Camilla Sparv Movies
Swedish actress Camilla Sparv was brought to Hollywood by Columbia Pictures in 1965. Sparv was third-billed as Sister Constance in The Trouble With Angels (1966), then was consigned to a string of standard sexy-foreigner roles. At least she was permitted to utter the best line in the 1967 "Matt Helm" espionager Murderer's Row; cast as the mistress of villain Karl Malden, Sparv comforted her lover after his latest doomsday device has failed by murmuring "Cheer up. Maybe you can run someone over on the way home." Outside of her brief starring career, Camilla Sparv's chief claim to fame was as one of producer Robert Evans' four wives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1986
This future dystopia tale is set in what remains of the U.S.A. 900 years after a nuclear war. People have banded into clans, where women fight and win control over a region while men are held as slaves and divided into functional groups, such as laborers, servants, or those who father children. When the leader of the dominant female clan dies, there is a dispute over her vacated position; two sisters vie for the honor and are challenged by the leader of a another clan. Meanwhile, one of the men has found an old presidential bunker and a stash of weapons. His plan is to use his discovery to free the men at last. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Wagner, Laurene Landon, (more)
- 1967
This lugubrious spy yarn finds Philip Scott (Stephen Boyd) posing as a toy manufacturer to hide his real purpose in life. He and his faithful operative Harris (Michael Redgrave) battle the evil Smith (Leo McKern) in Austria, England and West Germany. Toni Peters (Camilla Sparv) is the love interest in Philip's life, which is in constant danger from shadowy spies and double agents. The low-key direction ends up having no key to unlock anyone's imagination, but there's nothing inspiring about much of anything in this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, (more)
- 1981
- R
In this strange, unsatisfying remake of Casablanca, directed by J. Lee Thompson, a bar owner helps a woman find a missing fortune. Right after the end of WWII, Giff Hoyt (Charles Bronson) owns a bar in Peru into which Marie Allesandri (Dominique Sanda) enters one day, in search of her lover and some missing money. Matters are complicated by Gunther Beckdorff (Jason Robards), a Nazi who has his own plans for the money. Terredo (Fernando Rey) observes all the action and helps at an important moment. Despite the very good cast which also includes Camilla Sparv and Gilbert Roland, all of the various subplots and characters fail to gel, and Caboblanco is confusing, unsatisfying and slow-moving. Any fan of Casablanca should skip this and see the original again. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
James Coburn stars in this comedy-melodrama as Eli Kotch, who uses his charm to obtain a parole from prison by having an affair with a female psychologist. Eli's plan upon getting out of jail is to rob a bank at the L.A. International Airport. The date of the bank robbery coincides with the arrival of the Russian premier, so that bank security will be minimal with the premier attracting most of the airport security forces. Harrison Ford appears in his film debut in the bit part of a bellhop. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Camilla Sparv, (more)
Director Michael Ritchie's ongoing satirical spin on the American Dream is dressed up in quasi-documentary fashion in Downhill Racer. Robert Redford stars as an Olympic-grade skier, whose talent is matched only by his aloof self-involvement. As the cocksure Redford rises to the top of his class, he discards any emotional attachments that might impede his progress, ranging from girlfriends to his own father. When Redford finally attains his goal in life, the thrill of victory is an empty one indeed. The cold-bloodedness of Redford's character may have worked against Downhill Racer at the box office; on the other hand, Ritchie's similarly structured political satire The Candidate offered a "warmer" Redford -- but it, too, was a box-office disappointment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1981
This is the made-for-TV version of the romantic drama that chronicles the exploits of a group of glamorous women caught up in the entertainment industry. This version contains material author Jacqueline Susann omitted from her original novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Mackenna's Gold is a colorful, action-packed western feature with an all-star cast. Mackenna (Gregory Peck) has committed to memory the map that leads to some hidden Apache gold. The Indians now want the gold to finance their fight against the white men who invade their territory. Mexican bandit Colorado (Omar Sharif) wants the gold for himself, and the local preacher (Raymond Massey) and the editor of the newspaper (Lee J. Cobb) also get gold fever. Burgess Meredith plays the storekeeper and Edward G. Robinson is long-time town resident Old Adams. Everyone goes looking for the hidden treasure as the Indians dwindle their numbers with violent attacks. The search is monitored by U.S. calvary Sergeant Tibbs (Telly Savalas). Colorado captures Mackenna to lead him to the gold as death comes to those who show the most avarice. Music is provided by Quincy Jones. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, (more)
- 1966
Dean Martin reprises his role as Matt Helm, famed secret agent who is part James Bond and part Rat Packer, in Murderer's Row. The film concerns the nefarious plan of arch-villain Julian Wall (Karl Malden) to take over the world by kidnapping Dr. Norman Solaris (Richard Eastham), who has invented a "helio-beam" -- a device that can harness the rays of the sun to destroy the earth. To insure his plans go smoothly, Wall has eliminated most of the ICE (Intelligence and Counter-Espionage) agents. But luckily for the world, super-agent Matt Helm, having escaped from being boiled to death in his own swimming pool, is hot on Wall's trail. Traveling to the Riviera, Helm meets Solaris's mod daughter Suzie (Ann-Margret) and they team up to rescue her father. Helm poses as a gunman on the run and Wall hires him. Wall becomes suspicious when Helm saves Suzie's life after she is threatened by one of Wall's goons, but Matt and Suzie escape from Wall and make their way to his island fortress, where they must find Solaris and disarm the "helio-beam" before Wall destroys Washington, D.C. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1977
Filmed as the 72-minute pilot episode for the weekly ABC adventure series, The Feather and Father Gang, Never Con a Killer was held back from view until May 13, 1977, by which time the series proper had already been on for two months...and had already been canceled. Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould star as gorgeous attorney, Toni "Feather" Danton, and Toni's reformed con man father, Harry Danton. Figuring that the best way to catch a crook is to think like a crook, Toni and her dad concoct an elaborate sting operation to bring dishonest horseplayer E. J. Valerian (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to justice. False identities, clever disguises and deft "switches" are the order of the day in this pleasant trifle, which when it was shown on ABC was not advertised as a movie, but instead as just another Feather and Father Gang episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- R
Life after WW III is chronicled in the grimly futuristic sci-fi drama. The story is set after a nuclear war. A small family tries to start their new lives, but find their endeavors thwarted by a band of radioactive mutants with a taste for human flesh. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
The producers of The Greek Tycoon insisted that their film was not based on any "actual persons, living or dead." Yeh, right. Anthony Quinn stars as Greek shipping-magnate Theo Tomassis, who becomes the second husband of socialite Liz Cassidy (Jacqueline Bisset). It seems that Liz is the widow of young, charismatic American president James Cassidy (James Franciscus), who was felled by an assassin's bullet. When Tomassis marries the former Mrs. Cassidy, it is over the strident protests of his former love, Paola Scotti (Luciana Paluzzi), not to mention the millions of American who consider Liz to be an icon. Too long at 106 minutes, The Greek Tycoon was nonetheless expanded to 112 minutes for home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
A police investigator is forced to rely on the man he's been instructed to apprehend in this cold war thriller. Sir James Quentin (Christopher Plummer) is a high level negotiator with the British government who is approached by Scobie Malone (Rod Taylor), an Australian detective who has been instructed to arrest Quentin in connection with the murder of his first wife 25 years earlier. Quentin calmly asks Malone if he could wait until he completes his work at a diplomatic conference, and Malone agrees; Quentin even allows Malone to stay at his home with his second wife Shelia (Lilli Palmer). Malone's assignment soon proves to be more complicated (and dangerous) than he expected when he has to save Quentin from an assassination attempt. Quentin must protect a fellow diplomat also targeted by gunmen, and Malone learns that Shelia has a deadly secret. The High Commissioner was also released under the title Nobody Runs Forever. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1976
Jim (James Garner) is hired by antiques dealer Thomas Caine (William Daniels) to bid on a rare sculpted bird at an auction. Unfortunately, our hero "gets the bird" in more ways than one when, after purchasing the statue on Caine's behalf, he is attacked by hooligans and the artifact is broken. At this point, Jim would just as soon wash his hands of the whole affair, but in order to avoid paying for the busted bird, he agrees to attend another auction where a duplicate bird is on display. Complicating matters is the existence of a third bird--and of a clever and somewhat lethal art thief who is dogging Jim's trail every inch of the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Trouble With Angels opens on the first day of school for a new batch of students at St. Francis Academy, run by a very strong-willed Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell). She is used to having things her way, but she may have met her match in the headstrong and independent Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and her newfound friend, Rachel Devery (June Harding). Mary, easily bored and ready to rebel at the drop of a hat, comes up with an endless series of "scathingly brilliant" schemes designed either to amuse her and Rachel, torture insufferable schoolmate Marvel-Ann, or in some way help them get ahead. Rachel, who would never come up with such ideas on her own, is delighted to go along with them. The duo starts right away by convincing several of the girls to join them in giving fake names to the sisters that register them. Future escapades include guided tours of the nuns' living quarters, illicit cigarette smoking that brings about the fire brigade, replacing sugar with soap bubbles, and many others. Several times the Mother Superior is on the brink of expelling the girls, but she relents, knowing something of their home lives and that they will benefit from the more nurturing environment of the school. By the end of the film, the girls have indeed grown, and Mary, in particular, has developed a special love for the Academy. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, (more)
Based on a novel by the iconoclastic Richard Condon (of Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor fame), Winter Kills was one of the vanguard efforts in the "JFK conspiracy" school of literature. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick Kegan, the scion of a powerful Kennedyesque family, who has done his best to make himself obscure after the assassination of his older brother, the former president of the U.S. While working as an oil rigger, Nick is introduced to a terminally ill gentleman who claims to have been "the second assassin." His curiosity aroused, Nick begins digging into what was supposed to be a closed case -- and, predictably, what he finds out isn't pretty. This, however, is the only predictable element of this mesmerizingly mazelike yarn. A failure when first released, Winter Kills fared somewhat better when director William Richert arranged to rerelease the film through his own company and restore several scenes that had been cut by its previous backers. Elizabeth Taylor appears uncredited as one "Lola Comante." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, John Huston, (more)
