John Pike Movies
Former boxing great Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini brings years of experience in the ring to his role in this drama. Charlie (Mancini) is an up-and-coming boxer who decides he needs to move to the big city if he wants to be a contender. With his best friend and manager Tiny (Michael Chiklis) in tow, Charlie heads to Reno; en route, Charlie falls for Gina (Jennifer Beals), an attractive hitchhiker, though Tiny is certain she's up to no good. In Reno, Charlie's skills as a fighter attract the attention of Johnny (Rod Steiger), a veteran trainer who thinks Charlie has what it takes to be a champ. Johnny is able to arrange a meeting for Charlie and Tiny with Dumas (Joe Mantegna), a boxing promoter who controlls the fight game in Reno. Charlie soon learns that fame and fortune could be his for the asking, but is he willing to give up his principles and betray the people he cares about in exchange for a shot at the big time? Body and Soul is a loose adaptation of the 1947 classic starring John Garfield, though beyond the fact the lead characters are boxers named Charlie, the two films have little in common. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Jennifer Beals, (more)
- 1965
Dave Martin (David Hemmings) and his mates once again find themselves dealing with the tricky side of the music business in this sequel to the British pop musical Live It Up. Dave has become interested in writing, and has a lead on a job with a newspaper in the seaside community of Brighton. As luck would have it, his parents Herbert (Ivor Salter) and Margaret (Diana King) are also moving to Brighton, having inherited a guest house there that they've decided to take over as the family business. En route to Brighton, Dave meets Erica (Andrea Monet), a pretty girl from the United States who is going to Brighton to audition for a job as a dancer. She is lacking accommodations, so Dave offers to put her up at the family's new guest house, though Herbert and Margaret at first believe their son has less than honorable intentions. When Erica's audition falls through, she opts to stay on in Brighton, and she's soon joined by Dave's old pals Phil (John Pike) and Ricky (Stephen Marriot), who were his partners in the beat group the Smart Alecks. Publicity friendly impresario Hilton Bass (David Healy) arrives in town looking for "the Brighton Sound," which he's convinced will be the next big thing after the success of Merseybeat. Dave asks his pals to re-form the Smart Alecks to enter the talent competition Bass is staging, but he's disqualified when he learns the paper he's working for is helping to sponsor the contest. However, Dave thinks he may have struck upon a story when he uncovers evidence that suggests Bass has rigged the contest to favor a group he's already signed to a deal. Be My Guest features guest appearances from Jerry Lee Lewis and the Nashville Teens (the latter of whom also serve as Lewis' backing band), as well as lesser known beat groups the Nightshades, Kenny and the Wranglers, and the Zephyrs. Noted British rock producer Shel Talmy coordinated the film's musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, Steve Marriott, (more)
- 1963
A handful of teenage rock and rollers are looking for their big break and they need it fast in this British pop-musical, which offers a look at the U.K. rock music scene in the days before the Beatles took it international. Dave Martin (David Hemmings) and his pals Phil (John Pike), Ron (Heinz Burt), and Ricky (Stephen Marriot) work as delivery boys for the post office during the day, but in their spare time they're members of a beat group called the Smart Alecks who are looking to get ahead. Dave's mother Margaret (Joan Newell) is supportive of Dave's interest in music, but his father Herbert (Ed Deveraux) thinks his son is wasting his time and money, especially after the band blows its savings cutting a demo tape of their best original song, "Live It Up." Herbert gives Dave one month to get his foot in the door of the music business, or else he'll force him to go look for a real job. Dave is sure the tape will score the Smart Alecks a record deal, especially after an accident at a movie studio while he's on a delivery puts his name in the papers, but as fate would have it, Dave misplaces the tape. As the Smart Alecks look for a new way to get the attention of a music biz bigwig, Jill (Jennifer Moss), Dave's girlfriend, thinks she might be able to use her job as a taxi dispatcher to help. Originally released in the United Kingdom as Live It Up, Sing and Swing features a brief appearance by first generation rock icon Gene Vincent, who sings the song "Temptation Baby" in a television studio, while legendarily eccentric producer Joe Meek coordinated the movie's musical score. Future Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore can be spotted sitting in with the group the Outlaws, while Stephen Marriot would soon shorten his first name to Stevie and become a pop star as a member of the Small Faces. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, John Pike, (more)
