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Reviews
Ring of Spies (1964)
great film though not strictly factual
I've always loved this film - not least because most of the filming locations are familiar to me.
I'm not usually a fan of spy films, but this one works for me partly because the casting is so excellent.
There is a great chemistry between Bernard Lee and Margaret Tyzack, and if you watch some of their reactions closely they appear spontaneous rather than rehearsed.
The only reservation I have about the film is, while it's great entertainment, its only very loosely based on the facts.
And that is why I wrote this article - not just to praise this film but rather to set the record straight for other reviewers who seem to labor under the illusion that this film is factual.
Viewers (and reviewers) should not take it as the Gospel truth in terms of historical accuracy - it's far from it. But the scriptwriter has turned the basic story into enjoyable cinema!
And with all due respect to those who have sadly departed this world, Harry Houghton and Elizabeth Gee became spies of their own volition rather than through blackmail and coercion as this film would have us believe. In fact, it portrays them more sympathetically than perhaps they really deserve.
Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977)
Unbelievably bad
I didn't really know how many stars to give this - I gave it two because there probably are even worse things to watch than this. It's totally unfunny and unentertaining. As a comment on the then prevailing morals it might have some value, but it's so smutty and predictable that it's hard to take seriously. The Carry On films did this sort of thing so much better because the sexual innuendo was implied and often entertaining (with the exception of the last two Carry On films). In this film everything is so explicit, that together with an awful script, its just embarrassing for anybody (other than those seeking visual titillation) to watch.
Five to One (1963)
One of the better efforts in the Edgar Wallace series
Enjoyable entry in the Edgar Wallace series, even if the ending feels too sudden, but this episode is at least good enough to leave the viewer wishing there was more of it. Plenty of twists to the story to keep the viewer interested, and plenty of outdoor filming so it's a good deal less claustrophobic than some of the other efforts in this series. It's still hard to believe that John Thaw was only 21 when he made this.
Kessler: Episode #1.1 (1981)
Poor attempt to capitalize on Secret Army
Sequel made in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Secret Army which obviously did not work - they only made half a dozen episodes. The pursuit of ex-Nazis was topical enough at the time, but the charm and the intensity of the wartime setting has gone. Followers of the original series might want to watch it, even if it's just out of curiosity, but to anyone unfamiliar with the original story it is quite insipid. All of the familiar characters from Secret Army have aged well though in the 35 years since the war - especially cafe owner Albert Foiret, who doesn't look a day older than he did in 1945!
On the Run (1963)
starts off well but soon becomes dialogue-heavy
Gets off to a good start, but soon bogs down like so many of this series does and becomes too much like a dialogue-laden studio-based melodrama. Brian Wilde and Garfield Morgan appear in roles in which they would later become familiar to the viewing public in well-known television series in the 1970's.
The Switch (1963)
predictable b-movie
Once the mystery about why the same model of car keeps getting stolen is explained this becomes a rather flat and predictable crime story. Fans of b-movies like me will still find it worth watching though, even if only to see some familiar English stars of the 1950's whose careers by now were clearly on the downward slope.