Keith Smith Movies

Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers is the third screen version of Jack Finney's cold war science fiction novel Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Marty Malone (Gabrielle Anwar) is moving with her father, stepmother, and stepbrother to a military base where her father will investigate possible environmental and ecological problems. Before they get to town, Marty is warned in a gas station restroom by a crazed looking military man that, "They get you when you sleep!" Marty adjusts to life on the base by flirting with a young officer and making friends with the rebellious daughter of the base commander. These friends help her when a plot by aliens to turn all humans into unemotional, unfeeling "pod people" shifts into high gear. As her family and friends are attacked, Marty doesn't know who to trust. Previous versions of his story were directed by Don Siegel (1956) and Phillip Kaufman (1978). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

With Heaven and Earth -- cobbled together from two autobiographical reminiscences (When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace by Le Ly Hayslip -- Oliver Stone completes his self-declared "Vietnam Trilogy" (the other films being Platoon and Born On the Fourth of July) of films examining the Vietnam War from different perspectives. Heaven and Earth begins in the central Vietnamese village of Ky La during the 1950s. Phung Le Ly (Hiep Thi Le) is an innocent peasant girl, helping her mother (Joan Chen) to tend the rice paddies while being lectured in the ways of life by her father (Haing Ngor). The idyllic peace of the village is disrupted when a jet bomber crosses the skies. Soon the village is decimated as the American-backed South Vietnamese government troops and the Viet Cong engage in brutal warfare in which the victims are the innocent villagers. Le Ly is both tortured and raped. She leaves Ky La for Danang for a life as a prostitute. There she meets the tall and craggy American soldier Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), a kind but lonely man who isn't looking for sex but for someone to settle down with -- as he says, "I want an Oriental wife." They marry, and Steve takes her back to the United States, where her in-laws look at her not as a wife but as a pet. In the harsh glare of 1970s U.S. culture, Le Ly has trouble adjusting to the American way of life. But not as hard a time as her husband, who, after twenty years in Vietnam, discovers he cannot adapt to civilian life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Harry Ironmaster (Rupert Everett) is an aristocratic and wealthy young man, which in his time and place should put him pretty much on top of the world. However, he is responsible for a horse-drawn coach accident in which his father is killed and he himself loses an arm. Not only that, but his favored pastime of horse-riding is no longer possible for him. His girlfriend, the doctor's daughter, wants to draw him out of his depression, but nothing seems to help. Harry's low state begins to lift when he makes friends with Ned, the very capable driver of a local express coach to Sydney. They are both aware that trains will soon replace these huge wagons, and Ned agrees to work for Harry. This costume drama boasts some beautiful cinematography, and is based on a best-selling novel by Kathleen Peyton. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on Raymond Radiguet's book of the same (French) title, this erotic film revolves around a September-May adulterous love affair. Unlike the book, the setting is the Australian outback in 1943, and the French heroine Marthe (Katia Caballero) has been legally "quarantined" by the Aussie government for the duration of the war. That is to say, her Italian husband has been put in jail, and she is not allowed to leave the country. After meeting schoolboy Paul Hansen (Keith Smith), sexual sparks ignite a smoldering desire, and the two eventually are engaged in an all-out affair. Rumor and innuendo and Paul's parents notwithstanding, the affair runs its course -- but the tragedy that ends the book has been written out here. As this film was released, director Marco Bellocchio was completing his own 1987 version of the same story, Il Diavolo in Corpo. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A well-to-do widower with a cozy mistress and a country estate falls for his young houseguest, the inexperienced daughter of a friend of his, and marries her. This causes his daughter, who is the same age, no little distress. While the relationship of the father and daughter grows rancorous, the young bride grows attached to a handsome next-door neighbor, a farmer who is her own age. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This rock'n roll drama featuring British pop band Gerry and the Pacemakers, is a quick knock-off of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. The film features a situation in which the band loses their instruments. It also chronicles the history of the band via flashback. The band members are seen meeting each other in art school and forming a band. They barely manage to eke out a living playing at The Cavern. There they meet a useful young woman who helps them find a manager. After the band wins the European Beat competition, their rise is assured. Also appearing on the film are a couple of other Liverpool bands. Songs include: "Ferry Across the Mersey" and "It's Gonna Be All Right." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ricochet originated as an hour-long episode of the TV anthology series Dick Powell Theatre. Van Heflin plays a tough Marine sergeant facing a crisis of conscience. A young Marine recruit has died under Heflin's command during basic training. Though the victim perished because he didn't follow orders, Heflin feels responsible for the death--and the other recruits heartily concur in this opinion. Ricochet first aired October 3, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by American expatriate Joseph Losey, the British The Criminal is a gloom-wallow elevated by superb performances. Top crook Stanley Baker plans a clever bank robbery. It goes off hitchless, but the clerk responsible for "laundering" the stolen money insists upon a bigger percentage of the take, else he'll blow the whistle. Baker hides the money, whereupon he is turned over to the law by his ex-girlfriend, who is in cahoots with the clerk. Baker refuses to reveal the whereabouts of the loot, so his old gang arranges to have him broken out of jail -- and also arranges for Baker's "accidental" demise. Appearing as the greedy clerk in Concrete Jungle is Sam Wanamaker, who like Joseph Losey fled to England as a result of the Hollywood blacklist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a common chemist lives up to his lineage (he's a direct descendant of Dr. Jekyll), and creates a concoction which changes him into a suave jewel thief. After pulling off a caper, the thief becomes his original self and then helps bring in a gang of robbers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide