Peter Bowles Movies
Ziggy (Mark Lester) is the young boy who witnesses the murder of a visiting black official by the police. Much like the boy who cried wolf, Ziggy has been known to stretch the truth and exaggerate. He is unable to convince the adults that he witnessed the killing. The murderous cops are soon on his trail as he hits the road with his sister (Susan George)and her boyfriend (Tony Bonner). The real police soon follow, after convincing his parents that Ziggy has told the truth for once. The boys grandfather (Lionel Jeffries) is the retired Colonel, a lighthouse keeper and lovable curmudgeon. Jeremy Kemp is the police chief, and the main heavy is played by Peter Vaughan. The boyfriend's car is cornered on a treacherous cliff where the villains try to ram the vehicle to the jagged rocks below. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Lester, Lionel Jeffries, (more)
- 1969
Several enemy agents escape from a top-security prison, determined to wreak vengeance against the persons responsible for their arrest. When two of Steed's friends are murdered by the escapees, he decides it is time to end the reign of terror once and for all. But the still-imprisoned leader of the enemy minions calmly informs Steed that he is next on the list -- and that his assassin will be completely invisble. Written by Philip Levene, "Get-a-Way" made its American TV debut on April 24, 1969, and its British TV bow on May 14 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Set in London and the Riviera, Laughter in the Dark stars Nicol Williamson as Edward, a wealthy, knighted art dealer who falls hard for tartish usherette Margot (Anna Karina). She is kept by a glorified pimp (Jean-Claude Drouot), who conspires with the girl to take Edward for everything he's got. The art dealer is blinded in an auto accident, after which he switches emotional gears and plans to kill the girl and her keeper. Somehow this all worked better back when Hollywood people like Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea were involved. Based on a 1938 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, the film version of Laughter in the Dark "updates" the piece with flash shots of "mod" London, which now seems more anachronistic than anything in the 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicol Williamson, Anna Karina, (more)
- 1969
In this crime drama, a painter finds himself entangled in a murder plot when he gets involved with a pretty girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The Assassination Bureau is loosely based on a turn-of-the-century yarn written by Jack London. Nellie Bly-style girl reporter Sonya Winter (Diana Rigg) tries to get the goods on shady businessman Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed). Ivan is in charge of a wide-reaching organization which, for a price, assassinates those who "need killing." As a challenge, Sonya offers to pay Ivan a huge sum if he'll instruct his minions to assassinate him; Ivan agrees, hoping that it will put a little kick in his work. Despite his profession, Ivan isn't the villain of the piece; that honor goes to evil nobleman Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), whose perfidy leads Sonya into joining forces with the Assassination Bureau. A wild climactic chase in a zeppelin caps this tongue-in-cheek escapade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, (more)
- 1967
In this episode of the British television series The Prisoner, medical researchers at the Village have discovered a way to tap into the human mind and observe a person's dreams and sub-conscious thoughts. Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) becomes a test subject, and as he is unconscious, his imaginings are adjusted until he believes he's in Paris on a rendezvous to sell the secrets he learned as an espionage agent. Number Two, the leader of the mysterious Village, is played in this episode by Colin Gordon; Katherine Kath and Sheila Allen also appear. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Several notorious criminals have disappeared without a trace. Assigned to get to the bottom of this mystery, Steed and Emma discover that the miscreants have escaped capture with the aid of a time machine. This is the episode in which Emma, dressed in the "latest" 17th century garb, finds herself imprisoned in the stocks. Written by Philip Levene, "Escape in Time" was first seen in England on January 28, 1967, and in America on February 10 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's first English-language production was also his only box office hit, widely considered one of the seminal films of the 1960s. Thomas (David Hemmings) is a nihilistic, wealthy fashion photographer in mod "Swinging London." Filled with ennui, bored with his "fab" but oddly-lifeless existence of casual sex and drug use, Thomas comes alive when he wanders through a park, stops to take pictures of a couple embracing, and upon developing the images, believes that he has photographed a murder. Pursued by Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), the woman who is in the photos, Thomas pretends to give her the pictures, but in reality, he passes off a different roll of film to her. Thomas returns to the park and discovers that there is, indeed, a dead body lying in the shrubbery: the gray-haired man who was embracing Jane. Has she murdered him, or does Thomas' photo reveal a man with a gun hiding nearby? Antonioni's thriller is a puzzling, existential, adroitly-assembled masterpiece. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 1966
Not to be confused with the lavish 1968 biopic Isadora, the black-and-white Isadora Duncan was produced in 1966 for BBC television. Vivian Pickles stars as the free-spirited British ballet artiste of the post-World War I era, while an anonymous double handles the dance sequences. This 65-minute film was one of a series of irreverent biographies directed for television by enfant terrible Ken Russell. We know we're in Russell territory in the first scene, wherein the strangulation death of Isadora is recreated in loving detail, right down to the blood trickling from her lifeless lips. Russell's Isadora Duncan received its widest American exposure on public television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this musical, two youngsters are thrilled to meet their favorite Italian movie star and end up spending a day squiring her about London. The star is a little eccentric and asks them to steal some hats for her collection. The star-struck youths agree until they learn that she wants a bobby's helmet, a businessman's bowler, and the bearskin cap of a palace guard. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Brown, Sophie Hardy, (more)
- 1965
Another classic "Emma Peel" installment, this episode was first telecast in England on December 4, 1965. A series of mysterious deaths in the upper circles of International Finance have caused a great deal of panic among investors. Hoping to locate the source of all the trouble, Steed and Emma go undercover, with Steed posing as a prominent financier. Meanwhile, Emma faces death at the hands of a strange little man with an obsession for clocks. Written by Roger Marshall, "Dial a Deadly Number" was seen in the U.S. on July 24, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg
- 1965
The British Dead Man's Chest comes to us from Merton Park Productions, the folks responsible for the long-running "Edgar Wallace" B-series. The story bears a striking resemblance to Fritz Lang's 1956 thriller Beyond Reasonable Doubt. To prove the fallability of circumstantial evidence, reporter John Thaw fakes the murder of a colleague. He then plants all the clues to point to himself. So just guess who really dies, leaving Thaw in the lurch? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Steed is assigned to transport a shipment of live corneas to Switzerland to be used in a delicate eye-graft operation. But when one of the surgeons involved is murdered, Steed and Cathy uncover a sinister plot involving a sightless millionaire (John Carson). Also figuring in on the proceedings is a cache of valuable jewels. Written by Martin Woodhouse, "Second Sight" was originally broadcast in England on November 16, 1963; it remained unseen in America until March 14, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
