Don Borisenko Movies
- 1966
Though scripted by Psycho author Robert Bloch, this is neither a sequel nor a variant on the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Instead, we are presented with a more subdued British version of an Italian "giallo" thriller, as interpreted by acclaimed director Freddie Francis. The plot involves a pattern of grisly murders whose perpetrator leaves a small doll by the body of each victim. The plot thickens as police eventually link each of the victims to the lost fortune of a German tycoon, whose dirty business dealings were uncovered shortly after World War II; what seems at first to be the work of a single revenge-minded maniac hints at a wider-reaching and more devious plot. Bloch's script, though lean and filled with surprises, is a bit too overloaded with manipulative twists, red herrings, and futile attempts to outdo Psycho's manic intensity, but Francis still builds sufficient momentum to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnston, (more)
- 1965
The internationally produced historical epic Genghis Khan sometimes wavers uncertainly between spectacle and self-parody. Though Omar Sharif essays the title role, top billing is bestowed upon Stephen Boyd as Genghis Khan's mentor-turned-enemy Jamuga. It's hard to generate audience sympathy for a Mongolian leader who laid waste to much of the civilized world, but Sharif manages to pull it off. While the battle scenes are impressive, the most memorable sequence involves an outsized fireworks display (which turns out to be a clever bit of military strategy). James Mason is amusing as an epigrammatic Chinese leader, Eli Wallach is appropriately hissable as the film's main villain, and the late Francoise Dorleac is decorative as the romantic bone of contention between Genghis Khan and Jamuga. Most of the film was lensed in Yugoslavia, a country that served as a generic location for many a historical pageant of the 1960s and 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Omar Sharif, (more)
- 1963
This drama follows the nine hours that came before the assassination of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi by a Hindu radical. Naturam Godse (Horst Buchholz), a Brahmin who was rejected for service in the British Army and is horrified by the fighting between Moslem and Hindu fanatics, comes to the conclusion that the only solution to the civil unrest is to kill Gandhi (J.S. Casshyap), believing that the leader's philosophy of non-violence has only fanned the flames of unrest. In love with a married woman, Rani Mahta (Valerie Gearon), Godse spends a guilty afternoon with her as he flashes back on his life of violence and mistreatment; he also pays a call to Sheila (Diane Baker), a prostitute. Meanwhile, as civil unrest flares around him, Ghandi goes about his daily rounds, despite warnings from police chief Gopal Das (Jose Ferrer) that his life is in danger. J.S. Casshyap was a 64-year-old teacher and author before being cast as Gandhi in this, his first film role. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Horst Buchholz, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1962
In this WW II psycho-drama, a wounded and traumatized American flyer becomes so obsessed with losing his virginity--lest he end up like his colleague who was castrated during a mishap on their last mission--that he goes AWOL. He eventually finds an obliging young streetwalker, but unfortunately the stress and fear render him impotent. He tries again with a kindly young woman, but at the crucial moment the MPs arrive and arrest him. He willfully resists in hopes that they will kill him for desertion. Unfortunately they don't. Instead they get him help from a caring chaplain and in time he begins to heal. Romance blooms after he returns to the young woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1962
A gang of bikers find themselves confronted by an evil group of rich teenagers. ~ Rovi
- 1961
The fact that The Last Gunfighter is a Canadian western is an oddity in itself. Gilding the lily is the fact that it's really an anti-western, exploding a lot of the mythology that sagebrush fans hold dear. Gunman Don Borisenko is hired by the townsfolk to mete out justice to a cruel land baron. Instead, Borisenko gets romantically involved with Tass Tory, the wife of a local farmer. When the smoke clears, the gunman has killed the rancher, and the farmer has killed the gunman. This bleak endeavor has also been released as Hired Gun and The Devil's Spawn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1958
This anthology is the first all-Canadian feature film. Set in Toronto during the 1920s, it is based on four stories by Morley Callaghan. The first, "Silk Stockings" follows the painful love felt by a clumsy fellow for the landlady's daughter who unfortunately, loves another. "Rocking Chair" a lonely border makes a pass at a widower, but he spurns her because he cannot escape the memory of his late wife. A rich man ignores his family's disapproval and falls in love with a voluptuous, but ignorant girl from the poor side of town in "The Rejected One." In the fourth story, "A Sick Call," a dying woman defies her Protestant husband and decides to revert back to Catholicism. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Borisenko, Michael Mann, (more)
