John Mortimer Movies

War turns two strangers into lovers at a most inopportune moment in this made-for-TV drama based on a true story. Eric Newby (Callum Blue) is a British soldier, who, while on a mission behind enemy lines during World War II, is captured by Axis troops and taken to a makeshift P.O.W. camp located in an abandoned orphanage in Italy. Eric is able to escape easily enough, but soon discovers that German troops are blanketing the area, determined to capture the prisoners who've gotten away. Wanda (Barboura Bonulova), a woman living in a nearby village, takes in the runaway and saves his life by hiding him from the Germans. In order to help Eric disguise himself as a villager, Wanda begins teaching him how to speak Italian; as they spend more time together, Eric and Wanda find themselves falling in love, but the war that brought them together could also tear them apart at any moment. Adapted from Eric Newby's memoirs of his wartime experiences, In Love and War was first aired as part of the award-winning anthology series The Hallmark Hall of Fame. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on time." Luca (played by Charlie Lucas) is a boy living in Florence whose family situation is precarious at best; his mother has died and his father has little time for him. Fortunately, he's a welcome guest with Mary (Joan Plowright), a English woman visiting Italy to soak up European culture. Mary and her friends -- high-toned Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), pretentious Arabella (Judi Dench), American art collector Elsa (Cher) and cheerful lesbian Georgie (Lily Tomlin) -- enjoy the cultured, creative atmosphere of life in Italy, and their initial response to the rise of fascism is to arrange a polite meeting with Mussolini to make sure he and his soldiers mean well. After some time, Luca's father becomes concerned that the boy is soaking up too much British influence and enrolls him in a boarding school in Austria; by the time 1940 rolls around, situations have changed radically for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A production of Britain's Meridian Television, the seven-part miniseries Under the Hammer managed to extract humor and thrills from the auctioning business. Richard Wilson of One Foot in the Grave fame starred as Ben Glazier, an employee of London's art-auction house Klinsky. In each hour-long installment, Ben and his intrepid female assistant Maggie Perowne (Jan Francis) went to great and sometimes ridiculous lengths to authenticate a specific auctioned item. Under the Hammer originally aired in 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After an absence of two years, Rumpole of the Bailey returned to the British airwaves with a sixth season of six new episodes, initially telecast from from October 28 through December 2 1991. The delightfully dishevelled barrister Horace Rumpole (Leo McKern) starts things rolling by defending a chef accused of violating health ordinances in "Rumpole a la Carte", which features a subplot wherein Rumpole's formidable wife Hilda (Marion Mathie) uncharacteristically dallies with her handsome cousion. In "Rumpole and the Summer of Discontent", the client is a trade unionist, and at issue is the right to strike--both in the courtroom and in the Rumpole household. In the next episode, "Rumpole and the Right to Silence", an accused murderer stubbornly refuses to supply Rumpole with evidence that may clear his name. "Rumpole at Sea" finds Rumpole and Hilda reluctant sharing an ocean voyage with the blustery barrister's old nemesis Judge Graves (Robin Bailey), getting mixed up in a missings-person case along the way. In "Rumpole and the Quacks", it is Rumpole's own doctor who is the client, with his colleague Phyllida (Patricia Hodge) as the prosecutor--said Phyllida having a personal score to settle with our hero. The season ends with "Rumpole for the Prosecution", as Rumpole is placed in the unenviable position of prosecuting his old friend Claude (Julian Curry) on a charge of intellectual thievery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by John Mortimer from his own novel, the British miniseries Summer's Lease starred Susan Fleetwood as British housewife Molly Pargeter who, with her family, spent an eventful summer vacation at La Felicita, a villa in Tuscany. Molly had hoped to soak in the local color and revel in the artistic masterpieces all around her, but instead ended up trying to solve a couple of mysteries involving a dried-up water supply and a missing landlord (who turned out to have several shady "friends"). In the process, Molly took up with an old flame, all the while attempting to patch up her tottering marriage to the plodding Hugh Pargeter. Stealing the show (and winning several TV awards in the process) was John Gielgud as Molly's father, Haverford Downs, a libidinous and slightly daft author. First telecast by BBC2 in 1989, the four-part Summer's Lease was subsequently aired in America as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre anthology in the spring of 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A dry spell of nearly four years separated the third and fourth seasons of the internationally popular British legal series Rumpole of the Bailey. Not surprisingly, fans rejoiced when the series finally returned on January 19, 1987, with six new hour-long episodes in the docket. Leo McKern, as ever, heads the cast as the disheveled but brilliant British barrister Horace Rumple, while Marion Mathie takes over from Peggy Bates-Thorpe in the role of Rumple's formidable wife Hilda, better known as "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed." The first case on the Season Four manifest is "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story", in which Rumpole's defense of a businessman charged with attempted murder is muddled up by his domestic problems with Hilda. Episode #2, "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting", finds our hero once more called upon to defend a member of the scurrilous Timson family, even as he endeavors to "break in" his new law pupil Liz Probert (played by Leo McKern's daughter Abigail Kern). In "Rumpole and the Official Secret", his client is a sweet little old lady accused of leaking top-secret government information. In "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow", a case involving a massage-parlor owner accused of procuring is compromised when Rumpole is (in so many words) offered a judgeship. "Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim" finds the feisty barrister in West Germany, defending a British soldier charged with killing a non-com. The season ends appropriately with "Rumpole's Last Case", wherein the strain of his job may have finally forced Rumpole to hang up his wig for good--but not before one final duel of wits with an old enemy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The romantic drama Maschenka is a loose adaptation of a novel by Vladimir Nabokov done in a style reminiscent of a Merchant-Ivory production. Ganin (Cary Elwes) is a Russian refugee fleeing the 1917 Revolution who, at his Berlin boardinghouse, recalls his love for the beautiful Maschenka (Irina Brook). He soon leans what has become of her: she has married Alfyrov, a boarder at the same Berlin residence Ganin is staying at, and she is on her way to rejoin her husband. This knowledge, and the incessant recitation of his memories of old Russia by another boarder (Freddie Jones) send him into a state of reverie. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

John Mortimer's autobiographical play Voyage 'Round My Father was given a class-A TV adaptation in 1984. Mortimer, best known for his Rumpole of the Bailey stories, has fashioned an unexpurgated but affectionate portrait of his highly eccentric lawyer father Clifford Mortimer, played by Sir Laurence Olivier. Alan Bates costars as the younger Mortimer, who must deal with his father's decreasing ability to take care of himself. This was Olivier's second major TV appearance of 1984: the first was King Lear. Filmed in Britain, Voyage 'Round My Father was syndicated to American TV outlets as part of the Mobil Showcase Network series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Two of the British legal comedy-drama series Rumpole of the Bailey serves up six new episodes, initially telecast by ITV1 from May 29 through July 3, 1979. First on the docket is "Rumpole and the Man of God", in which gloriously irreverent barrister Horace Rumpole (Leo McKern) defends a vicar who though accused of shoplifting refuses to offer any defense for his alleged crime; at the same time, Rumpole's old friend George Frobisher (Moray Watson) pays a heavy price for loving neither wisely nor too well. The second episode, "Rumpole and the Case of Identity" finds the title character in court during the Christmas season, defending a man whose alibi on a murder charge depends upon a most untrustworthy witness. A trip to the North Country results in Rumpole exercising his declamatory skills to save an actress from a murder sentence in "Rumpole and the Showfolk". Then in "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast" the lifelong-liberal barrister works on behalf of a notorious racist politician charged with inciting a deadly riot. "Rumpole and the Course of True Love" concerns not only a schoolteacher charged with seducing an unwilling pupil, but also an embarrassing incident in the past life of Rumpole's lovely colleague Phyllida (Patricia Hodge. And in "Rumpole and the Age for Retirement", Rumpole's son Nick urges his father to hang up his wig and move to Maryland (of all places!) after wrapping up his defense of an accused art thief. As a coda of sorts to Season Two, a special two-hour episode, "Rumpole's Return", in which our hero emerges from retirement to tackle a particularly lurid murder case involving a sinister cult, was telecast on December 30, 1980, and has since been added to the standard Rumpole of the Bailey rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by the prolific John Mortimer, the British drama series Will Shakespeare focused on the Bard of Avon's formative years. Deftly mixing fact with fancy, the story concentrates on such elements as the marriage of young Will (played by Tim Curry, no less) to the older and more affluent Anne Hathaway (Meg Wynn Owen) and his hot-and-cold relationship with rival playwright Christopher Marlowe (Ian McShane). Andre Morell provided an amusing turn as Shakespearean actor Edward Alleyn, while Patience Collier was seen as the playwright's erstwhile patron Queen Elizabeth. The six episodes comprising Will Shakespeare were first broadcast from June 13 to July 18, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The short stories of prolific British author Graham Greene were grist for the mill in this weekly British anthology. Shades of Greene featured some of the best character actors in the United Kingdom, all of whom seemed thrilled at playing full leads rather than their usual supporting roles. Among the noteworthy writers who adapted the 19 stories for television were John Mortimer, William Trevor, and Clive Exton. Individual titles included "When Greek Meets Greek," "Cheap in August," "The Root of All Evil," and "A Little Place Off the Edgeware Road." Telecast variously in a 25-minute and 50-minute format, Shades of Greene was presented by Thames Television from 1975 to 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John and Mary attracted a great deal of press coverage in 1969 for being the one of the first American films in which the male and female leads (Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow) start out the film by spending the night together, rather than holding off until the end. The morning after, the boy and girl wander about New York, wondering if they'll truly commit themselves to one another. Both characters are haunted by unsuccessful earlier affairs, and both have enough hang-ups to fill volumes of psychological textbooks. Come nightfall, John and Mary end up back in bed...and learn each other's names for the first time. John and Mary was considered "beautiful," "progressive" and "significant" in the permissive 1960s; nowadays it's about as controversial as The CBS Morning News. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the mystery novel by Marryam Modell (using the pseudonym Evelyn Piper), Bunny Lake Is Missing is a bizarre study in motherhood, kindness, enigma, and insanity. Ann Lake (Carol Lynley), an American freshly relocated to England, wishes to drop off her daughter Bunny for the girl's first day at a new nursery school. Oddly, Ann cannot locate any teachers or administrators, only the school's disgruntled cook (Lucie Mannheim). She is forced to leave Bunny unsupervised in the building's "first day" room, under the reassurance that the cook will be responsible for the child. When Ann returns in the afternoon, the cook has quit and Bunny Lake is missing. The school's remaining employees vehemently deny ever seeing the child, and Ann desperately calls her older brother Stephen (Keir Dullea) for help. Ann was raised fatherless and never married; she and Bunny have lived under Stephen's care and protection for the majority of both their lives. Stephen is enraged by the irresponsibility of the staff, but as Scotland Yard begins its investigation, it comes to light that he had never officially enrolled a child at the school. When Police Superintendent Newhouse (Laurence Olivier) begins to unravel the Lakes' lives and search their belongings, he discovers that not only did Ann once have an imaginary childhood daughter named "Bunny," but that the young Bunny seemed to have no tangible possessions at the Lake apartment. Bunny Lake (whom we have yet to see onscreen) may not be missing: she may not even be real. Terrified that Newhouse will now abandon the search for the girl, the hysterical Ann sets out to prove her sanity and, in the process, surprisingly uncovers the true psychosis behind the disappearance of her little Bunny Lake. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide