Geoffrey Reeve Movies
A minor-league criminal suddenly finds himself in deep trouble in this thriller. Billy "Shiner" Simpson (Michael Caine) is a man who has spent much of his life making a living by skirting the law, but he thinks he may finally have a legitimate path to the big time managing his son Eddie (Matthew Marsden), an up-and-coming boxer nicknamed "Golden Boy." Eddie is set to fight an American champion in a prizefight, and Billy is convinced Eddie can't lose. Even after Billy's daughter Georgie (Frances Barber) tips off the cops that he has been staging illegal underground brawls, Billy is able to convince the police not to arrest him until after Eddie's big bout. But Eddie loses in the second round, and Billy flees the arena with his son in tow. Billy and Eddie are followed by a gunman who shoots and kills the young fighter, and a distraught Billy becomes convinced someone got to Eddie and forced him to take a dive. As Billy tries to avoid both the law and the bookies with money on Eddie, he challenges a number of people he believes might know what really happened, including Eddie's coach Vic (Gary Lewis), the down-on-his-luck American promoter Frank Speeding (Martin Landau), Mel (Andy Serkis), one of Billy's henchmen (who can't say where he was when Eddie was killed), and Georgie and her husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Martin Landau, (more)
The crime film Shadow Run stars Michael Caine as Haskell, an expert criminal who works with another thief (James Fox) in order to rip off an armored truck. The two distrust each other, but know they need each other in order to make this giant score. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Kenneth Colley, (more)
Based on the novel The Pork Butcher by David Hughes, this melodrama was directed by literary adaptation specialist Geoffrey Reeve, producer of The Shooting Party (1984), Half Moon Street (1986), and The Whistle Blower (1987). Christopher Plummer stars as Ernst Kestner, a German Army veteran who relocated to New York, where he has lived for 43 years, since the end of WWII. Upon the death of his wife and the takeover of his deli business by a chain store, Ernst embarks on a nostalgic journey to France, the site of a 1944 love affair he had with a beautiful young woman in the small, occupied town of Lascaud. In Paris, Ernst reunites with his estranged daughter Tina (Catherine Hicks), who is having marital problems and agrees to accompany her father on his sentimental journey. In Lascaud, however, Ernst discovers both the fate of his long-lost love and horrifying evidence of his complicity in a wartime atrocity he never knew occurred. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Catherine Hicks, (more)
Based on Paul Theroux's Doctor Slaughter, Half-Moon Street is motivated by the moneymaking schemes of the heroine, PhD researcher Laura Slaughter (Sigourney Weaver). Stuck in a low-paying government job in London, Laura decides to increase her bank account by working for what is euphemistically termed an "escort service." It is understood that her duties go above and beyond mere handholding, and Laura has no problem with this. Michael Caine enters the scene as Lord Bulbeck, a high-ranking British diplomat with whom Laura forms a "special" bond. Little does she know that she is being set up in a power-grabbing scheme masterminded by oil-rich sheik Karim Hatami (Nadim Sawalha). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Michael Caine, (more)
Superpatriotic Briton Michael Caine learns from his son Nigel Havers, a Russian translator with Government Communications Headquarters, that the CIA might have ordered the deaths of some GCH employees to avoid any security leaks. When Havers mentions that he's thinking about blowing the whistle on the sordid goings-on, Caine, convinced that whatever the CIA is doing is for the greatest good, implores his son to keep quiet. Soon afterward, Havers is found murdered. Even after this, Caine refuses to think ill of his government and its allies. It takes the death of investigative reporter James Fox to shake Caine out of his self-denial and to confront the persons responsible for the killings within the GCH. The venerable John Gielgud offers a surprising characterization in this complex conspiracy thriller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, James Fox, (more)
This British Merchant-Ivory look-alike was adapted from a novel by Isabel Colgate. In the summer before World War I, British nobleman James Mason invites an assorted group of acquaintances for a weekend shooting party on his huge estate. Among the participants are longtime rivals Edward Fox and Rupert Frazer, Fox's occasionally unfaithful wife Cheryl Campbell, and staunch anti-hunting advocate John Gielgud. The film unfolds in a carefully calculated but seemingly spontaneous fashion, in the manner of its 1938 ancestor Rules of the Game. Also like the earlier film, The Shooting Party casts a jaundiced eye towards class consciousness--and ends with a sudden, senseless but not altogether unexpected tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Fox, Cheryl Campbell, (more)
The lavishly produced three-part telemovie The Far Pavilions was adapted from the best-selling novel by M.M. Kaye. Set in colonial India during the second Afghan war, the film concerns the exploits of Ashton Pelham-Martyn (Ben Cross), a British officer. Born and raised in India, Pelham-Martyn finds himself a victim of his own divided loyalties as he leads a campaign against the rebellious tribal leaders on the northwestern frontier. The meat of the drama is Pelham-Martyn's "forbidden" romance with his lifelong friend, half-caste Hindu princess Anjuli (Amy Irving). The supporting cast includes the illustrious likes of Omar Sharif and Christopher Lee. Filmed on location on a budget of $12 million (the most costly made-for-cable movie up to 1984), The Far Pavilions originally aired over the HBO service on April 22, 23 and 24, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
This glossy Alistair MacLean action programmer concerns the machinations involved in smuggling an Eastern European scientist out of France and into the United States while being pursued by gang of international pirates, who want the scientist for themselves so that they can grab the secrets that the scientist holds and sell them to the highest bidder. The film deals with Neil Bowman (David Birney), a carefree American who is hired by French land baron the Duc de Croyter (Michel Lonsdale) to make sure that the scientist finds his way safely aboard a jet bound for America. Lila (Charlotte Rampling), a svelte British photographer, happens upon the scene and snuggles up to Neil, right before barriers are throw in their way by the pirate-kidnappers. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, David Birney, (more)
- 1971
This detective thriller features one of the most exciting boat chases ever filmed, a scene that has been compared to the car chase in Bullitt. It is also notable for having much scenic footage of the Netherlands and of Amsterdam. In this film, the headquarters of a drug-smuggling cartel is the quarry of American narcotics agent Paul Sherman (Sven-Bartil Taube). Though the cartel's activities are centered in Amsterdam, Sherman's search for the headquarters leads to an island castle owned by an offbeat religious group. Sherman and his partner Maggie (Barbara Parkins) run into serious trouble when they try to gain access to the forbidding site. Paul escapes captivity and chases the culprits by boat. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sven-Bertil Taube, Barbara Parkins, (more)
