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Rod Taylor: Pulling No Punches

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn


            When Daisy Werthan, a widowed, 72-year-old Jewish woman living in midcentury Atlanta, is deemed too old to drive, her son hires Hoke Colburn, an African American man, to serve as her chauffeur. What begins as a troubled and hostile pairing, soon blossoms into a profound, life-altering friendship that transcends all the societal boundaries placed between them.
    

Driving Miss Daisy

The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic


            Two hunters (Jack Lester, Ken Jennings) ride through the forest searching for game when they come to a quiet part of the forest. One hunter announces that the forest is magical; hence why there is no snow that falls and it always seems like spring, and that there must be a unicorn living there. The other hunter is skeptical and claims that there are no more unicorns left in the world. The other argues that there must be just one left and, while she exists, there will be no game to hunt in this forest. They turn around, watched by a unicorn (Mia Farrow) who wonders if she is indeed the last. She is approached by a butterfly (Robert Klein) who sings to her and quotes poetry; a typical trait of most butterflies. She asks him if, in all his travels, he's ever seen another unicorn. He taunts her, at first, with riddles and nonsensical lyrics before announcing that all the other unicorns were taken away by a Red Bull that covered their tracks long ago. He then flies away, singing. The unicorn, though hesitant, resolves to leave the safety of her forest and search for the others.She travels over hundreds of miles before coming to a series of farmlands. One elderly farmer (Jack Lester) tries to tame her, mistaking her for a white mare; a mistake which infuriates the unicorn. She cannot believe that all the man sees her as is but a horse and she runs off. However, she comes to realize that if man has forgotten what a unicorn looks like, there may very well be unicorns left in the world hiding in plain sight. One night, while she's sleeping, a side-show caravan led by the witch Mommy Fortuna (Angela Lansbury) comes along. Fortuna places a spell on the unicorn to keep her sleeping before putting her in a cage. The next evening, Fortuna's lackey, Ruhk (Theodore Gottlieb), entertains a group of spectators, introducing them one by one to Fortuna's freaks of nature. He finally shows them the unicorn who has a fake horn placed on her head so that they may actually see it. She is approached by Fortuna's magician, Schmendrick (Alan Arkin), who can see her for what she is and asks her to point out the other captives of the side-show. The unicorn reveals most of them to be normal animals with illusions placed on them, all but the harpy, Celaeno (Keenan Wynn), who is real and as immortal as the unicorn.That night, Schmendrick uses his somewhat faulty magic to free the unicorn who then, in turn, frees all the other captives. However, when she frees the harpy, it turns and attacks her. Mommy Fortuna comes outside with Ruhk to investigate the ruckus and they are both killed by the vengeful harpy while the unicorn and Schmendrick escape. Though Fortuna predicted her death by the claws of the harpy, she dies deliriously happy that the harpy will always know that Fortuna was the one to cage her. Schmendrick accompanies the unicorn on her quest to find the other unicorns and tells her that he knows of a Red Bull that is owned by a king named Haggard (Christopher Lee), though his very existence is shrouded in mystery. Before very long, a group of bandits ride down the road and, while the unicorn hides, Schmendrick is taken captive. He's brought back to their camp where he's welcomed by their leader, Captain Cully (Keenan Wynn) and the scullery maid, Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes). Schmendrick surprises them all, and himself, with a bout of successful magic in which he procures images of the legendary Robin Hood and his merry men. Irritated and frightened by Schmendrick's abilities, Captain Cully ties him to a nearby tree. Schmendrick tries to free himself with magic but accidentally brings the tree to life. The tree (Nellie Bellflower) falls in love with him and nearly smothers him until the unicorn arrives and uses her magic to free Schmendrick. They are then joined by Molly Grue who can also see the unicorn for what she is and weeps at the sight of her, cursing her for coming to her as an older woman rather than a young maid. Molly joins the group as they continue on their journey, much to Schmendrick's disapproval.When they finally have Haggard's castle in sight, the group is suddenly attacked by the Red Bull which ignores Schmendrick and Molly and attempts to herd the unicorn towards the castle. Urged by Molly to do something, Schmendrick uses a great deal of magic to transform the unicorn into a human girl. Confused by the unicorn's different form, the Red Bull leaves. Molly criticizes Schmendrick for turning the unicorn into a mortal and the unicorn is equally upset, crying out that she can 'feel this body dying all around me.' Nevertheless, they continue to the dreary castle and are welcomed into Haggard's decrepit hall, introducing themselves as Haggard's new magician and cook accompanied by the Lady Amalthea. Intrigued by Schmendrick's potential to please him, Haggard dismisses his current magician, Mabruk (Paul Frees), who laughs at Haggard's ill judgement, claiming that he's let his doom walk right through the front door. Lady Amalthea catches the eye of both Haggard and his adopted son, Lir, (Jeff Bridges), though she ignores the advances of both and spends her days wandering the castle, slowly losing memory of who she was or what she was looking for.Realizing that they are losing time and Amalthea is becoming more and more human, Schmendrick and Molly do their best to discover where the lair of the Red Bull is while performing daily tasks to keep Haggard entertained. Finally, Molly receives word from the resident cat (Don Messick) that the lair is located at the base of an old clock, but will only grant entry at the right 'time'. Molly scorns the cat for speaking only in riddles, but the cat merely admits that no cat ever gave a straight answer. Meanwhile, Amalthea and Lir fall in love while Haggard suspects her of her true nature. He tells her that he once saw a unicorn and that it gave him such joy that he sought to keep it for himself. So he commissioned the Red Bull to gather up all the unicorns of the world and drive them into the sea below his castle so that he may look upon them every day.Molly tells Schmendrick that she knows where the entrance to the Bull's lair is and they gather Amalthea and head to the old clock in the main hall. Across from the clock, upon a bureau, lies a crowned skeleton who speaks to them but can only giggle and laugh at their frustration. Per instructions from the cat, Molly produces a bottle of water; the best she can do in lieu of the wine she was supposed to get. When Schmendrick feigns turning the water into wine, the skeleton's interest peaks and he agrees to tell them the secret of entering the lair if they give him the 'wine', now an empty bottle. The skeleton tells them that all they have to do is walk through the clock before gulping down the invisible liquid. However, when he catches sight of Amalthea, he recognizes her as a unicorn and cries out to Haggar. Haggar runs down to the hall and swings his sword at Schmendrick just as Molly and Amalthea enter the realm between the clock and the lair. Schmendrick soon follows just as Haggar destroys the clock portal, trapping them inside. Lir appears, stating that he saw where Amalthea went and he followed.All together, they walk down the lair in search of the exit. Schmendrick explains their plight to Lir who reveals that he doesn't care who or what Amalthea is; he loves whom he loves. Amalthea is inspired by his words and claims that she wants to remain human and die with him, but Lir objects. He tells her that, as a hero, he knows when things should happen, and what should happen is that Amalthea continue her quest and save the unicorns, even if it means that she must become one again and therefore be unable to return Lir's love. The Red Bull suddenly appears and recognizes Amalthea for what she really is. Schmendrick manages to transform her back into a unicorn and she leads the Bull out of its lair onto the beach. With Schmendrick unable to do anything, Lir steps forward but is trampled by the Bull. Enraged, the unicorn turns to face the Bull and intimidates it into the sea where a large wave appears, unicorns emerging from the foam. They envelope the Bull in sea water before storming the beach. They all run upwards towards the castle, releasing it from its rocky base. Before he tumbles to his death in the sea, Haggar shouts out to the unicorn, "I knew you were the last!"The unicorn returns to Molly and Schmendrick and revives Lir before saying her farewells and departing. The remaining trio returns to the countryside where Lir says his goodbyes before leaving to find his own way. Schmendrick asks Molly to go with him and she agrees. Later the next evening, as they sleep at their camp, the unicorn returns to Schmendrick and expresses her thanks, even if she is the first unicorn ever to feel the sting of mortality and the pain of regret. Schmendrick apologizes but the unicorn tells him that she also learned love, and there are unicorns in the world again thanks to him. For that, she is grateful even if she must feel regret for leaving. She returns home to her forest as Molly and Schmendrick look on after her; at the last unicorn.
    

The Last Unicorn

The Love She Sought

Murder, She Wrote

The Pirates of Penzance


            Bedknobs and BroomsticksThe movie is mainly set in a small South Coast English village, Pepperinge Eye, during World War II: an elderly farmer (Cyril Delevanti) is painting out the sign-posts, the Home Guard are exercising, led by General Sir Brian Teagler (Reginald Owen) and Captain Aisley Greer (Arthur Gould-Porter), and Mrs. Hobday (Tessie OShea) is allocating homes to children whom have been evacuated from London (sent to the countryside away from the risk of bombing raids). The three Rawlings children, Charlie (Ian Weighill), Carrie (Cindy OCallaghan) and Paul (Roy Smart) are assigned and reluctantly taken in by Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury). The children are also unhappy, not least at Miss Price's vegetarian lifestyle, and plan to run back to London, but unexpectedly discover, through her attempts to fly on a broomstick, that Miss Price is a trainee witch, complete with black cat ("Cosmic Creepers") and fully fitted magical laboratory ("poisoned dragons liver"); and to ensure their silence about this, she presents Paul, the youngest, with a magical bed-knob with which he can cause the bed to travel anywhere.Miss Price is eagerly awaiting the last installment of her magic correspondence course from 'Professor' Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson) of the College of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is very disappointed when it fails to arrive, the College having closed. Using the bed (song: 'Age of Not Believing'), she and the children visit Mr. Browne in London, where he is revealed as a somewhat shady stage-magician turned street-vendor selling magic tricks: he takes Miss Price and the children to his home, a mansion abandoned because of an USN-exploded bomb in the front garden, where the children play in the nursery and he, astounded that Miss Price can actually perform genuine magic, firstly tries to induce her to form a magic variety act with him (song: 'Eglantine'), and then (after being briefly turned into a white rabbit by Miss Price to force him to be sensible) reveals that he copied all the spells used in his correspondence course from an old book, 'The Spells of Astaroth', of which, however, he only possesses the first half, without the words to the "substitutiary locomotion" spell so desired by Miss Price.Mr. Browne decides the other half of the book is likely to be found in the Portobello Road street-market, so all go there the following day to search for the book, meeting amongst others an old-book-seller (Ben Wrigley). After an extensive song-and-dance-number (song: 'Portobello Road', featuring representatives of many nations which were part of the Allied WWII forces, including Scots, Indians and Jamaicans), as the market is closing, Browne is approached by the sinister 'spiv' Swinburne (Bruce Forsyth) who takes him (and the children and Miss Price, and the bed) to The Bookman (Sam Jaffe) who possesses the other half of the book, but this also does not contain the spell words. It is revealed that the spell is actually inscribed on the 'Star of Astaroth', now in the possession of magically enhanced and human-like animals, formerly owned by the sorcerer Astaroth, on the Isle of Naboombu. Paul, who has taken a cloth book about the Isle of Naboombu from the nursery, now activates the bed-knob to take Mr. Browne, Miss Price, and the three children there. (The following section of the movie, on Naboombu, is animation with live-action from these five individuals).Arriving at the Isle of Naboombu, the bed and its occupants falls into the lagoon, where it is washed into a sunken ship, the Beautiful Briny Ballroom where the fish are dancing: Mr. Browne and Miss Price join in (song: 'Beautiful Briny Sea'), and win the prize of a gold cup, but then all the fish disperse on seeing a fish-hook descend, which catches on the bed and draws it and the humans to the surface. There they meet a talking bear, who takes them to meet the King's secretary (a secretary bird): the King (a lion) is in a dreadful rage because there is no-one to referee his football match. Mr. Browne volunteers. The football match, between the King's team, the 'Dirty Yellows' (lion, hyena, gorilla, warthog, crocodile, rhinoceros), and the 'True Blues' (ostrich, elephant, cheetah, hippopotamus, kangaroo - yes, there are more players on the King's side) then takes place, the King scoring the winning goal, and Mr. Browne getting thoroughly beaten up, although not fatally injured, to the disappointment of the medical staff (vultures). After the match Mr. Browne pulls the "gypsy switch" on the King, substituting his referee's whistle for the Star of Astaroth round the King's neck: the humans then leave pursued by the King as soon as he realizes what has occurred, who is turned into a rabbit by Ms. Price.Back in Pepperinge Eye, Miss Price asks for the Star, but as it has come from another world, it has evaporated: however Paul finds the five magic words of the substitutiary locomotion spell on a picture of the Star in his children's book. Miss Price tries out the spell, which animates clothing, with initially uncontrolled effect (also affecting the hat of the local curate, Mr. Jelk (Roddy McDowall): song: 'Substitutiary Locomotion'). Mrs. Hobday arrives to inform Miss Price that alternative accommodation has been found for the children - which saddens them. Mr. Browne, fearing a family type commitment, also decides he should return to London, and goes to the station to await the milk-train.However, a troop of German soldiers under the command of Colonel Heller (John Ericson) have landed from a U-boat (submarine) on a raid, and take over Miss Price's cottage for their headquarters. She and the children are taken to the local castle, now a museum, and locked in: they are joined by Mr. Browne, who has also spotted the Germans and managed to turn himself into a white rabbit in order to escape. Using the substitutiary locomotion spell, Miss Price animates the entire contents of the museum, some hundreds of costumes of Vikings, Knights, Cavaliers, Hussars etc., plus drums, trumpets and a trio of bagpipe players, and launches these against the Germans, herself directing them from her broomstick. The Germans, including their sergeant (Rick Traeger) are driven with numerous comic effects back to the U-Boat, although they detonate explosives which destroy Miss Price's magical laboratory. Miss Price is slightly injured, at which the whole substitutiary locomotion activated army collapses. The Home Guard arrive to see the Germans leaving, and to claim the victory. The movie ends with the children remaining with Miss Price, and Mr. Browne joining the army but vowing to return, escorted by the Home Guard (song: 'Old Home Guard').
    

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow


            The film opens with a family with two children, Helen and Declan, playing on the beach of County Wexford, Ireland. Their parents explain to them about the lightship out at sea, and take a photo of the two happy children. Many years later, Helen () is married with two children, and she sees her husband and sons off for a holiday in Donegal before leaving for school, where she works as a principal. She is visited at work by a man, Paul (), who explains that he is a friend of Declan's and that he is in the hospital and wishes to see her as soon as possible. On the way there, Paul explains to a shocked Helen that Declan has been living with AIDS for two years and has been too afraid to tell her.At the hospital, Helen greets her brother (), and he requests to see their mother, Lily (), and asks Helen to be the one to tell her about his illness, which troubles Helen, as she has been estranged from her for some time. He also requests that she visit and inform their grandmother, Dora (), who is "a real paint-remover." Helen drives out to the village of Blackwater and breaks the news to her grandmother, who accepts it calmly. Dora tells Helen that Lily has been trying to persuade her to move out of the small village and has given her a mobile phone, but she stubbornly refuses both. Helen stays in Dora's house overnight and remembers back to when she and Declan were children and were left to live in the home with their grandparents for an extended period of time while their father went to Dublin for tests. Declan had difficulty adjusting to the change, but Helen assured him that their parents would come back for them soon and that life would return to normal, although this soon proved untrue.The next day, Helen journeys to her mother's job, and Lily greets her coldly. Helen tells her that Declan is ill and drives her to Dublin. After some awkward conversation regarding their estrangement, Helen hesitantly explains that her brother has AIDS and that he was hoping the family could put aside their differences and come together. At the hospital, Lily confirms her suspicions that her son is gay, and regards Paul frostily when she enters Declan's hospital room. However, she is warm towards her son and offers to take him to her home, but he surprises both Lily and Helen by saying he would rather go to Dora's home in Blackwater. The family drives there the following day, and Dora, though misunderstanding at first, genially accepts them all into her home. Lily seems uncomfortable, and when Helen admits that she knew about her brother's sexuality for many years and didn't tell her, the two exchange harsh words. Helen accompanies her mother to her fancy house for the first time to get linens, and she sees the photo from that day at the beach when she was a child, when the family had happier times.The following day, Declan's friend Larry () turns up at Dora's house to help care for him. Lily seems displeased, but Dora allows him to stay, and he and Helen bond as they help Declan. Dora bluntly asks Helen if Larry and Declan are in a relationship, and when she says no, Dora seems saddened that Declan has no one of his own. Soon Paul arrives as well, and Dora frets over the sudden influx of visitors. Her nosy neighbors stop by and inquire about all the newcomers and about Lily and Helen's lives until Dora finally shoos them away. Later, at dinner, Dora makes her dubious feelings about homosexuality plain, but says that nothing shocks her anymore, and when Lily expresses consternation that Declan's friends are staying in the house as well, Dora insists that they are good company.Larry and Dora get friendlier as he offers to help her remodel her home. Lily still seems distant and unhappy with the situation, and Helen explains to Larry and Paul how she felt smothered and restricted by her family as a young woman and finally broke away from them, moving away and not inviting them to her wedding. She flashes back to her childhood, when her father died of cancer and she and Declan were kept away from the funeral and sent to live with strangers while Dora went to Lily. Separated from her brother, young Helen snuck back into her home and mourned her father alone, feeling abandoned and ignored.Back in the present, Helen, Larry and Paul share a lighthearted moment down on the beach and talk about their respective families. Lily arranges to take time off of work and commits to caring for Declan full-time, and she and Helen have a brief, kind moment together when they reminisce about the lightship and about Helen's father. Helen remembers the day when, after her father's death, Lily took a dip in the ocean for the first time in the children's memory. Later, when she helps an ailing Declan in the middle of the night, she asks if he remembers that day, and he suggests it was her way of moving on, as all people must do eventually.In the morning, an anxious Helen calls her husband on the phone, who reassures her that their children are fine and that shes doing the right thing. When she returns to the home, she finds that Declan has taken a turn for the worse, losing sight in one eye, but he brushes it off as "not the end of the world." Lily muses that Declan was always emotionally engaging and Helen always uncaring, which leads to an argument between mother and daughter, ending with Helen finally demanding how she could have abandoned her and Declan in Blackwater while their father was dying. Declan pleads with Helen to make up with her mother, as there are "no winners in this situation."Later, as Declan grows sicker, Lily grows resentful of his friends' involvement, and Paul argues that his friends were there for him when his family was not, and that he didn't tell them he was sick because he was afraid of their disapproval. Realizing that her children really have been feeling abandoned, Lily finally explains to Declan and Helen that she wrote them letters while their father was sick and wanted to visit them, but Dora prevented it and Lily couldn't leave her husband's side. Helen tells them how she felt forgotten, and Dora and Lily explain that they both just wanted to protect the children from the trauma of the death and the funeral out of love for them.Larry and Dora continue to bond as he teaches her how to drive and takes measurements for her renovations, and Helen and Lily continue to repair their relationship when they finally discuss her father's death and Lily explains that she stayed with him until the very end. It soon becomes clear that Declan needs to return to the hospital, and Helen and Lily escort him back to Dublin, soothing him with a song from his childhood. Helen gives him a shell from the beach that they loved as kids, and they promise to remain by his side. Lily visits Helen's home for the first time and compliments it, expressing a desire to be a bigger part of her life from now on. She gives her the old photograph from their day at the beach, and Helen comforts her as she breaks down in tears.
    

The Blackwater Lightship

Nanny McPhee

Mrs. Santa Claus


            In the present day England, a young girl named Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) lays in her upstairs bedroom in her bed having fallen asleep while reading a magazine while her parents arrives home from shopping and her older sister knocks on her door to try to wake her up before dinner. Rosaleen then has a series of dreams that make up the bulk of this film....Rosaleen dreams that she lives in a fairy tale forest during the late 18th century England with her parents (Tusse Silberg and David Warner) and older sister Alice (Georgia Slowe) as in real life. But one day Alice is chased down and killed by wolves while running through the woods. While her parents are mourning, Rosaleen goes to stay the night with her grandmother (Angela Lansbury), who knits a bright red shawl for her granddaughter to wear. The superstitious old woman gives Rosaleen an ominous warning, to beware men whose eyebrows meet. Granny then tells Rosaleen her own story about "wolves in human form".Granny's tale to Rosaleen:A young groom (Stephen Rea) is about to bed his new bride (Kathryn Pogson) when a "call of nature" summons him outside. He disappears and his bride is terrified to see wolves howling outside. A search the following day yields a wolf paw print only. Years later, she remarries and has three children, only to have her original husband finally return. Angered at her having children with a new husband, the groom transforms into his werewolf form by literally peeling off his skin, but is slain when the new husband (Jim Carter) returns.The next morning, Rosaleen returns to her village, but finds that she must deal with the advances of an amorous teenage boy (Shane Johnstone). Rosaleen and the boy take a walk through the forest, but the boy discovers that the village's cattle have come under attack from a wolf. Rosaleen then climbs a tree to oversee the vast valley area that surrounds the small village where she lives.Another day later, while Rosaleen is talking with Granny again at the church cemetery while the village priest is cutting branches off a large tree, she tells Rosaleen another story about being aware of who or what is out there....Granny's second tale to Rosaleen:A young man is walking through the enchanted forest when he encounters the Devil (Terence Stamp), anachronistically arriving in a Rolls-Royce chauffeured by the actress playing Rosaleen in a blonde wig. The Devil offers the boy a trans-formative potion, which he rubs onto his chest, causing hair to sprout rapidly. The boy is pleased, but shortly thereafter vines grow swiftly from the ground, twining around his legs and trapping him. He wails in protest and fear, his face distorting with his cries. His anguished visage appearing in Rosaleen's bedroom mirror at the end of that dream sequence.Back in the village, Rosaleen's father and the rest of the villagers set out to hunt the wolf. While they are away, Rosaleen tells her own tale about wolves to her mother....Rosaleen's story to her mother:A woman (Dawn Archibald) who lived in a valley "done a terrible wrong" by a rich, young nobleman (Richard Morant) turns up visibly pregnant at his wedding party "to put wrong to right". She calls out the nobleman and the rest of the nobles for their bigoted actions, and further denounces them by declaring "the wolves in the forest are more decent". She then reveals that she is a witch and magically transforms the groom, the bride, and the other nobles into wolves. They flee into the forest as the witch laughs, but afterwards the witch commands that the wolves "serenade" her and her child each night.The villagers then capture a wolf, but once caught and killed, the wolf's corpse transforms into that of a human being.Rosaleen later takes a basket of goods through the woods to her grandmother's cottage, but on her way she encounters an attractive huntsman (Micha Bergese), whose eyebrows meet. He challenges her, saying that he can find his way to her grandmother's house before she can, and the pair set off. The hunter arrives at Rosaleen's grandmother's house first, where he reveals his bestial nature and kills her. Rosaleen arrives later and discovers the carnage, but her need to protect herself is complicated by her desire for the hunter. In the ensuing exchange, Rosaleen accidentally injures the huntsman with his own rifle. Upon this blow, the hunter contorts in pain and transforms into his wolf shape. Rosaleen takes pity on the wounded beast, noting that his pack could leave him behind. She sits down, and begins petting the wolf kindly and tenderly while telling him a story.Rosaleen's story to the huntsman/wolf:A she-wolf from the world beneath arrives at a village. Despite meaning no harm, she is shot by a villager. She reveals herself in her human form (Danielle Dax) to an old priest (Graham Crowden), who takes her in and bandages her wound. Although touched by the priest's kindness and actions, she feels she is not fit to stay. Ultimately, after some time, she returns to her world through the village well.Ultimately the villagers arrive at the house some time later, looking for a werewolf within. Instead, they discover that Rosaleen herself has become a werewolf. Together, she and the huntsman escape to the forest, joined by a growing pack having chosen each other as mates. The wolves seem to stream into the real world, breaking into Rosaleen's house and gathering outside her bedroom. Rosaleen awakes with a scream as one wolf leaps in through her bedroom window and sends her toys crashing to the floor.... symbolizing the end of her childhood innocence.Over the closing credits, Perrault's Le Petit Chaperon Rouge is then heard being read, with the moral warning girls to beware of charming strangers.
    

The Company of Wolves

The Shell Seekers


            Set in the fictional English village of St. Mary Mead, home of Miss Jane Marple (Angela Lansbury), in 1953. The movie opens with a black-and-white scene from a movie being played at the local community house titled 'Meeting at Midnight' where a detective in the movie assembles a group of people together at a quait country mansion to root out them for the murder of the wealthy owner. The film breaks which depresses the local audience, until Miss Marple reveals, according to her natural skill of observation, who the murderer in the movie is.Meanwhile, a big Hollywood production company arrives to film a costume movie about Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I with two famous movie stars, Marina Rudd (Elizabeth Taylor) and Lola Brewster (Kim Novak). Marina and Lola are old rivals who hate each other. Marina, who is making a much heralded comeback after a prolonged "illness" and retirement, when she, in reality, has had a nervous breakdown, and her husband, Jason Rudd (Rock Hudson), who is directing the movie they are making, arrive with their entourage. When she learns that Lola will be in the movie as well, she becomes enraged and vents her anger.Lola and her husband, Martin N. "Marty" Fenn (Tony Curtis), who is producing the movie they are making, then arrive at the gathering. Excitement runs high in St. Mary Mead, as the locals have been invited to a reception held by the movie company in a manor house, Gossington Hall, to meet the celebrities. Lola and Marina come face to face at the reception and exchange some potent and comical insults, nasty one-liners, as they smile and pose for the cameras. The two square off in a series of hilarious and cleverly written and performed cat-fights throughout the movie.After her initial exchange with Lola at the reception, she is cornered by a gushing, devoted fan, Heather Babcock (Maureen Bennett), who bores her with a long and detailed story about having actually met Marina in person during World War II. After recounting the meeting they had all those years ago, when she arose from her sickbed to go and meet the glamorous star, Babcock drinks a cocktail that was made for Marina and quickly dies from poisoning. The incident is unfortunate for Marina's mental state, and she is beside herself. Everyone is certain Heather was the intended murder victim. Once filming begins on the movie, Marina discovers that apart from threatening notes made up of newspaper clippings, her cup of coffee on the set has also been spiked with poison, sending her into fits of terror.A police detective from Scotland Yard arrives to investigate the case. Inspector Dermot Craddock (Bernard Fox) is baffled as he tries to uncover who is behind the attempt on the life of the actress and the subsequent murder of the innocent woman. The suspected are Ella Zielinsky (Geraldine Chaplin), Jason's production assistant who is secretly having an affair with him and would like Marina out of the way, and the hot-headed actress Lola Brewster. Inspector Craddock even suspects Marty Fenn may have have something to do with the attempt on Marina's life since he is Lola's blindly loyal husband.Inspector Craddock then meets with Marina who tells him about reciving the death threats against her in the form of two notes delivered recently and claims not to know who is behind them. When Inspector Craddock questions Jason about the notes, he clearly acts somewhat suprised as if hearing about it for the first time, and he calmly tells the inspector that he wanted to keep the threats on his wife a secret as not to bring on bad publicity for the Hollywood studio.Inspector Craddock asks his aunt, the renowned amateur detective Miss Jane Marple, who injured her foot at the reception and is confined to her home, for assistance. The main suspect, Ella Zielinsky, is later killed by a lethal nose spray after going to a pay phone in the village, where she called the murderer and threatened to expose them.At the climax, Miss Marple, now back on her feet, visits Gossington Hall, where Marina and Jason are staying, and views where Heather Babcock's death occurred. Working from information received from her cleaning woman, Cherry Baker (Wendy Morgan), who was working as a waitress the day of the murder, the determined elderly sleuth begins to piece together the events of the fatal reception and solves the mystery: Marina herself is the murderer.In the film's denouement, Miss Marple explains to Jason Rudd and Inspector Craddock about the two murders that have occurred. Heather Babcock's story was Marina's initial motive. Ten years earlier, Miss Babcock suffered from German measles; a rather harmless disease to most adults, but problematic for a pregnant woman. Heather Babcock innocently infected Marina when she met her during World War II during a stage performance. Marina was about a month pregnant at the time; the disease caused her child to be born with mental retardation. Upon hearing the unknowing Heather cheerfully tell this story, Marina was overcome with rage and poisoned Heather without thinking. She then spread the idea that she was the intended victim in order to throw off suspicion from herself, delivering death threats and poisoning her own coffee at the studio. Ella, who made phone calls to various suspects from the town's pay phone, accidentally guessed correctly, apparently prompting Marina to murder her as well. Miss Marple also deducts that Jason Rudd knew about Marina's murderous secret after Inspector Craddock told him the other day about the death threat notes that Marina received. Jason saw right through the charade as he realized that Marina fabricated everything because she never told him about the death threat notes, and thus decided to protect her.Jason, Marina's devoted husband, confesses to Miss Marple that he actually administered a dosage of poison just last night to save her from prosecution. However, when they enter Marina's room, they see that Marina is now dead. However, Marina didn't touch the hot chocolate Jason made for her and rather poisoned herself. As Marina is now dead, she will not be brought to justice. On that note, both Miss Marple and Inspector Craddock depart from Gossington Hall as the end credits role.
    

Angela Lansbury

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