David Dundas Movies

This four-part British miniseries took place just after the fall of the Soviet Union. Going through Kremlin files, a team of Soviet bureaucrats discover that two KGB "sleepers," or secret agents, were assigned to England 20 years before, and had been there ever since. One of the sleepers was a shop steward in the North, the other an urban professional in London, and neither man had any desire to return to Moscow. The Kremlin dispatched an attractive female agent to retrieve the renegade duo, thereby setting the stage for a maddening procession of double-crosses, multi-pronged conspiracies, and other assorted mayhem perpetrated by both the "good" and the "bad" guys. As much a comedy as a thriller, Sleepers was broadcast over BBC2 in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After years of capitalizing on the weaknesses of a gullible public, a London advertising executive finds that his worst qualities have literally taken on a life of their own in this scathing satire. Successful copywriter Dennis Bagley (Richard E. Grant) lives a posh life with his lovely wife, Julia (Rachel Ward), in the London suburbs. Pushed to distraction by a bothersome new pimple-ointment account, he flirts with renouncing his career and becoming socially aware. Immediately thereafter, Bagley discovers that he's developed a zit of his own -- a monstrous boil on his neck that begins whispering evil things in his ear. Convinced that he's being taken over by his dark half, Bagley soon finds his "good" self relegated to the boil while his malevolent alter ego returns to the world of advertising with a vengeance. At first, Julia is relieved that her husband seems to have bounced back from the abyss of mental illness, but soon she realizes that she prefers the gentle but crazy Dennis to the poisonous professional. Written and directed by Withnail & I's Bruce Robinson, How to Get Ahead in Advertising reunites the director with that film's leading man Richard E. Grant. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this animated film, based on the novel by Raymond Briggs, an older English couple must struggle to deal with their altered reality when a nuclear war strikes, destroying their peaceful lives. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Pere Goriot, Honore de Balzac's tragic novel about an old man who sacrificed all for the sake of a place in society, was adapted as a multipart British miniseries in early 1971. Michael Goodliffe played the title character, who squandered his money, his property, and ultimately his life in order to "buy a reputation" for his two daughters. The fly in the ointment was the sinister Vautrin (Andrew Keir), who coerced a gormless young law student (David Dundas) to commit a murder in order to win the hand of Goriot's eldest daughter. Pere Goriot was seen in the U.S. as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre anthology beginning June 13, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Mosquito bomber was one of the more extraordinary developments of the Royal Air Force during World War II. A twin-engine plane made largely of wood, it flew faster than almost any fighter on the German side, carrying a maximum load of two bombs, and was employed on specialized missions that required pinpoint accuracy on a precise target -- obliterating a building or a small cluster of buildings rather than large tracts of enemy real estate. The men who flew them were among the elites of the Royal Air Force, some of the best of the best. Mosquito Squadron deals with such men and the kinds of missions they were assigned and the sacrifices they made. Quint Munroe (David McCallum) loses his oldest friend, Squadron Leader David Scott (David Buck), on a mission to destroy a group of German V-1 launchers -- he was like a brother to Scott, and must break the news to his wife Beth (Suzanne Neve), with whom Quint had once been involved. In the months that follow, he and Beth slowly rekindle their romance -- meanwhile, the German V-weapon program continues to advance, and they are getting ready to unveil the V-3. Quint is given the task of destroying the V-weapon plant at Charlon, a mission made possible by a new "bouncing bomb" called the "highball," invented by Dr. Barnes Wallis (of "Dambusters" fame). Just before the mission is to be undertaken, however, the Germans drop a film showing air prisoners, including a still-alive Scott, being moved to Charlon. Now the Mosquito crews will be killing their own colleagues and friends, and Quint must carry out his orders, which include hiding the fact that Scott is alive from Beth. The secret gets out to the squadron pilots, however, and a rebellion starts brewing in their ranks. Try as he might to find a way to save the lives of the prisoners, there seems to be no way for Munroe to avoid killing British pilots with British bombs. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide