the child's illegitimate birth. Based on the novel by Shirley Conran. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bess Armstrong, Brooke Adams, (more)
- 1982
Created by David Butler, the British drama series We'll Meet Again took place during WWII. The members of the U.S. 8th Air Force, 525th Bomb Group, found themselves billeted in the Suffolk community of Market Wetherby. The locals weren't altogether thrilled by the presence of the "overpaid, oversexed, and over-here" Yanks, but along the way a few of the flyboys managed to make headway with some of the British lasses in the region. Rich with period detail, the series invoked warm nostalgic feelings within most viewers, even though much of the dialogue dealt with rationing, buzz-bombing, and other wartime iniquities. Opening with a 90-minute episode on February 19, 1982, We'll Meet Again quickly settled into a weekly 60-minute slot, proving so popular with British viewers that its story line was serialized in a national newspaper. The 13th and final episode aired on May 14, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susannah York, Ronald Hines, (more)
Angela Lansbury takes over the legacy of Margaret Rutherford as Agatha Christie's dogged sleuth Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack'd. The story takes place on a film set in a small British town in the 1950s. Elizabeth Taylor plays a washed-up actress trying to make a comeback but is plagued by a mysterious incident from her past. Unfortunately for her mental state, a collection of murders jar the quiet village where the movie is being made. Miss Marple arrives on the scene with her nephew, Inspector Craddock (Edward Fox), to investigate. In addition to Taylor, an assortment of other movie stars grace the roster of suspects, including Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, and Tony Curtis. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1980
- R
This murder mystery has an unusual twist: the puzzle over who did it takes a back seat to the effects of the investigation itself. A large, partly-communal household is thrown into disarray when a part-time prostitute is murdered and members of the household come under suspicion. James Barratt (Robert East) is an arrogant aristocratic type who initially seems to be the killer. That possibility becomes less likely when he evolves into a decidedly honest person. His younger brother David (Sam Dale) is also a suspect, especially when his likeable nature turns out to be flawed. Their sister Sarah (Elizabeth Bennett) also loses some of her reasonable exterior when push comes to shove. Other characters move in and out of an investigation that threatens to reveal more about psyches and relationships than about the unknown killer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carolyn Pickles, Robert East, (more)
In Roman Polanski's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Nastassja Kinski plays Tess, a poor British peasant girl sent to live with her distant and wealthy relatives, the D'Urbervilles. Though Tess' father had hoped that the girl would be permitted a portion of the D'Urberville riches, he is in for a major disappointment: Tess' new housemates are not D'Urbervilles at all, but a social-climbing family that has bought the name. Tess won three Oscars, including a "Best Cinematography" statuette for the late Geoffrey Unsworth and his successor Ghislain Cloquet. The film also served to catapult Nastassja Kinski to stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nastassja Kinski, Leigh Lawson, (more)
- 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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