- 1963
John Rae's novel The Custard Boys became this World War II drama from British documentary filmmaker Philip Leacock. Martin Tomlinson stars as John Curlew, a troubled teenager who is part of a gang of London boys evacuated to a small English coastal town during World War II. Desperate to join the war effort and fearful that the fighting will be over before they're of age to enlist, the boys stage their own mock war games with the local teens, practicing to become soldiers and taking the entire matter very seriously. John, who is conflicted between his loyalty to his zealous friends and his burgeoning desire for an Austrian Jewish refugee, Mark Stein (Oliver Grimm), invites Mark to join the "battles." At first mocked for his Semitic heritage, Mark is eventually allowed to participate, but when he runs off during a battle, the gang decides to court-martial him for cowardice, with tragic results. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Anderson, Jr., Martin Tomlinson, (more)
- 1960
- PG
Disney produced this historical adventure of old Scotland, based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. James MacArthur stars as David Balfour, a wealthy lad cheated out of his inheritance and sold into servitude by his duplicitous and greedy uncle, Ebenezer (John Laurie). Aboard the ship where he's been made cabin boy, David meets Alan Breck Stewart (Peter Finch), a Jacobite loyalist who thinks the vessel's skipper (Bernard Lee) is transporting him back to Scotland. When David learns otherwise, he and Alan become a team, escaping the ship and taking off across the Highlands. Accused falsely of murder, the pair must clear their names, evade redcoat troops, and restore David's fortunes. Although director Robert Stevenson was no relation to the famed author, the studio claimed otherwise at the time of the film's release, for publicity purposes. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, James MacArthur, (more)
- 1959
The Cat Gang is a group of precocious pre-teen British kids. They have a habit of hanging around a grown-up customs official who wishes that they'd beat it. But the Gang comes in handy when a smuggling gang arrives on the scene. Off and on the screen in 50 minutes, The Cat Gang seems predestined for weekend TV showings. Of interest is the presence in the cast of future British leading-lady Francesca Annis (Dune, Lillie etc.), making her film debut as one of the older children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this crime drama, an amiable widow must use her savings to raise her son. One day she happens upon some stolen money which she takes and squirrels away for her boy's education. Unfortunately, the thieves return to find it. Fortunately, a friend is there to defend her from them, and later she turns the money into the police. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Peter (Anthony Richmond) is a British schoolboy who has somehow come into possession of a magic marble. The wondrous orb has the capability of granting wishes, allowing Peter to escape such childhood tortures as schoolrooms and bullies. The "one too many" wish of the title involves a toy steamroller, which grows to gargantuan dimensions, threatening to flatten the whole city. One Wish Too Many won a best children's film award at the Venice Film Festival in 1956. Its 55-minute length was ideal for the late-1960s TV anthology CBS Children's Film Festival, where the film was rebroadcast at least a dozen times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Richmond, Rosalind Gourgey, (more)
- 1955
The fast-paced world of stock-car racing provides the backdrop of this British adventure. The story centers on Katie Glebe as she attempts to save her father's failing garage after he is killed during a race. She ends up assisted by an American driver, Larry Duke. Unfortunately, creditor Turk McNeil is determined to take the garage to repay a debt. Real trouble ensues when Turk's lover Gina becomes interested in Larry. Turk then rigs the race and has Larry beaten up. Fortunately, this does not stop the determined Yankee from winning the race and the girl in the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
The British The Black Rider was inevitably listed as a "mystery" or "drama" in TV Guide back in the 1950s and 1960s. Don't you believe it! The star is former juvenile actor Jimmy Hanley, who plays a young, bright-eyed (but not necessarily bright) reporter. Hanley investigates reports that a ghostly "black rider" is haunting a local castle. In truth, the castle is being used as a hideout by smugglers. Hanley enlists the aid of a local motorcycle gang to round up the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
