Ellen Pollock Movies

The setting of Mike Leigh's Four Days in July is Belfast in the mid-'80s, just before the annual July 12th march of The Orangemen to celebrate the 17th century victory of the Protestant William of Orange over the Catholic King John II. Two couples prepare to have their first child. Collette (Brid Brennan) and Eugene (Desmond McAleer) are Catholic, while Lorraine (Paula Hamilton) and Billy (Charles Lawson) are Protestant. Eugene is injured and awaiting a disability check, so he has time to dote on his pregnant wife. Billy is in the military, and when he's not manning checkpoints, he hangs out with his fellow soldiers, Big Billy (Brian Hogg) and Little Billy (Adrian Gordon). On the 11th, as the celebrations and bonfires are being prepared, Brendan (Shane Connaughton, who later co-wrote the script for My Left Foot) comes by to fix Collette and Eugene's toilet. Then an old friend of Brendan's, Dixie (Stephen Rea), comes by to clean the building's windows. The four of them sit around for a while and chat. The upcoming marches are a sore spot that is briefly alluded to, and Eugene reveals that his injuries were suffered at the hands of the British military. Lorraine goes with Billy to a bonfire, where there's drinking, singing, and high spirits. The next morning, both women go into labor and are brought to the same hospital. In the waiting room, Eugene strikes up a conversation with Billy. Four Days in July was the last film Leigh made for the BBC and one of the first films scored by composer Rachel Portman. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The title of this British drama series referred to a small neighborhood somewhere in the London suburbs. The stories focused on World's End's various denizens, whose dreams of advancing themselves and escaping their shabby surroundings usually came acropper. The series was written by Ted Whitehead, an old hand at the British soap-opera genre. Thirteen half-hour episodes of World's End were shown from October 1 to December 18, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British pop star Cliff Richard and his band The Shadows (including influential guitarist Hank B. Marvin) star in this lighthearted blend of music, comedy, and espionage. An American fighter plane accidentally drops a small bomb on a Spanish town; the bomb fails to go off, but the community is thrown into a panic and the village is evacuated. When Cliff and the Shadows arrive in town to play a show, they're a bit puzzled to discover that no one is there; when they find out what has happened, the boys try to find the bomb so that it can be returned to the American pilots. However, it turns out that foreign agent Mr. X (John leMesurier) is also looking for the bomb and has blackmailed hotel owner Col. Roberts (Robert Morley) into helping him. As you might expect, Cliff and his band manage to squeeze in a few songs as they further the cause of Anglo-American unity. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Raised in the country with only her world-weary, cynical father, a former judge, for company, a young woman grows up believing that she too is angry at the world. Other than her reclusive father, her only human contact comes from her personal maid and a scarecrow that the girl mistakenly believes has come to life. Her life abruptly changes one day when a fugitive criminal shows up and begs the judge for shelter. Hating all things having to do with the law, the old man lets him in. The young woman is enchanted by the fugitive's presence and grows close to him until she discovers that he and the maid have become lovers. The enraged young woman vows to kill the maid, but the latter hastily leaves. With no hindrance, the girl and the fugitive fall in love and head for Paris where the girl learns valuable lessons about herself and tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An innocent young woman is falsely accused of robbery and sent to a hellish reform school in this socially conscious prison drama. There the woman is tormented by a ruthless matron who treats her charges like POWs. Meanwhile, the inmate struggles to escape so she can prove herself innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a psychiatrist is fond of using hypnotism to help his clients. One day a test pilot comes in. He is troubled by blackouts that are affecting his job. This is the perfect opportunity for the psycho shrink who has been looking for someone to murder his wife. He places the pilot under hypnosis and orders him to commit the crime. But the ploy doesn't work and the pilot does not kill her. The angry doctor then kills the woman himself, but frames the pilot. It is the pilot's devoted fiancee who investigates and reveals the gruesome truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a snooty socialite is so embarrassed by her father, an ex-con, that she tries to have him sent to Australia. That doesn't work so she locks him in an attic. That doesn't work either. In the end, the father gets a job as the governor's handyman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama an American is assigned to guard a US art exhibit in London to protect one of da Vinci's most priceless paintings, "Madonna and Child." A series of art thefts has put the museum officials on red alert and they anxiously await the painting's arrival. Unfortunately, the painting is stolen en route to the show and replaced by an imitation. The intrepid guard follows the thieves to a private gallery run by a wealthy criminal. The film contains some useful and interesting information on art forgeries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama, a man is permanently crippled in a horseback riding accident and then learns that he will soon die. He spends his last few days taking care of his family and trying to get his wife to find another man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Mary Mitchell, Warning to Wantons is the story of 17-year-old Renee (Anne Vernon). After wriggling out of a convent school, Renee manages to crash high society. She twists several wealthy men around her little finger before making a surprising marital decision. David Tomlinson, stuffy second lead of many a Disney film, is fun to watch as a high-society twit. The film's 144-minute running time had to be boiled down considerably before the film was distributed to America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romance, a young woman gets into a real mess when her mother begins meddling in her romantic life by conning her into becoming engaged to her boss. Unfortunately, the girl loves another who has gone off to fight the war. Upon his return, he is enraged to learn about the engagement. Mayhem ensues until the whole mess is straightened out and the lovers are reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally released in England by British Consolidated, Sons of the Sea was the last film to be distributed in America by Grand National Pictures. Generally cast in villainous roles, Leslie Banks plays the film's true-blue hero Captain Hyde. Alas, Hyde's young son Philip (Simon Lack), though a graduate of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, does not possess the noble purpose of his father, and soon finds himself inadvertently involved with a foreign spy. But with the British Secret Service involved, the villains don't stand a chance. Sons of the Sea was lensed in Dufaycolor, a two-tint process which looked suspiciously like America's Cinecolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide