John Woodnut Movies

A hectic caper flick with farcical overtones, Bullseye! doesn't quite hit the....oh, you know. Government scientist Michael Caine and his titled pal Roger Moore plan to auction off a cold fusion formula to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, a pair of con artists-also played by Caine and Moore-impersonate the scientist and his friends in hopes of getting a piece of the action. This leads to an unending supply of comic complications, deadly encounters, wacky recurring characters and Sennett-style chases. Is louder and faster really funnier? You be the judge (but you'll have to catch the film on home video, since it never received a US theatrical release). Roger Moore's real-life daughter Deborah Barrymore shows up as a CIA agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film adaptation of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's musical play The Threepenny Opera portrays the engagement of a gangster (Raul Julia) to an innocent girl (Rachel Robertson) in Victorian-era London. The girl's family attempts to thwart the marriage by catching the thief in the act. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The two-part TV movie Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil crystallizes that evil by concentrating on two Berlin brothers. In 1931, Helmut Hoffman (Bill Nighy) a brilliant student and self-styled opportunist, joins Hitler's SS. At the same time, his younger brother Karl (John Shea), a top athlete and idealist, becomes a chauffeur for the "S.A." (storm troopers). When the SS topples the SA from power, Karl ends up in Dachau. He is rescued through his brother's influence--if you can describe sending Karl to fight on the Russian Front a "rescue." As he watches the Third Reich deteriorate, Helmut at long last suffers pangs of conscience. As if the story of the rise of Nazism needed any further melodrama, Hitler's SS shoehorns in a romantic triangle involving Karl, Helmut, and beautiful nightclub-singer Lucy Gutteridge. The all-star supporting cast of Hitler's SS includes Carroll Baker as the Hoffman brothers' anguished mother; Tony Randall as an androgynous entertainer named Putzi (shades of Cabaret's Joel Grey); and David Warner, repeating his Holocaust role as SS head man Heydrich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Hurt plays the British jockey Bob Champion in this true story of how Champion overcame cancer and the rigors of chemotherapy for an impressive personal and professional comeback. Just as Champion is in the middle of a vacation in Kentucky, he finds out he has cancer, and, like others before him, submits to the full, painful treatments of multiple injections and radiation, suffering as much or more from the cure as from the illness (these treatments are graphic). Gaunt and nauseous, Champion also endures realistic meetings with his doctors that hold forth no guarantee of a cure. His eventual remission leads to yet another grueling physical schedule to get him back into shape for the Grand National Steeplechase -- a 30-fence, well-publicized race that offers difficult hurdles for both the horses and their jockeys. If the 115-minutes running time of this film were cut in places, it would create a better, trim and slim, fast-paced telling of an even more focused tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Originally airing in England in 1977, the haunting mini-series Children of the Stones takes place in an British village called Milbury, which is home to a Stone Henge-esque megalithic stone circle. It follows the strange adventures of astrophysicist Adam Brake (Gareth Thomas) and his son Matthew, as they explore the unique metaphysical properties and complex backstory that make Milbury unique. Originally built by ancient Druids, the highly magnetic and extremely powerful stone circle exists in a time rift, causing the same actions and events to manifest themselves over and over again - until the stones' time cycle can finally be completed. Noted for its chilling score and multi-faceted story, members of Children of the Stones' young target audience have often described it as a sophisticated introduction to magical realism, as well as a traumatizingly scary experience. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Season 13 of Doctor Who got under way August 30, 1975, with episode one of the four-part adventure "Terror of the Zygons". Summoned to Earth by the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney), the Doctor (Tom Baker) investigates a series of mysterious oil-rig wreckings in the North Sea. This requires the Doctor to pay a visit to the Tullock Moor in Scotland -- where a horrifying discovery awaits him. "Terror of the Zygons, Episode 1" was written by Robert Banks Stewart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "Terror of the Zygons," the Duke of Forgill (John Woodnut), British delegate to the World Peace Conference, sheds his human disguise and reveals himself to be Broton, war lord of the alien Zygon race. Having launched a series of attacks from Loch Ness, the Zygons fully intend to conquer the world. Of course, the Doctor (Tom Baker) just might have something to say about that. First shown on September 13, 1975, "Terror of the Zygons, Episode 3" was written by Robert Banks Stewart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fifth episode of the six-part story "Frontier in Space," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) are now aware that the Master (Roger Delgado) is using mass hypnosis to spark a devastating war between the planets Earth and Draconia in the year 2450 A.D. The problem now is to convince the Earthlings and Draconians that they've been hoodwinked. As the Doctor attempts this, Jo faces a whole new set of dangers. Written by Malcolm Hulke, "Frontier in Space, Episode 5" originally aired on March 24, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama explores the relationship between tenants in a boarding house. Included are a street musician, an ex-school teacher, and an angry young man who brings chaos to their quiet lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "Spearhead From Space," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) squares off against the alien Autons, who, in league with plastics manufacturer Channing, have arrived on earth as a vanguard for the invading Nestene Consciousness. Unfortunately, neither the Doctor nor his colleagues at U.N.I.T. are much of a match for the Autons, whose deadly weapons are built into their hands. Equally unfortunate is the fact that the Doctor has been denied the use of his trusty TARDIS, forcing him to deal with the enemy minus any sort of electronic assistance. First telecast January 17, 1970, "Spearhead From Space, Episode 3" was written by Robert Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the hip and swingin' London of the '60s, a young window washer, Ginger (Victor Henry) divides his time between picking up the cleaning rag and picking up women in the hip London pubs. One girl he meets is the pretty and demure Jill (Susan George), who his best friend Dwyer (Jack Shephard) takes a shine to. When Ginger agrees to becomes a caretaker at an old man's mansion and a wild party results, he asks Dwyer to look after Jill. Dwyer takes that invitation as a chance to seduce Jill. Later, when Ginger is informed by Jill that she is pregnant, he takes it upon himself to marry her. No sooner are they married than Jill's intimidating mother arrives to announce that she will be taking up quarters with the newlyweds. Now Ginger has to decide whether he should trade in his swingin' ways for a staid domestic life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Its the Cavaliers vs. the Copperheads in this costume drama set during the 17th-century British Civil War. Our sympathies are supposed to be with Oliver Cromwell's underground troops--and they are, since the arrogant Cromwell isn't around to comprise his followers' heroism. Lionel Jeffries, loyal to Cromwell, is confounded by his daughter June Thorburn's fidelity to the Throne. Oliver Reed co-stars as Jeffries' right-hand man and June's boyfriend. Crimson Blade does little to clarify the complex issues attending the war, but it delivers the goods in the action department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide