Robert Stephens Movies

American Roulette a routine, but exciting action feature directed by Maurice Hatton, involves a death plot against an exiled South American President. The President, hiding in London, finds that he is the target not only of death squads from his own country, but also the CIA and the KGB. The good cast includes Andy Garcia and Susannah York. Andy Garcia, in one of his earlier pictures, is excellent, and Susannah York also gives a good performance. The color photography of this film adds appeal, but does not make up for a lackluster plot or slow pacing. Devotees of action films will find this action thriller worth a view, if only to see Andy Garcia. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Originally produced for the BBC, the seven-part Fortunes of War was adapted from Olivia Manning's "The Balkan Trilogy" and "The Levant Trilogy". Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who in 1987 were husband and wife, star as Guy and Harriet Pringle, a British couple who move to Rumania in 1939. As the war clouds gather, Guy becomes involved in political resistance activities, which tends to make him neglectful of Harriet, who'd just as soon remain aloof from world events. While Guy goes off on such missions as destroying the German supply lines along the Danube, Harriet attempts to maintain decorum in her home-a task rendered well nigh impossible when such "guests" as Prince Yakimov (Ronald Pickup) drop in. Separated in mid-war, the Pringles are reunited in Greece, where the lonely Harriet becomes involved with handsome army officer Jeremy Brudenell. Then it's off to further adventures in Alexandria, Cairo, and finally, Damascus. Fortunes of War was first telecast in America from January 17 to February 28, 1988, as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the 1830s, this historical drama stars Robin Soans as George Loveless, a Methodist minister whose flock is a group of working families in Tolpuddle, a small town in the British Southwest. Most of the workers in the community are under the thumb of Frampton (Robert Stephens), a ruthless land owner, and his overseer Clerk (Murray Melvin); Frampton and Clerk demand long hours from their workers and pay meager wages. Convinced that the workers deserve a better shake, Loveless, encouraged by organizer Mr. Pitt (Michael Hordern), forms the Society of Friends, an early labor union, and organizes the men to negotiate with Frampton for better pay. When their salaries are instead cut, Loveless and his men go on strike, which could cripple Frampton financially. However, Frampton is well-connected, and soon both the government and private militias are sent in to break the strike and punish the rebellious laborers. The supporting cast includes James Fox, Freddie Jones, and Vanessa Redgrave. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Box of Delights, based on the children's book by English poet laureate John Masefield, was produced by the BBC, from a screenplay by Alan Seymour under director Renny Rye in mid-1984. Set in 1934, the six-part miniseries tells the story of young Kay Harker (Devin Stanfield), who, while on his way home from school to join his family for Christmas, meets an old Punch and Judy man named Cole Hawlings (Patrick Troughton), and then a pair of clergymen (Geoffrey Larder, Jonathan Stephens) who seem to have picked his pocket -- and all of whom seem to know all about Kay, who he is, and where he is going. Before long, he is in the center of a struggle for the title object, an artifact dating from pagan times that allows the holder to manipulate time and space. The evil Abner Brown (Robert Stephens) wants the box and will stop at nothing, including kidnapping and murder to get it, while Cole Hawlings, who is actually a 500-year-old alchemist, has sought out Kay's help to keep Brown and the forces he serves from stealing the box. Kay's adventures include a visit to an embattled Arthurian camp beset by wolves, an encounter with flying unicorns and other magical beasts, and other fantastic visions. Kay gradually comes to understand the magical world he has entered, but can he learn enough of the powers he controls before Abner -- who has embarked on a final great wickedness, culminating on Christmas Eve -- can succeed? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the 1979 novel by Thomas Flanagan, the Anglo-French co-production The Year of the French was set in the Ireland of 1798. Long dreaming of independence from the British, a hardy band of Irish freedom fighters from County Mayo rose up against their English Oppressors, with the help of a group of French revolutionaries who'd "invaded" the country at Kileummin Bay. The musical score for this six-episode series was provided by the Chieftains, and proved to be a best-seller on its own. The Year of the French debuted in the British Isles over the Radio Telefis Eireann (RTS) broadcasting organization in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this eerie, atmospheric tale, a young woman is on a train when she sees some people she thinks she knows from her childhood. On arriving home, her husband tells her that a certain countess has died. At that point, the film cuts to a scene of the countess singing in a mausoleum while the visual image of the graveyard's many tombstones passes before one's eyes. Back home, the husband -- also a "father-figure" -- is looking over his collection of wooden angels. Some time elapses, and he surreptitiously sees a thief come down through the chimney, steal some things, and then leave. To combat any recurrence, he builds an iron, escape-proof cage around the fireplace, and then goes away on a trip. When he comes back, he finds the thief dead in the cage. Thus far, the camera has only shown the husband in profile or from the back. Then there is another story about a young girl, with a spiteful, nasty mother, who is trying to cope with her own attraction to a man. When she grows up, she either commits suicide or manages to leave the past behind her. Is this little girl the same married woman on the train at the beginning of the film? In the final, dramatic scenes, the viewers see the husband full-face for the first time, as he confronts his wife. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The trial of a Jew accused of killing a Nazi is held many years after the event. ~ All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV adaptation of the Leon Uris epic stars Anthony Hopkins as a Polish doctor accused by an American writer (Ben Gazarra) of assisting the Nazis with medical experiments. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This British drama anthology was set in Vienna at the turn of the century, amongst the privileged (and slightly debauched) aristocracy. The six 50-minute episodes were adapted from three famous short stories by master ironist Arthur Schnitzler (whose works were still being adapted for films as late as 1999's Eyes Wide Shut). Individual titles included "A Confirmed Bachelor," "Spring Sonata," and "Mother and Son." Broadcast over the BBC beginning December 8, 1973, Vienna 1900 was seen in America nine years later, thanks to the miracle of cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide