Venetia Stevenson Movies

Filmed in the high-definition IMAX process, this video traces the history of man's exploration of the Grand Canyon, from a recreation of the 1869 Powell Expedition to modern adventurers who glide above the canyon's monoliths in ultralight aircraft. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

For those of you who might have wondered whether accordion virtuoso Dick Contino ever made a film, we refer you to The Big Night. Fourth-billed Contino weaves in and out of a plotline involving stolen money, an innocent married couple, and not-so-innocent gangsters. Newlyweds Randy Sparks and Venetia Stevenson find a sack of cash, then stash it away for a rainy day rather than inform the cops. That this is not a smart move is hammered home before the film is half over. You'll have to see The Big Night yourself to find out if Dick Contino gets the opportunity to render "Lady of Spain" on his squeeze-box. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Seven Ways from Sundown is a well-wrought western by director Harry Keller, starring Audie Murphy in the title role (his character's "first" name is the same as the title). Young "Seven" is a talented but novice Texas Ranger who is in the process of learning the tricks of the trade from veteran Ranger Sergeant Hennessey (John McIntire). The two are currently hunting down the flamboyant outlaw Jim Flood (Barry Sullivan), crafty enough not only to elude them, but to take a surprise offensive against them as well. In the end, it will take all of "Seven's" abilities to capture the wanted criminal. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

George Baxt scripted this extraordinarily good chiller from a story by Milton Subotsky, who also co-produced. A college student (Venetia Stevenson) with an interest in witchcraft goes to the Massachusetts town of Whitewood. It's a foggy, spooky town which gets even scarier when Stevenson discovers that the owner of the Raven's Inn, Mrs. Newlis (Patricia Jessel) is in fact a 268-year old witch. Jessel sold her soul to the Devil to regain her life after being burned at the stake. The whole town is her coven, including Stevenson's kindly history professor (Christopher Lee). Stevenson's boyfriend and brother arrive to look for her and discover human sacrifices and all sorts of evil goings-on. One of the few horror films of the period which still has the power to frighten, Horror Hotel is required viewing for genre fans. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, a pilot and a radio commentator crash on an island just off the Australian coast and discover a crazed scientist and his three lovely daughters Venus, Urana, and Mercuria. The girls have never seen a man other than their father. When the commentator realizes that the scientist has been working on atomic experiments, he threatens to expose the scientist. In retaliation, the scientist destroys their airplane. Fortunately, the lovely daughters help them build a raft. Unfortunately, the mad mad scientist sets off a dreadful explosion. The ensuing blast attracts the attention of the Australian authorities. The survivors are soon rescued. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

James Garner stars as WWII hero Major William Darby in this characteristically gusty William Wellman combat film. Darby organizes a highly-trained group of rangers, to be deployed in behind-the-lines activities in Italy and Northern Africa. The first portion of the film details the training, with time out for a few comic and romantic interludes; the second part shows Darby's Rangers in full, ferocious action. In addition to Garner, Warner Bros. used Darby's Rangers to spotlight another of its TV stars, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes; Bill Wellman Jr. also shows up in the supporting role of Eli Clatworthy. The film was adapted from the book by Major James Altieri. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Art Carney plays the title role, so to speak, in this live, 90-minute Playhouse 90 adaptation of Brandon Thomas' classic stage farce Charley's Aunt. The play's basic premise--Oxford undergrad Lord Fancourt Babberly (Carney) must pose as the elderly aunt of his roommate Charley Wyckeham so that Charley and his friend Jack Chesney will have a proper escort for their two girlfriends--is merely the springboard for a whole new batch of complications cooked up by the author of the TV version, the redoubtable Leslie Stevens. For starters, Babberly is now forced to don old-ladies' garb for an amateur theatrical production or else he'll lose his standing in the Oxford shot-putt team, necessitating the creation of a character not found in the original play, athletics coach Sandeford (played by former child star Jackie Coogan). Additionally, the character of Babberly's sweetheart Ela Delahey is eliminated, and a conspicuous duck pond figures largely in the slapstick proceedings. One of the few Playhouse 90 installments to be performed before a studio audience, Charley's Aunt boasts an astonishingly stellar supporting cast, including former MGM songbird Jeanette MacDonald as Donna Lucia (the real Aunt), MacDonald's husband Gene Raymond as Sir Francis Chesney, humorist Orson Bean as Jack, future novelist Tom Tryon as Charley, waspish Richard Haydn ("Uncle Max" in The Sound of Music) as Stephen Spettigue, and Sue Randall, later to achieve fame as "Miss Landers" on Leave It to Beaver, as Kitty Verdun. Charley's Aunt is one of several Playhouse 90 episodes currently available in kinescope form on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide