Cyril Frankel Movies

Three secret agents gain superhuman powers by the inhabitants of an ancient city after their plane crashes in the Himalayas. ~ Rovi

Yet another in the stable of spy movies which depict espionage as a dirty business. Here, we have Dirk Bogarde heading the "Western Intelligence Liaison" his specific task is to keep the head of a radical third-world organization from returning to his country. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

A Scotland Yard inspector is called on to investigate a series of unsolved robberies in The Trygon Factor. Inspector Cooper-Smith (Stewart Granger) ends up at the country manor of a respectable English family. Livia Emberday (Cathleen Nesbitt) is the mistress of the house who has turned to crime to help bolster the finances of the once-monied family. With help from a group of bogus nuns, stolen goods end up in the warehouse of Hamlyn (Robert Morley), supposedly a respectable businessman. This 1966 feature also stars Susan Hampshire as Trudy, the daughter of the manor who is unaware of the criminal enterprise under her very nose. There are plenty of twists in the storyline of this often complex mystery feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This melodramatic tale of a sexual assault on a married woman has a few implausible moments but is believably acted by Anne Heywood as Tracey, the victim, Richard Todd as her husband Lawrence, and Jack Hedley as the man from Scotland Yard sent to track down the violent attacker. Tracey is pregnant and happily married to Lawrence, an architect. She has few cares in the world until the day a maniac breaks into the house, rapes her, and ultimately causes her to miscarry. Tracey falls to pieces and is so affected by the encounter she finds men repulsive, including her husband. Her attitude does not soften with time, and sooner rather than later, her husband takes up with his secretary. But in the meantime, the Scotland Yard detective has still not been able to track down the psychotic rapist, and there is no guarantee that Tracey is safe. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this British bedroom farce, Bill Ferguson (Richard Todd), a Scottish travel agent, has a major row with his fiancée Stella (June Thorburn) shortly before leaving for a jaunt through Europe. Considering himself free to do as he pleases, Bill gives keys to his Edinburgh apartment to a number of beautiful women, inviting them to drop by if they happen to be in the neighborhood. When he comes home, Bill and Stella patch things up, which leaves him with a lot of explaining to do when a bevy of curvaceous females from across the continent begin appearing at their doorstep, including Ingrid (Elke Sommer) and Lucille (Nicole Maurey). Richard Todd served as producer as well as star; Frederic Raphael contributed to the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set in Canada, this nasty little fable is about a respectable village elder (Patrick Allen) who is also a sexual deviate. Using candy as bait, he persuades two little girls to dance naked for him. When the girls complain to their parents, the old man is taken to court, but his prestige in town assures an acquittal. Inevitably, the man's perversities lead to the death of a child. The British title for this repellant film was Never Take Sweets From a Stranger; it was based on John Hunter's play The Pony Cart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this gently humorous farce, an unwed Irish mother who has six children by some of the town's finest fathers finds herself bedeviled by the townsfolk who find her a liability to their sterling reputations. They try different ploys to get her to pack up her illicit clan and move. Then they pool their resources and buy the woman a farm far away from town, but before they have to move, mysterious Fate intervenes, and in the end all involved are happy, including the free-spirited young mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Filmed in Uganda, Man of Africa was assembled by legendary documentary producer John Grierson. The film depicts the mass migration of the Bakija and Batwa tribes to a new territory after the natural resources of their native soil has been depleted. The pro-ecological message is always present, but never so much as to degenerate into fatuous speechmaking. As a means to introduce the semblance of a plot, writer/director Cyril Frankel concentrates on the trials and tribulations of clerk-cum-farmer Jonathan (Frederick Bijurenda) and his native sweetheart Violet (Violet Mukabuerza). Print quality in Man of Africa varies from adequate to murky. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Real-life husband and wife John McCallum and Googie Withers top the cast of Devil on Horseback. A racetrack drama, the film centers on the activities of natural-born jockey Moppy Parfitt (Jeremy Spencer). As he gains prominence on the track, Moppy becomes insufferably egotistical. His "win at all costs" policy ultimately results in the unecessary death of a horse. Much to the delight of horse owner Charles Roberts (McCallum) and trainer Mrs. Cadell (Withers), Moppy finally learns that there's something more to being a jockey than just talent. Prominently featured in the supporting cast is Liam Redmond as a bibulous ex-jockey named Scarlett O'Hara (sic!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi