Damn the Defiant! 1962  N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Cast: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell, Bryan Pringle, Murray Melvin, Victor Maddern
While fighting Napoleon's fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, a captain and his first mate form differences of opinion that threaten the success of their mission. This film remains faithful to historical fact.
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Feast of July 1995  R, 116 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Christopher Menaul
Cast: Embeth Davidtz, Tom Bell, James Purefoy, Kenneth Anderson, Ben Chaplin, Greg Wise, Gemma Jones
Set in Victorian England, poor downtrodden Bella Ford (Embeth Davidtz) is rescued after giving birth to a stillborn baby and brought to the country home of Ben Wainwright (Tom Bell). She is admired by all three of Wainwright's sons but settles on Con (Ben Chaplin). All goes well until Con confronts the ogre who was responsible for Bella's earlier pregnancy.
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Holocaust 1978  TV, 570 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Marvin J. Chomsky
Cast: Tom Bell, Michael Moriarty, Tovah Feldshuh, Meryl Streep, Fritz Weaver, David Warner, Edward Hardwicke, Joseph Bottoms, Marius Goring, Rosemary Harris, Tony Haygarth, Ian Holm, Lee Montague, Sam Wanamaker, James Woods
This made-for-TV series won the Emmy for its excellence. It is the story of two families who suffered under the reign of Hitler during wartime Germany. The Jewish Weiss family (Fritz Weaver, Rosemary Harris, Sam Wanamaker, Joseph Bottoms, and Blanche Baker) celebrates the wedding of their son Karl (James Woods) to Christian Inga Helms (Meryl Streep). The families get along–until the Nazi's persecution of the Jews is increased, and major problems develop. Now, the story follows individual family members and how their lives change from 1935 to 1945 in war-torn Germany.
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The L-Shaped Room 1963 N/R, 124 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Leslie Caron, Tom Bell, Brock Peters, Cicely Courtneidge, Avis Bunnage, Emlyn Williams, Patricia Phoenix, Harry Locke, Bernard Lee, Kay Walsh, Anthony Booth, Avis Bunnage
Leslie Caron deftly portrays a single, French woman, June, who is pregnant–but not alone. Living in a London boarding house, she intermingles with the other residents as she tries to make sense out of her predicament. Caron received an Oscar nomination.
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The Last Minute 2001 R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stephen Norrington
Cast: Max Beesley, Emily Corrie, Tom Bell, Anthony Higgins, Kate Ashfield, Ciaran McMenamin, Jason Isaacs, Joseph Bennett, Udo Kier, Ronnie McCann
Told in flashback, this film relates the story of Billy Byrne's rise and fall. Out to become a famous entertainer, he succeeds, but fame is fleeting, and Billy falls from grace into the crime world.
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Let Him Have It 1991 R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Medak
Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Bell, Eileen Atkins, Clare Holman, Michael Elphick, Mark McGann, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gough, Ronald Fraser
As a teenager in 1950, Derek (Christopher Eccleston) finds he can make easy money by joining a group of London's street toughs. However, when petty crimes turn into murder, Derek is faced with a death sentence for a crime he did not commit. Well-made film from the UK.
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My Kingdom 2001  N/R, 117 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Don Boyd
Cast: Richard Harris, Lynn Redgrave, Tom Bell, Emma Catherwood, Aidan Gillen, Louise Lombard, Paul McGann, Jimi Mistry, Reece Noi, Lorraine Pilkington
As in Shakespeare's "King Lear," this modern-day story involves a power struggle between three daughters. This time the father is a crime boss, and it is his illegal business ventures that the women covet.
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Pollyanna 2003 TV, 100 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Sarah Harding
Cast: Amanda Burton, Kenneth Cranham, Georgina Terry, Aden Gillett, Pam Ferris, Kate Ashfield, David Bamber, Tom Ellis, Tom Bell, Ben Thornton, Amanda Walker
This made-for-TV rendition of Eleanor H. Porter's story stars Georgina Terry as the young Pollyanna who cheers up her community and melts the heart of her cranky Aunt Polly (Amanda Burton). Good fare.
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Preaching to the Perverted 1997 R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Stuart Urban
Cast: Guinevere Turner, Christien Anholt, Tom Bell, Julie Graham, Georgina Hale, Julian Wadham, Ricky Tomlinson, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Sue Johnston, Don Henderson, Charlotte Weston, Imogen Bain, Edward Jewesbury, Angela Easterling, Ian Embleton
The London underground S&M world and the government's attempts to stop it are satirized in this funny, near-porno film. Tanya (Guinevere Turner) is the sadomasochistic queen of London, and naive Peter (Christien Anholt) is sent by moral crusader Henry (Tom Bell) to infiltrate and bring back evidence to help his cause. Not unexpectedly, Peter falls for Tanya and longs for the day when she will have "normal" sex.
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Prime Suspect 1991 TV, 207 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Christopher Menaul
Cast: Helen Mirren, Tom Bell, John Benfield, John Bowe, Zoe Wanamaker, Bryan Pringle, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Wilkinson, John Forgeham, Gary Whelan, Jack Ellis, Craig Fairbrass
Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is the only woman on London's homicide squad. When the head investigator of a murder case dies, Jane lobbies for and heads up the case. She not only must deal with a crazed serial killer but also with her hostile male comrades in the squad. This is the first of several British TV miniseries entries that follow the exploits of Jane Tennison.
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Royal Flash 1975 PG, 98 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Richard Lester
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Alan Bates, Florinda Bolkan, Oliver Reed, Britt Ekland, Lionel Jeffries, Tom Bell, Joss Ackland, Alastair Sim, Michael Hordern
Based on George McDonald Frazier's novel, this film is supposed to be a satire on the swashbuckling era of Victorian England but comes across as slapstick comedy.
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Straight on Till Morning 1972 R, 96 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Peter Collinson
Cast: Rita Tushingham, Shane Briant, Tom Bell, Annie Ross, Katya Wyeth, Claire Kelly, James Bolam, Harold Berens, John Clive, Mavis Villiers
Young Brenda (Rita Tushingham) leaves her home in Liverpool and heads to London to find a husband. She meets her "Prince Charming" Peter (Shane Briant) who, in addition to being charming, is a psychotic killer.
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Swept from the Sea 1997 PG-13, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Beeban Kidron
Cast: Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Tom Bell, Zoe Wanamaker, Tony Haygarth, Fiona Victory, William Scott-Masson
At the end of the 19th century, Ukranian Yanko Gooral (Vincent Perez) survives a shipwreck and makes it to the small town of Colebrook. He falls in love with Amy (Rachel Weisz) who works for the Swaffers (Joss Ackland and Kathy Bates), and they later marry–but are not allowed to live happily ever after.
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 Swing 1999  R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Nick Mead
Cast: Hugo Speer, Lisa Stansfield, Paul Usher, Tom Bell, Rita Tushingham, Danny McCall, Alexei Sayle, Clarence Clemons, Nerys Hughes, Scot Williams
Martin (Hugo Speer) gets out of jail and, after tutoring by Clarence Clemons on the sax, he starts a band. The lead singer (and the only real highlight of the film) is Joan (pop singer Lisa Stansfield in her first film)–Martin's ex-girlfriend who is now married to the cop who arrested Martin. The working class of Liverpool theme, along the lines of "The Full Monty," has some good music and an optimistic outlook.
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| 1. Damn the Defiant! (1962)
2. Feast of July (1995)
3. Holocaust (1978)
4. The L-Shaped Room (1963)
5. The Last Minute (2001)
6. Let Him Have It (1991)
7. My Kingdom (2001)
8. Pollyanna (2003)
9. Preaching to the Perverted (1997)
10. Prime Suspect (1991)
11. Royal Flash (1975)
12. Straight on Till Morning (1972)
13. Swept from the Sea (1997)
14. Swing (1999)
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