Patrick McGoohan Movies
An American-born actor reared in Ireland and England, McGoohan made a memorable impression on the American and English viewing audiences by playing essentially the same role in three different television series. He began his performing career as a teen-ager, eventually played Henry V for the Old Vic company in London, and made mostly unremarkable films in the '50s. His movies include the delightful Disney film The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964). Success came in 1961, when McGoohan played government agent John Drake in Danger Man, a role he continued on Secret Agent (1965-66). He created, produced and often wrote episodes of the nightmarish, surrealistic cult series The Prisoner (1968-69). This show featured a character assumed to be the same John Drake (although he was known as Number 6 and his real name was never mentioned), who had been kidnapped and taken to a strange community. McGoohan later starred in the TV series Rafferty (1977) and directed the film Catch My Soul (1974). He won an Emmy Award in 1975 for his guest appearance on Columbo with Peter Falk. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1955
The British The Dam Busters is the story of the development and utilization of the "bouncing bombs" in World War II. Michael Redgrave stars as Dr. Barnes Wallis, who developed these unorthodox explosives. Wallis' invention is put to practical use during the British raid on the Ruhr Dams in Germany. Most of the film is devoted to the two years spent in creating the bombs and training the pilots; the final sequence is a special-effects masterpiece, even allowing for the obvious models standing in for the dams. Adapted by R.C. Sherriff from both Guy Gibson's book Enemy Coast Ahead and Paul Brickhill's The Dam Busters, this film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, (more)
- 1955
Julie Harris repeats her stage portrayal of the irrepressible Sally Bowles in John Van Druten's I Am a Camera. Set in pre-Hitler Berlin, the film details the curious, chaste relationship between Sally, an entertainer at a bawdy nightclub, and fledgling writer Christopher Isherwood (Lawrence Harvey). Shelley Winters co-stars as Natalia Landauer, whose impending marriage to a wealthy young Jewish man is imperiled by the anti-Semitism which envelops Berlin as the Nazis gain political power. If all this sounds familiar to you, it is because I Am a Camera is the non-musical precursor to the Broadway musical hit Cabaret. Both properties were based on Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories. Those familiar with the film version of Cabaret will notice that certain plot elements have been watered down in Camera. Examples: Isherwood's homosexuality is left unmentioned, save for Lawrence Harvey's opaque opening comment that he is "a confirmed bachelor;" and Sally Bowles' third-act abortion is changed into a false-alarm pregnancy. Also, Julie Harris' dynamic but rather overbaked interpretation of Sally is not nearly as memorable as Liza Minelli's Oscar-winning interpretation of the character in Cabaret. Still, I Am a Camera is well directed and deftly adapted for the screen (by John Collier); and even taking into consideration Ms. Harris' hamminess, she remains one of the most fascinating stage personalities of the mid-20th century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Harris, Laurence Harvey, (more)
- 1955
A Richard Armstrong novel was the source for the British sea melodrama Passage Home. Set in 1931, the film takes place aboard a merchant ship, briefly harbored in South America. A young woman (Diane Cilento) boards the ship as a passenger, resulting in disharmony among the superstitious crew members. Virtuous seaman Anthony Steel protects the girl from the lecherous advances of captain Peter Finch. The film's predictable highlight is an outsized sea storm, during which a besotted Finch struggles to stay sober long enough to keep everyone from falling overboard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
The Dark Avenger was the European-release title of the Errol Flynn swashbuckler The Warriors; 20th Century-Fox handled European distribution, while Allied Artists released the film stateside. Lensed on location in Hertfordshire, England, the film stars Flynn as Edward, the "Black Prince" of England. At the end of the Hundred Years' war, Edward remains in France to guard the lands taken by his predecessor-father. He is opposed in this by the heavy of the piece, Count DeVille (Peter Finch). The story comes to a rousing conclusion as Edward and his followers defend their castle against DeVille's minions. Joanne Dru costars in Dark Avenger as Lady Joan Holland, who like Count DeVille is wholly a product of screenwriter Daniel B. Ullman's imagination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru, (more)
- 1956
In this desert adventure, a bandit chieftain roams the northwest deserts of India. Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of ruin and raped women. A British major is assigned to capture the bandit and his gang. He succeeds, but soon the bandit, with the assistance of a sadistic nomad, escapes. The raiders then head for a British garrison where more bloodshed ensues as they begin slaughtering the hapless soldiers. The nomad captures the colonel and begins torturing him. The bandit, who has grown to respect his British adversary, sacrifices his own life to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1957
In this efficient British crime drama, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is an ex-con looking for honest work. He thinks he's found it when he takes a job as a truck driver, but he soon discovers that the trucking firm he's signed on with is not playing by the rules. Red (Patrick McGoohan), the company's best driver, and Cartley (William Hartnell), the manager, have created five fictional drivers who have been added to the payroll. The other staff drivers are given the shifts that the phony drivers are supposed to be working, while Red and Cartley divide their pay packets. When Tom attempts to expose the corruption at the trucking firm, he soon discovers that he's taken his life in his hands in the process. Keep an eye peeled for a supporting performance by a young Sean Connery (it was only his fifth screen role); the cast also includes Herbert Lom, Jill Ireland, Peggy Cummins, and David McCallum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1957
A rugged, isolated island off the coast of Nova Scotia provides the setting for this drama. Much of the island is owned by one person, the other inhabitants, primarily lobster fishermen, rent from him. One of the lobster men begins romancing the wealthy owner's daughter and marries her. After the wedding, the bride is disturbed to learn that her hubby is a compulsive gambler who quickly squanders their small savings. The impoverished couple has no choice but to leave the island and live on the mainland. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Sylvester, Michael Craig, (more)
- 1958
In this romantic comedy, a young woman spends all her time caring for her ailing mother. The one bright spot in her life is her African pen pal. Her mother finally dies, and the woman immediately sets off for Africa to meet the pen pal. There she finds that he is too busy chasing elephants to notice her. Instead she ends up falling for his brother.The two brothers find themselves entangled in various adventures involving African wildlife. The film was shot on location in Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Lee, Michael Craig, (more)
- 1958
Greek actress Melina Mercouri made her English-language film debut in The Gypsy and the Gentleman. Mercouri plays tempestuous gypsy girl Belle, while the "gentleman" is Sir Paul Deverill (Keith Michell). Escaping an arranged marriage, Sir Paul weds the bewitching Belle,who intends to take him for every penny he's got, then move on to other lovers. Imagine her disappointment when she discovers that her prize catch is flat broke. All sorts of bizarre complications ensue, including the kidnapping of an heiress (June Laverick) by Belle's gypsy compadres. Gypsy and the Gentleman was directed by American expatriate Joseph Losey, whose British film career wouldn't truly get off the ground until his collaborations with Harold Pinter in the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melina Mercouri, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
- 1960
Patrick McGoohan starred in this weekly, half-hour actioner as NATO agent John Drake. Danger Man ran in the U.S. from April 5 through September 13, 1961. The series was followed four years later by a more popular 60-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Special agent John Drake heads out to stop enemy spies in this episode of a popular BBC espionage series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Secret Agent John Drake investigates the surfeit of American money on the international market in this episode of the popular BBC spy series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this episode from the popular BBC spy series, agent Drake looks into the supposed suicide of a prominent financier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this episode of the popular BBC spy series, Agent Drake must find the killer of a prominent American financier. If he fails, NATO could be destroyed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Two Living, One Dead examines the pitfalls of hero worship, and the culpability of the media in fostering misguided adulation. A robbery and murder is committed in a British pub, during which Bill Travers, a friend of the dead man, apparently acts with rare courage. His companion Patrick McGoohan, also apparently, did not lift a finger to help during the holdup. Travers is lauded publicly as a hero, while McGoohan is condemned as a coward. When the truth comes out, Travers is exposed not only for his feet of clay but for his intimate involvement in the fatal incident. Two Living, One Dead is an undeservedly obscure work from a major British director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
The British All Night Long is Othello to a jazz beat. Paul Harris is the Othello counterpart, a bandleader happily married to "Desdemona" Marti Stevens. Patrick McGoohan plays the film's funky Iago character, who covets Harris' job. McGoohan hopes to unnerve Harris by spreading rumors that Stevens has been unfaithful. Like the 1956 Joe MacBeth, All Night Long can either be taken seriously or as what used to be called 'high camp." Jazz aficionados will appreciate the brief appearances by Dave Brubeck, Johnny Dankworth, Paul Mingus, Tubby Hayes, Charles Mingus, Kenny Napper and several other top musicians. Also showing up in a cameo role is dancing star Geoffrey Holder, who wouldn't make a bad Othello (or Iago) himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, (more)
Brendan Behan, the quixotic, eternally sloshed Irish poet/playwright, peppered his play The Quare Fellow with plenty of "gallows humor." The film version dispenses with most the play's morbid jests, leaving us with a grim, straightforward account of a Dublin death-row prison guard (Patrick McGoohan) and his growing empathy with two condemned prisoners. One could understand the removal of the play's comic elements had the film been made in timorous Hollywood. But since Quare Fellow was financed and produced in Ireland, it seems a inappropriately glum tribute to one of the country's boldest and most brilliant talents. Quare Fellow was directed by American "B" specialist Arthur Dreifuss, who also adapted Behan's play for the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1962
Religion and medical ethics clash in this provocative drama that tells the story of a man prosecuted by the system because he refused to grant his dying daughter badly needed blood transfusions because he had faith that God would miraculously heal her. Unfortunately, the girl dies and now, in addition to dealing with the courts, angry doctors and an embittered wife (who had finally caved-in and signed the papers too late), he must also wrestle with his own conflicting feelings. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Craig, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
Based on a whimsical novel by Paul Gallico, Disney's Three Lives of Thomasina is an imaginative tale of a resourceful cat. Thomasina is the pet of Karen Dotrice, the daughter of taciturn Scottish veterinarian Patrick McGoohan. When Thomasina falls ill, McGoohan coldly diagnoses the cat as suffering from tetanus and declares that the pet must be put out of its misery. As Dotrice and her friends sadly prepare to bury the "dead" Thomasina, backwoods girl Susan Hampshire, who is said to be a witch, shows up and runs off with the kitty corpse. Using equal doses of intuition and love, Hampshire revives Thomasina, who of course wasn't dead at all. While in limbo, Thomasina ascends to Cat Heaven, where her case is heard by the Cat Goddess (this is a wonderful piece of special-effects wizardry, even if you don't like cats). Returned to life, Thomasina has no memory of her previous existence. Thus, the cat runs off in terror when Dotrice sees her again during a torrential downpour. Now it is Dotrice who becomes seriously ill, necessitating a collaboration between the cold, cut-and-dried ministrations of her father and the tender loving care of the "bewitched" Hampshire. As it turns out, Thomasina is the catalyst for both Dotrice's recovery and the film's happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, (more)
This Disney drama, originally broadcast as a three-part TV episode, tells the story of a vicar's double life. Outwardly, he is the model of upstanding citizenship and loyalty to an oppressive British government. But he is also a notorious smuggler who uses his ill-gotten gains to benefit his impoverished village. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Geoffrey Keen, (more)
This follow-up to the 1960 Danger Man TV series was also known as Secret Agent in the U.S. As portrayed by Patrick McGoohan, John Drake, special operative for the British Secret Service, brings his own distinctive style and sense of fair-play to bear upon a variety of daring and dangerous missions full of political intrigue and complex deceptions. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
- 1964
The first episode of the British action/espionage television series Secret Agent is featured on Secret Agent 1. In this episode, secret agent John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) is introduced as he embarks on a special mission. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In the episode on Secret Agent 4, Drake (Patrick McGoohan) must search for the head of a Mid-Eastern spy ring. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Patrick McGoohan plays British secret agent John Drake, who appears in defense of his beloved isle in this episode, titled: "Yesterday's Enemies." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1965
Patrick McGoohan plays British secret agent John Drake in this episode, titled "The Professionals." ~ All Movie Guide
