Grant Taylor Movies
Character actor, former lead, onscreen from the early '40s. ~ All Movie Guide
Extraterrestrial fast-food franchisers come to earth to pick up food supplies-in this case, human flesh. After wiping out a few small towns, the aliens must contend with a team of government assassins, headed by Pete O'Herne. As the plot rolls on, O'Herne's crew is decimated in as gory a manner as possible, and innocent bystander Craig Smith ends up being marinated (and a darned good job it is). Turns out that the space folks are running on a timetable; they've got to return to their home planet with their human-hash cargo before a rival franchise puts them out of business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Jackson, Mike Minett, (more)
- 1969
Mother suspects foul play when several of his best agents are found dead -- and neatly gift-wrapped. The villain of the piece is named Remak, an acronym for Remote Electro-Matic Agent Killer. With Tara on vacation, Steed must rely upon the assistance of glamorous agent Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton) to help him track down the elusive Remak. Written by Tony Williamson, "Killer" first aired in England on January 22, 1969, after its world premiere on American television on December 30, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Macnee, Linda Thorson, (more)
- 1967
Nigel Kneale's Quatermass TV series spawned a brief film series produced over an eleven-year period; 1967's Quatermass and the Pit, released in the US as Five Million Years to Earth, was the third and (until 1979's Quatermass Conclusion) last. As in previous chapters in the Kneale saga, the film begins with a baffling scientific discovery. This time it's a bunch of prehistoric skulls, discovered during a subway excavation in the heart of London. Sequestered in a lab, the skulls start to emanate a bizarre force over the populace, resulting in death and destruction. Professor Quatermass (Andrew Keir) concludes that the skulls are the residue of an extraterrestrial invading army -- a theory which (as usual) is scoffed at by the authorities until it's almost too late. Blessed with superb special effects and an expertly sustained tension level, Quatermass and the Pit is easily the best of the short-lived "Quatermass" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Donald, Andrew Keir, (more)
- 1967
In this children's movie some kids work to recondition an abused cow. With love and patience they restore it to health, protect it from the wicked rustlers, and enter it in a dairy show. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Created by Peter and Betty Lambda, Weavers Green was a twice-weekly British soap opera set in the titular (and fictional) rural community. The stories revolved around the practice of veterinarians Alan Armstrong (Grant Taylor) and Geoffrey Toms (Eric Flynn). The series was one of the first weekly British dramatic efforts to make extensive use of locating shooting with portable video equipment. Debuting April 7, 1966, Weavers Green ran for 49 episodes over a six-month period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Taylor, Eric Flynn, (more)
- 1964
Japanese sci-fi director Inoshiro Honda and special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya teamed up again (Rodan, Godzilla, Mothra) for this thriller/adventure. Set in the futuristic 1980, a group of Tokyo scientists discover that Earth is in the direct path of a star with a gravitational pull 6,000 times than that of Earth's. As a space ship finds itself close to the orb, its team of astronauts are able to transmit important information to Ground Control. Collaborating with other specialists from various nations, the scientists frantically attempt to save the world from a catastrophic collision. Running at only 77 minutes, this version omits the original--and bizarre--Japanese ending wherein a gargantuan walrus emerges from the cracked glaciers of the South Pole. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryo Ikebe, Akihiko Hirata, (more)
- 1960
A daring escape from prison whips open this actioner right at the beginning, and though the action continues from that moment onward it does not sustain the same break-neck pace. Matt Kirk (Aldo Ray) is in jail, wrongly accused of a crime, and along with three other inmates he escapes by hiding out in an ambulance. Circumstances then lead Matt and the others to set off in a small boat that ends up drifting toward an island called Pinchgut in Sydney's harbor. As the fugitives hole up on the island, Matt devises a way to call attention to his demand for a retrial that instead calls attention to more police... and a siege of the island begins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aldo Ray, Neil McCallum, (more)
Although there'd been "doomsday dramas" before it, Stanley Kramer's On the Beach was considered the first "important" entry in this genre when originally released in 1959. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute, the film is set in the future (1964) when virtually all life on earth has been exterminated by the radioactive residue of a nuclear holocaust. Only Australia has been spared, but it's only a matter of time before everyone Down Under also succumbs to radiation poisoning. With only a short time left on earth, the Australian population reacts in different ways: some go on a nonstop binge of revelry, while others eagerly consume the suicide pills being issued by the government. When the possibility arises that rains have washed the atmosphere clean in the Northern hemisphere, a submarine commander (Gregory Peck) and his men head to San Diego, where faint radio signals have been emanating. The movie's all-star cast includes: Peck as the stalwart sub captain, Ava Gardner as his emotionally disturbed lover, Fred Astaire as a guilt-wracked nuclear scientist, and Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson as the "just starting out in life" married couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, (more)
- 1958
In this Australian children's movie, a sequel to Smiley, set in the outback, a local policeman tries to help a rambunctious scamp settle down by promising the lad a new gun if he can stay out of mischief and treat other people with respect. Smiley, the boy, does his very best, but when the locals begin teasing him and taking bets on whether or not he will succeed, trouble ensues and the boy ends up getting blamed for robbing an eccentric old woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sybil Thorndike, Chips Rafferty, (more)
Captain David O'Keefe is a character based on the real-life 18th-century American who introduced modern agricultural methods to the South Seas. Lest you think that His Majesty O'Keefe is merely a feature-length version of your local TV station's agribusiness report, be advised that O'Keefe is played by Burt Lancaster, his biceps fairly bursting out of his period costume. Lancaster's version of O'Keefe is a garrulous mercenary who agrees to help the native farmers in exchange for a fortune in Copra, an oil-yielding form of coconut pulp. In addition to Copra, the island is rich with Rice--Joan Rice, that is, who portrays the dusky native girl with whom O'Keefe dallies. His Majesty O'Keefe arrives at its anticipated slam-bang finale when O'Keefe does battle with greedy, usurping white traders. The film was freely adapted from the popular novel by Lawrence Kingman and Gerald Green. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice, (more)
Robert Newton repeats his Treasure Island role as Long John Silver in this Australian adventure film--and if anything, Newton is even more out of control this time around than he'd been in the earlier picture. Paying only lip service to the Robert Louis Stevenson original, the film is made up of several marginally related episodes. In the first, Silver rescues a governor's daughter, managing to save the day and crooked line his own pockets in the process. In the second, Long John quells a mutiny and prevents his young friend Jim Hawkins (Kit Taylor) from having to walk the plank. And in the third, Long John and Jim arrive at Treasure Island, where they're forced to duke it out with the minions of Silver's old enemy Mendoza (Lloyd Burrell). Connie Gilchrist costars as Purity, Long John's on-and-off pubkeeper sweetheart. Long John Silver was later sliced up into three separate half-hours and released to TV as part of the 26-episode Long John Silver TV series, which of course also starred Robert "Arr, matey!" Newton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Newton, Kit Taylor, (more)
- 1950
American actor/stuntman Jock O'Mahoney (aka Jock Mahoney) stars in the Australian The Kangaroo Kid. The star plays a 19th-century San Francisco detective named Tex Kinnane, who is sent "Down Under" to nab shyster lawyer Vincent Moller (Douglass Dumbrille). Several comparisons are made between the American Wild West and the equally treacherous Australian outback. Kinnane proves adept at adjusting to his new environment--much more so than the fugitive Moller. In addition to Jock O'Mahoney and Douglass Dumbrille, several other Hollywoodites contribute to the overall success of The Kangaroo Kid, including director Lesley Selander and actresses Martha Hyer and Veda Ann Borg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veda Ann Borg
- 1949
Released in the U.S. as Massacre Hill, the Australian Eureka Stockade was one of that country's biggest and most expensive postwar productions (it was nearly two years in the making!) Set during the 19th-century Australian gold rush, the film top-bills Chips Rafferty as boisterous prospector Peter Lallor. The gold bonanza is threatened by the arrival of claim-jumpers, usurpers and government bean-counters. At first, the prospectors intend to use random mob violence to ward off the invaders, but Lallor organizes the group into a strong, united front, as willing to mediate as to bust heads. Future star Peter Finch is eighth-billed as "Humffray." Eureka Stockade was remade years later as a TV miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chips Rafferty, Gordon Jackson, (more)
Peter Finch enjoyed one of his first major screen successes with this wartime drama from Australia. Milo Trent (Chips Rafferty) and Bluey Donkin (Grant Taylor) are two Aussie infantrymen who are fighting in North Africa during World War II when they meet Peter Linton (Peter Finch), a slightly pretentious British soldier with a fondness for poetry. The three men form an unlikely friendship struggling to fend off Rommel's Afrika Corps as the Australian army battles to retain control of Tobruk, a strategically important city in Libya. Released as The Fighting Rats of Tobruk, this drama was based on actual incidents. Australian forces successfully held Tobruk against heavy fire from Axis troops for 250 days, and the battle has been cited as a turning point in the war in North Africa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Taylor, Chips Rafferty, (more)
- 1941
At the time of its release, 40,000 Horseman was acclaimed as one of the best (if not the best) production to emanate from Australia. Set during WWI, the film is a tribute to the Australian Light Horse regiment, who distinguished themselves while encamped in Palestine on behalf of the British Empire. The story has been "Hollywoodized" somewhat, with the addition of a love story involving Aussie trooper Jim (the popular Chips Rafferty) and French mademoiselle Juliet Rouget (Betty Bryant). All such trivialities are forgotten during the spectacular cavalry-charge sequence which closes the film. The screenplay for 40,000 Horseman was written by the wife of director Charles Chauvel, here billed simply (and somewhat chauvinistically) as "Mrs. Chauvel." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Taylor, Betty Bryant, (more)
- 1940
Ken Hall was Australia's most commercially successful director of the 1940s and '50s, and his Dad and Dave films were his most popular features. All told, Hall made four such films. Dad Rudd, M.P. has survived the best, both in terms of its comedic value and in its commentary on Australian society. As Germany's shadow creeps across Europe, Dad Rudd enters politics against his will to oppose the shady Henry Webster. Webster wants to build a dam to help the small farmers of the area; Dad Rudd senses foul play but is unable to prevent the dam's construction. His position is vindicated, however, after a heavy rainfall breaks the dam apart. On the strength of this and with the revelation of Webster's dirty dealings, Dad Rudd carries the day and is elected to Parliament. Dad's triumph serves as a metaphor for the world's triumph over the "German menace." ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Bailey
- 1933
Tom Mix goes up against a ruthless gang of rustlers headed by a crooked army colonel in this, his penultimate Western for Universal. When a vigilante group assembled by Colonel Charles Ormsby (John St. Polis) fails to make a dent in the rustlings -- primarily because Ormsby and the local sheriff (Frank Brownlee) are the secret leaders of the gang -- rancher Tom Munroe (Mix) is assigned by the governor of Arizona to look into things. With the help of local cowboy Lucky Dawson (Raymond Hatton), Tom discovers that young rancher Bernie "Little Casino" Laird (Arthur Rankin), the weakling brother of Norma Laird (Naomi Judge), is secretly a member of the gang. When the rustlers turn to robbing the stage, Mix manages to arrest Bernie and two henchmen (Francis McDonald and Robert Kortman), but all three are freed from jail by Ormsby. During a climactic shootout at the Laird ranch, young Bernie reveals that Ormsby and the sheriff are crooked and the entire gang is rounded up and arrested. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Naomi Judge, (more)
