Jack Davies Movies

Roger Moore took a brief vacation from playing James Bond in this witty adventure drama. Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Moore), who for some reason prefers not to capitalize his last name, is a scuba-diving adventurer for hire with a sharp mind, a quick wit, a fondness for cats, and a certain distrust of women. When terrorist Lou Kramer (Anthony Perkins) takes over an oil drilling platform in the North Sea and threatens to blow it sky high if his demands are not met, ffolkes is called in by Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) to foil Kramer's scheme before it's too late. ffolkes, also released as North Sea Hijack and Assault Force, was based on the novel Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer by Jack Davies, who also penned the screenplay ("Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," incidentally, are the code names for the ship, drilling rig, and platform seized by Kramer in the film). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

After a series of violent, sexy blaxploitation films like Coffy and Foxy Brown, Pam Grier returned in this more sedate PG-rated actioner. Grier plays Chicago P.I. Sheba Shayne, who returns to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to save her father's loan business from vicious gangsters. Austin Stoker co-stars with D'Urville Martin (Dolemite) and Charles Kissinger, who appeared in all of director William Girdler's films. Highlights include a chase through a carnival funhouse, but without the usual exploitation elements, there's little to recommend this film except for Grier completists. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This slapstick comedy concerns the annual auto race in Monte Carlo and boasts an international cast of all-star thespians. Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) is the scheming villain and auto tycoon who will stop at nothing to win the car race. When Chester (Tony Curtis) wins half of the car company in a card game with the villain, a winner-take-all, race is proposed. Bourvil, Dudley Moore and Jack Hawkins also appear in this lighthearted comedy. Jimmy Durante sings the title tune of this pic that features several exciting stunt-driving scenes that ensue between the beginning and end of the international racing competition. The film is an obvious take off of Those Magnificent Men And Their Flying Machines but fails to live up to the quality of it's predecessor. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Doctor in Clover is the next-to-last entry in the British "Doctor" comedy film series. After losing his government job, doctor Gaston Grimsdyke (Leslie Phillips) signs up for a medical school course with his old tutor-nemesis Sir Lancelot Spratt (welcome back, James Robertson Justice). What follows is the standard melange of double- and single entendres, not to mention the usual dalliances with such underdressed lovelies as Shirley Ann Field, Fenella Fielding and Elizabeth Ercy. A subplot involves a rejuvenation serum that is disastrously applied to the behemothlike Sir Lancelot. Though allegedly based on the original "Doctor" novel by Richard Gordon, any resemblance is purely coincidental.Doctor in Clover was also released as Carnaby MD, in deference to the "Swinging London" craze. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ken Annakin's large-canvas comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines is set in 1910. In order to boost circulation of his newspaper, Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley) offers 10,000 pounds to the first person who can fly across the English Channel. A huge number of hopefuls enter the contest, including the scheming Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas), who, with the help of his henchman Courtney (Eric Sykes), attempts to sabotage the other entries. There is also a love triangle featuring Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) and Richard Mays (James Fox) competing for the heart of Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles). ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In this lively British satire, a plucky milkman who works for an independent family-run dairy fights to keep a large trust from overtaking his business. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Diminutive pratfall comic Norman Wisdom, Britain's latter-day version of Charlie Chaplin, brought his trademark physical slapstick to this comedy. Wisdom plays Norman Pitkin, a simple butcher's assistant who accompanies his boss, Mr. Grimsdale (Edward Chapman) to the hospital after Grimsdale accidentally swallows a watch. There, it is determined that the watch will have to be removed surgically, but the clumsy Norman causes such a ruckus that he is ejected from the facility and banned from returning by the administrator, Sir Hector (Jerry Desmonde). Before he leaves, however, Norman manages to bring a smile to the face of Lindy (Lucy Appleby), a sad little girl who has been orphaned by a plane crash. Norman promised Lindy he would return, and his efforts to get back through the hospital doors by any means available (including making himself sick, getting hit by a car, and appearing on a charity television broadcast he knows the girl is watching) meet with an equal lack of success. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This comedy features a 12-step Program for habitual hoods. The recovering criminal takes a job as a department store Santa, and again finds himself confronted with temptation. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime drama, an ex-con goes looking for his late cellmate's hidden loot. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Very Important Person is an amusing British comedy set in a German POW camp during World War II. Sir Ernest Pease (James Robertson Justice) is a self-important professor with a bloated ego and a lightning put-down. When he is flown over Germany disguised as a navy officer to check out the effectiveness of one of his radar inventions, his plane is shot down and he lands in the POW camp. All sorts of misunderstandings arise, since the other prisoners suspect him of being a spy. In the meantime, there are the expected clashes of wit between the British prisoners and their dour German captors and the inevitable camp-organized concert. In the midst of these activities, the professor is challenged to find a way to escape. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The weak story in The Bulldog Breed is an excuse to tie together a long series of funny episodes, slapstick incidents, and absurd situations. What does bring everything into a certain unity is the comic character type created by Norman Wisdom, an inept, likeable loser whose efforts to succeed against all odds somehow bumble through to final triumph. Playing Norman Puckle in this romp, he is heartbroken after being scorned by an unattainable blond and fails at a suicide attempt, only to end up in the Navy. Bungling most of his work there, he is surprised to discover that he has been chosen by the admiral to be the first man the Navy sends into space. This time, Norman's losing streak is up against a formidable phalanx of expertise -- what could possibly go wrong? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This combination of documentary and docudrama (based on a true incident) is essentially a charming travelogue for Monaco, with footage of Prince Rainier, Princess Grace, and their child. The story that introduces Monaco and the royal family revolves around a British orphan named Lindy (Gilda Emmanueli) who is chosen to bring a kitten to the royal children as a present. Escorted by Jacqueline (Germaine Damar), a flight attendant, Lindy and the kitten are taken all around, even to see Prince Rainier in his family's private zoo. Although the running time for this film is only forty minutes, it adequately covers the small kingdom and the prince and princess at work and at leisure. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this comedy, a common chemist lives up to his lineage (he's a direct descendant of Dr. Jekyll), and creates a concoction which changes him into a suave jewel thief. After pulling off a caper, the thief becomes his original self and then helps bring in a gang of robbers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi