William Squire Movies

The acclaimed Tony Palmer helmed this 1984 biopic on 19th and early 20th century Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, here portrayed by Robert Stephens. Palmer opts to focus not on the whole gestalt of Puccini's life, but on a devastating scandal that transpired in 1909, when Giacomo's wife, Elvira Puccini, accused maid Doria Manfredi of bedding her husband. The unfounded allegations prompted a massive lawsuit from the maid's family, and nearly toppled Giacomo's illustrious career. Judith Howarth co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In the fifth episode of the six-part story "The Armageddon Factor," the Doctor (Tom Baker) has arrived on the "hidden" planet between the warring twin worlds of Atrios and Zeos. With the help of his old friend Drax (Barry Jackson), the Doctor is able to free himself and Romana (Mary Tamm) from the grip of the Shadow (William Squire), chief henchman of the dreaded Black Guardian. But several tasks still lie before the Doctor, not least of which is retrieving the sixth segment of the Key to Time, thereby restoring the balance between Good and Evil in the universe. Originally telecast on February 17, 1979, "The Armageddon Factor, Episode 5" was written by Bob Baker and David Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the third episode of the six-part story "The Armageddon Factor," the Doctor (Tom Baker) offers to assist Princess Astra (Lalla Ward) of Atrios in her ongoing war with twin planet Zeos. His motives are not entirely altruistic; by helping Astra, the Doctor hopes to retrieve the sixth and final missing segment of the Key to Time. He does not yet realize that he is under the careful scrutiny of the Black Guardian, who has vowed that the Key will never be reassembled. Originally telecast on February 3, 1979, "The Armageddon Factor, Episode 3" was written by Bob Baker and David Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi's literal adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is brought to the screen in a reverent, stilted way, with Bakshi forsaking his sharp-edged animated looniness for a rotoscoped dullness. Although the film's title encompasses the entire Tolkien trilogy, this longish Bakshi feature, in fact, covers only the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the first half of the second, The Two Towers. Given the complexity of the original story line, this unfortunately means that only those intimately familiar with the books will be able to understand what is happening in the movie. In brief, however, an evil sorcerer from a previous era created a magical ring which enables its users to call upon its tremendous powers to rule the world, but it inevitably warps them to evil. It was believed lost, but during a resurgence of magical evil in the world, Bilbo, a simple, plain-spoken hobbit, recovers it from its hiding place. The forces of good give his nephew Frodo the choice to bear the awful burden of the ring to a place where it may be destroyed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The villain was the hero of this 16-episode British drama series. Stephen Yardley starred as William "Spider" Scott, a wily cat burglar known to the coppers as the "XYY Man." Dogging Spider's trail every inch of the way was stalwart Detective Sergeant George Bulman (Don Henderson), who scored such a hit with viewers that he was spun off into his own series, Strangers and Bulman. The XYY Man originally aired in the U.K. from 1976 to 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An expensive but enormously profitable war picture, Where Eagles Dare centers upon a daring rescue and even more daring escape. Disguised as Nazi officers, commandoes Maj. John Smith (Richard Burton), Lt. Morris Schaffer Clint Eastwood and six other courageous souls parachute behind enemy lines. Their mission: to rescue an American general, held captive in a supposedly impenetrable Alpine castle. Aiding and abetting the commandoes are Allied undercover agents Mary (Mary Ure) and Heidi (Ingrid Pitt). Also on hand is a British officer (Patrick Wymark), who masterminded the mission. Somewhere, somehow, someone amongst the Allies is going to turn out to be a traitor. There's also a neat plot twist in store when the commandoes manage to reach the American general -- which leads to yet another twist. The vertigo-inducing climax has made Where Eagles Dare one of the most sought-after of "early" Eastwood starring features. The film was written directly for the screen by espionage novelist Alistair MacLean. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the most significant moments in the history of British warfare (in both the best and worst sense) is given reverent but reserved treatment in Dunkirk. The film takes place during the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops across the English channel. One party of British soldiers becomes detached from the rest of the retreating Allies. John Mills plays an inexperienced lance corporal who resists an increase in rank, but when the chips are down performs with courage and authority in organizing the lost troop and shepherding them to Dunkirk. Running 135 minutes in its original release (much of the footage comprised of newsreel shots), Dunkirk was based on two novels: Eleston Trever's The Big Pick-Up and Lt. Col. Ewan Hunter and Maj. J. S. Bradford's Dunkirk. The above time pertains to the original British theatrical version; the film was reedited and shortened to 113 minutes for U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The short life and quick death of Alexander the Great is recounted in this literate historical epic. Decked out in a blonde wig, Richard Burton stars as the Grecian warrior who conquered the known world while only in his twenties, then wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer. While the film's 141 minutes are occasionally bogged down by near-existential dialogue sequences (What doth it profit a man etc. etc.), the battle sequences are among the best and most accurate ever filmed. Fredric March and Danielle Darieux costar as Alexander's parents Philip of Macedonia and Olympius, Claire Bloom does what she can with the nothing role of Alexander's wife Barsine, and Michael Hordern and Harry Andrews are cast as Demosthenes and Darrius, respectively. Lensed in Spain and Italy, Alexander the Great conquered no new worlds at the box-office, perhaps because Richard Burton, brilliant though he was, hadn't yet attained "saleability". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi