I haven’t read this book since the mid-80s when my schoolmate and friend, Michael Hay suggested I might like it. I dug into it, and for awhile there, birthdays or Christmases would bring me the latest Tom Clancy hardcover. I’ve been itching to kind of go back and see I still enjoy the stories, and…
Tag: england
The Great Train Robbery (1978) – Micheal Crichton
Michael Crichton writes and directs The Great Train Robbery and invites Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down along for the ride. Not quite a romp, the film is definitely an entertaining heist film, resting easily on Connery’s charm, and Sutherland turning in a wonderfully goofy performance. It’s England, in the 1850s. Connery plays Pierce,…
Pursuit to Algiers (1945) – Roy William Neill
Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are at see in Pursuit to Algiers. Roy William Neill continues to direct and produce the entries, which they seem to be cranking out like clockwork. The duo find themselves on babysitting duty this time out, as they are asked to accompany Prince Nikolas (Leslie Vincent) home to…
Death at a Funeral (2007) – Frank Oz
Frank Oz directs this uproariously funny film that puts the ‘fun’ in funeral, and amps up the hilarity by setting it in England. There’s just something horrendously funny about things going wrong around Brits, as they try to maintain some manner of decorum, dignity and civility. Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) is mourning the loss of his…
Double or Die (2007) – Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson delivers another exciting Young James Bond story. But I have to say, his youth seemed pretty adventure-filled. So much so that you have to wonder if he was bored being 007. This one is a bit different, with more clues and intellect involved. The past two adventures saw young Bond going after baddies,…
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) – Roy William Neill
Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) continue their own efforts against the Third Reich in this 1942 film that is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Dancing Men story. I say loosely, but it’s really only the code that comes into play. Holmes gets to put his disguises to…
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) – John Rawlins
Nazis, I hate these guys. Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes leaves behind the trappings of the 19th century for this 1940s adventure, based loosely on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tale His Last Bow. A radio broadcast from Germany is threatening destruction on England, and it gleefully predicts and calls out each moment of destruction with eerie…
The King’s Man (2021) – Matthew Vaughn
The third entry in the KingsMan series, all of which have been directed by Matthew Vaughn, is a prequel to the rest of the series. It shows how the KingsMan agency came to be, what caused it, and how it grew its network of information and agents. Sounds great. Then you throw in Ralph Fiennes,…
Pirate Radio (2009) – Richard Curtis
Based loosely on a true story, Richard Curtis brings his talent for blending comedy and drama to a classic tale of rock and roll! In the early 60s when British Rock was at its height, England only played rock’n’roll for perhaps an hour all day on air. But just off the coast in the North…
The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944) – Ford Beebe
John Carradine plays a scientist, Drury, who has perfected an invisible serum, though it has no relation to the work that the Griffin family was working on in previous films. We are introduced to him when an escaped psychotic murderer, Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) – no relation escapes to the U.K. It seems that he’s…
The Mind Reels 