Tag Archives: UK

Checkpoint (1956) Ralph Thomas, Anthony Steel, Odile Versois, Stanley Baker, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Checkpoint (1956)
Stanley Baker’s character is sent to steal the plans from another company of their racing car designs, to ensure his employers win the competition. However when opening a safe containing the plans, he triggers an alarm leading to a gun battle where he kills a number of people. James Robertson Justice alarmed by the scandal surrounding the killings orders his agent be killed surreptitiously to hide his involvement with the plot.
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The Awakening (1980) Mike Newell, Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Horror

The Awakening (1980)
An American archaeologist is in Egypt with his pregnant wife, searching for the tomb of a long-lost Egyptian queen. At the same moment he discovers the tomb and opens it’s accursed seal, his wife gives birth to his daughter. Years later it transpires that the malevolent spirit of the Egyptian queen left the tomb just as he was entering, and possessed his baby girl. As the truth becomes clear, the archaeologist realizes that he must destroy his daughter in a ceremonial ritual, before she uses her awesome powers to threaten the safety of mankind.
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Left Right and Centre (1959) Sidney Gilliat, Ian Carmichael, Alastair Sim, Patricia Bredin, Comedy, Romance

Left Right and Centre (1959)
At the Earndale by-election natural history expert and TV personality Bob Wilcot for the Conservatives finds himself up against Billingsgate girl Stella Stoker for the socialists. Amateur politician against committed activist. But could it become boy-who-fancies-girl against girl-who-fancies-boy? The party agents are soon colluding against such a disaster.
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Theatre of Blood (1973) Douglas Hickox, Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Comedy, Horror

Theatre of Blood (1973)
Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) stars as an actor overlooked for a critics’ acting award, despite producing a season of Shakespeare plays. After confronting the Critics’ Circle, an attempted suicidal dive into the Thames results in Lionheart being rescued by your typical paraffin/meths/turps swigging tramps. Lionheart then (presumed dead) exacts his grizzly, and quite amusing revenge on the critics who denied him his finest hour.
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March or Die (1977) Dick Richards, Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve, Drama, War, Adventure

March or Die (1977)
Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), an American haunted by his memories of the recently-ended Great War, is assigned to protect a group of archaeologists at their dig. Foster’s unit includes the charming, thieving rascal Marco (Hill), who joined the Legion only to avoid prison. After long stretches portraying the boredom and hardship of day-to-day life in the Legion, Foster’s command occupies a small village where the archaeologists believe they’ve found a burial site sacred to the Arabs. An Arab leader (Holm) uses this affront to unite the tribes in Jihad, and attacks the tiny Legion garrison at the dig. An epic battle follows, very reminiscent of the film “Zulu”. Costumes, firearms, and props are all very authentic-looking, and show great attention to detail.
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The Truth About Spring (1965) Richard Thorpe, Hayley Mills, John Mills, James MacArthur, Adventure, Comedy, Drama

The Truth About Spring (1965)
Tommy Tyler a lazy Caribbean sailor and his tom-boy daughter, Spring are out to search for a buried treasure. Tommy brings aboard William Ashton, a young lawyer to help with the search. Ashton turns out to be handy when they encounter dangerous rivals. Tommy also tries to play match maker between Ashton and Spring-a difficult task indeed.
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The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Richard Wattis, Comedy, Romance

The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
June, 1911. Among the dignitaries from the Balkan State of Carpathia in London for the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary is the Regent, His Serene Highness the Grand Duke Charles. The London foreign office places great importance on Carpathia because of an unstable geopolitical situation with Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany set to overthrow its monarchy government if allowed. The Regent, a Prince originally from Hungary, and the most recent and now deceased Queen married for convenience. As such, the Regent has spent time with a series of lady friends while on his travels in his somewhat “free” state. In meeting one of those London women, music hall actress Maisie Springfield, and the company of her current production “The Coconut Girl”, the Regent instead has his eyes set on one of the minor players in the show, American actress Elsie Marina. When seemingly simpleminded Elsie receives a party invitation from the Regent for that evening, Elsie is not so simpleminded to understand …
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