Patrick Bailey Movies
Peter Davison stars as bespectacled, aristocratic private detective Albert Campion in this two-part adaptation of Margery Allingham's novel Death of a Ghost. Each year, the friends of a deceased painter gather to unveil one of his final 12 paintings. It is during one of these annual unveilings that the lights suddenly go out--and when they go back on again, a rather unpleasant young artist named Dacre (Patrick Bailey) turns up murdered. Before long, Dacre's own painting begin mysteriously vanishing. Campion has a pretty good idea who is the killer and thief, but Inspector Oakes (Andrew Burt) is not so easily persuaded--at least, not until murder rears its ugly head yet again. In America, "eath of a Ghost" was telecast November 9 and 16, 1989, as part of the PBS anthology Mystery! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Davison, Brian Glover, (more)
Based on the novel The Pork Butcher by David Hughes, this melodrama was directed by literary adaptation specialist Geoffrey Reeve, producer of The Shooting Party (1984), Half Moon Street (1986), and The Whistle Blower (1987). Christopher Plummer stars as Ernst Kestner, a German Army veteran who relocated to New York, where he has lived for 43 years, since the end of WWII. Upon the death of his wife and the takeover of his deli business by a chain store, Ernst embarks on a nostalgic journey to France, the site of a 1944 love affair he had with a beautiful young woman in the small, occupied town of Lascaud. In Paris, Ernst reunites with his estranged daughter Tina (Catherine Hicks), who is having marital problems and agrees to accompany her father on his sentimental journey. In Lascaud, however, Ernst discovers both the fate of his long-lost love and horrifying evidence of his complicity in a wartime atrocity he never knew occurred. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Catherine Hicks, (more)
This is an eerily prescient family adventure starring Kate Capshaw as Andie, a frustrated NASA astronaut who's never actually been into outer space. Her husband, flight controller Zach (Tom Skerritt), is sympathetic, but he can't influence her place in the rotation. Andie is assigned to train a group of intelligent high school students at the summer science camp called Space Camp, which is run by NASA and supervised by her husband. There she meets her campers: Kevin (Tate Donovan), a blasé, horny teenager; Tish (Kelly Preston), an airhead with a photographic memory; Kathryn (Lea Thompson), an arrogant pilot; obnoxious youngster Max (Joaquin Phoenix); and scientist-in-training Rudy (Larry B. Scott). While testing the solid booster rockets aboard a real shuttle, the team is blasted into space accidentally. Without enough air, the discordant team pulls together, each discovering hidden talents. The "Challenger" space shuttle disaster in January 1986 was bizarrely similar to the events depicted in Spacecamp, with far more horrific results. Its release date pushed back several months because of the tragedy, the film was still a painful reminder to the public of the national calamity, and it consequently grossed only about $10 million at the box office. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, (more)
- 1984
A light, light, light comedy with no depth below the surface, this TV-oriented story is about a smooth-talking salesman who ostensibly peddles vacuum cleaners but is really a con man out to get money. The con artist/salesman Larry (Ron Leibman) meets Leon (Arliss Howard), an honest salesman who is making no money at all, and teaches him how to swindle his way to riches. The two team up, taking in everyone from car dealers to a poor widow, whose niece Katherine (Jane Kaczmarek) has sparked the interest of Leon. But since Larry himself is being blackmailed by a detective for the vacuum-cleaner company, his ultimate concern is getting rid of this drain on his hardly-earned money. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Leibman, Arliss Howard, (more)
