Duncan Smith Movies

One of the biggest hits of the 1948-1949 Broadway season, the classic Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate was triumphantly revived in 2000, running over 881 performances in New York and winning a Tony Award in the process. This faithful-to-its-source TV production of the "new" Kiss Me, Kate was taped during several live performances at London's Victoria Palace. The story concerns the efforts by an egocentric but likable actor, Fred Graham (Brent Barrett), to stage a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Hoping to boost the show's box-office value, Graham has cast his temperamental ex-wife, film star Lilli Vanessi (Rachel York), in the role of the shrewish Katharine. As the production unfolds during a tryout in Baltimore, Fred and Lilli discover that they can't live with each other and can't live without each other -- just like Petruchio and Kate in Taming of the Shrew. Other ingredients in this heady blend of modern showbiz savvy and classic Elizabethan theater are the play's second leads, chronic gambler Bill Calhoun (Michael Berresse); the incurably flirtatious Lois Lane (Nancy Anderson); Lilli's current fiancé, the pompous Harrison Howell (Nicolas Colicos), a boring Republican millionaire in the original play, here rewritten as a lampoon of General Douglas MacArthur; and a brace of Runyonesque gangsters (Jack Chissick, Teddy Kempner) who refuse to leave the theater until they can collect a 75,000-dollar gambling debt. All of the great Cole Porter songs are performed intact and con brio: "Another Opening, Another Show," "So in Love," "Faithful in My Fashion," "I Hate Men," "Tom, Dick and Harry," "Too Darn Hot," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" "Why Can't You Behave?" and so on. As a bonus, Porter's "From This Moment On," not written for the 1948 theatrical version of Kiss Me, Kate, but performed in the 1954 movie version, is herein revived to give poor old Harrison Howell something to do besides get laughs. Michael Blakemore, who adapted and staged the 2000 revival, also oversees this irresistible TV version, which first aired in the U.S. courtesy of PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This exercise in patriotic, high-tech action centers on a select group of Navy commandos and their battles against a Middle East terrorist group. This particular squadron is led by a pair of rivals: cocky, fiery Hawkins (Charlie Sheen) and stoic, unflappable Curran (Michael Biehn). When an anti-terrorist mission goes awry, allowing an enemy leader to escape with a supply of stolen American missiles, both men are certain that, given another chance, they can redeem themselves and the squad. Their rivalry plays out against a background of high-powered amphibious battles, allowing the film to revel in dangerous stunts and advanced weaponry. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer provides brief romantic relief as a journalist with important information, but the focus remains on the macho interplay between Hawkins and Curran. Co-written by former Navy Seal Chuck Pfarrer (with Gary Goldman), the film presents authentic details about the elite unit, but the bulk of Navy Seals tends to rely on familiar combat film conventions. Viewers seeking rapidly paced action sequences will not be disappointed, though other viewers may be less likely to overlook the predictable storyline and routine characters. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This gothic hillbilly horror thriller was produced in New Zealand and centers around a small rural town, circa 1953, where unusual events lead a teenager to cross paths with a serial killer. Ned (Jonathan Smith) and his pal Les (Daniel McLaren) are a pair of teens in trouble with local bullies after they steal some prize chickens. Their troubles are compounded by the arrival of a carnival, employing the sinister Salter (John Carradine), an evil magician and sideshow hypnotist. The presence of Salter seems to bring out the worst in the local citizenry, inspiring nascent lust and perversion to surface in disturbing ways, much of which is centered on Ned's nubile sister Prudence (Tracy Mann). When a girl is slain in the woods, the trial leads to Salter, who is not only guilty of the crime, but of many more. The Scarecrow (1982), based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was the feature debut of co-writer and director Sam Pillsbury, who went on to direct numerous television movies and series episodes in the U.S. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The "underground" of the title refers not to crime but to the half-hidden world of two-bit hustlers, "artistic" poseurs, aberrant lifestyles and shattered dreams. Small-time Manhattan opportunist Eric Mitchell latches onto Patti Astor, a once-popular movie star fallen into penury. He briefly lifts her spirits, but in the final analysis betrays her. Astor sorrowfully decides that she'd rather not live any longer. Lensed in 16 millimeter by producer/ director/ star Eric Mitchell, Underground USA is occasionally effective, though for much of the proceedings it suffers from trying too hard to be the Big Apple counterpart to Godard's Breathless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide