Guy Elmes Movies
- 1970
- PG
In this suspense thriller, Max von Sydow is Selem, who inconveniences his sister Esther (Liv Ullman) and her husband, Dr. Anton Jenks (Per Oscarsson) by being accused of murder. They rid themselves of the inconvenience by having him committed to a mental hospital. This situation drives him into genuine insanity, and he seeks revenge by escaping to commit horrific crimes in such a way that they will be blamed on Dr. Jenks. Having done this, his plan is to return to the mental hospital without being detected. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
A special group of navy divers is created when a disabled Nazi warship is discovered in a fjord in Norway. Commander Bolton (James Caan) is the Canadian expert designated to train the new unit. Their mission is to plant a bomb on the warship as it undergoes repairs. The hard-driving Bolton encounters resentment from the British soldiers he trains, but he ultimately earns their respect as a leader. Their intense training operation is interrupted by an attack of Nazi paratroopers just before the unit leaves for Norway. Spectacular underwater photography is seen in this World War II adventure story based on an actual mission. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Rupert Davies, (more)
- 1968
There must be some significance to the fact that neither Jean Negulesco nor chroniclers of his career are eager to include The Invincible Six in the director's credits. This US/Iran coproduction (obviously filmed before 1977) stars Stuart Whitman as the top dog of a group of criminals. Failing to swipe the Tehran crown jewels, Whitman's gang heads for the rural regions, where they offer protection (for a price) to a small village. Elke Sommer wants the crooks to help her find a treasure, using a map that she's appropriated through questionable means. But when Whitman's minions defend the village against an attack by Iranian bandits, the map is destroyed. Only momentarily daunted, Elke joins the Invicible Six for the next adventure. Oh, almost forgot: There's some dancing in The Invincible Six, choreographed by Rudolph Nureyev. No, really. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
For some reason, the elongated figures limned by the highly astigmatic painter El Greco (1541-1614) perfectly suited the grandees of Spain even though they were clearly anything but realistic, and they fascinate even today. The Greek (Cretan, actually) painter's life in Spain could have served as the basis for a fascinating biography, but the makers of this film chose to concentrate on the bad ol' Inquisition and portray the painter as being warned by his girlfriend that he is being watched; as a foreigner, he is suspected of heresy. Mel Ferrer plays the painter in this historical melodrama which is not nearly as bad as it could have been. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Ferrer, Rosanna Schiaffino, (more)
- 1963
In this melodrama, set in German-occupied Italy during WW II, a Yankee spy is concealed in the attic of an underground contact's house. The contact's wife does not want him there as she is having an affair with the German Officer who is looking for him. He remains in the attic, hidden by the woman's son. Trouble ensues when the American is seen by the woman and her lover. He must escape across the slippery rain-soaked tile roof tops. The German troops are in hot pursuit. They are also after the woman who stands accused of sheltering the spy. Her lover, the German officer, realizing that he could lose it all for consorting with a local, shoots and kills the woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Marina Berti, (more)
- 1962
In this biblical epic, the rise of the humble Joseph from hapless slave to prophet and advisor to the Pharoah is chronicled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
This Italian drama tells the story of Christ's crucifixion from the viewpoint of the Roman emperor's procurator in Israel who must try to quell a Jewish revolt. In a bizarre twist, John Drew Barrymore plays both Jesus and Judas in the film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Filmed in 1962 but not released in the US until 1966 (with 20 of its 108 minutes removed), Conquered City is an all-star World War II drama financed in Italy and filmed in Greece. An Athens hotel, full of refugees and expatriates of all nationalities, is captured by Allied troops in the closing days of the War. British Major David Niven has been ordered to prevent a cache of weapons hidden in the hotel from falling into the hands of renegade troops. He cannot allow himself to trust anyone--not even the most innocent-looking (or attractive) of guests. Originally titled La Citta Prigioniera. Conquered City was released in English-speaking countries outside the U.S. as Captive City. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1962
A movie star is typecast as a ruthless gangster. His troubles begin when he gets reality confused with his job and becomes deluded into believing that he really is a mobster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
A false accusation divides a town and destroys a clergyman's career in this adaptation of the Philip King stage play of the same name. Anthony Quayle stars as Reverend Howard Phillips, a new arrival in a small town that's become overrun with punk kids. Trying to make a difference and improve the town's fortunes, Phillips earns the respect and love of Hester Peters (Sarah Churchill), a spinster and the daughter of the previous vicar. Unfortunately, Phillips runs afoul of Larry Thompson (Andrew Ray), leader of the delinquents running roughshod over the town. A nasty piece of work, Thompson has murdered one person and doesn't hesitate to concoct a false story that Phillips made an unwelcome homosexual advance toward him that turned into an assault. Instead of rallying to his defense, the narrow-minded town elders simply backbite and gossip. Director Terence Young went on to direct three of the first four James Bond films, Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, (more)
- 1958
In this romantic comedy, a young woman spends all her time caring for her ailing mother. The one bright spot in her life is her African pen pal. Her mother finally dies, and the woman immediately sets off for Africa to meet the pen pal. There she finds that he is too busy chasing elephants to notice her. Instead she ends up falling for his brother.The two brothers find themselves entangled in various adventures involving African wildlife. The film was shot on location in Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Lee, Michael Craig, (more)
- 1958
Long, long, after her days of filmic glory in the 1930s and 1940s, skating star Sonja Henie made her last movie appearance in the British Hello, London. Henie plays herself, a rich-as-Croesus ice-show celebrity making a tour of Europe. Michael Wilding and Eunice Gayson contrive to keep Sonja in London long enough so that she'll feel obliged to perform at a charity function. Also appearing under their own names are such British showbiz luminaries as Ronnie Graham, Stanley Holloway and Dennis Price; in addition, Oliver Reed shows up in a surly bit part. In the spirit of Auld Lang Syne, Hello London was released in the US by Ms. Henie's longtime home studio, 20th Century-Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A Graham Greene novel was the basic source for the British psychological melodrama Across the Bridge. Rod Steiger plays Carl Schaffner, a prominent financier who has absconded with company funds. A genius at improvisation, he plans to elude the authorities by murdering Paul Scarff (Bill Nagy) and assuming the dead man's identity. Upon arriving in Mexico, however, Schaffner learns to his chagrin that Scarff was himself an even more notorious fugitive from justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, David Knight, (more)
- 1954
This mystery is adapted from a Graham Greene novel and begins as a British spy arranges a meeting with his son, whom he hasn't seen in four years. They are to meet in Venice, but unfortunately, the spy is unable to make the appointment. The boy then gets a mysterious call from his father breaking their date. Meanwhile, a compassionate hotel receptionist convinces her American lover to help the boy find his father. The boy friend investigates and discovers that the boy's father had found a fellow spy in trouble and was captured and drugged while trying help him. Both of the British spies are then placed on a boat and sent to Communist Europe where the police cannot catch them. Fortunately, the brave Yankee devises an ingenious plot to save them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, (more)
- 1954
In the tradition of The Window (1949) and The Yellow Balloon, Bang! You're Dead juxtaposes the innocence of childhood with the bleak realities of the adult world. Two rural British youngsters come across an abandoned gun. One of the boys accidentally shoots a much-despised local citizen. The police arrest a man who had a grudge against the victim; will the actual miscreant confess, and bring shame upon his parents? Filmed in England, Bang! You're Dead was released in the U.S. as A Game of Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Warner, Derek Farr, (more)
- 1953
Originally released in England as Counterspy, Undercover Agent stars Dermot Walsh in the title role. When the film begins, however, Manning (Walsh) isn't a spy, but a mild-mannered accountant. Asked by a mysterious stranger to deliver a package, ostensibly containing compromising love letters, Manning arrives at the appointed address, only to stumble across the body of a murdered man. Upon discovering that the package contains the secret plans for a revolutionary new jet, Manning is forced to take it on the lam, lest he be the next victim. Future "scream queen" Hazel Court is the film's nominal (and inconsequential) leading lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, (more)
- 1953
Who better than the estimable Barbara Payton to play the Bad Blonde in this Lippert release? Actually, the film was originally made in England by Hammer Productions, then released in Great Britain as The Flanagan Boy and This Woman is Trouble, but neither one of these titles had the box-office "sock" of Lippert's cognomen. The story finds the duplicitous Lorna Vecchi (Payton) wrapping boxer Johnny Flanagan (Tony Wright) around her little finger. It seems that Lorna is married to Johnny's manager, Giuseppe (Frederick Valk). But when her husband proves to be a nuisance, the "bad blonde" blackmails Johnny into murdering the man. Astonishingly, until the very, very end it looks like Lorna's going to get away with it! Bad Blonde was based on a novel by Max Catto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Payton, Frederick [Fritz] Valk, (more)
- 1953
Two step-brothers who co-own a garage have a violent falling out when the wild one's girl falls for the more responsible sibling. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
This British production stars Claudette Colbert as a socialite who marries wealthy plantation owner Jack Hawkins. The newlyweds move to Hawkins' plantation in Malaya, where she quickly bores of her dead-end existence and harbors dreams of extramarital affairs. When the natives prove restless, however, Colbert loyally stays by her husband's side and helps him defend his property. Outpost in Malaya was originally released in Great Britain as The Planter's Wife. The film represented Claudette Colbert's first non-Hollywood film project--though hardly her last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins, (more)
