Larry Taylor Movies

A hellish piece of professional laundry equipment wreaks havoc in a tiny New England town in this horror film. It all begins in The Blue Ribbon Laundry, a place run by the ruthless, crippled old Bill Gartley. With no feelings at all for his employees, he demands absolute obedience and unrelenting hard work. One day an old speed iron goes crazy, sucks in and permanently presses a hapless worker. The rest of the crew is frightened and in shock, but this does not stop old Gartley from cruelly ordering them back to work. A police officer investigates the case and begins suspecting that the sinister owner is concealing something. When a boy suffocates in an abandoned refrigerator that had somehow come in contact with the speed iron, the cop calls in his friend the theoretical parapsychologist who deduces that there is a "transference of evil" going on. Meanwhile, Gartley is putting the moves on comely Lin Sue; he also is interested in messing with his own niece. Both girls have been harmed by the evil iron and have contributed some of their precious blood to it. It is the cop who discovers that in order for Gartley to remain successful, he must see that the demonic machine periodically receives such sacrificial donations. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In exchange for clearing Duell McCall's name, the cowboy's assistance is needed in locating the murderer of the sheriff's wife. ~ Rovi

This thriller has a strong anti-nuclear message. It is set in Thorpeville, a Southern town that has an abandoned nuclear-power plant and chronicles a bizarre series of rapes and murders. What is most puzzling is that each of the female victims are found to be radioactive. Investigating the strange killings are sheriff Jake Stern, pathologist Doc Roberts, slightly crazed Vietnam vet Freddie, and a clever reporter Patti Smart. They eventually deduce that the killer is some sort of nuclear mutant and their prime suspect is James Manners, the man who designed the faulty reactor. All of the investigators soon find themselves entangled in a complex conspiracy/cover-up that culminates in an explosive finale. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this sword and sorcery film, a wimpy college professor Tarl Cabot (Urbano Barberini) is mysteriously thrown into the world of Gor, where he must battle the evil Sarm (Oliver Reed) to save the innocent people of Gor. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Richard Harris dodges bullets from stem to stern in this middling thriller, based on a novel by Alistair MacLean. The plot concerns high-sea hijinks aboard the Caribbean Star, a combination cargo ship and floating casino. In the midst of the high rollers and spinning roulette wheels appears Luis Carreras (John Vernon), an amoral mercenary who hijacks the ship. Taking his marching orders from a mysterious mastermind, he installs an atomic device mid-ship, holding both the passengers and the bomb hostage, hoping to exchange them for the gold bullion of an U.S. Treasury ship. All seems to be going according to Luis's plan until First Officer John Carter (Richard Harris), the attractive Susan Beresford (Ann Turkel), and Dr. Marston (Gordon Jackson) arrive to put a crimp in Luis's escapade. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In 1974, flanked by such filmic monuments to paranoia and corruption as Chinatown and The Parallax View, Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland tried to re-create the screwball nonchalance of their earlier M*A*S*H performances in this lightweight spy spoof, directed by Irvin Kershner. Gould and Sutherland play two CIA agents -- Griff and Bruland -- who are marked for death by their own agency after botching the defection of a Russian ballet dancer (Michael Petrovich). As they repeatedly mess up their assignments and wriggle out of tight corners, they not only find themselves pursued by the CIA, but also by the KGB, the Chinese Communists, and a terrorist group that wants to destroy the CIA. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this comedy, two men pursue four very valuable women who have tattooed the location of stolen bonds upon their rumps. The Mafia is also in pursuit of the marked women. The two fellows are lead to Rome where the lead character tries to sell the Sistine Chapel to American tourists. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this sex comedy, a bountiful blonde woman saves a despondent fellow from suicide and teaches him to love life again. Meanwhile a sexy aspiring actress seduces the son of a man whom she believes is a powerful producer, and a cabbie dreams of a world filled with bikini clad women and exotic dancers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This crime drama finds American agent Novak (Yul Brynner) sent to Scotland Yard to help uncover a gang of forgers, murderers and counterfeiters. Even when the British agent Thompson (Edward Woodward) is assigned to help, Novak still remains suspicious of everyone. From Liverpool, the duo traces the Owl (Charles Gray) to London where they hope to meet up with the mysterious gang leader Mr. Big. Novak eventually trusts Thompson as the two close in on the gang that is raking in millions with their illegal activities. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

One of the stars of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke, is re-united with that film's composer and lyricist, Richard M.Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, in this big budget and bloodless children's fantasy musical, based on the children's book by James Bond author Ian Fleming. Van Dyke plays Caractacus Potts, a failed inventor who lives in a big house with his two children -- Jemima Heather Ripley and Jeremy Adrian Hall -- and eccentric father Lionel Jeffries. Potts has to raise 30 shillings so his children can buy a broken-down racing car from the junkyard. After a disastrous attempt to sell his invention of whistling sweets to Lord Scrumptious (James Robertson-Justice), the local candy maker, he finally gets enough money for the car by doing a Dick Van Dyke dance routine at the county fair. Potts takes the car and miraculously transforms the vehicle into a shiny new car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. While on a picnic with the children and Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), Lord Scrumptious' beautiful daughter, Potts concocts a fantasy tale about the magical powers of the car, which can now float on water and fly. In the tale, Baron Bomburst (Gert Frobe) wants the car for himself and kidnaps the automobile and the inventor. But Bomburst captures Grandpa by mistake along with the wrong car, so Potts, Truly, and the children have to enlist Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on a rescue mission to Bomburst's lair to save Grandpa. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Though not advertised as such, Follow That Camel was an entry in Britain's long-running "Carry On" series. Phil Silvers stars as Sgt. Nocker, a self-styled hero of the Foreign Legion. Nocker's feet of clay are readily apparent to young recruit Bertram Oliphant West (Jim Dale), but "orders is orders." When the Arabs attack, however, Nocker saves the day with some clever conniving. The "Carry On" team seems to be working at half-throttle here, perhaps in deference to the indefatigable Phil Silvers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A cardsharp comes up with the ultimate system for beating the casinos at their own game in this high-style caper comedy. Barney Lincoln (Warren Beatty) is a footloose playboy with a taste for gambling and an ingenious scheme for winning at the leading casinos in Europe. Barney discovers that nearly all of the major gambling houses use playing cards manufactured by the same company; by breaking into their plant and subtly altering the printing plates, he's able to mark the cards with a code only he can read, and he is soon pulling in record winnings across the continent. However, Barney's secret is discovered by his girlfriend Angel McGinnis (Suzannah York), a successful fashion designer, which might not be a problem if her father, "Manny" McGinnis (Clive Revill) weren't a top inspector at Scotland Yard. Manny approaches Barney and makes him a deal -- he won't reveal his secret about the cards if Barney will help him catch Harry Dominion (Eric Porter), a high-level international drug trafficker. Unfortunately, Barney's sleuthing goes awry after a certain amount of initial success, and when Harry gets wind of what he's been doing, he retaliates by kidnapping Angel and demanding repayment of his loss of sales. Jane Birkin makes her screen debut in this film, appropriately enough as a character named "Exquisite Thing." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmed on a grand scale, Zulu is a rousing recreation of the January 22, 1879, siege of Rorke's Drift in Natal, Africa. An army of 4,000 Zulu warriors have already decimated a huge British garrison; now they are on their way to the much smaller Rorke's Drift. A Royal Engineers officer (Stanley Baker) is determined to stand his ground, despite having only a skeleton garrison at his command. His steamroller tactics are constantly at odds with those of a by-the-book lieutenant (Michael Caine), who feels that a retreat is called for, but it becomes clear that if the garrison is to survive, they'd better pay heed. Jack Hawkins and Ulla Jacobsson are also on hand as an idealistic missionary and his somewhat more pragmatic daughter. Richard Burton provides the narration for Zulu, closing the film with the observation that 11 of the 1,344 Victoria Crosses awarded since 1856 were bestowed upon the survivors of Rorke's Drift. Zulu was followed in 1979 by a "prequel," Zulu Dawn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi