Eileen Way Movies

A couple of med-school wannabes (Steve Guttenburg and Julie Hagerty) can't get admitted to any U.S. medical schools so they end up in a small Central American school run by a dictator director (Alan Arkin). When the students become aware of the medical needs of the local peasants, they swipe drugs and pills from their college lab and set up an underground clinic to serve the needy. ~ All Movie Guide

After a string of hits that included Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978), director Franklin J. Schaffner stumbled badly with this expensive wannabe cousin to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Based on a novel by author Robin Cook, this romance-adventure stars Lesley-Anne Down as Erica Baron, a female archaeologist who is searching for a lost Egyptian tomb, hoping that she will be responsible for the next discovery along the lines of King Tut's Tomb. Erica witnesses the murder of a native, Abdu Hamdi (John Gielgud doing his best Alec Guinness impersonation) and when she attempts to solve the crime, she becomes the target of a campaign to kill her using a variety of creative methods, including bats and entombment. In the course of her adventures, Erica also falls in love with a handsome Egyptologist, Ahmed Khazzan (Frank Langella). Sphinx (1981) was a box office disaster from which Schaffner never recovered, directing only three more pictures. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Creature From the Pit," the Doctor (Tom Baker) learns that the titular creature is actually an ambassador from the planet Tythonus, who has been imprisoned by the despotic Lady Adrasta (Myra Frances). The villainess hopes to drain the creature of the precious metals in its system, thereby strengthening her hold on the planet Chloris. Meanwhile, Romana (Lalla Ward) endeavors to rescue both the Doctor and the Creature, with Adrasta's henchmen hot on her heels. Written by David Fisher, "The Creature From the Pit, Episode 3" was originally telecast on November 10, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In episode one of the four-part story "The Creature From the Pit," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) answer a distress call from the planet Chloris. Upon their arrival, they discover that the planet's precious metal supply has been monopolized by the covetous, power-hungry Lady Adastra (Myra Frances), who keeps the inhabitants in line with the help of the sinister Huntsman (David Telfer) and his wolf weeds. Complicating matters are two other antagonists: bandit leader Torvin (John Bryans) and a huge, amorphous blob (hence the title of this adventure). Former Doctor Who director Morris Barry appears in a cameo role as Tollund. Written by David Fisher, "The Creature From the Pit, Episode 1" was originally telecast on October 27, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story arc "An Unearthly Child," Doctor Who (William Hartnell) and his companions, Ian and Barbara (William Russell, Jacqueline Hill), have managed to escape the Cave of Skulls. But they have not yet managed to escape the prehistoric-earth surroundings -- and the TARDIS is far from ready to return the travelers to their own time. With an angry cave-dwelling tribe hot on their heels, the little party must make their way through a blazing forest inferno. Written by Anthony Coburn, "The Forest of Fear" originally aired on December 7, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a traveling salesman arrives to hawk his wares in an economically depressed Italian village, the last thing he expects is to be assailed by the most beautiful single girls in town, but that is exactly what happens. The reason for it stems from the fact that all but one of the town's eligible bachelors have left to find work. The only available man left is a wealthy emigrant. He is looking for a wife and the impoverished parents of the daughters push their children to compete for his love. This creates considerable conflict until the village elders step in and decide that the rich man's bride will be selected by the first outsider to enter the village. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the novel The Viking by Edison Marshall, The Vikings was lensed on location in Norway under extremely adverse weather conditions. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that star Kirk Douglas and director Richard Fleischer never quite found a common ground, and for years thereafter would hold each other responsible for the film's falling short of its potential. Still, the finished product is quite a feast for the eyes and ears. Douglas, the son of Viking leader Ernest Borgnine, carries on a film-length feud with slave Tony Curtis, who, though he does not realize it, is actually his illegitimate son. This personal battle comes to a head when Douglas and Curtis both lay claim on captured English princess Janet Leigh. The scene everyone remembers in The Vikings finds Borgnine, at the mercy of wicked monarch Frank Thring, defiantly throwing himself into a pit of ravenous wolves. Launched into distribution with one of the splashiest ad campaigns in United Artists' history, The Vikings proved an enormous success; it inspired the 1959 TV series Tales of the Vikings, which utilized the film's props, costumes and scale-model ships. In 1964, The Vikings served as the inagural presentation of ABC's Sunday Night Movie series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in England, They Who Dare is undeservedly the least-known of director Lewis Milestone's sound films. Set in the Aegean sea during World War II, the film recounts the exploits of Britain's Special Boat Squadron. Sent on life-or-death commando missions, the squadron (six English, four Greek) hops from island to island, sabotaging Axis air bases. The centerpiece of the film is an assignment to dynamite German air fields on the island of Rhodes. Robert Westerby is credited with the screenplay of They Who Dare, and Lewis Milestone insisted the story was taken verbatim from the reminiscences of the squadron's two survivors; on the other hand, star Dirk Bogarde claimed that the film was improvised as they went along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This curiously little-known British mystery stars Tom Conway as an American FBI agent. Conway is sent to England to investigate the death of a model. It just might be that enemy agents are involved, and our hero wants to find out as much as possible before putting his own life on the line. The most familiar faces in the supporting cast belong to Delphi Lawrence, Eric Pohlmann and Richard Wattis. Three Stops to Murder is one of the earliest efforts of future "house of horror" Hammer Films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shadow Man was one of several British films released stateside in 1953 by Lippert Productions. Cesar Romero play Luigi, a casino owner whose former girlfriend (Simone Silva) is murdered. Not surprisingly, suspicion falls upon Luigi. Also not surprisingly, he decides to circumvent the law by bringing in the killer himself. One of the incidental pleasures of Shadow Man is the presence of the delectable Kay Kendall, on the threshold of her greatest screen fame. Based on The Creaking Chair, a novel by Laurence Mynell, the film was originally released in Great Britain as Street of Shadows. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British private detective Richard Todd is sent to Venice, there to locate and a reward a wartime partisan. Once he arrives, the detective finds himself the quarry of every Venetian cop in sight. Todd soon learns that he's been fingered as a murderer--and that it's just possible he's been framed by the partisan, who has become a desperate criminal. Heavily influenced by The Third Man (49), Assassin is a routine action melodrama spiced by genuine Austrian settings. The film was initially released in Great Britain as Venetian Bird (hmmm...sounds a lot like Maltese Falcon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide