Lewis Gilbert Movies
Lewis Gilbert started out as a child actor on the London stage and in British silent films. Making his last on-camera appearance in The Divorce of Lady X (1938), Gilbert remained in the movie industry as an assistant director. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Air Corps Film Unit, receiving his first opportunity to direct. After a string of documentaries, he helmed his first dramatic feature, The Ballerina (1947). His subsequent films include the superior wartime dramas Carve Her Name with Pride (1957) and Sink the Bismarck (1960), the tender coming-of-age study Loss of Innocence (1961) and the cynical sex seriocomedy Alfie (1967). He also helmed three James Bond epics, one with Connery (1967's You Only Live Twice) and two above-average Roger Moore efforts (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker). The best of Lewis Gilbert's more recent films include a brace of adaptations of Willy Russell stage plays, Educating Rita (1983) and Shirley Valentine (1989). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2002
Also known as The Memory of Water, director Lewis Gilbert's low-key drama (based on a play by Shelagh Stephenson) centers on three sisters who return home following their mother's death, and the memories that bind them. Desperate to discover who remembers which events with the most clarity, sisters Theresa (Julie Walters), Mary (Joanne Whalley) and Catherine (Victoria Hamilton) soon discover that the real truth about their family lies much deeper than any one person can recall. As the sisters memories slowly surface, it soon becomes apparent that no one version of any tale provides a definitive answer to their questions regarding their past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Walters, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
Adapted from the novel by James Herbert, this subtle, melancholy British chiller owes a great deal to Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. The story opens with a chilling prologue in 1905 England, in which a young boy fails to prevent the accidental drowning of his sister. As a young man, David (Aidan Quinn) is still tormented by guilt and remorse. After several years in the United States, David returns to England to continue his work researching and debunking claims of the supernatural. His latest investigation into the alleged haunting of Edbrook Manor -- at the behest of the Marriell's family nanny, Tess (Anna Massey) -- introduces him to the eccentric company of the lovely Christina Mariell (Kate Beckinsale) and her brothers Robert and Simon (Anthony Andrews and Alex Lowe). Despite repeated warnings from Tess that mischievous spirits are at work, David refuses to concede that the house is haunted -- until the angelic vision of his drowned sister reveals the true nature of his strange hosts. The rich period setting lends a classy Merchant Ivory touch to the film, and the high production values indicate the guiding hand of executive producer Francis Ford Coppola, but the performances are a bit too cold and detached to provide any legitimate tension. Fans of the classic 1961 film The Innocents will not find the central mystery particularly challenging. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, (more)
- 1991
- PG
Stepping Out might be considered a textbook exercise in screenwriting cliche: take Mavis Turner (Liza Minnelli), a woman who "coulda been a contenda" had she pursued her dreams of appearing on Broadway; give her an evening job at a converted church teaching tap; mix in a motley crew of left-footed cardboard-cutouts too rhythmically challenged for her to train; add a charity performance organized by a snooty old ruler-of-the-world-type (Nora Dunn) who thinks they're too klutzy to participate; watch the motley crew turn into a well-oiled dance machine in time to steal the show, prove the snob wrong and overcome their personal problems along the way (not to mention Mavis')...and somehow, in spite of it all, it actually manages to be a rather entertaining film. The entire production is so cheesy and exaggeratedly "Broadway" that it provides more than its share of amusement, intentional or otherwise; the fact that Minnelli turns in an infectiously good-humored performance doesn't hurt, either. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liza Minnelli, Shelley Winters, (more)
Since its London and Broadway stage debut, playwright Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine has proven an excellent showcase for any number of talented actresses (Loretta Swit won the 1989 Sarah Siddons Award for her work in the Chicago production). In the film version of Shirley Valentine, Pauline Collins re-creates the role that had previously brought her theatrical fame and a Tony Award. Spending the bulk of the film speaking directly to the audience, the titular Shirley (Collins), a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, reveals her innermost thoughts and fears in a manner that is both insouciant and poignant. Once an incorrigible anti-establishment rebel, Shirley now chafes under the plodding insensitivity of her husband Joe (Bernard Hill). Her life enters a new and exciting phase when, after her best friend Jane (Alison Steadman) wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to Greece, Shirley is given the opportunity to travel to faraway places without her husband. Shirley Valentine represents the second felicitous collaboration between playwright Willy Russell and director Lewis Gilbert; the first was Educating Rita (1983). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, (more)
The kibbutz setting to this standard love story between Gil (Joanna Pacula), an Israeli woman and Mike (Sam Robards), a visiting American pre-med student is not particularly relevant to the tale -- which is a twist away from the original stage play in which the two lovers do not even appear. Four Brits are also visiting the kibbutz: two complaining young men, a young woman who arrives for a stay after experiencing a nervous breakdown, and a soldier trying to assuage the psychic wounds of the past. As these people interact and the romance between Gila and Mike heats up, the story leads to several, simultaneous climactic moments -- including the kidnapping of Gila and a group of tourists and a dramatic rescue by the disenchanted Brits. Through all this, Mike must decide whether he will stay with Gila at the kibbutz or go back to the U.S. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Sam Robards, (more)
A trio of Oscar nominations and a pair of Golden Globes went to this acclaimed romantic comedy-drama based on the play by Willy Russell. Julie Walters stars as Rita, a witty, 26-year-old working class British hairdresser who decides to seek an education at Open University. Rita needs a tutor, and she selects Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine), an alcoholic college literature professor whose life is a shambles. Divorced, Bryant's new lover is now having an affair with his best friend and he's increasingly depressed, seeking solace in whisky. Bryant's domestic turmoil is mirrored by Rita's, as she has opted for college over motherhood, a source of friction between her and her husband. As Rita blooms intellectually under the tutelage of Bryant, she realizes that what she really lacks is self-confidence, not education, and a gentle romance blossoms between her and Bryant. At home, however, Rita's newfound self-respect and intelligence cause her even greater pain. Director Lewis Gilbert and writer Russell teamed again six years later on the similarly-themed Shirley Valentine (1989). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Julie Walters, (more)
In this adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1955 novel, James Bond (Roger Moore) must thwart Sir Hugo Drax (Michel Lonsdale), who plans to wipe out all of humankind and replace it with a super race that he has cultivated in a massive space station. The girl in the case is American secret agent Holly Goodhead, intelligently played by Lois Chiles. "Jaws," the steel-mouthed henchman played by Richard Kiel in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), makes a return appearance in Moonraker, turning good guy (complete with a girlfriend of his own) in the process. Bernard Lee makes his last appearance as "M" in this most costly of James Bond's 1970s escapades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, (more)
Though not Ian Fleming's most famous James Bond novel, 1962's The Spy Who Loved Me was distinguished by the unique device of telling the story from the heroine's point of view; in fact, Bond doesn't make an appearance until the book is two-thirds over. This would hardly work in the film world's Bond franchise, so the original austere plotline of the novel was eschewed altogether in favor of a labyrinthine story involving outer-space extortion. The leading lady, a "hard-luck kid" in the original, is now sexy Russian secret agent Barbara Bach, who joins forces with Bond (Roger Moore, making his third appearance as 007) to foil yet another megalomaniac villain (Curt Jurgens), who plans to threaten New York City with nuclear weaponry. Beyond the eye-popping opening ski-jump sequence, the film's best scenes involve seven-foot-two Richard Kiel as steel-toothed henchman Jaws. Fifteen scriptwriters worked on The Spy Who Loved Me; only two were credited, including Bond-film veteran Richard Maibaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, (more)
- 1976
In the romantic drama Seven Nights in Japan, Michael York plays Prince George, the fictional heir to the British throne, a British navy officer. On shore leave in Japan, he meets Somi, a Japanese tour bus guide (Hidemi Aoki), and they have a brief romance. Attempts are made on the prince's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael York, Hidemi Aoki, (more)
- 1976
- PG
Also titled The Price of Freedom, Operation Daybreak is a retelling of the terrible consequences attending the assassination of Nazi-occupation leader Richard Heydrich. When Heydrich puts all of Czechoslovakia under his thumb, a group of Czech expatriates parachute into their homeland to kill the man known as "The Hangman." They succeed, and in retaliation the Nazis wipe the tiny Czech village of Lidice off the map, killing its male residents and carting off its women and children to concentration camps. For the purposes of the plot, assassins Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw survive the massacre, albeit only briefly. The Heydrich/Lidice tragedy was previously dramatized in two wartime films, Hangmen Also Die (1943) and Hitler's Madman (1943). Operation Daybreak was adapted from Seven Men at Daybreak, a novel by Alan Burgess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Bottoms, Martin Shaw, (more)
- 1974
- R
English Paul and French Michelle come together again in this sequel to the 1971 film Friends. Several years have passed since they had their adolescent adventure in baby-making. Paul has just finished his fancy British school while Michelle, her baby and an American live together in France. Paul returns to France to find Michelle and take up where they left off. Unfortunately, things don't go exactly as planned. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- R
The main attraction of this teen romance is likely to be the soundtrack music of Elton John. A young English boy, suffering from neglect at home, runs away and becomes friends with a French girl in the same plight. Together, they go to an idyllic seaside location in France (the Camergue), become lovers, set up housekeeping, have a baby, and play at being responsible adults, discovering along the way many of the troubles involved. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Based on Harold Robbins' bestseller, The Adventurers stars Yugoslav heartthrob Bekim Fehmiu as Porfirio Rubirosa clone Dax Xenos. Having suffered mightily as a child in a fictional South American country due to the political activities of his parents, Xenos grows up to become a sleazy, sexually manipulative playboy. He romances middle-aged widow Olivia de Havilland, then dumps her after he's run through her fortune. He then takes up with heiress Candice Bergen, who bears his child. When the kid is killed and Xenos turns his back on her, Bergen finds solace in lesbianism. All the while, Xenos is fomenting revolutions aimed at toppling the Trujillo-like despot (Alan Badel) responsible for the death of his father. The Adventurers received a lot of magazine coverage due to a poolside nude scene and the "guess who this is supposed to be?" nature of the cast of characters. But it failed to establish Bekim Fehmiu as an international star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bekim Fehmiu, Charles Aznavour, (more)
James Bond heads East to save the world (and to learn how to serve saki properly) in this action-packed espionage adventure. When an American spacecraft disappears during a mission, it's widely believed to have been intercepted by the Soviet Union, and after a Russian space capsule similarly goes missing, most consider it to be an act of American retaliation. Soon the two nations are at the brink of war, but British intelligence discovers that some sort of UFO has crashed into the Sea of Japan. Agent 007, James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent in to investigate. After staging his own death to avoid being followed, Bond, disguised as a Japanese civilian, teams up with agent Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba) and his beautiful associate Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi). With their help, Bond learns that both the American and Russian space missions were actually scuttled by supercriminal Ernst Blofeld (Donald Pleasance) in yet another bid by his evil empire SPECTRE to take over the world. As he battles the bad guys, Bond finds time to romance both Kissy Suziki (Mie Hama) and Helga Brandt (Karin Dor). You Only Live Twice was one of Sean Connery's last outings as James Bond. The next Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, would star George Lazenby as 007, and while Connery would return for Diamonds Are Forever, in 1973, Roger Moore took over the role. (Connery would play Bond one last time, in 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was produced outside the official series.) ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, (more)
Michael Caine's first starring role was a foray into dramatic irony, scripted by Bill Naughton from his novel and play. Alfie (Caine) is a charming, rogueish Cockney who cannot get his fill of women. He uses them without shame or malice, jumping from one promiscuous female's bed to another without much thought or feeling. Of course, Alfie's not as carefree as he would have the audience -- to whom he often speaks directly -- think: he treats his pregnant, common-law wife, Gilda (Julia Foster), quite shabbily, and has an affair with a married woman (Vivien Merchant) that leaves her pregnant, for which Alfie arranges an abortion. In the end, Alfie never finds lasting meaning or pleasure but remains an unrepentant, if low-class, Don Juan. Caine was Oscar-nominated for his performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1964
In this drama, William Holden plays Ferris, an American soldier who led troops in Malaya during World War II. After the end of the war, Ferris opts to stay in Malaya to seek his fortune. He invests in land there and does quite well, but soon his new life with his girlfriend, a local girl named Dhana (Capucine), is disrupted by local politics. Candace (Susannah York), the daughter of Malaya's British governor, is infatuated with Ferris, which puts a crimp in his relationship with Dhana. And one of his old buddies from the war, Ng (Tetsuro Tamba), reemerges with some disturbing news -- following the war, he spent several years in the Soviet Union and is now working with Communist-backed guerilla forces. Ferris doesn't want to help the British capture his old friend, but his friend seems to have no such scruples about framing his buddy Ferris. The Seventh Dawn was adapted from the novel The Durian Tree by Michael Koen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Susannah York, (more)
Damn the Defiant! is an 18th-century seafaring drama from director Lewis Gilbert. Alec Guinness plays the stern but compassionate captain of a British warship, engaged in the Napoleonic wars. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be said for his new second-in-command Dirk Bogarde. When Guinness tries to modify Bogarde's sadistic adherence to discipline, Bogarde responds by mistreating Guinness' cabin-boy son, knowing that the captain cannot intervene under the edicts of British maritime law. During an incipient mutiny, Bogarde is accidently killed, and Guinness knows that the crewmen responsible must hang once they reach shore. But after these same men perform courageously in battle, Guinness suffers a crisis of conscience: How can he condemn these fearlessly patriotic men to death, as he knows he must? Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, (more)
- 1961
A young Susannah York had her first lead role in this drama about a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood. When her mother falls ill during a vacation in the French wine country, 16-year-old Joss Grey (York) is left to her own devices as she and her three younger siblings are left in the reluctant care of Madame Zisi (Danielle Darrieux), the proprietor of the hotel where they were staying. Eliot (Kenneth More), Zisi's strapping boyfriend, offers to show the youngsters some of the sights in the countryside, and Joss finds herself developing a strong infatuation with the older man. However, when she realizes that Eliot and Zisi are lovers, she becomes despondent and ends up getting drunk on wine with Paul (David Saire), a boy who works in the kitchen at Zisi's hotel. When Joss learns that Eliot is actually a jewel thief wanted by the law, she informs the police of his whereabouts. However, that same night, Paul's efforts to seduce Joss degenerate into a violent attempt at rape, but when Eliot hears her screams for help, he comes to Joss' rescue. Having spared her virtue and perhaps her life, Joss confesses to Eliot that she has turned him in to the police, and urges him to flee for his own safety. One of Joss' sisters is played by Jane Asher, a distinguished actress who was most famous in the United States not for her abilities as a performer, but for spending several years as Paul McCartney's girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1960
Director Lewis Gilbert is best known for his other cinematic efforts, such as Educating Rita or in films in a wartime genre, Sink the Bismarck. This unexceptional comedy is about a bumbling searchlight unit during World War II. Ensemble acting creates a series of intertwining stories that involve the various soldiers assigned to this post. Lt. Ogleby (Ian Carmichael) is the cheerful, inept officer in charge, then there is the womanizer whose concept of birth control is limited, the lovesick soldier unhappy over a misunderstanding with his girlfriend, the Cockney cook, the father-figure, and several others. Their trials and tribulations provide the bulk of the comedy, such as it is. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Tommy Steele, (more)
- 1960
Based on Touch It Light, a play by Robert Storey, Skywatch is distinguished by a stellar British cast. Ian Carmichael is the officer in charge of a World War 2 searchlight unit. The archetypal comedy relief is supplied by none other than Benny Hill, while the "girl appeal" is handled by singing idol Tommy Steele. In Stalag 17 fashion, humor deftly dovetails into suspense and back again. Skywatch is also known as Light Up the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Bismarck was the fabled German battleship of World War II. This film traces the "life" of the Bismarck from its launching (courtesy of newsreel footage) through its many battles and narrow escapes, concluding with its far-from-inevitable sinking in the Spring of 1941. Since one couldn't expect a ship to carry a 97-minute movie, the story concentrates on the human element, specifically a British intelligence captain (Kenneth More), who has lost his family in the London blitz and thus has a personal reason for seeing the Bismarck blasted from the sea. The captain's tireless efforts are abetted by the love and support of a female naval officer Dana Wynter. The climactic sinking is deftly assembled from stock footage and newly shot scenes of expertly delineated scale models. As a bonus, Sink the Bismarck yielded a hit song, which many children of the 1960s can still recite from memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, (more)
- 1959
This curious African Queen derivation stars Curt Jurgens as Mark Conrad, an Austrian exile and Orson Welles as blustery ferry-boat captain Cecil Hart. Banned from both Hong Kong and Macao, Conrad is forced to spend his life on Hart's ferry, shuttling endlessly between the two countries and irritating everyone with whom he comes in contact. Conrad redeems himself when he rescues Hart and the passengers during a raging storm. Poor Welles is reduced to Gale Gordon-like bombast throughout the proceedings, while leading lady Sylvia Sims has practically no purpose in the film whatsoever. Ferry to Hong Kong was released in America through 20th Century-Fox along with several other like-vintage Rank Organisation films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Orson Welles, (more)
- 1958
Max Bygraves, a popular British comedian who once in a while entertained thoughts of a dramatic career, is costarred with Barbara Murray in A Cry from the Streets. The two play a pair of ingenuous social workers, assigned to one of the grubbiest neighborhoods in London. They join forces to help a group of castoff orphan children. The episodic structure of Cry from the Streets gave the film a semi-documentary feel, even though every incident herein was carefully written and rehearsed beforehand. Based on the novel The Friend in Need by Elizabeth Coxhead, the film was filmed in 1957, released in 1958, and reissued in some markets as Cry from the Street (singular) in 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Bygraves, Barbara Murray, (more)
The true story of Violette Szabo, a heroine of the Second World War for her espionage activities on behalf of the British government. Born Violette Bushell (Virginia McKenna) to a French mother and an English father, she chances to meet Etienne Szabo (Alain Saury), a French officer, whom she later marries. They have a child, Tania, but Etienne is fatally wounded in the Battle of El Alamein. Violette is already contributing to the war effort at home, but soon discovers that her bi-lingual skills make her a potentially valuable member of England's Special Operations Executive, the country's wartime overseas espionage unit. She agrees to join and, after extensive training, is sent into France in the spring of 1944, on a mission to salvage a resistance unit in Rouen area. Szabo completes that mission successfully and returns home, intending to resume her life as a mother raising her daughter -- but she is offered a second mission in France, immediately after the Normandy landings, and accepts, with tragic consequences. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, (more)
