Alfred Burke Movies
Alfred Burke exemplifies poet Dylan Thomas' famous line: "Old age should burn and rage at close of day." Years past his 80th birthday, Burke signed on to play Professor Armando Dippet in the second Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The move was daring, for it risked turning Burke into an icon of Potter zealots more than 70 years his junior -- and possibly even into a Dippet Doll for sale at Christmas. Such attention would make it difficult for him to find time to slouch into the oblivious comfort of an armchair before a fireplace, cup of tea in hand, as most octogenarians are wont to do. But of course, Burke has never been one to slouch. He's been acting since the 1930s in a diversity of challenging roles such as Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in The House on Garibaldi Street, Jewish moneylender Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Karol Wojtyla's father in Pope John Paul II, the prisoner Alyosha in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and shopkeeper Lurgan Sahib in Kim. Testifying to his ability to portray characters convincingly was this BBC report: While Burke was playing the Rev. Patrick Brontë in a 1973 TV series about the Brontë sisters, tourist visits to the Brontë parsonage soared to an unprecedented number -- 250,000 -- that year. Burke was born on February 28, 1918, in the Peckham district of London, England. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he performed regularly in stage, film, and television productions. However, not until 1965 did he gain widespread recognition in the U.K. That was the year he began portraying Frank Marker, a shabby detective working out of a small office in the TV series Public Eye, which won critical acclaim, awards, and the admiration of millions of viewers during its ten-year run. Burke also appeared frequently in another hit TV series, The Avengers. Throughout his career, Burke has had a penchant for playing policemen, clerics, military officers, and others who carry a badge or wear a uniform. For example, in military roles, he has played a rear admiral (Longitude), a major (Enemy at the Door), a captain (No Time to Die), a lieutenant-colonel (Amère Victoirè), and a petty officer (Yangtse Incident). In clerical and police roles, he has portrayed a pope (The Borgias), a minister (The Brontës of Haworth), a detective superintendent (The Night Caller), and an inspector (20,000 Pound Kiss). Remarkably, Burke has also found time to perform Shakespeare. In 1949, theatergoers saw him as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Nottingham Playhouse and as Roderigo in Othello at the Embassy Theatre in London. Forty-seven years later, in 1996, he played Egeus in a film production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Then in 2000, he played John of Gaunt in Richard II with the Royal Shakespeare Company. A year later, at age 83, he played Escalus in Romeo and Juliet, another Royal Shakespeare Company production. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Set in London, this three-part British miniseries was adapted by Gerald Seymour from his own novel. A visiting Israeli scientist was targeted for assassination by two different terrorist organizations: one Irish, one Arab. After working at cross-purposes for an extended length of time, the hired killers from both factions decided to join forces to carry out their murderous assignment. American actors Rod Steigerand Anthony Perkins headed the cast of The Glory Boys, which originally aired over Yorkshire Television from October 1-3, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Filmed in Rome and Austria on a budget of $5 million, the made-for-TV biopic Pope John Paul II stars Albert Finney, making his American TV debut as the Polish-born Pontiff. The film begins in 1938, when teen-aged Karol Wojtyla (Michael Crompton), a would-be actor, decides instead to enter the priesthood. Played from age 26 onward by Finney, Wojtyla spends the war years in the Polish anti-Nazi movement. He continues battling for his beliefs with the Communist-ruled Polish government in the postwar years. In 1978, Wojtyla is elected to succeed Pope John Paul I, thereby becoming the first non-Italian pope in four centuries. Pope John Paul II was written with reverence and intelligence by Christopher Knopf; it was originally telecast April 22, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Unlike the more succinct 1950 MGM version, the 1984 TV movie adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Kim (filmed on location in India) takes its own sweet time establishing characters and exposition. You'll have to stay with the film for its first half hour to determine who is who and what is what, but the end result is worth the effort. Ravi Sheth stars as Kim, a street orphan in Lahore, India during the height of the British Raj. Kim's amazing adventures get under way the moment he learns that he's actually the son of a British soldier. One such exploit involves horse trader Bryan Brown (playing a character essayed by Errol Flynn in the 1950 film), who uses Kim as a spy for the British against Russian infiltrators in the Himalayas. The big-money act in Kim is Peter O'Toole as a wizened Buddhist monk. O'Toole's acting is impeccable, though his false beard and bald wig make him resemble the woebegone hermit who always shows up in the opening credits of Monty Python's Flying Circus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Based on a true story, this made-for-TV spy movie chronicles the 1960 capture of a Nazi in South America. When Israeli agents find out that Nazi Adolph Eichmann survived the war and is living in Argentina, they hatch a plan to kidnap him and bring him to trial for his crimes. Martin Balsam portrays Isser Harel, who wrote the book that served as the basis for this film. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
The Brontes were one of England's most remarkable literary families. Sisters Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, and Anne Bronte published a collective volume of poetry in 1846, and the following year all three penned novels that went on achieve tremendous critical and commercial success: Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, Emily was the author of Wuthering Heights, and Anne created Agnes Gray. The Brontes of Haworth is a miniseries produced for British television which examines the personal and literary lives of these three remarkable siblings, as well as their brother Branwell Bronte, who also went on to become a respected poet. Vickery Turner plays Charlotte, Ann Penfold portrays Anne, Rosemary McHale appears as Emily, and Michael Kitchen rounds out the cast as Branwell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel about brutal individual survival in a Russian labor camp in the 1950s is brought to the screen in this stark and spare adaptation by director Caspar Wrede, writer Ronald Harwood, and cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Tom Courtenay is Ivan, who is a prisoner in the eighth year of a ten-year sentence at a Siberian labor camp. Ivan's day consists of small accomplishments that enable Ivan to retain his humanity during conditions of extreme oppression -- he does not get sick, he grabs an extra smoke, he discovers a saw, and he helps to work on a concrete wall. When he prepares for sleep, Ivan is contented that the guards have not beaten him and that he has gotten through the day in one piece. And tomorrow morning, Ivan must start all over again. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Courtenay, Espen Skjønberg, (more)
- 1968
The Secret of Boyne Castle stars Kurt Russell as an American exchange student in Ireland. Russell and his Irish friend Patrick Dawson find themselves waist-deep in intrigue when they get involved with a defecting Iron Curtain scientist. After a wild chase through the Hibernian countryside, Russell and Dawson are trapped by enemy agents, who hope to hoodwink the boys into revealing the location of a secret message in their possession. The Secret of Boyne Castle was first shown in British theatres as the feature-length Guns in the Heather. It was then converted into a three-part installment of TV's Wonderful World of Disney, which was telecast in the US on February 9, 16, and 23 1969. A few years later, the project was rebroadcast under the title Spy Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Glenn Corbett, (more)
- 1966
Though its title suggests a spoof of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., this Avengers episode actually concerns a young woman named Georgie Price-Jones (Liz Fraser), who for reasons unknown is pretending to be Emma Peel. This is annoying enough, but when several people of Georgie's acquaintance turn up dead, things really take a nasty turn. Meanwhile, the real Emma Peel is in the clutches of a mercenary art dealer, who intends to auction her off to the highest bidder. Chock full of clever inside jokes and snappy one-liners, "The Girl from Auntie" was written by Roger Marshall; it was first shown in England on January 22, 1966, and in America on June 6 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg
In this British sci-fi thriller, a spacecraft from Ganymede, the moon of Jupiter, lands in a small community, and the alien visitors set out to find women. It seems that their population has become dangerously low and they need human females for breeding purposes. When the police begin receiving reports of a number of missing women, it takes quite some time before anyone thinks that there could be a link between the disappearances and a dramatic increase in UFO activities. John Saxon plays Jack Costain, an American scientist investigating the UFO reports, while Alfred Burke plays Police Detective Hartley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Maurice Denham, (more)
In this thriller (which represented something of a departure for Hammer Films, noted for their gothic period pieces), Joey Fane (William Dix) has returned home after two years in an institution for mentally ill children. His sister drowned, and his family believes that Joey was to blame, despite his claims of innocence. Joey is convinced that the family's Nanny (Bette Davis) was responsible and refuses to have anything to do with her, but only neighbor girl Bobby (Pamela Franklin) agrees that there's something sinister about the woman minding the house. When Joey's neurotic mother Virginia (Wendy Craig) nearly dies after eating tainted food prepared by the Nanny, Virginia's sister Penelope (Jill Bennett) comes by to help. Penelope soon witnesses the bad blood between Joey and the Nanny, though before long she begins to think that the boy might be right about her after all. Jimmy Sangster adapted the screenplay from a novel by Evelyn Piper. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, (more)
- 1963
Based on a BBC television program, this underworld drama set in London's Soho district created a different sort of role for star Anthony Newley, normally a performer associated with light musical comedy. Newley is the titular character, the master of ceremonies at a sleazy strip club owned by Gerry (Robert Stephens). Sammy owes a substantial amount of money to a bookie, Fred (Kennth J. Warren), and has only five hours to pay off the debt, but he strikes out with his deli-owner brother Lou (Warren Mitchell). Desperately trying to raise the money before Fred's goons rough him up, Sammy is forced to help a naïve young girl, Patsy (Julia Foster), who shows up to the club ready to strip -- based on Sammy's outrageous claims and promises at an earlier meeting. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Newley, Julia Foster, (more)
This comedy features a 12-step Program for habitual hoods. The recovering criminal takes a job as a department store Santa, and again finds himself confronted with temptation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This sequel to the 1960 Village of The Damned falls short of the original well-made Sci-Fi shocker. The pretentious attempt to give the film a moral message severely weakens the plot and serves to confuse the fans of the previous film. Beautiful, strange children with genius IQ's, destructive dispositions, and ray-gun eyes, who were invaders bent on overtaking the earth in the former tale, are now a sample of mankind's future sent to the earth for the purpose of being destroyed in order to teach the present-day warlike man a lesson of some sort. Plagued with a tedious and unimaginative plot. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, (more)
- 1963
With a title like Farewell Performance, it's a safe wager that this British film has a showbiz theme. And that it does: Alfred Burke plays a wild animal trainer, married to beautiful but faithless Delphi Lawrence. When her pop-star lover is murdered, Delphi tries to solve the mystery herself. Shall we tell her? Featured in Farewell Performance are such real-life variety acts as The Tornadoes and Tommy Devel And Partner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
20,000 Pound Kiss was the 45th of 47 British second features based on the works of Edgar Wallace, all released between 1960 and 1963. The film jams quite a lot of plot into its 57 minutes, starting off with an extortion scheme. A man of limited means is told to ante up 20,000 pounds or face public exposure as a philanderer. Murder inevitably follows. 20,000 Pound Kiss was filmed at the Merton Park headquarters of producer Jack Greenwood; its release in America was confined to a TV package titled The Edgar Wallace Mysteries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
One's enjoyment of On the Beat rests solely upon one's tolerance of British comedian Norman Wisdom, who can be described as a Jerry Lewis without the discipline. Wisdom plays a Scotland Yard parking attendant who seemingly can't draw breath without breaking something or knocking someone down. He wants to become a detective, but the Yard isn't quite ready for such a catastrophe. He proves his worth--and wreaks more havoc--by going undercover and trapping a gang of jewel thieves. The slapstick is serviceable in On the Beat; as for the "serious" moments, Wisdom's notion of pathos is to scream at the top of his lungs. You may want to join him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Jennifer Jayne, (more)
- 1962
The "gimmick" in this Avengers episode is a rare postage stamp. When a famed stamp collector is killed, Steed and Cathy head to a philatelic convention, where the aforementioned stamp is about to be auctioned off for a ridiculously low price. The convention turns out to be a front for a radical organization bent on taking over the world. Written by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, "The Mauritius Penny" made its British TV debut on November 10, 1962; it was not seen in America until February 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this drama, set after the end of WW II, a young man returns to his father's small Bavarian village and is dismayed to learn that he died after he married a young woman and escaped from the communists. The young man listens, but he believes there is more to the story, and so begins looking into it himself. He then discovers that an important scientist has exchanged places with his father. The woman and another are planning to sneak the doctor to the east, but the son intervenes and helps the scientist escape the country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In a different type of comedy-drama based on a play by Mike Watts, director Peter Graham Scott looks at life in a British prison. Rainbow (Paul Massie) has just been sent into the slammer for a year for duking it out in a brutal fight over his girlfriend Wendy (Carole Lesley). He knows he is in for a miserable time of it, so much so that after being assigned kitchen duty he joins up with the rest of his co-workers in wheeling and dealing the food they can snitch for various sundries stolen from other parts of the prison's supply chain. This racket is well-organized, but one day its prime mover is framed and threatened with an extended sentence unless Rainbow can come up with a way to save him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Fraser, Paul Massie, (more)
- 1962
In this confusing drama, the IRA, intrigue, psychiatric analysis, and a young man framed for murder are thrown together in a series of events that were perhaps originally intended to highlight the psychological aspects of the case under study. One night, eighteen-year-old Harry Jukes (British rock 'n roller Adam Faith in his first dramatic role) is driving down a deserted country road when he gets a flat tire. A policeman stops to help him out when a truck drives by, and the next thing Harry knows, the policeman is lying dead on the road and Harry is literally holding a smoking gun in his hand. From there to his arrest and trial is a brief hop, skip, and then a jump into prison to await his execution. His lawyer thinks he did it, but his psychiatrist (Anne Baxter) disagrees -- and sets out to prove she is right. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Baxter, Donald Sinden, (more)
- 1961
Having recently left The Avengers, Ian Hendry (aka Dr. Keel) is conspicuous by his absence in this episode. Going it alone this time around, Steed is assigned to a spacecraft center where radiation shields are being manufactured. One of the scientists has somehow been exposed to radiation, and it is up to Steed to determine whether this was by accident or design. Videotaped several months before its telecast, "Dragonsfield" was written by Terrence Feeley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
On special assignment during WW1, German officer Wilhelm Reitlinger (played by horror-movie icon Christopher Lee) makes the acquaintance of an oddball farmer named Klaus Karnak (Martin Balsam). Claiming to have the power of teleportation, Karnak agrees to "will" Reitlinger's soul to his home town so that he can check up on his sweetheart. Upon his arrival, Reitlinger commits a murder--but of course, since he couldn't possibly be in two places at once, nobody believes his protestations of guilt. Ultimately, the conscience-stricken Reitlinger has no other option than to commit a second murder so he'll be punished for the first. This is one of several One Step Beyond episodes filmed in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A business partner, desperate to milk some kind of profit from his failing cosmetics business, turns to arson with deadly results when he inadvertently immolates his partner while trying to destroy the factory. Still he succeeds in getting the insurance money. He then gets greedy and decides to do the same thing to his late partner's lovely daughter. Fortunately, an intrepid insurance investigator is on the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this Edgar Wallace mystery, the trouble begins when a Rhodesian jewel thief kills a policeman and simply disappears. Now it is up to an intrepid detective, a former cop, to solve the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
