Ann Sears Movies

In this timely melodrama, a young man encounters psychological problems when he tries to deal with his brother's death. Alan Evans (Gordon Thomson) seeks counseling when his brother Peter (Robin Ward) is killed in Vietnam. Their pompous and patriotic father (Cec Linder) talks the boy into fulfilling his military obligations that result in his ultimate demise. The troubled Alan goes to Vancouver to escape the fate of his brother. Dr. Neal (Richard Conte) is the dedicated psychiatrist who tries to help Alan deal with his feelings of helplessness and rage. Alan meets Richie Kovacs (Don Stroud), the expatriate draft dodger who carries a grudge against society and is not afraid to reveal his open hostilities, and the two take different paths in dealing with their problems. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This third film version of the Curt Siodmak scare piece Donovan's Brain stars Peter Van Eyck as an overly dedicated scientist. When a powerful and ruthless financier dies in a plane crash, Van Eyck keeps the tycoon's brain alive in his laboratory. Gradually, the brain takes over the doctor's mind, forcing him into all sorts of evil chicanery. In a twist not found in the Siodmak original, the brain compels Van Eyck to seek out the financier's murderer. Anne Heywood costars as the dead man's daughter. A strong mulinational supporting cast distinguishes this Anglo-German coproduction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Edgar Wallace mystery, a burglar, arrested for possessing counterfeit money, is forced by the police to pose as a decoy to attract a ruthless killer who has murdered a photographer and is holding a secretary hostage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this suspenseful crime drama, a canny American businessman living in London devises an ingenious plan to get his kidnapped son back. First he sends the required ransom. As per his plan, the abductors begin fighting amongst themselves for the loot. The death of one crook leaves behind invaluable clues to the boy's location. In the film's exciting climax, the father uses a flame-thrower to save his son. Meanwhile Scotland Yard captures the villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Bridge on the River Kwai opens in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) and newly arrived British colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness). Saito insists that Nicholson order his men to build a bridge over the river Kwai, which will be used to transport Japanese munitions. Nicholson refuses, despite all the various "persuasive" devices at Saito's disposal. Finally, Nicholson agrees, not so much to cooperate with his captor as to provide a morale-boosting project for the military engineers under his command. The colonel will prove that, by building a better bridge than Saito's men could build, the British soldier is a superior being even when under the thumb of the enemy. As the bridge goes up, Nicholson becomes obsessed with completing it to perfection, eventually losing sight of the fact that it will benefit the Japanese. Meanwhile, American POW Shears (William Holden), having escaped from the camp, agrees to save himself from a court martial by leading a group of British soldiers back to the camp to destroy Nicholson's bridge. Upon his return, Shears realizes that Nicholson's mania to complete his project has driven him mad. Filmed in Ceylon, Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary British filmmaker David Lean, and Best Actor for Guinness. It also won Best Screenplay for Pierre Boulle, the author of the novel on which the film was based, even though the actual writers were blacklisted writers Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, who were given their Oscars under the table. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide