Wilfrid Brambell Movies
A member in good standing of Dublin's Abbey Theatre in the 1920s, Irish-born Wilfred Brambell began appearing on the London stage in the early 1930s, making his cinematic bow in Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. His latter-day fame rests on two roles essayed in the 1960s. On the popular British sitcom Steptoe and Son, the precursor to Norman Lear's Sanford and Son, Brambell played the crabby junk dealer who served as the model for Redd Foxx's Fred Sanford. And in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night (1964), Brambell gummed up the plot proceedings as Paul McCartney's "clean old man" grandfather. One of Wilfrid Brambell's last roles was as Alice B. Toklas in the iconoclastic Swedish "biopic" The Adventures of Picasso (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1984
In this downbeat trilogy on the life and times of a man who had every reason to be depressed, director Terrence Davies has delivered a fascinating but decidely miserable 94 minutes. The first segment relates little Robert Tucker's days walled up in a tough, unsentimental boys' school, or at home with parents who are alternately violent or callous, and have no discernible redeeming qualities. When his father dies, Robert is still wracked by grief - perhaps the loss of the hope of love was too final to bear. In the next vignette, Robert has a nowhere job in a foreboding office environment. He still lives at home with his mother, and faces his own personal and emotional issues in silence. In the final segments, flashbacks and flash forwards show Tucker remembering his childhood and life, as an old man in a sterile hospital. With a hard-hitting emotional punch, this trilogy is effective cinema - but many viewers surely would have preferred some color to balance the unremitting gray tones of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfrid Brambell, Sheila Raynor, (more)
In this uneven dramatization of a legendary sword-and-sorcery tale, the Green Knight (Sean Connery) is a magician who appears at King Arthur's court brandishing an axe and challenging anyone to do battle with him. When no one responds, King Arthur himself steps into the breach -- but is turned back when Gawain (Miles O'Keeffe) takes up his axe to stand in for the king -- and promptly decapitates the Green Knight. But lo-and-behold, the Knight's magic is so great that he puts head and body back together again and then further challenges Gawain with a riddle that must be solved within the next 12 months or Gawain is dead. Lucky for Gawain, the riddle involves several rescues of the charming Princess Linet (Cyrielle Claire) -- but how will he manage to outfox the Green Knight and the evil Morgan La Fay (Emma Sutton)? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Claire, (more)
- 1983
A robbery is solved by a group of children and an exceptional horse in this children's comedy film. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this youth-oriented action adventure, a quartet of British teens on summer vacation visit an island and discover that a terrorist group is using it as their headquarters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Rarely does a film do homage to a serious artist through the medium of a madcap farce, as this one does; however, Picasso was known for an irreverent and ribald sense of humor which is quite in line with this Swedish film, Picassos Aeventyr. In a skit recounting his birth, a woman's heavy breathing is demonstrated to have nothing to do with childbirth. Another skit features an appearance by Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, played by two very masculine men in dowdy drag. In one particularly irreverent scene, Dr. Albert Schweitzer operates on Picasso. Picasso (Goesta Ekman) himself escapes the excessive commercialization of his works through a kind of suicidal self-transcendance. Told in a stripped-down mixture of French, Spanish and English, most will have no difficulty understanding the film's humor. Picassos Aeventyr is done in a style which has been compared that of Mel Brooks; as with Brooks' works, and some might not appreciate its broad humor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gösta Ekman, Jr., Hans Alfredson, (more)
Various bus crashes combined with damaged property puts a bus depot manager in financial problems. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1972
This video contains a trio of episodes from the popular British sitcom that chronicles the hilarious travails of a junk man and his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This video contains a trio of episodes from the popular British sitcom that chronicles the hilarious travails of a junk man and his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This video contains a trio of episodes from the popular British sitcom that chronicles the hilarious travails of a junk man and his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This video contains a trio of episodes from the popular British sitcom that chronicles the hilarious travails of a junk man and his son. In addition to the title episode, this video contains "Loathe Story," and "And So to Bed." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Steptoe and Son was the British TV precursor to the American sitcom Sanford and Son. Wilfred Brambell, the "clean old grandfather" from the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, starred in the "Fred Sanford" role as an irascible cockney junk dealer. Harry H. Corbett was the British series' "Lamont", albeit a far more oafish character. This theatrical-feature adaptation of Steptoe and Son tends to stretch the premise rather than develop it. Still, the stars do their best with the mediocre material at hand. And, to be fair, the film was popular enough to inspire a sequel, 1973's Steptoe and Son Ride Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
In this farce, four people go to extremes to inherit the giant fortune of a wealthy practical joker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
The famous Italian lover Casanova is portrayed by Claudio De Kunert as a child and by Leonardo Whiting as an adolescent on the verge of manhood. Planning to help the poor by going into religious law, he quickly is smitten by a bevy of beauties and by Millescudi (Senta Berger) in particular. After his first sermon as an aspiring abbot, the collection plate is flooded with love letters to the handsome young man. Casanova soon abandons his religious pursuits for more worldly pleasures. The gravely voiced Lionel Stander and Wilfred Brambell also appear in this 2 million dollar production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonard Whiting, Maria Grazia Buccella, (more)
- 1969
- R
The British "Carry On" series was in its 12th year when Carry On Again, Doctor was unleashed upon a panting public in 1969. Veteran Carry On-ers Kenneth Williams, Sidney James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Jim Dale and Barbara Windsor fill the principal roles in this hospital farce. Dale has the central role as a manic medico who stumbles upon a formula for weight control. The film's South-Sea setting permits plenty of female pulchritude to insinuate its way across the screen in between the one-liners and slapstick setpieces. Gerald Thomas directs, as ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Williams, Sidney James, (more)
- 1968
Cry Wolf has become an all-purpose movie title, used for virtually everything but a retelling of the original "cry wolf" story. This 58-minute British programmer breaks tradition by returning to the source. Little Anthony Kemp is a boy giving to elaborate lies. When he overhears a plot to kidnap the prime minister, no one believes him. The boy tries to quash the plot himself, and nearly ends up as wolf-bait. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A corrupt opportunist commits brutal crimes in the name of God and country in this atmospheric period horror tale. In 17th century England, as a people's uprising threatens Lord Cromwell's rule, superstition still rules the land, and the Royalists use this to their advantage by inaugurating a reign of terror in the name of wiping out alleged witches and agents of the dark arts. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) has been appointed "witchfinder" by Puritan Royalists, and with the help of his thuggish assistant Stearne (Robert Russell), Hopkins travels from town to town, brutally interrogating those accused of witchcraft and using fire, drowning, and torture to extract "confessions" from the accused. Of course, Hopkins' opinions can be swayed with money and other considerations, and when Father Lowes (Rupert Davies), a priest whose sympathies do not lie with the Royalists, is arrested and tortured by Hopkins and Stearne, his devoted niece Sarah (Hilary Dwyer) is able to stay his punishment by sleeping with Hopkins. Sarah, however, is engaged to marry Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), a soldier in Cromwell's army, and once Marshall learns that the woman he loves has been seduced by Hopkins -- and raped by Stearne -- he becomes determined to expose the witchfinder and punish him for his misdeeds. Witchfinder General was released in the United States by American International Pictures, who in addition to arranging for Vincent Price to play Matthew Hopkins, changed the North American title to The Conqueror Worm, after a poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was read over the credits by Price, though the story bears no real relation to Poe's work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, (more)
- 1966
You've seen the Disney classic, now experience the tale of Alice in Wonderland as never before in this live-action adaptation of the timeless tale from the BBC and director Jonathan Miller. Capturing all of the menace and wonder of Lewis Carroll's age-old classic while injecting the story with a pinch of subversive Victorian gothic satire, this surreal updating of the children's fantasy classic features an all-star cast including Sir Michael Redgrave, Sir John Gielgud, Leo McKern, Peter Cook, Peter Sellers, and Alan Bennett. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne-Marie Mallik
- 1966
In this lively British parody of James Bond movies, a dashing secret agent goes to extremes to save the British Parliament from a communist take-over. To do this, he must keep the Ripper, a notorious double-agent from stealing a newly developed aircraft metal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Adams, Dawn Addams, (more)
- 1965
In this British comedy, a group of aged travelers on vacation in France have many fun encounters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Strictly for the kiddies is the British Go Kart Go. The film is built around an annual go-cart race and the youthful participants. Jimpy (Dennis Waterman), Squarehead (Jimmy Capehorn) and Patchy (Pauline Chancellor) are among the aspiring go-carters. They pool their resources to build and enter one single "super" vehicle, with amusing results. Will they win the race? Need one ask? At 55 minutes, Go Kart Go was ideally suited for both Saturday-matinee showings and weekend TV showings. Michael Barnes adapted the script from a story by Frank Wells. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In this comedy, crooks on the lam hide-out in an abandoned island monastery. Along with their leader, the robbers put on monks' habits and begin living a quiet pastoral existence centered around raising animals and crops. It takes them a while to get the hang of it. As they learn, they are occasionally visited by tourists, and at once point, by real monks. Trouble ensues when one of the "brothers" is caught gambling in town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Fraser, Barbara Windsor, (more)
During the first worldwide flush of Beatlemania in 1964, United Artists wanted to ship out a movie with The Beatles before their vogue was over. Working within a tight $500,000 budget, director Richard Lester turned out A Hard Day's Night in a fast 6 1/2 weeks; the picture was in the theatres three months after shooting commenced. Using a variety of techniques cribbed from Hollywood slapstick comedies, the French "new wave" movement, and his own experiences as a TV-commercial director, Lester, with screenwriter Alun Owen, fashioned an exhilarating study of a "typical" 36 hours in the lives of the Fab Four. Onto a plot about getting to the Big Show on time are hung a series of instant-reaction gags, character vignettes, and musical setpieces. Much of the humor arises from Paul McCartney's efforts to keep his grandfather (Wilfred Brambell), a "clean old man," from getting into mischief. Also good for several laughs is the hookey-playing Ringo Starr, whose mistimed declaration of independence lands him in jail. We are also treated to a war of nerves between the unflappable John Lennon and an uptight TV director (Victor Spinelli), who worries that, should the Beatles not show up at broadcast time, he'll be demoted to "News In Welsh." George Harrison stars in a sequence in which he is mistaken for an auditionee by the producer (Kenneth Haigh) of a superficially trendy, teen-oriented TV weekly. Then there's Norman Rossington and John Junkin as The Beatles' managers, who carry on a battle royale simply because one man is taller than the other. The supporting cast includes comedienne Anna Quayle, cartoonist Bob Godfrey, TV host Robin Ray, dancer Lionel Blair, Harrison's future wife Patti Boyd, and director Lester himself. The songs include "I Should Have Known Better," "And I Love Her," "Tell Me Why," "If I Fell," "Can't Buy Me Love," and the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, (more)
Based on a whimsical novel by Paul Gallico, Disney's Three Lives of Thomasina is an imaginative tale of a resourceful cat. Thomasina is the pet of Karen Dotrice, the daughter of taciturn Scottish veterinarian Patrick McGoohan. When Thomasina falls ill, McGoohan coldly diagnoses the cat as suffering from tetanus and declares that the pet must be put out of its misery. As Dotrice and her friends sadly prepare to bury the "dead" Thomasina, backwoods girl Susan Hampshire, who is said to be a witch, shows up and runs off with the kitty corpse. Using equal doses of intuition and love, Hampshire revives Thomasina, who of course wasn't dead at all. While in limbo, Thomasina ascends to Cat Heaven, where her case is heard by the Cat Goddess (this is a wonderful piece of special-effects wizardry, even if you don't like cats). Returned to life, Thomasina has no memory of her previous existence. Thus, the cat runs off in terror when Dotrice sees her again during a torrential downpour. Now it is Dotrice who becomes seriously ill, necessitating a collaboration between the cold, cut-and-dried ministrations of her father and the tender loving care of the "bewitched" Hampshire. As it turns out, Thomasina is the catalyst for both Dotrice's recovery and the film's happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, (more)
