A BBC documentary portrait of Peter Sellers, filmed over a period of nine months in 1969 during the filming of his latest film The Magic Christian. Director Tony Palmer interviews Sellers and friends and associates about the actor’s career and life. At age 44, with 38 films already behind him, including Dr. Strangelove and two “Pink Panther” films, Sellers was then at the crest of his career. But his personal life, which included two bad marriages (and two more to come), a near-fatal 1964 heart attack, and increasingly disturbing personality disorders, was in tatters. His distrust of everyone, including Palmer, is evident here on-camera several times.
Tag: UK
This heartwarming British drama is based on Beth the Sheepdog, a novel by Ernest Lewis. Beth is played, quite well indeed, by a magnificent animal named Fleet. The story concerns the efforts of various interested human parties to enter Beth in the All-England Dog Championship. When a farmer is unsuccessful in his efforts to purchase Beth for his own, he spitefully accuses the dog’s owner of sheep stealing. After this mess is straightened out, the plot segues into the Championship, and it is at this point that the film finally comes to life.
Rick Morgan, an American involved in the bootlegging trade, is forced to relocate to Britain where he becomes one of the top cat burglars in London. One night while breaking into a house he runs into the daughter of its occupant Glory Fane and they soon fall in love. However, one of Morgan’s old associates from the United States, now masquerading as a respectable member of British society, threatens to wreck his chances of going straight and finding happiness with Glory.
In this comedy, a milque-toast bank clerk is forced to deliver blackmail money to a seductive woman. Misunderstandings abound when the clerk’s brother-in-law sees him leaving the woman’s house. Soon word that the clerk has become a dashing rake is spread around the town. In the end, the owner of a sexy lingerie factory offers the clerk a partnership in his business.
In this extraordinary six-part series, film historian and critic Noel Burch uses clips of rare archival silent film treasures to take us on a riveting journey of discovery. How did silent film reach such incredible heights in a mere 30 years? Why did film in the United States so quickly become such a popular art form?
The full story of the two years when the biggest star the world had known became an ordinary soldier. During this time his mother died and he met his future bride Priscilla Beaulieu. Includes interviews with those who served alongside him, as well as colour home movies and rare newsreel footage.
An English bookkeeper who works for a jeweler steals a priceless jewel, and kills a man in the process. He flees to the continent, where he embarks on the life of his dreams; spending lavishly and pursuing women. A detective tracking him soon discovers he’s not the only one searching for him, and begins to suspect there’s more to the case than just an ordinary jewel theft.