Robert Russell Movies

British actor Robert Carlyle stars as the 20th century's most infamous dictator in this two-part TV biopic. The film covers the life of Adolf Hitler from his childhood to his emergence as absolute ruler of Germany in 1934. Most of the ground covered should be familiar to history buffs: Hitler's failed efforts to become a great artist, his frustration at watching his adopted country fall apart at the seams during World War I, his resolve to put Germany back on its feet by exploiting the nation's horrendous postwar economic woes and its ingrained anti-Semitism, his 1923 arrest, the publication of Hitler's virulent screed Mein Kampf, the growing popularity of National Socialism, and the fatal error made by senile German chancellor Von Hindbenburg (Peter O'Toole) to "neutralize" Hitler by giving him a relatively unimportant political post in 1933. Also covered is Hitler's abortive romance with his half-niece Geli Raubal (Jena Malone) and his longer relationship with the estimable Eva Braun (Zoe Telford). Given the difficulties faced by actor Carlyle and the screenwriters to successfully convey pure, unadulterated evil, much of what we learn about Hitler is conveyed by the observations and reactions of other characters, notably crusading but ineffectual anti-Nazi journalist Fritz Gerlich (Matthew Modine), and especially German publisher Ernst Hanfstaengl (Liev Schreiber) and his wife, Helene (Julianna Margulies). Originally a staunch supporter of Hitler, Hanfstaengl eventually comes to realize the danger the man poses to the world ("He's not human. He simply studies others to become human."); in contrast, Helene, who at the outset is vaguely opposed to National Socialism, is ultimately seduced and swept up by the movement. Not surprisingly, this film stirred up a great deal of controversy even before it aired; some Jewish leaders and prominent Holocaust survivors worried that Hitler might come off as being sympathetic (a concern that may have dictated altering the film's title, which was to have been Hitler: The Early Years); and one of the film's producers was summarily dismissed after issuing a public statement which seemed to compare Germany's blind, unthinking allegiance to Hitler to America's rallying behind George W. Bush during the Iraq crisis. Hitler: The Rise of Evil originally aired May 18 and 20, 2003, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actor Steven Antin wrote the screenplay, and U.S.C. film professor Jefery Levy directed this self-absorbed trifle about a self-absorbed screenwriter and his nutty family and friends. Antin plays Monkey Zetterland, an innocuous young man who is trying to work on his screenplay -- something having to do with the defunct Los Angeles streetcar system -- while a collection of relatives, friends, and neighbors continually interrupt him. His family is a collection of personified neurosis: there is Honor (Katherine Helmond) a soap-opera actress with hemorrhoids who is afraid of being fired; Grace (Patricia Arquette), his lesbian sister who is crestfallen to find that her lover Cindy (Sofia Coppola) is pregnant; brother Brent (Tate Donovan), an anal hairdresser with his elbow constantly bent over a cell phone; and Mike (Bo Hopkins), his Dad, who shows up for Thanksgiving dinner with his pet parrot. But his neighbors are no better: Imogene (Sandra Bernhard) screams to him, "I love you, Monkey Zetterland!"; Daphne (Debi Mazar) complains that Monkey doesn't spend enough time with her; Sofie (Martha Plimpton) and Sasha (Rupert Everett) are a pair of terrorists devoted to blowing up insurance companies that deny insurance policies to HIV-positive patients; and Bella (Ricki Lake), a crazed fan of Monkey's mom. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Rita Jenrette, better known for her former role as the wife of a U.S. Congressman, opens this zombieless zombie movie first by lying in bed and then by taking a shower before both she, as a tour leader, and the audience have to face what happens next -- dialogue. The tour leader leaves to take her charges (on vacation on a Caribbean island) off to see some voodoo rites that, unknown to her, involve sacrificing a lamb. Unhappy with the way this scenario is working out, the tourists go back to the bus, only to find that it has broken down and they will have to walk through the jungle to a nearby house for sanctuary. Models of clichéd, single-syllable speech all the way, the hapless tourists are dispatched one at a time by decapitation, by fire, by spears, by everything standard in this genre except a visible zombie or an irate English instructor. Once the much-reduced group arrives at the house, the mayhem continues with nary a zombie in sight -- but there are intimations that Colombian hitmen are on the rampage, apparently lost a long way from home. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on a Sherlock Holmes story, the Sign of Four is about an ex-convict out to wreak vengeance on an army major (Thorley Walters) who left him stranded in a penal colony while making off with a valuable stash of treasure. But with a flat, dull treatment of both the story and its characters, including Holmes and Watson, this first in an intended series of 13 such adventures is not likely to lead others to the next Holmes mystery. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Clive Donner directs Oliver Twist, the 1982 made-for-TV version of the classic Dickens novel. Richard Charles plays Oliver Twist, an orphan boy who gets kicked out of his juvenile workhouse when he asks for some more food. He is sent to work as an apprentice, but he quickly escapes and joins a group of other orphaned boys. They spend the day pickpocketing and commiting petty street crime in order to survive and bring home earnings to their leader, Fagin (George C. Scott). Eventually, Oliver picks the pocket of the wealthy Mr. Brownlow (Michael Hordern), who takes him in as his ward. However, the evil Bill Sikes (Tim Curry) kidnaps him back to continue working with the other pickpockets. The barmaid Nancy (herie Lunghi) helps Oliver escape, but she ultimately suffers the concequences of her actions. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "Terror of the Zygons," the Duke of Forgill (John Woodnut), British delegate to the World Peace Conference, sheds his human disguise and reveals himself to be Broton, war lord of the alien Zygon race. Having launched a series of attacks from Loch Ness, the Zygons fully intend to conquer the world. Of course, the Doctor (Tom Baker) just might have something to say about that. First shown on September 13, 1975, "Terror of the Zygons, Episode 3" was written by Robert Banks Stewart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "Terror of the Zygons," several North Sea oil rigs have been destroyed, and the main suspect is none other than the Loch Ness Monster. But in the course of his investigation, the Doctor (Tom Baker) finds a spacecraft hidden in the depths of the Loch. It turns out that "Nessie" has been blamed for the skulduggery of a warmongering alien race called the Zygons. First shown on September 6, 1975, "Terror of the Zygons, Episode 2" was written by Robert Banks Stewart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In between gigs writing two of the first films from director John Boorman and the sequel to The French Connection (1971), writer Alexander Jacobs adapted this bloody, violent drama from a pulp crime novel. Oliver Reed stars as Harry Lomart, a dangerous convict who's been planning a breakout with a fellow inmate, Birdy Williams (Ian McShane). Before the two men can abscond, word comes that Harry's wife Pat (Jill St. John) has been having an affair with another man and has become pregnant with the man's child. That brings the total number of scores that Harry's got to settle once he's on the outside up to two. After a spectacular escape, the pair of hardened criminals are supposed to lie low until it's safe for them to leave the country, but a furious Harry won't allow his wife to get away with her betrayal, and he sets out to find and kill her, as well as her lover. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Not a sequel to Richard Harris' A Man Called Horse as is sometime alleged, 1971's Man in the Wilderness nonetheless bears a marked resemblance to that earlier film. Star Harris plays a trapper who joins a Northwest Territory expeditionary group. Left for dead after running afoul of a grizzly bear, Harris struggles to regain his strength and exact vengeance against John Huston, the man who deserted him. Flashbacks reveal who Harris is and how he's come to this. Man in the Wilderness alternates between a blood-spattered retribution tale and a gutsy one-man show for frostbitten Richard Harris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the 20th feature in the successful "Carry On" series of bawdy slapstick comedies. Sidney Bliss (Sidney James) and his faithful assistant Sophie (Hattie Jacques) run a bogus matrimonial agency designed to unite people looking for love and romance. One couple never speaks a word in the film but are seen kissing in strange and familiar places. Three love-starved ladies offer their services to anyone who asks, and an excellent pie fight harkens back to the days of the classic silent comedies, with continual running gags and sexual innuendo permeating the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The famously inept but accidentally brilliant Inspector Clouseau returns to help foil a group of daring robbers in this comedy, the only film in the long-running series not to feature Peter Sellers as the bumbling inspector. Instead, the talented Alan Arkin assumes the role, blundering his way through the expected series of absurd, slapstick situations. The plot centers on a series of Swiss bank robberies under investigation by an uptight Scotland Yard inspector (Patrick Cargill), who naturally becomes infuriated by Clouseau's unwelcome intervention. Meanwhile, the robbers decide to confuse matters by wearing Clouseau masks, offering further opportunities for farcical mistaken identities. Due to the absence of both Sellers and director Blake Edwards, Inspector Clouseau has largely been forgotten in comparison to the other Pink Panther films, though it maintains some interest as a curious aberration in the popular comic series. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Falling somewhere between the Beyond the Fringe school and the Monty Python league, Bedazzled is an irreverent Faust take-off, written by and starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (Moore also composed the music). Moore plays a short-order cook at a London Wimpyburger restaurant, who falls hopelessly in love with waitress Eleanor Bron. About to commit suicide, the broken-hearted Moore is approached by Satan (Peter Cook). The Fallen Angel offers to purchase Moore's soul in exchange for seven wishes--the first of which is squandered when Satan buys Moore an ice cream bar (something over which the two stars quarrel throughout the film). Enticed by living personifications of the Deadly Sins--Raquel Welch, wearing next to nothing, is "Lillian Lust"--Moore allows Satan to grant him his heart's desire, utilizing the magic words, "Julie Andrews!" But with each wish, Satan, being Satan, can't help but gum up the works with a double-cross. The desperate Moore ultimately wishes to be allowed to spend the rest of his life with Eleanor in an environment with no other men--whereupon Satan transforms both Eleanor and Moore into nuns! Finally Satan has a change of heart, allowing Moore and Eleanor to fall in love in more orthodox surroundings and permitting Moore to regain his soul. Satan hopes that God will appreciate this good deed and allow him to re-enter Heaven. But God doesn't buy this; He's satisfied with Satan remaining mankind's "necessary evil". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide