Silvio Narizzano Movies

The first installment of the British mystery series based on the books by Agatha Christie, Miss Marple: The Body in the Library was first aired in 1984. In the village of St. Mary Mead, Miss Jane Marple (Joan Hickson) investigates the home of Colonel Arthur (Moray Watson) and Mrs. Dolly Bantry (Gwen Watford). The couple was shocked to discover the body of a dead girl wearing makeup and an evening gown in the library of their country manor, Gossington Hall. As soon as the police can identify her, another mysterious dead body is discovered. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, the stars of the classic British romantic drama Brief Encounter (1946), were reunited in the 1980 TV special Staying On. Adapted from the novel by Paul Scott, this 90-minute drama casts Howard and Johnson as an elderly British couple, spending their declining years in a faraway Himalayan resort. Though Colonial India is a thing of the past, the couple clings to their fading memories of the Raj's glory days. The film was lensed on location in Simia, a popular vacationing spot for British and Indian aristocracy. Staying On was first telecast in the US on May 11, 1981, as part of PBS' Great Performances series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Burt Lancaster was too young to play alcoholic, disillusioned Doc Delaney in the 1952 film version of William Inge's Come Back Little Sheba. At age 70, Laurence Olivier was too old for the part, yet Olivier's performance is far more persuasive than Lancaster's in this 1977 TV-movie remkae of Sheba. Inge's basic plot is left intact: Delany feels trapped by his marriage to the whining, slovenly Lola (Joanne Woodward, in the role created on Broadway by Shirley Booth). Doc can't appreciate the fact that, despite her inadequacies, Lola sincerely loves him; his emotional blindness stirs up a lot of trouble when a beautiful young woman (Carrie Fisher) rents a room in the Delany home. Despite American subject matter and setting, Come Back Little Sheba was produced in Britain by Granada Television. It was one of six plays coproduced for TV by Laurence Olivier as part of his "Great Plays of the 20th Century" series. Sheba was first seen by American viewers on December 31, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A socially deviant man and his friends find themselves to be sacrificial targets of religious cult members. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Joe Orton's black comedy farce has been adapted to the screen in a fast-paced, but ultimately ineffective, adaptation. Hywed Bennett and Roy Holder are two lay-abouts named Dennis and Hal who decide to improve their lot in life by robbing a bank. After pulling the job, they have to hide the loot -- and where else but in the casket of Holder's recently deceased mother? Unfortunately, although the boys hide the money, they can't hide the casket, so they opt for stashing it in the bathroom of the hotel run by Holder's father (Milo O'Shea). All is well until wacky Inspector Truscott (Richard Attenborough) arrives to investigate. Snapping at his heels is Fay (Lee Remick) -- a sexy nurse looking for the loot. Soon, the father's hotel becomes a cacophony of stomping feet and slamming doors, with the loot and the corpse in a farcical shell-game, one step ahead of discovery by the inept Truscott. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Georgy Girl is a bittersweet comedy drama about Georgy (Lynn Redgrave), a slightly overweight, working-class virgin in her early twenties who shares an apartment with the gorgeous, promiscuous Meredith (Charlotte Rampling). Georgy has never been the subject of the desire for any man until the wealthy, married employer of her family, James Leamington (James Mason) (for whom her parents work as servants) decides that he would like her for a mistress. Shortly afterward, the unmarried Meredith becomes pregnant and introduces Georgy to the father, Jos (Alan Bates). Georgy and Jos fall in love. Although Meredith initially wants to give the child up for adoption, she agrees to let Georgy act as surrogate mother. Meanwhile, James - whose wife unexpectedly dies -- has also indicated that he wants to marry her. As the film approaches its denouement, Georgy is faced with a tough call: should she stay single and keep the child, marry James and keep the baby, or marry Jos? We won't divulge the ending here, but the finale is a heartbreaker. Georgy Girl was a tremendously popular film upon its 1966 release, as was the Seekers' catchy title song. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The British dramatic anthology Studio 64 consisted of six original hour-long plays. Included herein were "Better Luck Next Time" by Stanley Mann, "The Devil and John Brown" by Ken Taylor, "A Wicked World" by Giles Cooper, "The Happy Moorings" by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, and "The Close Prisoner" by Clive Exton. The series' best-remembered offering, and the only one still available for reappraisal, was "The Crunch," written by Nigel Kneale and starring Harry Andrews. Studio 64 was issued by ATV in 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide