Noel Trevarthen Movies

The works of prolific British children's author Enid Blyton have been adapted to television scores of times, but seldom as vividly as in a brace of multipart Anglo-New Zealand series of the mid-'90s. The first of these began airing over Britain's Disney Channel on July 21, 1996. The Enid Blyton Adventure Series consisted of eight different serials, each comprised of three half-hour episodes. All of these serials followed the standard Blyton formula of pitting a group of intelligent rural kids against a vast array of snarling adult villains in a variety of baffling mysteries which the children invariably solved. Individual titles included "Island of Adventure," "Woods of Adventure," "Sea of Adventure," "Valley of Adventure," "Sea of Adventure," and so on and so forth. The Enid Blyton Adventure Series was followed in 1997 by another group of literary adaptations, The Enid Blyton Secret Series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Queen Camilla (Ilona Rodgers) summons Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) to tell him of her premonition that dire calamity will befall the annual festival of Dionysus. Reunited with the Seer (Norman Forsey) from the previous episode, "The Road to Calydon," Hercules is warned that the festival will be safe from harm only if Dionysus approves of the reigning king (Noel Trevarthen); if not, woe betide the hapless revellers. To make certain that the festival proceeds smoothly, Hercules must tangle with royal intrigue, the treachery of a certain warlike god, a deadly eel...and ten gorgeous virgins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While in the Florida Keys to prevent deposed dictator Luis Berezan's (Michael Pate) return to power, the IMF tragically loses one of its best agents, the lovely Casey Randall. Thus, the team's efforts to thwart Berezan and his Evita-like wife Emilia (Barbara Luna) becomes a personal vendetta. Jane Badler makes her first Mission:Impossible appearance as agent Shannon Reed, replacing the late Casey Randall (Terry Markwell)--whose very existence was, of course, "disavowed" by the "Secretary." Ironically, guest star Barbara Luna, here cast as one of the villains, played a likewise expendable IMF agent in "Elena", a 1966 episode from the original Mission: Impossible. First telecast on February 18, 1988, "The Fortune" was written by Robert Brennan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The eponymous Dusty is an appropriately named dingo, or wild dog. Roaming the fertile fields of Australia, Dusty is captured as a puppy. Though dingoes are normally averse to human companionship, Dusty attaches himself to an old, worn-out shepherd, played by Bill Kerr. The dog gives Kerr a reason for living, and vice versa. Be sure to have plenty of Kleenex handy for some of the mistier passages of Dusty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The gimmick on this episode is a mind-transfer machine which drains all conscious thoughts from people, leaving them in a vegetative state. The villain of the piece steals the machine, hoping to harvest a secret code from the minds of three captured agents, each of whom knows only a portion of the code. Steed (Patrick MacNee), who devised this "selective memory" strategy, must go it alone to stop the villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silly twist on the silent classic Der Golem stars Roddy McDowall as Arthur Pimm, assistant museum curator and would-be Norman Bates who, among other things, preserves the body of his late mother in his home. When Pimm and museum director Grove (Ernest Clark) discover a grotesque statue left intact after a fire at one of the museum storehouses, they transport the stone behemoth to the museum for study. After finding Grove mysteriously crushed to death under the statue, Pimm's curiosity is piqued, leading him to investigate its origins. He discovers that the figure is actually the legendary Golem, an indestructible creature of 16th-century Yiddish myth capable of destroying the enemies of any man who becomes its master. Pimm is eventually able to control the monster with his deranged mind, leading it on a rampage of murder and destruction that devastates half of London. Aside from McDowall's typically eccentric performance, this stodgy film is a fairly tedious exercise, shambling along more slowly than the monster itself and punctuated only by occasional over-the-top moments, particularly at the laughable climax. Director Herbert J. Leder's earlier horror film The Frozen Dead is much more enjoyable. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Fate Takes a Hand is a throwback to the British "portmanteau" films of the 1950s. One solitary incident leads to ramifications for several different people, whose triumphs or travails are dealt with individually. In this instance, the catalyst is a mailbag, which pops up after a 15-year disappearance. The letters are finally mailed, with a variety of results for five of the mail-ees. Fate Takes a Hand didn't get much play in the US, but its basic premise was good for at least two made-for-TV movies in the 1970s, The Letters (73) and Letters From Three Lovers (73). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Donald Sinden and Peggy Cummins co-star as Pelham and Gay Butterworth in this routine comedy about a married couple whose hopes of acquiring an instantaneous fortune are suddenly dashed. When Gay finds out she is going to get a huge inheritance, the young couple go on a spending spree. Just a tad late, she also learns that the inheritance will be doled out one week by one paltry week -- unless her husband dies or they divorce. After all else fails, the couple decide to divorce and then remarry later, quietly -- but even this plan suddenly hits an unexpected hitch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this tepid thriller blind switchboard operator Jane Pringle (Patricia Dainton) inherits the valuable brooch of a recently slain neighbor. Jane was unfortunately present during the murder and in the midst of the violence, the killer accidentally brushed up against her. Fearing that the one touch will be enough for Jane to identify him, the killer plots her demise. he fears that she will be able to identify him. Fortunately, she begins working with the police and is able to facilitate his capture before the killer can get to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide