Edward Burnham Movies

Zsa Zsa Gabor essentially plays herself in the role of Sonya Lamor, glamorous neighbor of the Banks family. During a dinner party, some of the Bankses' silverware disappears--and Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) suspect the flamboyant Sonya of being a kleptomaniac. Even so, when the cops arrive, it is poor Will who is innocently caught with the goods! Not surprisingly, this 1991 episode does not pass up the opportunity of referencing Zsa Zsa's recent run-in with a traffic cop. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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

This disappointing, pretentious farce by writer and director Peter Ustinov, who also stars as the incompetent but powerful Abki Aga, is based on a novel by Yashar Kemal about Memed (Simon Dutton) a man who escapes into the Turkish hills with the woman he loves (Leonie Mellinger), a woman already betrothed to the nephew of the region's governor (Aga). Even though Memed joins a band of brigands he is not successful when he first tries to kill Aga, who lords it over five different villages and has a sizeable army, and so he tries again. Unfortunately, Turkey is not only the setting, but an apt descriptive term for this 105-minute film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Coming Out of the Ice stars John Savage as the real-life Victor Herman, an American athlete born to Ukrainian immigrants. In 1931, when Herman was sixteen, he and his family moved to the Soviet Union when his father was transferred there for his job with Ford Motor Company. Four years later, Victor won the world parachute jump competition, but refused to accept an award bestowed by Josef Stalin or to renounce his American citizenship. Presumably as a result, Herman was sentenced to hard labor and then exile in Siberia; he would not be cleared of "counterrevolutionary" charges until 1955. He eventually returned to the United States nearly 45 years after he was first imprisoned. Filmed in Finland, Coming Out the Ice was first telecast on May 23, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second episode of the four-part story "Robot," the Doctor (Tom Baker) tries to help the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) solve a series of crimes, all related to the disappearance of a new disintegrator gun. The Doctor's companion, Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen), believes that a robot is responsible for the crime wave -- and this insight may prove fatal to her. First telecast on January 4, 1975, "Robot, Episode 2" was written by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the third episode of the four-part story "Robot," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) has discovered that the robot which stole a new disintegrator gun had been programmed to do so by Hilda Winters (Patricia Maynard), director of the research organization Think Tank. It was the organization's intention to use the gun, and the robot, to start a nuclear war, and then emerge as conquerors of the devastated world. Will the Doctor be able to thwart this scheme -- and will Sarah be able to escape death at the hands of the robot? First telecast on January 11, 1975, "Robot, Episode 2" was written by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This historical drama is an account of the early life of Winston Churchill (Simon Ward), including his childhood years, his time as a war correspondent in Africa, and culminating with his first election to Parliament. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Long thought dead, the victim of a horrible accident, Dr. Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) still lives, surrounded by art-deco bric-a-brac and attended by mute beauty Vulnavia (Virginia North). Outwardly normal in appearance, Phibes actually wears a rubber mask, covering his hideously deformed countenance; giving away the artifice is the fact that, when he dines, he takes his food through his neck rather than his mouth. Able to speak only when plugging a wire into his damaged vocal chords, Phibes elucidates his plan to murder the medical team whom he holds responsible for the death of his wife. Each of the killings is patterned after the ten deadly plagues. Phibes saves his worst for last: trapping chief surgeon Dr. Vesalius in his lair, Phibes forces the hapless medico into a race against time to save the life of his own son. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During the excavation of an old Norman church, several top archeologists are killed. Upon further investigation, Steed and Tara discover that the dead men had been sapped of all their energy. The cause of this phenomenon is a tiny black box containing a deadly supercharge of electricity, which in turn has spawned a race of omniverous pure-energy creatures, bent on destroying all of England. Written by Terry Nation, "Thingumajig" first aired in America on March 24, 1969, then in England on April 2 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the fourth episode of the eight-part story "The Invasion," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) are rescued from sinister electronics executive Tobias Vaughn (Kevin Stoney) by an old friend, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney). Now aligned with a group called U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), the Brigadier elicits the Doctor's aid in preventing Vaughn from taking over the world. But the villain is equipped with an "army" of his own -- comprised of the Doctor's perennial enemies, the Cybermen. "The Invasion, Episode 4" was originally shown on November 23, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the seventh episode of the eight-part story "The Invasion," villainous electronics executive Tobias Vaughn (Kevin Stoney) has crippled London's computer system, leaving the city defenseless as the Cyberman prepare their final assault. Even without any computers at their disposal, the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) hope to alert the rest of the world of London's plight. And what of the Doctor's companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury)? Originally shown on December 14, 1968, "The Invasion, Episode 7" apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The gap between the British and American telecast of the individual Avengers episodes narrowed considerably during the series' fifth season; this episode appeared on American television a scant six days after its British TV debut. Steed and Peel investigate the mysterious deaths of several top figures in the ceramics business. It turns out that all of the victims were literally frightened to death. . .and guess which leather-clad female secret agent is next on the villains' "scare" list. Written by Philip Levene, "The Fear Merchants" features a choice performance by Patrick Cargill, best known to American viewers for his work in the Beatles' theatrical film Help! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi