Brenda Bruce Movies
Brenda Bruce found success and steady employment playing supporting roles on stage, television, and in feature films. She began her long career at age 12 as a dancer in a chorus line. Bruce boosted her reputation after working with the Birmingham Repertory company from 1936 through the early '40s when she returned to the London theater scene to establish herself as a key interpreter of George Bernard Shaw's work. In 1943, Bruce launched a film career with Millions Like Us. During the war years, up until 1953, Bruce appeared in many films. In the '50s, she and her husband, director Roy Rich, hosted Rich and Rich, a highly rated British television show. Her subsequent film career includes appearances in Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) and All Creatures Great and Small (1974). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Splitting Heirs is a dull mistaken identity comedy about a British Duke (Eric Idle) who is switched at birth when his parents accidentally left him behind in a restaurant, picking up the wrong baby by mistake. Idle is raised by Pakistanis and when he discovers his true identity, he begins plotting to kill the American (Rick Moranis) who is the unwitting imposter. His plans go awry, and Idle hires a lawyer (John Cleese) to help him regain his title. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Eric Idle, (more)
- 1991
From director Beeban Kidron, Antonia & Jane is a look at an enduring friendship between a pair of decidedly opposite people. Beautiful, sophisticated, and self-assured, Antonia (Saskia Reeves) has it all -- or so it seems to the pudgy wallflower Jane (Imelda Staunton), who secretly resents the fact that her own inner light is invariably extinguished whenever her glamorous friend enters a room. The fact that Antonia stole and married Jane's first lover only makes matters worse. While Jane vents her feelings in her therapist's office, Antonia herself secretly longs to be more like Jane, who is always off in search of new adventures and experiences. Petricia Leventon and Alfred Hoffman also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Saskia Reeves, Imelda Staunton, (more)
- 1991
Every conflict has at least two sides, and this documentary unapologetically allows members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to tell their view of the long conflict between its members and the British and the (in their view) British-supported Protestants of Northern Ireland. Each of the people interviewed was formerly imprisoned or "interned" for IRA activities but claims no status within the organization, perhaps to avoid being imprisoned again. Nonetheless, they openly espouse views and attitudes which many people find frightening, claiming that they are simply working to defend the underdog Catholics of the region against persecution by Protestant and British forces. The interviewees are reportedly quite eloquent in putting forward their case, but it is unlikely that any large audience of American viewers will have a chance to see this documentary, given the politically unpopular views which it advocates. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1990
Produced for the Disney Cable TV service, Back Home stars one of the great names of Disney's golden years, Hayley Mills. Mills plays the mother of a British teenager (Hayley Carr), evacuated to the US during World War II. When hostilities cease, everyone looks forward to a tender reunion with the young girl. But the road back is not a smooth one, and there's many a tearful moment before a happy ending can even be considered. Filmed on location in England, Back Home is an unabashed three-handkerchief production. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Hayley Carr, (more)
This 19th century period drama set in Northern Ireland tells the story of Sarah (Saskia Reeves), a young woman born into poor circumstances in a devoutly Presbyterian family. Sarah and her mother Martha (Brenda Bruce) are hired to work as housekeepers by a widowed farmer, Mr. Echlin (Geoffrey Golden), who raises potatoes and sheep with his two sons, Frank (Ciaran Hinds) and Hamilton (Donal McCann). When Mr. Echlin dies in a boating accident, Martha leaves the farm and returns to her cottage, but Sarah stays behind, opting to work for Frank and Hamilton on her own terms, and takes both brothers as lovers. In time, Sarah becomes pregnant, but, despite the local scandal, she refuses to name the father and opts to raise the child on her own so that her family name will live on. Director Thaddeus O'Sullivan won the Silver Rosa Camuna Award at the 1990 Bergamo (Italy) Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donal McCann, Saskia Reeves, (more)
- 1989
The Secret World of Polly Flint was made for British television in 1987. Polly Flint (Katie Reynolds) is a lonely contemporary girl. Sympathetic Granny (Brenda Bruce) encourages Polly to escape her humdrum existence by using her imagination. She does so, and in the process has an exhilarating adventure in the Magical World of Another Time. The Secret World of Polly Flint was first shown in the US on the Disney pay-cable service on New Years' Day, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1988
Anthony Hopkins stars in this glossy TV adaptation of Graham Greene's The Tenth Man. The scene is Paris, during the Nazi occupation. Hopkins plays a French lawyer who is sentenced to be executed as a reprisal for the activities of the Resistance. To escape the firing squad, Hopkins arranges for another man to take his place. That man, played by Timothy Wilson, is an embittered soul with no desire to go on living. As part of his bargain with Hopkins, Wilson wills Hopkins' estate to his own heirs. At war's end, Hopkins, travelling incognito, takes a gardener's job at the estate he once owned. He gradually falls in love with Wilson's sister Kristin Scott Thomas. And then total stranger Derek Jacobi shows up--claiming to be the long-lost Hopkins! Produced in Britain by veteran TV-movie maven David Rosemont, The Tenth Man was first offered December 4, 1988, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1988
Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight-hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theaters in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good Samaritan Arthur Clennam (Derek Jacobi) endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively -- and effectively -- opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, part two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping part one, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release -- not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, (more)
- 1987
In the second episode of the four-part story "Paradise Towers," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) have discovered that a once-prestigious apartment complex is now in control of several disreputable factions, among them the Kangs and the Caretakers. Hoping to protect the sublimely indifferent "Rezzies" (or permanent residents) of the Complex, the Doctor must also contend with the alarming mortality rate of the Kangs, not to mention the crossbows of the well-armed Kangs. Written by Stephen Wyatt, "Paradise Towers, Episode 2" first aired on October 12, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, (more)
- 1987
The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Melanie (Bonnie Langford) decide to use the swimming pool at the Paradise Towers luxury-apartment complex. Unfortunately, the formerly award-winning complex has degenerated into a breeding ground for crime and vice -- and the current residents seem to be totally unaware of the danger surrounding them. Comic actor Richard Briers does an about-face as the villainous Chief Caretaker. Written by Stephen Wyatt, Episode 1 of the four-part adventure "Paradise Towers" first aired on October 5, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, (more)
- 1985
- R
This is a story of a group of women overcoming several obstacles by helping each other out, even if that means just listening. Seven different women whose backgrounds are filled in by flashbacks and narration are together in a steambath on ladies' day. Violet (Diana Dors) is the maternal manager of the steambath, and one of the issues to be resolved is how to save the bath from being shut down by the authorities. Nancy (Vanessa Redgrave) is suddenly a single mother of three after being deserted by her husband. Her good friend Sarah (Sarah Miles) has neither children nor husband, even an ex-husband, yet she can empathize with Nancy's increasing loneliness. Josie (Patti Love) is an outgoing, talkative woman whose sex life is her main interest at the moment, and other women include a somewhat reserved mother-and-daughter duo (Brenda Bruce and Felicity Dean). Personal traumas are revealed and shared, and a plan to save the steambath is also cooked up. This was to be the last film for both Diana Dors and Joseph Losey who died not long after the feature was wrapped. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, (more)
- 1985
Based on a novel by Molly Keane, this literary drama focuses on the mutually antagonistic lives of three aging Irish sisters and a brother who live together in a run-down family mansion. One of the sisters is a widow, another a shoplifter, and a third a happy-go-lucky type. Although their brother Jasper (John Gielgud) tries to keep the peace, he is not always successful. Their tight enclave is disrupted when cousin Leda (Googie Withers) comes for a visit, stirring up unwanted memories. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Gielgud, Googie Withers, (more)
- 1983
In a drama that runs out of steam slowly, a small Cornish town is faced with the unwelcome news that nuclear weapons are stored in the nearby U.S. Marine base. This causes a great deal of commotion among the townspeople and adds a twist to the problems Geoff has in romancing Carol, who is already dating a Marine with pacifist leanings. Issues come to a head at the town meeting, when a Ministry representative explains that England would survive a nuclear war -- and almost sets off a war with that statement. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Philip Jackson, Colin Welland, (more)
- 1983
Adapted from a novel by Nigel Slater, the British miniseries The Mad Death managed to induce quite a few nightmares when it originally aired in 1983. The story was set in motion when a rabid cat was smuggled into England, sparking an appalling epidemic which spread to animals and humans alike. The scenes in which pet owners died frothing at the mouth were matched in horror only by the notorious sequences wherein a pack of dogs was slaughtered to prevent further spreading of the disease. Initially broadcast in three 50-minute episodes by the BBC's Scotland service, The Mad Death was later released to video in a truncated feature-film version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
The made-for-television The Man in the Iron Mask was, at the very least, the twelfth film version of Alexandre Dumas' novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later - the second sequel to his Three Musketeers. The title character is Philippe (Richard Chamberlain), claimant to the throne of France. Supporters of Philippe's vile twin brother, King Louis XIV (also Chamberlain), kidnap Philippe, lock him in a dungeon, and obscure his identity with an iron mask. But aging D'Artagnan (Louis Jourdan), who'd virtually raised Philippe from boyhood, reunites his old musketeer cohorts to rescue Philippe, overthrow the wicked Louis, and place the "rightful heir" on the throne. Emmy nominations went to scripter William Bast and costumer Olga Lehmann. Photographed by the great Freddie Young, Man in the Iron Mask was first telecast January 17, 1977 ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
This feature-length dramatization of James Herriot's best-seller was issued by EMI as a big-screen theatrical release in England, but debuted on NBC as a telemovie in the United States, February 4, 1975. It stars Simon Ward as Herriot in his early days as a veterinarian. The story picks up in 1937, with Herriot's first assignment as assistant to eccentric Yorkshire vet Siegfried Farnon (Anthony Hopkins). The film's highlight is the strenuous delivery of a newborn colt; its most poignant moment is the mercy killing of a seriously ill dog. In between "cases," Herriot courts pretty farmer's daughter Helen (Lisa Farrow). The film eventually spawned a television series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Simon Ward, (more)
- 1974
Sarah Sutton stars as Alice in this adaptation (produced for British television) of Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy of a young girl who discovers a remarkable fantasy world on the other side of the mirror. Alice Thru the Looking Glass also features Freddie Jones as Humpty Dumpty, Brenda Bruce as the White Queen, and Raymond Mason and Anthony Collin as, respectively, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brenda Bruce
- 1974
Swallows and Amazons is based on the popular children's book by Arthur Ransome. The film is set in Britain's Lake District in the 1920s. The "swallows" and "amazons" are the members of an Our Gang-ish group of kids. They enjoy a variety of outdoor adventures, linked together more by locale than plotline, and buoyed by the engaging personalities of the children. Swallows and Amazons was followed a decade later by a sequel, Swallows and Amazons: Coot Club. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser, (more)
Long before Grease was even thought of, the British came out with That'll Be The Day, the story of a young man (David Essex) growing up in the dreary working-class world of Britain who comes of age and finds his proper outlet in the first outgrowths of the rock-and-roll world in Britain. This film and its accompanying album were extremely successful in Britain. Along with an excellent (and nostalgic) soundtrack, it features acting performances by rockers David Essex, Billy Fury, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Essex, Ringo Starr, (more)
- 1969
- R
This situation comedy finds rookie soldiers of the British Army trying to cope with military life while stationed in Malaya. Brigg (Hywel Bennett) is a young clerk who falls for the local school teacher Phillipa (Lynn Redgrave), the daughter of Royal Sergeant Major Raskin (Nigel Patrick). Brigg loses his virginal status in an encounter with the prostitute Juicy Lucy (Tsai Chin), while Phillipa also becomes sexually active for the first time. The film strikes a nice balance between comedy and serious drama as the soldiers are put to the test when a train wreck necessitates their involvement, and later several soldiers try to get sick leave by requesting circumcisions. Brigg and Phillipa finally get together when a bombing raid puts them in close proximity in this engaging military comedy. The Kinks' Ray Davies wrote the title track. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Hywel Bennett, (more)
- 1966
Based on the novel by Margaret Adams, this British drama features young Rupert Davies as David, a seven-year-old boy who is unsure of how to act around his seven-year-old nephew. He wants to be a child but feels he should take responsibility for his nephew. His confusion grows and he becomes unsure about how he should act around any children. David even begins to withdraw from his schoolmates and his family. Eventually, he comes to understand that everyone in his family, including his father, with whom he's had some disagreements, wants him just to be himself. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rupert Davies, Brenda Bruce, (more)
- 1963
Legendary cinematographer (Freddie Francis) directed this Hammer horror film of madness and murder. The story concerns young Janet (Jennie Linden), a student at finishing school who is suffering from a series of recurring nightmares, having witnessed her mother stabbing her father to death. When her nightmares intensify, Janet is brought to the home of her guardian, Henry Baxter (David Knight). Henry is not home, but Janet is put into the care of his live-in nurse, Grace (Moira Redmond). Janet's nightmares continue, in which she sees a woman in white beckoning her into her parents' bedroom. Following the apparition, Janet sees the woman lying in bed, with a knife sticking from her chest. When Henry returns home, he is told by the doctors that Janet should be confined to a mental institution. Henry refuses, but the arrival of Henry's wife changes all that -- when Janet sees Henry's wife, who resembles the woman from her dreams, she grabs a knife and stabs her to death. Janet is committed to an institution for the criminally insane. However, it turns out that Grace had deliberately disguised herself as the woman in white to drive Janet over the brink and kill Henry's wife, so that they could be married. Henry and Grace get married, but Grace then receives reports that Janet has escaped from the institution and is returning to Henry's estate, bent on revenge. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Knight, Moira Redmond, (more)
Michael Powell's controversial meditation on violence and voyeurism effectively destroyed his career when it was first released, but later generations have come to regard it as a masterpiece. Karl Heinz Boehm stars as Mark, the son of a psychologist who kept a video journal of the boy's upbringing for research purposes. The constant intrusions profoundly affected the boy, who grew up to be a photographer himself; but his principal subject matter consists of women whom he murders before the camera. He then runs the films of his victims in their final throes so that he can study their reactions to death--a perverse extension of his father's experiments, which tormented Mark to analyze his reactions to raw fear. The British press had long been hostile to the unorthodox films of Powell and his partner Emeric Pressburger; when Peeping Tom came around, they used the film to castigate him as "sick" and tawdry. The passage of time has proven Peeping Tom as profound and accomplished as any of Powell's earlier films, and it ranks with Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958) as a landmark exploration of the links among voyeurism, violence, and male sexual desire. Powell himself plays the evil father in the flashback sequences, and his son Colomba plays Mark as a child. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karl Heinz Böhm, Moira Shearer, (more)
- 1958
Distinguished British actress Vanessa Redgrave makes her feature film debut in this hospital-set drama that chronicles the deadly rivalry between two head surgeons. She is one of the surgeons. She and her competitor have radically different ideas about how the hospital should be run. The film features one of the first scenes of actual open-heart surgery being shown upon a closed-circuit TV screen. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Tony Britton, (more)
- 1958
A father discovers that being a good role model for your son isn't always easy -- especially when you're a criminal -- in this bright British comedy. Percy Brand (Michael Redgrave) is an all-purpose con artist and small-time crook who makes a good living on the wrong side of the law but often finds himself behind bars as a result. Not wanting to present too bad an example to his son and needing an explanation for his frequent time away, he tells young Colin (Jeremy Burnham) that he's a missionary working with a religious group, and his good deeds take him all over the world on sudden missions of mercy. Colin accepts his father's word to the letter, and he grows up to be a law-abiding citizen who works as a barrister for Judge Crichton (Robert Morley), who has had to deal with Percy a number of times over the years. By this time, Percy has retired to a village by the ocean and is living nicely off his ill-gotten gains, but he gets roped into a scheme smuggling brandy and soon finds himself in trouble with the law again. Rather than go back to the pokey (and embarrass Colin), Percy and his mates concoct a bizarre plan by which they'll implicate Judge Crichton in the smuggling and send him to jail in their place. Director Charles Crichton directed a number of fine British comedies, right up to his final picture, A Fish Called Wanda, which he completed at the age of 78. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, (more)
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