Glynis Johns Movies

Der Spinnennetz was released in English-speaking countries as The Spider's Web. Ulrich Muhe plays a German businessman who was born completely without scruples. This makes him an eminently suitable candidate for success in the chaotic years after World War I. The shameless man's story is contrasted with that of his polar opposite, a Jewish anarchist (Klaus Maria Brandauer). This unusually long film needs every one of its 198 minutes to do full justice to its Byzantine storyline. Director Bernhard Wicki co-adapted the screenplay from a novel by Joseph Roth. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Angela Lansbury plays a dual role in this episode, as Maine-based mystery writer Jessica Fletcher and as Jessica's flamboyant cousin, British music-hall headliner Emma MacGill. Arriving in London to attend Emma's funeral, Jessica is surprised to learn that her cousin is still alive. Having survived one murder attempt, Emma has decided to "play dead" until she can find out why someone wants to kill her--allowing Jessica to join in on the sleuthing, of course. The highlight of this episode is Emma's performance of the sentimental ditty "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird"--which Angela Lansbury had previously sung to great acclaim in the 1945 theatrical feature The Picture of Dorian Gray. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Little Gloria...Happy at Last is the two-part TV adaptation of Barbara Goldsmith's 1980 best-seller. The film concerns the true-life custody battle over the daughter of millionaire Reggie Vanderbilt (Christopher Plummer) and his "child bride," Gloria Morgan (Lucy Gutteridge). When the over-imbibing Reggie dies, Gloria enjoys the high life as a wealthy widow, leaving her daughter in the care of her sister-in-law, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (chillingly portrayed by Angela Lansbury in her TV-movie debut). Gloria's personal income, predicated on the child's inheritance, is severely cut, whereupon Gloria sues the indomitable Vanderbilts for custody of her daughter. We won't tell you the outcome, but we can tell you that "Little Gloria," the ten-year-old focus of the custody fight, grew up to be the same Gloria Vanderbilt who went into the designer jeans business. Little Gloria...Happy at Last was originally telecast October 24 and 25, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A sleepy English town is stirred awake by a series of deaths thought to be the result of an epidemic. Instead, vampires are at the root of the problem. ~ John Bush, Rovi

This family comedy stars James Stewart as Dr. Robert Leaf, a college professor who dislikes science and tries to instill in his children a love of art and music. So Robert and his wife Vina (Glynis Johns) are dismayed to discover that their eight-year-old son Erasmus (Billy Mumy) is tone-deaf and color-blind; what's worse, he has a genius-level talent for mathematics. Robert isn't sure what to do about Erasmus, but while his older sister Pandora (Cindy Carol) puts his skills to work by getting him to do her homework, his older friend Kenneth (Fabian) has a better idea. Kenneth and Erasmus come up with a foolproof plan for picking the winners in horse racing -- so foolproof that it draws the attention of two con men, Upjohn (John Williams) and Argyle (Jesse White), who want to use Erasmus's skills to clean up at the track. Robert at first refuses, and then relents only when they agree to use a cut of the proceeds to endow a humanities scholarship, though Robert is about the only one surprised when the men prove not to be good to their word. Meanwhile, Erasmus is head over heels in love with French screen siren Brigitte Bardot -- so much so that he's been writing her love letters. In return, the lucky boy has received an invitation to come meet her, and Robert and Erasmus use some of their racetrack winnings to fly to Paris and take her up on her offer. Nunnally Johnson, who received no credit, contributed to the screenplay; Miss Bardot, of course, plays herself (who else could?). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This horror film is an updated remake of the 1919 classic tale of horror and domination. This time a deeply troubled woman must go to a spooky, ramshackle old manse after her car breaks down. The owner takes her in and then subjects her to numerous humiliating torments. Just before she is to die, the woman awakens from the nightmare and then remembers that she is in a mental hospital and that the sadistic host in her dream is really her doctor. Noted author Robert Bloch penned the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Fred Zinnemann was riding a crest in the '50s with movies like High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma, and his success continues in this western-style drama set in Australia in the 1920s. Ida Carmody (Deborah Kerr) is married to Paddy (Robert Mitchum), a sheep drover whose nomadic existence makes him blissfully content. Neither Ida nor their son Sean share his love for roaming, in fact, Ida convinces her husband to take on a job as a sheep-shearer so they can finally have enough to get a mortgage on a farm. At first Paddy agrees but obviously does not know his own mind because in no time at all, he rebels -- though that is not the end of it. Peter Ustinov is also featured as Vanneker, a bachelor who comes to stay with the family, and Glynis Johns plays a hotelkeeper out to change Vanneker's non-marital status. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Lana Turner stars as Sara Scott, an American war correspondent whose whirlwind romance with a young British journalist (Sean Connery) ends in tragedy when his plane crashes while covering an assignment. After recovering from a nervous breakdown, Sara tries to come to terms with her grief by visiting her lover's widow (Glynis Johns). Based on the novel Weep No More by Lenore Coffee, Another Time, Another Place did excellent box-office business thanks to the concurrent real-life scandal involving the death of Turner's gangster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato at the hands of her teenage daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this location-filmed domestic seriocomedy, Rosanno Brazzi and Glynis Johns play an accountant and his new wife, honeymooning in Monte Carlo. With the casino in full view and ready for action, the couple would be remiss if they didn't give the gaming tables a try. Besides, Brazzi is certain that he's worked out a "system." Sure enough, the couple's marriage suffers mightily as the lure of the casino becomes stronger than their devotion to each other. Based on a story by Graham Greene, Loser Takes All was remade in 1990 as Strike It Rich, with Robert Lindsay and Mollie Ringwald. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Glynis Johns and Cameron Mitchell are top-billed in All Mine to Give, but they're out of the picture halfway through. Johns and Mitchell play a Scottish couple, Mamie and Robert, living in the American wilderness of the mid-19th century. Robert dies, whereupon Mamie takes on the responsibility of raising their six children. And when she succumbs to illness, it is the oldest child, Robbie (Rex Thompson, who'd previously played Louis Leonowens in The King And I), who takes on the challenge of finding homes for his siblings on Christmas Day. Based on a true story, All Mine to Give has heart-tugging potential, but the script isn't up to the performances. One year before its American release, the film was distributed in Great Britain under the title The Day They Gave Babies Away. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi