David Cameron Movies
- 2001
Combining live action and "animatronics," the Australian TV children's sitcom Horace and Tina starred Jasmine Ellis as Lauren Parker, a 13-year-old Canadian girl who was uprooted and relocated Down Under when her mother remarried. Saddled with a distant stepfather and an obnoxious stepbrother, Lauren's existence was enlivened somewhat by the arrival on Christmas Eve of two "Nelfs," or Santa's Helpers: three-foot-tall, 200-year-old Horace (voiced by Frank Gallacher) and his 271-year-old sister Tina (voiced by Jackie Kelleher). Stranded in Australia until Santa's next stopover, Horace kept busy by making mischief, while Tina dispensed advice and homilies -- and of course, only Lauren could see or hear the Nelfs. Debuting May 4, 2001, Horace and Tina had yielded 26 episodes by the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jasmine Ellis, Frank Gallacher, (more)
- 1999
The SG-1 heads to a primitive planet to recover a UAV exploratory plane. Here they discover that the planet's simple, friendly denizens are growing seriously ill at an alarming rate. Only after several members of the SG-1 team begins suffering from the selfsame illness do they make a horrible realization: The plague has been brought about by their own UAV, which crashed into an infected plant and released a deadly virus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Though it starts out like a romantic comedy, Hannah is actually a chilling and suspenseful political thriller. Bright, energetic and charming Hannah has just landed a public relations job at the aging Hochstedt Doll Company. Her presence attracts the attention of both company owner Thomas and assistant director Wolfgang Heck, the nephew of Thomas. Things start out well for Hannah, but as she becomes more intimate with the company's inner workings, disturbing and potentially dangerous secrets emerge regarding the Hochstedt family's connections with the neo-Nazi movement. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
An innocent law student gets accused of murdering a mob chief's son when a casino poker game turns into a fistfight that ends with a fatality. Soon the mob and the corrupt local police are after the kid whose only respite in this film is a short romance with a new-found sweetheart. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly Preston, Ken Pogue, (more)
In this made-for-TV apocalyptic horror saga, the deceptively adorable daughter of late devil-boy Damian is adopted by a kindly couple who have no idea who she is. The husband is a politician and the daughter decides that the best way for her to spread evil around is to boost his career at every opportunity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Grant, Michael Woods, (more)
There are murderous goings on at a sweatshop that specializes in lingerie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sometime far into the future international powers settle their differences in gigantic arenas where each nation sponsors an incredible robot gladiator. These gladiators duke it out to determine the distribution of world territories. This might be best appreciated by pre-teen video warfare fans. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, (more)
- 1989
Lynda Day George, who from 1971 to 1973 played IMF agent Lisa Casey on the original Mission:Impossible, here reprises the role in the "new" episode "Reprisal." Casey's life is being threatened by a former colleague, now confined to a mental institution, who has also managed to frame IMF head Jim Phelps for a series of murders. Well- versed in the Team's modus operandi, the villain is using a deadly lookalike to carry out his evil schemes (significantly, the German title of this episode is "Die Doppelganger"). First broadcast on April 15, 1989, "Reprisal" was written by Walter Brough. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Thaao Penghlis, (more)
This psychodrama is set in New Zealand during the 1880s and is based on the true story of an orphaned 18-year-old who marries a cruel, much-older man. He constantly abuses her and keeps her under his thumb until she snaps and using hypnotism, kills him. Later she is tried in court. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, John Lithgow, (more)
- 1985
Andy Warhol "graduate" Paul Morrissey surprised his followers with his sensitive direction of the 1985 costume drama Beethoven's Nephew (Le Neveu de Beethoven) The eponymous character, Karl Beethoven (Dietmar Prinz), is snatched from his mother's home by egomaniacal composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (Wolfgang Reichmann). It is Beethoven's contention that nephew Karl is in the clutches of a "demon" (his mother!), and that only by taking charge of Karl himself can the composer tap the boy's inherent musical genius. Ultimately Karl rebels against Beethoven's obsessiveness by developing a relationship with a beautiful actress (Nathalie Baye). As Karl's independence grows, Beethoven's health declines, possibly because of the psychological ramifications of watching his surrogate son grow away from him. Adapted by Morrissey and Mathieu Carriere from a novel by Luigi Magnani, Beethoven's Nephew was released in the US nearly two years after its French premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wolfgang Reichmann, Dietmar Prinz, (more)
- 1985
- R
Salome is a drama that oscillates between Judea in 30 A.D. to a kitsch New York in the 20th century. King Herod (Tomas Milian) is having a hard time. He is worried about the upstart Caesar, he's plagued by bad omens like the wrong birds flying in the wrong direction, and it does seem like term limits may be imposed on them. After all, he and his wife are responsible for their constituents' inability to enjoy sex; they murdered Salome's father (King Herod's brother) which has left the people with a decided lack of libido. Salome herself (Jo Champa) comes along to set things right again, and then grabs her seven veils for a performance down in a basement where the long-suffering Yokanaan (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is tied-up in chains. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tomas Milian, Pamela Salem, (more)
- 1984
Classical music DJ John Hargreaves neglects his wife Wendy Hughes, who responds by entering into an illicit romance. Upon finding out, Hargreaves leaves Hughes, but doesn't want to tell his parents; they'd never liked Hughes, and he isn't in the mood for a chorus of "I told you so"s. What is already painful for Hargreaves is amplified when his dying father, suspecting that something's wrong, lectures his son on the sanctity of marriage--even a bad one. Director Paul Cox used the Australian My First Wife as a kind of catharsis, to purge himself of ill-will concerning the bust-up of his own marriage. The film won three Australian academy awards, including one for the reluctantly revelatory Cox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, (more)
- 1984
Sophia Loren plays an Italian cab driver whose 12-year-old son (played by her real-life son Edoardo Ponti) is blinded in an accident. Lacking the funds necessary for her son's operation, Sophia goes the Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell route by scouring the Italian countryside looking for her former lovers. By claiming that each man is the father of her son, Ms. Loren is able to build up a sizeable bank account. True love rears its head when Sophia hits upon her American ex-lover Daniel J. Travanti, an embittered recluse who lives near Mont Blanc, on the French/Italian border. In addition to Edoardo Ponti, several other members of Sophia's family pop up as actors and on the production staff of Aurora; in addition, Ricky Tognazzi, son of Italian film star Ugo Tognazzi, is featured in the cast. Originally titled Aurora by Night, this US/Italian coproduction premiered on NBC TV in October of 1984, then was released theatrically in Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Bob Fosse's fact-based tale of Playboy centerfold Dorothy Stratten's short life and gruesome death focuses less on Stratten (played by Mariel Hemingway) than on her husband/manager, sleazoid pornographer and all-around failure Paul Snider (Eric Roberts, ideally cast). He sees the young beauty as his meal ticket and sets out to pimp her in the adult entertainment business. He marries her and appoints himself her career manager; soon after, she attracts the attention of Playboy executives and wins a spot in the magazine. As her success increases however, so does Snider's alienation as he finds himself left out in the cold. His jealousy begins to consume him; she spurns him on the advice of her new friends; he goes berserk and confronts her. The same murder-suicide inspired the made-for-television Death of a Centerfold. This was choreographer/filmmaker Bob Fosse's final film. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts, (more)
- 1979
Australia was a powerhouse in world swimming competitions long before the U.S.'s Mark Spitz was a gleam in his father's eye. Foremost among these sports heroes was high-spirited Dawn Fraser, who won four gold medals at three Olympics (1956, '60 and '64). This clear-sighted biographical drama explores Fraser's life before, during and just after her competitive years. Fraser was forever getting herself into trouble, and she consistently rebelled against authority. Among the many dramatic events which marked her career, she was banned from Australian swimming for 10 years after stealing a flag during the Tokyo ('64) Olympics. The movie underscores her strong family ties and her attachment to Balmain, the working-class suburb of Sydney she grew up in, which makes her later career as a Member of Parliament for the area easier to understand. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bronwyn MacKay-Payne, John Diedrich, (more)
This stunning, post-apocalyptic action thriller from director George Miller stars Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a policeman in the near future who is tired of his job. Since the apocalypse, the lengthy, desolate stretches of highway in the Australian outback have become bloodstained battlegrounds. Max has seen too many innocents and fellow officers murdered by the bomb's savage offspring, bestial marauding bikers for whom killing, rape, and looting is a way of life. He just wants to retire and spend time with his wife and son but lets his boss talk him into taking a peaceful vacation and he starts to reconsider. Then his world is shattered as a gang led by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) murders his family in retaliation for the death of one of its members. Dead inside, Max straps on his helmet and climbs into a souped-up V8 racing machine to seek his bloody revenge. Despite an obviously low budget and a plot reminiscent of many spaghetti Westerns, Mad Max is tremendously exciting, thanks to some of the most spectacular road stunts ever put on film. Cinematographer David Eggby and stunt coordinator Grant Page did some of their best work under Miller's direction and crafted a gritty, gripping thrill ride which spawned two sequels, numerous imitations, and made Mel Gibson an international star. One sequence, in which a man is chained to a car and must cut off a limb before the machine explodes is one of the most tense scenes of the decade. The American version dubbed all the voices -- including Gibson's -- in a particularly cartoonish manner. Trivia buffs should note that Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe with a 300 bhp 351C V8 engine, customized with the front end of a Ford Fairmont and other modifications. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, (more)
- 1978
As they gather over a series of weekends on a sailing boat owned by Terry (George Shevtsov), a group of four people learn about themselves and their motivations, eventually coming to some realizations -- while carrying on the small business of tying down lines and discussing who brought which item on the menu. Beth (Margaret Cameron), a married gal, considers having an affair with the easygoing Terry but discovers that his gentle attitudes are altogether too much of a good thing. Meanwhile Danny (Linden Wilkenson), a documentary filmmaker, finds that she is falling in love with Mark (Bryan Brown), who questions the value of what she does for a living. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
- Add The Good Guys and the Bad Guys to QueueAdd The Good Guys and the Bad Guys to top of Queue
In this comic western, Flagg (Robert Mitchum) is a veteran marshal forced to retire by the pompous Mayor Wilker (Martin Balsam). McKay (George Kennedy) is a wily gunslinger. The two combine forces to stop a young band of outlaws from robbing the train when it pulls into the station. Flagg warns the mayor of the upcoming attempt but is not taken seriously by the town politician. McKay and Flagg ride out to warn the train of the impending crime, which finds McKay facing members of his own gang in a traditional western showdown. David and John Carradine appear in this feature along with Tina Louise and Lois Nettleton. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy, (more)
Back in Germany for the first time since 1933, director Fritz Lang returned to the screen character that brought him enormous success in his pre-Hollywood years. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse is not so much a sequel as an extension of Lang's early Dr. Mabuse (1922) and Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Set in 1960, the film begins with a series of unsolved murders in a Berlin hotel. The modus operandi of the murderer is the same as that of long-dead megalomaniac Dr. Mabuse. Police detective Gert Frobe and amateur sleuths Peter Van Eyck and Dawn Addams suspect that the killer is a man who believes that he is the reincarnation of Mabuse. Could the culprit be secretive insurance salesman Werner Peters, or blind seer Wolfgang Preiss? The title refers to the hotel's sophisticated TV surveillance system--dozens of roving cameras and TV monitors, inspired (claimed Lang) by a sophisticated bugging method used by the Nazis during World War II. The renewed popularity of the Dr. Mabuse character spawned five movie sequels, none of which were directed by Lang, who had washed his hands of the project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gert Fröbe
In this lush, lurid adaptation of the 1957 Tennessee Williams one-act, Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn play a seemingly insane, young New Orleans debutante and the wealthy aunt who wants to lobotomize her. Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) is a gifted Chicago brain surgeon stymied by the primitive operating conditions at the New Orleans asylum where he works. Society matron Violet Venable (Hepburn) offers a solution in the form of a million-dollar grant -- as long as Cukrowicz will treat her niece, Catherine (Taylor). Catherine, it seems, has been institutionalized since the sudden death of her cousin, Violet's son, Sebastian, overseas the previous summer. As the young doctor tries to get to the bottom of what happened to Catherine, Violet's steely demeanor and devotion to Sebastian present a formidable barrier. Catherine herself doesn't offer much help, her recollections jumbled by medication and the trauma of Sebastian's demise. Under pressure to seal the deal and cut into Catherine's brain, Cukrowicz's principles (and attraction to the young woman) prevent him from proceeding until he uncovers what actually happened to Sebastian. In his memoirs, Gore Vidal claims to have written the screenplay for Suddenly, Last Summer single-handedly, although Williams took half the credit. Vidal toned down the original play's allusions to pedophilia, cannibalism, and incest, but the film nonetheless provoked heated controversy. As for the cast, an unhappy Hepburn reportedly was threatened by the attention lavished on Taylor by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whom Hepburn had hired to produce The Philadelphia Story two decades earlier. Mankiewicz, for his part, allegedly hated Clift, whose drinking and partial paralysis from an auto accident prevented him from working more than half a day at a time. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
- 1957
Loving You was the most autobiographical of all Elvis Presley's movies, and, not coincidentally, features the most naturalistic, easygoing performance of his early career. He plays Deke Rivers, a truck driver with a penchant for singing and a raw animal magnetism where women are concerned. He attracts the business interest of publicity agent Glenda Markle (Lizabeth Scott), who sees a potential gold mine in Deke. She hires him to appear with a band that she handles, fronted by aging country & western singer Tex Warner (Wendell Corey), who used to be romantically involved with Glenda and is now a client. Pretty soon he's pulling in bigger crowds and generating more excitement than Tex did during his best days (which drives the older singer to start drinking again), but also a lot more controversy, too. Deke is so provocatively sexual a presence on-stage that some citizens in the southern and border states where the band is working think that what he does is immoral. Girls can't keep away from him, their boyfriends despise what he symbolizes, and their parents are aghast, even as concert promoter Carl Meade (James Gleason) smells a fortune to be made from this boy. Glenda parlays these disputes and a ban on one of Deke's performances into a national television event. Amid all of this, Deke reveals the private, vulnerable side that no one ever knew -- that he's not even Deke Rivers (it was a name he took off a gravestone), but an orphan named Jimmy Tompkins, and that he's never had a home. He also reveals that he's attracted to Glenda, mistaking (with her encouragement) her interest in his talent with a personal involvement, but he's also drawn the the band's female singer, Susan Jessup (Dolores Hart), who could genuinely love him, and offers him a caring family of her own that would accept him. Deke and Glenda's conflicts are eventually straightened out, and Deke gets to say his piece and sing his music on network television. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
- 1954
Originally released as High and Dry, The Maggie was one of the most endearing of the "regional" British comedies of the 1950s. Hollywood's Paul Douglas plays an American businessman whose brash, glad-handing techniques earn nothing but cold stares in a tiny Scottish village. Ever anxious to cut costs, Douglas arranges with a local "transport company" to move his luggage to a remote Scots island. That's how he gets mixed up with The Maggie, a ranshackle old shipping vessel captained by taciturn Alex Mackenzie. Our only cavil: The Maggie is slow going at times, cutting its humor potential in half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, (more)
