Brian Peck Movies

Portrait of Clare is largely offered in flashback. The title character, played by Margaret Johnston, spends 10 years in seclusion with her son (Jeremy Spenser) after the death of her young husband (Ronald Howard). For her son's sake, Clare enters into a loveless marriage with lawyer Dudley Wilburn (Robin Bailey). But she doesn't find true happiness until turning to her cousin, Robert Hart (Richard Todd). Produced by British Pathe, Portrait of Clare was released in the U.S. by Pathe's sister-firm Monogram (aka Allied Artists). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Barbara is the long-lost sister of no-good Mike Roscoe (Ronald Hines). Paula Brown (Maureen Connell) is the stripper whom Mike hires to pose as Barbara. It's all part of a scheme to fool Mike's ex-convict dad Sam Roscoe (Mervyn Johns). The son hopes to entice Sam into revealing the whereabouts of his stolen money, and Paula is hopefully going to do the trick. Based on a novel by Jonathan Burke, Echo of Barbara is a better-than-usual British programmer, entertaining despite its surplus of unpleasant leading characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This routine wartime drama is set at sea and involves a British convoy trying to elude a group of German U-Boats. After one of the U-Boats is singled out and captured, the British admiral in charge of the current operation hits upon an ingenious but almost suicidal way of defeating the Nazi boats. He orders Lt. Commander Tarlton (Edward Judd) and a group of men to get in the captured U-Boat and then join the other U-Boats as though they had simply wandered off course for awhile. If done quickly and efficiently, Tarlton should be able to radio back the position of the enemy for a fast British offensive. Not an easy task in itself, and made much worse considering that the RAF and other British ships are going to consider the decoy U-Boat to be the enemy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Two brothers looking to avoid becoming pawns of the establishment come up with a better way of making a living -- through theft -- in this satiric comedy. David Tremayne (Oliver Reed) is a successful London architect, and his younger brother Michael (Michael Crawford) is weighing his options after being kicked out of school. The brothers share a bemused disgust with the world around them and a desire to get through life without the burden of labor; toward this end, one day they begin plotting an elaborate scheme to steal the British Crown Jewels. Mind you, they don't intend to sell them, or even keep them very long -- the idea is to return them after a week, simply to prove that it could indeed be done, and make themselves famous in the process. After studying the procedures of Scotland Yard's Bomb Disposal Unit, the inner working of the Tower of London's Jewel Room, and the London ambulance services, the Tremaynes come up with a foolproof plan -- they call in a bomb threat to the Tower, and they are able to enter the Jewel Room posing as men from the bomb squad. They then feign injury and are able to escape in an ambulance. It all seems simple enough, and it actually works, until Michael "forgets" his part of the agreement to take half of the responsibility for the theft. The supporting cast includes Edward Fox, Frank Finlay, and Harry Andrews. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of a five-part story arc, the Clampetts have arrived in England, despite a fracas on the airliner bearing them to the country (Elly May had tried to bring her pet turkey buzzard Daisy onboard). Convinced that Queen Elizabeth is in dire financial straits, Jed Clampett purchases a gift for the reigning monarch -- said gift being the entire country of Canada. Needless to say, Mr. Drysdale is, in the words of Her Royal Highness, not amused. Filmed on-location, "Something for the Queen" originally aired on October 2, 1968, as the 200th episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fifth episode of the six-part story "The Space Pirates," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his friends are once more in the clutches of Argonite pirate leader Craven (Dudley Foster). Salvation arrives from an unlikely source: Madeleine Issigi (Lisa Danniely), the daughter of Craven's partner Dom (Esmond Knight). But the Doctor has precious little time to enjoy his freedom: He now faces an even deadlier peril than the pirates. Written by Robert Holmes, "The Space Pirates, Part 5" originally aired on April 5, 1969. This episode apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the six-part story "The Space Pirates," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) miraculously saves himself and his companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) from being marooned in space forever. Landing on the planet Ta, the TARDIS crew locates the hiding place of the Argonite space pirates. Alas, no sooner have they done so than the Doctor and his friends are captured by the villains. Written by Robert Holmes, "The Space Pirates, Part 3" originally aired on March 22, 1969. This episode apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "space pirates" of the title are a band of renegade Argonites. Materializing on a space beacon, the TARDIS finds itself in the middle of an Argonite attack against the Army Space Corps. The pirates succeed in capturing the TARDIS and leaving the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions stranded a billion miles from nowhere. Written by Robert Holmes, the six-part "The Space Pirates" began its original TV run on March 8, 1969. At present, all but episode two of this adventure is missing from the BBC archives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A group of teens search for a woman to help them lose their innocence in this sex comedy from Boaz Davidson. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley Moore) is a noted heart surgeon whose personality is switched with his teenage son Chris (Kirk Cameron) in this uninspired comedy. The ingestion of a brain transference serum is the catalyst for the comic catastrophe and the confusion that follows. Sean Astin and Patrick O'Neal co-star with Margaret Colin and Catherine Hicks. A decent idea for a comedy that has since been done better in Brian Gilbert's 1988 comedy Vice Versa starring Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Mike (Kirk Cameron) bristles at the household rules and regulations set down by dad Jason (Alan Thicke), feeling that, as an 18-year-old college student, he should be treated as an adult. Things come to a head when Jason refuses to let Mike go on a skiing trip, even after the boy's college classes have been postponed. In high dudgeon, Mike runs out of the Seaver house--and spends the next several days living in his car! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this wild spoof of The Twilight Zone in general and that series' 1960 episode "A World of Difference" in particular, Ben (Jeremy Miller) expresses the wish that Real Life were more like TV. In true "be careful what you wish for" fashion, Ben dreams that he and his family are actually characters in a TV sitcom called "Meet the Seavers"--and that he is really an actor named Jeremy Miller! The concept is played for all it is worth, with the rest of the Growing Pains cast members identified by their real names, not to mention cameo appearances by the series' production staff and by Joanna Kerns' daughter Ashley Kerns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide