Katherine Schlesinger Movies
- 1998
John Schlesinger directed this razor-sharp retelling of the familiar Demon Barber legend, previously a Victorian penny-dreadful by Christopher Bond (The Story of Pearls), a stage play by George Dibdin-Pitt, a Tod Slaughter film (the 1936 Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street), and the 1979 Stephen Sondheim stage musical (Sweeney Todd). Sondheim's musical has been televised in a production with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury heading the cast. This John Schlesinger drama, scripted by executive producer Peter Shaw, is set in turn-of-the-century London where bald barber Sweeney Todd (Ben Kingsley) runs a cutting-edge business with an affluent clientele. He also has several sidelines, including the sale of his murder victims' jewelry, plus a profitable agreement with Mrs. Lovett (Joanna Lumley), who uses an industrial-size meat grinder to prepare her tasty "meat pies" for her unsuspecting customers. American insurance investigator Ben Carlyle (Campbell Scott), tracking $50,000 worth of missing diamonds, encounters corruption throughout the city as he attempts to solve the case. Victorian London locales seen here were actually filmed in Dublin. Shown April 19, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Joanna Lumley, (more)
- 1991
The made-for-cable costume drama Young Catherine is the story of Catherine the Great (Julia Ormond). As the film begins, Catherine is a teen-aged German girl who marries into the Russian royal family of the 18th century; by the end of the long production, she has ascended to the throne of Russia. Though the film looks fantastic, it is slightly too long and slowly paced to be consistently compelling. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- 1989
In the first episode of the three-part Doctor Who adventure "Ghost Light," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) accompanies Ace (Sophie Aldred) on a visit to her home town of Perivale. Arriving during the Victorian era, the time travelers try to determine the source of a terrifying experience in Ace's childhood -- one which has given her nightmares ever since. Written by Marc Platt, "Ghost Light, Episode 1" originally aired on October 4, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, (more)
- 1989
In the conclusion of the three-part story "Ghost Light," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) have arrived at Ace's ancestral home, Gabriel Chase, in 1883. Hoping to discover the source of Ace's nightmares, the Doctor at first concludes that the house is haunted by traditional ghosts. He quickly changes his mind when he is confronted with a spectral light, a pantry full of radioactive silverware, a Neanderthal house servant -- and a spaceship in the cellar. Written by Marc Platt, "Ghost Light, Episode 2" originally aired on October 18, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, (more)
- 1989
In the second episode of the three-part story "The Ghost Light," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) have arrived in Ace's home town of Perivale, in hopes of finding out the cause of the girl's horrible nightmares. Arriving in the village in the year 1883, the Doctor is plunged in the middle of a raging Evolution vs. Creationism controversy, and also discovers that all is not well at the Gabriel Chase house. Meanwhile, Ace meets several new friends -- if indeed, they are friends. Written by Marc Platt, "Ghost Light, Episode 2" originally aired on October 11, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
Shirley MacLaine is Madame Sousatzka, an aging piano instructor of Russian extraction. Entrenched in a dilapidated London rooming house, the Madame gives lessons only to the most gifted. She does not stop at mere instruction; Sousatzka insists that her pupils conduct their lives in the same genteel, cultured manner in which she was raised. Her prize student at the moment is an East Indian teenage boy (Navin Chowdhry), who forms a strong and loving bond with the old woman. Director John Schlesinger occasionally cuts away from the Madame and her pupil to allow comic space for the other tenants in Ashcroft's building, including an erstwhile songstress (Twiggy) and a gay osteopath (Geoffrey Baydlon). Navim Chowdhry's mother is played by Shabana Azmi, an important star of Indian films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, Navin Chowdhry, (more)
Northanger Abbey was filmed in England and first telecast in the U.S. on December 2, 1987. This 90-minute adaptation of Jane Austen's 1818 novel incorporates the author's usual interconnecting themes of true love and acquisition of wealth, and tosses in a little Gothic mystery for good measure. Katherine Schlesinger stars as the 17-year-old heroine, who has been encouraged to seek out a suitably rich husband while on holiday in Bath. She finds the love of her life, and also more excitement than she ever dreamt possible. Veteran British movie personality Googie Withers is cast as a mercenary matron. Northanger Abbey was PBS' second Masterpiece Theatre presentation of the 1987-88 season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Katherine Schlesinger, Peter Firth, (more)
