Richard Caldicot Movies

Director Bob Rafelson fulfilled a lifelong dream when he finally received backing to complete Mountains of the Moon. The film recreates the exploratory adventures of 19th century visionaries Sir Richard Burton (Patrick Bergin) and John Henning Speke (Iain Glen). The heart of the film is the effort by Burton and Speke to discover the true source of the Nile river. This occurs well into the film, after several torturous scenes involving the injuries sustained by the protagonists during other expeditions and their growing friendship (which, the film intimates, goes far beyond friendship). Rafaelson's fascination with this story, and his insistence upon painstaking historical accuracy, unfortunately compromises his ability to make an interesting film. There are so many starts and stops during the first half that we sincerely hope Burton and Speke will chuck it all and set up a pub in Bristol or something. What saves Mountains of the Moon is the rapport between its stars and the brilliant, epic-like cinematography of Roger Deakins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British "Adventures Of..." series can be described as a dirtier "Carry On" (if such a thing is possible). Christopher Neil plays the title character in 1987's Adventures of a Private Eye. Neil's life is plunged into peril when he agrees to deal with a blackmailer. To achieve his purposes, our hero is obliged to make love to every beautiful girl he meets; it's meant to be satirical, but the laughs often take second place to the heavy breathing. If nothing else, Adventures of a Private Eye treats us to a performance by the delectable 1960s leading lady Suzy Kendall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comical Italian murder mystery, family members congregate at a British estate for the reading of a will. As in many mysteries before it, the attendees are murdered off one by one until only a soprano for the Metropolitan opera remains. In the end, Scotland Yard convinces her to confess because they know that she hid the second will she discovered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the fourth episode of a five-part story arc, the Clampett family is still at large in merrie olde England (where this episode was filmed). Jethro has fallen in love with Sandy McGregor (Ilona Rodgers), a beautiful Scottish lassie. Unfortunately, the rest of the family has become convinced that Sandy's hulking brother Emlyn -- who, of course, wears kilts -- is the object of Jethro's affections. Emlyn is played by David Prowse, nearly a decade before the actor's star-making turn as Darth Vader in Star Wars. "Coming Through the Rye" originally aired on October 16, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a five-part story arc, banker Drysdale is still trying to convince the Clampetts to leave their ancestral castle in England and return to Beverly Hills. When all else fails, Drysdale deploys "scare tactics" by convincing the hillbillies that their castle is haunted. To make certain that they believe him, Drysdale equips the castle with all manner of pre-recorded moans and fabricated poltergeists. Filmed on location in England, "The Ghost of Clampett Castle" first aired on October 23, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season seven of The Beverly Hillbillies began on September 25, 1968, with an echo of the series' sixth-season opener. In "A Bundle for Britain," the Clampetts return to England, where Jed owns a rather sizeable castle. This time, they're on an errand of mercy: Mistakenly believing that the British Commonwealth has gone broke, the hillbillies are prepared to give their entire fortune -- $80 million -- to Queen Elizabeth. Alan Mowbray guest stars as Montrose, while Richard Caldicot reprises his role as Faversham. "A Bundle for Britain" was the first episode in a five-part story arc. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hit with an enormous inheritance tax, Jed decides to close down Clampett Castle in England and return to America. But Jethro has not yet divested himself of the British influence, and before long, he is roaming around LA's Griffith Park dressed as Robin Hood, determined to rob from the rich and give to the poor in the company of his "Merrie Men," Elly May, and Bessie the Chimp. The fun really begins with Jethro "captures" a pair of hippies named Buddy (Alan Reed Jr.) and Stella (Laurel Goodwin). Originally telecast on September 27, 1967, "Robin Hood of Griffith Park" was the conclusion of a four-part story arc, and the beginning of a new two-part comic adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally broadcast in England on November 12, 1967, this episode of The Prisoner was written by Anthony Skene and directed by "Joseph Serf" --- actually a pseudonym for series star Patrick McGoohan. Arising from his slumbers early one morning, Number Six discovers that the Village is deserted and all the power has been shut off. At last able to make his escape, Number Six fashions a raft and sets out to sea. Washing up on the shore of what seems to be a familiar English coastal village, he finds that his old lodgings have been taken over by a Mrs. Butterworth (Georgina Cookson), whose behavior does not set his heart at ease. Hoping to return to his former government headquarters to inform his superiors of the Village's existence, the prisoner is plunged into a deep and ever-widening pit of paranoia, with no certainty as to whom he can trust and whom he should fear. Donald Sinden and Patrick Cargill guest star as the Colonel and Thorpe, respectively. "Many Happy Returns" first aired in America on July 20, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

You Must be Joking? draws its laughs from an Army endurance test. Over a 48-hour period, five officers in the British army-including American transplant Michael Callan-must wend their way through a maze, retrieve a hood ornament from a Rolls Royce and steal a lock of hair from beauteous pop singer Gabriella Licudi. There's a big prize in store for the officer who finishes the test first, and since the other contestant include such middle-aged huffers and puffers as Lionel Jeffries and Denholm Elliot, it doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out who the victor will be. Director Michael Winner was still in his "mad mod" period when he lensed the wacky goings-on of You Must Be Joking? His Death Wish pictures of the 1970s were in 1965 as remote as another galaxy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Terrence Rattigan, the playwright who brought us the multicharactered, multistoried Separate Tables, again offers us an episodic cross-section of humanity in The V.I.P.'s. When a heavy London fog paralyzes all air traffic, the lives of several people are profoundly affected. As indicated by the title, most of the characters in this portmanteau film are of the social and/or financial elite. Elizabeth Taylor wishes to leave her enormously wealthy husband Richard Burton in favor of playboy Louis Jourdan. Peripatetic European film producer Orson Welles is hoping to escape London with his newest protegee Elsa Martinelli in order to avoid paying his income tax. Australian businessman Rod Taylor, accompanied by his devoted (and adoring) secretary Maggie Smith, is anxious to head to New York to stave off a hostile takeover of his firm. And impoverished aristocrat Margaret Rutherford (who won an Oscar for her performance) would rather not go to Florida to accept a job as a social arbiter, but the wolf must be kept from the door. Before the fog disperses, you can be sure that at least one of the many plotlines will intersect with another. David Frost, in a tiny part as a reporter, was fond of recalling in later years that, while the major stars of The VIPS were introduced in the opening titles with animated limousines, he was consigned a tiny Volkswagen; alas, no such cartoon joke appears in the film, though on occasion the actors-particularly Mr. Welles-behave as though they were cartoons. Mercilessly skewered by the critics, The VIPS was a winner at the box-office, due in great part to the Cleopatra-inspired publicity concerning the top-billed Liz Taylor and Dick Burton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this courtroom melodrama, a single woman, born of an unwed mother, allows a solicitor to contest her mother's will. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide