John Stuart Movies

Richard Donner's big-budget blockbuster Superman: The Movie is an immensely entertaining recounting of the origin of the famous comic book character. Opening on Krypton (where Marlon Brando plays Superman's father), the film follows the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) as he's sent to Earth where he develops his alter-ego Clark Kent and is raised by a Midwestern family. In no time, the movie has run through his teenage years, and Clark gets a job at the Daily Planet, where he is a news reporter. It's there that he falls in love with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), who is already in love with Superman. But the love story is quickly sidetracked once the villainous Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) launches a diabolical plan to conquer the world and kill Superman. Superman: The Movie is filled with action, special effects and a surprising amount of humor. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Novelist George MacDonald Fraser penned the script for this swashbuckling, picaresque adventure tale. The story is based on one of the books in his "Harry Flashman" series, loose sequels to "Tom Brown's Schooldays" that followed that story's central bully character through his checkered post-graduate military career. Malcolm McDowell plays Captain Harry Flashman, a cowardly, lascivious poseur who desperately seeks entry into high European society. Recognizing an opportunity to advance their own sinister political agendas, scheming Otto Von Bismarck (Oliver Reed) and Rudi Von Sternberg (Alan Bates) convince Flashman to masquerade as a Prussian noble and marry a beautiful duchess (Britt Ekland), a flawed plan to which Flashman agrees. Inevitably, the transparent ruse is discovered, and Flashman is forced to try to escape across 19th century Europe, narrowly missing one disaster after another and experiencing first-hand some of history's most momentous events. Director Richard Lester and Fraser used similar baroque settings, tongue-in-cheek characterizations, elaborate stunts and breakneck pacing for The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel, The Four Musketeers (1974) with similar efficacy. Fraser would try again with analogous material three years later with Crossed Swords (1978), a lavish version of The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Its the Cavaliers vs. the Copperheads in this costume drama set during the 17th-century British Civil War. Our sympathies are supposed to be with Oliver Cromwell's underground troops--and they are, since the arrogant Cromwell isn't around to comprise his followers' heroism. Lionel Jeffries, loyal to Cromwell, is confounded by his daughter June Thorburn's fidelity to the Throne. Oliver Reed co-stars as Jeffries' right-hand man and June's boyfriend. Crimson Blade does little to clarify the complex issues attending the war, but it delivers the goods in the action department. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British comic actor Jimmy Edwards demonstrates his versatility in Bottoms Up by playing a character named Jimmy Edwards. Actually, it's Professor Jim Edwards, doctor of dunderheads. In the tradition of Will Hay, Edwards tries to maintain decorum in the boys' school where he serves as headmaster, but it's a losing battle. The fun really begins when the son of Edwards' bookie enrolls while disguised as a Middle-Eastern potentate. Producer/director Mario Zampi knows where the laughs are and knows how to get them in full measure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bismarck was the fabled German battleship of World War II. This film traces the "life" of the Bismarck from its launching (courtesy of newsreel footage) through its many battles and narrow escapes, concluding with its far-from-inevitable sinking in the Spring of 1941. Since one couldn't expect a ship to carry a 97-minute movie, the story concentrates on the human element, specifically a British intelligence captain (Kenneth More), who has lost his family in the London blitz and thus has a personal reason for seeing the Bismarck blasted from the sea. The captain's tireless efforts are abetted by the love and support of a female naval officer Dana Wynter. The climactic sinking is deftly assembled from stock footage and newly shot scenes of expertly delineated scale models. As a bonus, Sink the Bismarck yielded a hit song, which many children of the 1960s can still recite from memory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime drama, a Yankee rocket scientist stationed in Great Britain becomes an undercover investigator when he suspects that his laboratory base has been infiltrated by an enemy spy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

He may be calling himself "Dr. Stein," but the audience isn't fooled: that popular general practitioner (Peter Cushing) in the mittel-European village of Carlsbruck is none other than our old friend, Victor Frankenstein. No one seems unduly concerned when the patients in a charity clinic begin losing their arms and legs during Dr. Stein's emergency operations -- no one except his young rival, Dr. Kleve (Kerwin Mathews). Threatening to expose Dr. Stein as the fugitive from justice he really is, Kleve is instead persuaded to be Stein's partner. Things really begin heating up when Stine and Kleve use the brain of vengeful village hunchback Karl (Oscar Quitak) for their new synthetic monster. Adding to the climactic melee is another monster, built in the image of Dr. Frankenstein himself! Full of clever (if gory) touches, Revenge of Frankenstein is among the best of Hammer Studio's late-1950s output. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An uneven but at times hilarious slapstick comedy, Too Many Crooks features an inept gang of four would-be criminals who manage to botch every job they plan. After a few dismal failures they try to rob the wealthy, philandering Billy Gordon (Terry-Thomas) and fail again. Unwilling to let go of a good resource when they see it, the gang decides to kidnap his daughter, drug her, put her in a coffin in a hearse, and take off to their safe hideaway in a mad, mad dash. The plan amazingly succeeds except for one minor detail -- they have kidnapped the tycoon's wife, and he could not be happier. The offended spouse sees red at her philandering husband's attitude and sets the stage for revenge. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This low-budget swashbuckling film is not in the same league with the Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn portrayals, but still fun if the viewer doesn't do comparisons. Standard Robin Hood plot. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Originally titled Quatermass II, Enemy from Space was the sequel to The Quatermass Xperiment (US title: The Creeping Unknown). Based on the British TV serial by Nigel Kneale (who reportedly disliked the finished product), the film stars Brian Donlevy, repeating the role of Professor Quatermass. This time, the good professor must contend with a "meteor shower" which turns out to be a secret alien invasion. The extraterrestrials arrive on earth in rocklike vehicles, then take over the minds and nervous systems of earthlings, the better to go about their business undetected. Subliminally a cruel satire of British bureaucracy and obfuscation, Enemy from Space also works on a pure-horror level, building slowly and methodically to a powerhouse finale. For many years a "lost" film due to legal tangles, Enemy from Space has recently become available again on video and cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this thriller, a trucker offers a hitchhiking girl a lift and ends up careening out of control when he is later accused of killing her. He decides that the only way to clear his name is to launch his own investigation and in so doing finds himself up to his axles in intrigue. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this thriller a woman witnesses a robbery, runs away from the scene and is rundown by a bus. The two thieves, realizing that she could get them arrested, sneak into the hospital where they plan to kill her. Their repeated attempts all end in failure. At the end, one of the thieves, feeling guilty about killing her, murders the other thief and saves the woman's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

American actor Alex Nicol heads the cast of the British crime melodrama The Gilded Cage. Nicol and Michael Alexander play Steve and Harry Anderson, a pair of siblings who become involved in an art theft. Accused of leading the crooks, Harry is thrown into the pokey. Steve, a customs inspector, spends the rest of the film trying to prove his brother's innocence. Gilded Cage was produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman, the same team responsible for the TV adventure series The Saint. Veronica Hurst, an English actress best known for her work in the American horror melodrama The Maze, is the woman in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi