Natasha Pyne Movies

When a flood threatens to engulf Shrewbury Abbey, the monks quickly remove all the sacred objects, including the precious relics of St. Winifred. After the deluge, it is discovered that those relics have been stolen. While trying to solve the crime, Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) must protect the truth about the relics (which he uncovered in the previous Cadfael episode "A Morbid Taste for Bones"). He must also discern the link between the robbery, the kidnapping of a slave girl (Louise Delamere), the horrible confessions of a penitent monk (Julian Firth), and a thread of fabric found upon a corpse. Adapted by Ben Rostul from the novel by Ellis Peters, the 90-minute Cadfael drama "The Holy Thief" originally aired in England on June 23, 1998, and shortly thereafter was seen in America as part of PBS' Mystery anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This semi-serious horror film represented the first on-screen pairing of icons Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, who play, respectively, aging former horror star Paul Toombes and actor-turned-writer Herbert Flay, who unite in an effort to revive the popularity of Toombes' screen character "Dr. Death" for a TV series. Having recently recovered from a nervous breakdown, Toombes comes under suspicion when several members of the show's cast and crew are murdered in grisly reenactments of Dr. Death's greatest movie moments (as depicted in numerous colorful clips from some of Price's AIP films for Roger Corman). Though it at times aspires to the level of Price's classic of macabre humor Theater of Blood, this film tends to stumble due to a middling script that dodges the opportunity to generate energy from the interaction of its two superb leads. Also known as The Revenge of Dr. Death. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is a zesty version of the classic comedy, highlighted by performances by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and Nino Rota's score. Instead of simply filming a play, Zeffirelli turned Shakespeare's text into a lively, cinematic movie, with sweeping sets and cinematography. Set in Padua, Italy in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca (Natasha Pyne) and the mean-spirited Katarina (Elizabeth Taylor), the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista (Michael Hordern). Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katarina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katarina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as more suitors--such as Lucentio (Michael York), a student who begins working as a tutor in the Hordern household just so he can be near Bianca--line up to wed the maiden. No man approaches Katarina until Petruchio (Richard Burton--a wanderer who arrived in Padua just to find a rich wife--falls in love with her. After an intense, occasionally furious, courtship, Katarina eventually agrees to marry him, and they move to Petruchio's shoddy house, which is located outside of the city. Following the wedding, Lucentio reveals that he is not a student, but instead the son of one of the most respected men in town. Lucentio gets permission to marry Bianca and a mild-mannered Katarina shows up at the wedding, giving advice to her sister on how to be a good wife. The Taming of the Shrew received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and opened the British Royal Film Festival. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Three elderly spinsters become amateur detectives when someone poisons their beloved cat in this strange drama. The three determine the murder was committed by their mean old landlady. With an eye-for-an-eye attitude, they decide to poison her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide