Dance with a Stranger 1985 R, 102 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mike Newell Cast: Miranda Richardson, Rupert Everett, Ian Holm, Stratford Johns, Joanne Whalley, Matthew Carroll, Tom Chadbon, Jane Bertish, David Troughton, Susan Kyd
This film, set in London during the 1950s, is based on a true story that led to an infamous murder trial. Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson) was living with her 10-year-old son when she met playboy David Blakeley (Rupert Everett). Their ensuing romance was doomed from the start and ends with Ruth killing David. Ruth was hanged on 13 July 1955; she is the last woman executed in Great Britain.
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Great Expectations 1981 TV, 300 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Julian Amyes Cast: Gerry Sundquist, Derek Francis, Joan Hickson, Patsy Kensit, Colin Jeavons, Stratford Johns, Phillip Joseph, Graham McGrath, Tim Munro, John Stratton, Christine Absalom, Sarah-Jane Varley
This offering from the BBC TV miniseries focuses on the life and times of humble Pip (Graham McGrath as young Pip and Gerry Sundquist as older Pip) who dreams of grandeur and finds when he grows up that an unknown benefactor (Stratford Johns) has bestowed a fortune on him enabling him to become a gentleman in the Victorian world of the social elite.
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Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil 1985 TV, 150 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Jim Goddard Cast: John Shea, Bill Nighy, Tony Randall, Jose Ferrer, Carroll Baker, Lucy Gutteridge, David Warner, Warren Clarke, Michael Elphick, Stratford Johns, Robert Urquhart, Colin Jeavons
In 1933, two young Germans come of age. Helmut (Bill Nighy) joins Hitler's SS, while his brother, Karl (John Shea), joins the SA. After the SS wins out over the SA, Karl is imprisoned at Dachau but is released because of Helmut's influence and sent to the Russian Front The story follows Helmut and Karl throughout World War II and shows how Nazi influences changed them.
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The Lair of the White Worm 1988 R, 93 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Ken Russell Cast: Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Capaldi, Sammi Davis, Stratford Johns, Paul Brooke, Imogen Claire, Chris Pitt, Gina McKee, Christopher Gable, Lloyd Peters
Bram Stoker's last novel is adapted for film by Ken Russell who plays it just for fun. An archeologist digs up an odd-looking skull, which is followed by the premature return to town by the mysterious Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe). A local legend tells of a giant worm-like creature that wreaked havoc in the area before it was killed by an ancient ancestor of Lord James D'Ampton (Hugh Grant)–who lives next door to Lady Sylvia. When the skull turns up missing and the townsfolk begin to disappear or act strangely, the indications are that the creature has returned.
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Rocket to the Moon 1967 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Sci-Fi / Comedy aka: Blast Off Those Fantastic Flying Fools Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Director: Don Sharp Cast: Burl Ives, Troy Donahue, Gert Frobe, Terry-Thomas, Hermione Gingold, Graham Stark, Lionel Jeffries, Daliah Lavi, Dennis Price, Judy Cornwell, Stratford Johns, Jimmy Clitheroe, Edward de Souza, Renate von Holt, Allan Cuthbertson
This sci-fi comedy is loosely based on a Jules Verne novel ("De la terre a la lune") and tells the story of Phineas T. Barnam (Burl Ives) and his friends who try to finance the first trip to the Moon. Many obstacles stand in the way.
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The Ship That Died of Shame 1955 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Adventure / Drama aka: PT Raiders
Director: Basil Dearden, Michael Relph Cast: Richard Attenborough, George Baker, Bill Owen, Virginia McKenna, Roland Culver, Bernard Lee, Ralph Truman, John Chandos, Harold Goodwin, John Longden, Stratford Johns, David Langton
World War II has ended when three shipmates (Richard Attenborough, George Baker, and Bill Owen) get together looking for something to do with their empty lives. The solution: buy their old gunboat, which will enable them to set up a smuggling operation.
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Splitting Heirs 1993 PG-13, 87 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert Young Cast: Rick Moranis, Eric Idle, Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cleese, Sadie Frost, Stratford Johns, Brenda Bruce, William Franklyn, Richard Huw
As an infant, Tommy (Eric Idle) was left behind in a restaurant and subsequently was raised by Pakistanis. Now, his father has died, and Tommy wants his inheritance–the claim includes ruling an aristocracy.
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The Wild Geese II 1985 R, 124 min. Genre: Action / Adventure / Thriller
Director: Peter R. Hunt Cast: Scott Glenn, Edward Fox, Barbara Carrera, Laurence Olivier, Robert Webber, Robert Freitag, Kenneth Haigh, Stratford Johns, Derek Thompson, Paul Antrim, John Terry, Ingrid Pitt, Patrick Stewart, David Lumsden, Michael N. Harbour
Brother and sister, Michael and Kathy Lukas (John Terry and Barbara Carrera)–along with his old comrade Alex Faulkner (Edward Fox)–aid John Haddad (Scott Glenn) who is hired by an American TV station to free Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hess (Laurence Olivier) from a Berlin prison and force Hess to reveal hidden Nazi secrets. German Heinrich Stroebling (Robert Freitag), who is working with the Russians and Palestinian terrorists, organizes assassination attempts on Haddad. Meanwhile, Kathy is kidnapped, and Haddad's assignment proves to be more and more dangerous.
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| 1. Dance with a Stranger (1985)
2. Great Expectations (1981)
3. Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985)
4. The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
5. Rocket to the Moon (1967) aka: Blast Off aka: Those Fantastic Flying Fools aka: Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
6. The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) aka: PT Raiders
7. Splitting Heirs (1993)
8. The Wild Geese II (1985)
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