Jill Richards Movies
- 1990
The British miniseries Emlyn's Moon was based on one of the many sci-fi/fantasy novels written by Jenny Nimmo and featuring the character of Welsh youngster Gwyn Griffith. It all began when London-born Nia (Lucy Donovan) moved into Gwyn's hometown of Pendewi, along with her family. Forbidden by her elders to enter the ruins of a chapel, Nia did so anyway, entering a mystical portal that led her to a series of fantastic adventures. Meanwhile, Gwyn (Osian Roberts) used the magical powers which he had accrued in Nimmo's earlier novel The Snow Spider to solve a number of problems within his own family. Also in the cast as the titular Emlyn was Stefan Morris. Drawing heavily upon old Welsh folk legends, the six-episode Emlyn's Moon was broadcast by HTV in 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Filmed on location in Wales, On the Black Hill is adapted from the novel by Bruce Chatwin. This is the story of two Welsh brothers, identical twins. The film covers 80 years in the sibling's lives, touching upon their hopes, disappointments, romances and political entanglements. Rather than going the traditional split-screen route, two genuine twins are cast in the leads: Mike and Robert Gwilym. The stellar supporting cast includes Gemma Jones and Catherine Schell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Gwilym, Robert Gwilym, (more)
- 1971
Released in England as Wednesday's Child, this earnest socially conscious drama explores the generation-gap between a pair of overbearing, strict parents and their rebellious, pregnant daughter Sandy Ratcliff. First they force her to get an abortion. Then mom and dad further exert their power over Ratcliff by locking her out of the house until she ceases her troublesome ways. When this fails to "tame" the girl, the parents force her into psychiatric treatment. Subjected to shock therapy, Sandy ends up a shell of a human being, little more than a case study for those who've robbed her of her individuality. Shot in documentary fashion, Family Life won a prize at the 1972 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, (more)
- 1957
The owner of a fashionable Wilshire Boulevard auction house is slugged and robbed of $1200. Searching f or clues, Friday (Jack Webb) and Ben Alexander (Ben Alexander) find some partially burned matches. A rundown of the companies manufacturing these matches leads the detectives to the elusive--but fatally careless--bandit. Featured in the cast is starlet Jill Richards, who later left acting to become a top fashion designer. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of July 27, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Thanks to a bureaucratic blunder, the US State Department invites brassy showgirl Doris Day to attend a chi-chi arts festival in Paris. En route to the City of Light, Day falls in love with diplomat corps flunkey Ray Bolger (who's responsible for the error), even though he's married to witchy Eve Miller. The marriage turns out to be invalid, clearing the path for a happy ending. None of the songs in April in Paris are worth remembering, though the dancing by Bolger and Day is well up to the standards of both performers. The romantic scenes, however, fail to hold up: after all, we're talking The Scarecrow and the World's Oldest Virgin here! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Ray Bolger, (more)
- 1951
Starlift was Warner Bros' attempt to revive the "all-star patriotic musical" format which had worked so well during WW II. The wisp of a plot concerns Mike Nolan (Dick Wesson) and Rick Williams (Ron Hagherty), San Francisco-based airmen who serve as crew members on a shuttle to Korea. To impress a group of movie starlets making a personal appearance, Mike and Rick claim that they're due to be sent into combat. Actress Nell Wayne (Janice Rule) falls in love with Rick, leading to a major publicity blitz and culminating with a special USO presentation for all the Korea-bound servicemen in Frisco, starring virtually everyone on the Warners' contract roster. Among the stars making personal appearances (and sometimes delivering songs, whether they can sing or not!) include Gordon MacRae, James Cagney, Ruth Roman, Doris Day, Gary Cooper, Frank Lovejoy, Phil Harris, Randolph Scott and Jane Wyman. Reportedly, the comedy team of Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall made its movie debut in Starlift, though they don't appear in the currently available prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, (more)
- 1951
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine was a remake of the 1929 musical Gold Diggers of Broadway, which no longer exists for comparison (though its first remake, Gold Diggers of 1933, has been safely preserved). Carol (Virginia Mayo), Abby (Lucille Norman) and June (Virginia Gibson) arrive in Las Vegas for the express purpose of landing millionaire husbands. Securing work as a singing trio, the girls do their best to cozy up to potential wealthy mates, but always seem to end up with the "wrong" kind of guy. Abby falls for impecunious gambler Vince Nichols (Dennis Morgan). The girls decide to use Vince's resources to save hotelier Felix Hoff (S.Z. Sakall) from bankruptcy. Enter Vince's tight-lipped Boston-banker cousin Bennington (Tom Conway), determined to rescue his relative from gold-diggers, and on and on the plot rolls, occasionally interrupted by splashy, Technicolorful musical numbers emphasizing the physical attributes of the three heroines. Like MGM's Singin' in the Rain, Painting the Clouds with Sunshine was designed primarily to showcase Warner Bros' backlog of songs from its early-talkie musicals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, (more)
