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Has there ever been a more controversial year in cinema than 1971? It was the year that Ken Russell's "The Devils" caused outrage with its graphic sexuality and blasphemous imagery; elsewhere, Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" divided critics with its ugly violence upon making its debut in New York, while Ted Kotcheff's "Wake in Fright" turned stomachs with its grisly kangaroo hunt sequence. In the United States, the gloves were off after the Hays Code had given way to the more lenient MPAA ratings system in 1968, allowing filmmakers to explore challenging themes and show sex and violence in more explicit detail. Among the American movies that pushed these new boundaries were Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry" and Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs," an intensely misanthropic psychodrama that became notorious for its depiction of sexual assault.

"Straw Dogs" was Peckinpah's first non-Western film, and it was an unusual hybrid,...

Brian Murphy, who starred as the henpecked landlord George Roper on the 1970s British sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, which were adapted for Three’s Company and The Ropers in the U.S., has died. He was 92.

Murphy died Sunday of cancer at his home in Kent, England, his agent, Thomas Bowington, announced.

Murphy also starred on the short-lived comedies The Incredible Mr. Tanner in 1981, L for Lester in 1982 and Lame Ducks in 1984-85 before joining the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine as Alvin Smedley for an eight-season run from 2003-10.

ITV’s Man About the House, from Thames Television, starred Richard O’Sullivan as student chef Robin Tripp, who moves into a London flat shared by two young women, Chrissy (Paula Wilcox) and Jo (Sally Thomsett), to enjoy a platonic relationship. The landlords, George and his sexually frustrated wife, Mildred (Yootha Joyce), are told Robin is gay.

British actor Joss Ackland, known for his distinctive voice and commanding presence, has passed away at the age of 95. He will be remembered as one of Britain's most talented and beloved actors. Ackland's remarkable career spanned several decades, during which he showcased his versatility in films, television, and stage. He received a Cbe in 2001 for his contributions to the entertainment industry. Tributes from colleagues and fans poured in, honoring Ackland's memorable performances and the impact he had on the acting community. He will be deeply missed, leaving behind a legacy that spans generations.

When it comes to actors with an ability to command a scene, British actor Joss Ackland was one of the best. It was sadly announced today that the Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, White Mischief and The Mighty Ducks actor has passed away at the age of 95. The family statement (per BBC) revealed that the actor...

Actor Phil Davis has dramatically resigned his BAFTA membership following last Sunday’s awards ceremony, calling the show an “embarrassing travesty.”

Davis, who has appeared in film and TV projects including “Doctor Who,” “Vera Drake” and “Alien 3,” cited host Richard E. Grant’s introduction — during which he pretended to arrive in a Batmobile before appearing in a floor-length white cape — as well as cuts made to winners’ speeches during the broadcast on BBC One and the omission of fellow “Doctor Who” actor Bernard Cribbins in the In Memorium segment.

“The BAFTA awards were an embarrassing travesty,” Davis tweeted on Wednesday. “Cutting deserving winners speeches for toe curling non interviews. Poor Richard E Grant pretending to arrive in a Batmobile and no Bernard Cribbens in memorium. I resigned my membership. [sic]”

The BAFTA awards were an embarrassing travesty. Cutting deserving winners speeches for toe curling non interviews. Poor Richard E Grant...

Rereleased as a curtain-raiser for a sequel, Jenny Agutter, Bernard Cribbins and co continue to exert their grip over the national imagination

There can’t be many classic British family movies which feature Russian anti-tsarist writers exiled in Yorkshire. The Railway Children from 1970 is now re-released, as a curtain-raiser to a forthcoming sequel, The Railway Children Return, which will be set 40 years on and features Jenny Agutter playing a grownup version of her original character.

The original is robustly and adroitly directed by Lionel Jeffries, who also adapted the Edith Nesbit novel and it continues to exert its grip on our collective teatime imagination, due to its unworldly sweetness and gentleness and its forthright sense of decency – especially, maybe, that final scene where the children’s wrongly imprisoned father emerges from the steam on the railway platform, a moment as dramatic and mysterious as Omar Sharif galloping through the heat-haze in Lawrence of Arabia,...

Variety can reveal the first look poster and trailer of the long awaited sequel to all-time British kids’ classic film “The Railway Children” from Studiocanal.

Studiocanal is launching global sales on the film at the virtual AFM (Nov. 1-5).

Based on a celebrated novel by E. Nesbit, the original 1970 film follows three children, who, after the enforced absence of their father, move with their mother to Yorkshire where they attempt to discover the reason for his disappearance.

Picking up nearly forty years after the events of the original film, “The Railway Children Return” follows a new group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during WWII, where they encounter a young soldier, who like them, is far away from home.

BAFTA and Emmy winning Jenny Agutter resumes her role as Roberta from the original “The Railway Children” and is joined by BAFTA winning Sheridan Smith (“Cilla”), Oscar nominee...

BAFTA-winning director Morgan Matthews (“X+Y”) will begin principal photography on May 10 on a sequel to the all-time British kids’ classic “The Railway Children.”

“The Railway Children Return” will shoot in locations around the U.K. from the original 1970 film, including Oakworth Station, Haworth and The Bronte Parsonage. The iconic Keighley & Worth Valley Railway from the original film will also feature.

BAFTA and Emmy-winning actor Jenny Agutter will resume her role from the original “Railway Children.” BAFTA-winning Sheridan Smith; Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Tom Courtenay; and a new generation of Railway Children will star alongside.

Based on a celebrated novel by E. Nesbit, the original film follows three children, who, after the enforced absence of their father, move with their mother to Yorkshire where they attempt to discover the reason for his disappearance.

“The Railway Children Return” follows a group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during WWII,...

(This review pertains to the UK Region 2 DVD release).

By Tim Greaves

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I first encountered Lionel Jeffries’ 1973 melodrama Baxter! during the summer of 1978 on what I believe to be its one and only British television airing by the BBC. Its conspicuous absence on video in the UK – and, until 2014, DVD – meant that, for me, some 36 years elapsed between viewings. A small, and in many respects not particularly memorable film, it nevertheless stayed with me over the intervening years for, I think, two reasons. The first was its unexpectedly dark nature, which completely caught me off guard given the family friendly nature of the director’s previous films, The Railway Children and The Amazing Mr Blunden; best remembered for his myriad of on-screen performances, Baxter! was in fact the third of only five projects which positioned Jeffries on the other side of the camera.

Pointless Celebrities: BBC One, 7pm

The start of a new run of celebrity specials of the daytime quiz show fronted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman. This week, it's a 1970s special complete with comedy Village People moustaches. There's a round on pop music, which should suit Roy Wood and Rick Wakeman. The other teams involved are actors Paul Henry and Madeline Smith, DJ Edward Stewart and Sally James (of Tiswas fame), and Sally Thomsett and Anna Karen.

Britain's Got Talent: ITV, 7.15pm

ITV's biggest talent show is back with its great variety of singers, dancers, gymnasts, comedians and performing dogs. From the sublime to the ridiculous, the audition rounds have it all. Ant and Dec present, claiming about Simon Cowell that "if anything, parenthood has made him grumpier". The media mogul presides over the judging panel, alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.

With the introduction of the Golden Buzzer,...

The list of celebrities taking part in the latest Pointless specials has been announced.

Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman will be joined by famous faces for six new primetime episodes of the hit game show, kicking off on Saturday, April 12.

The first special will have a 1970s theme, with Wizzard and Yes stars Roy Wood and Rick Wakeman facing actors Paul Henry and Madeleine Smith, and Sally Thomsett and Anna Karen, and children's television stars Ed Stewart and Sally James.

Elsewhere, Sir Geoff Hurst and George Cohen MBE will team up in the World Cup special, facing Peter Shilton and Steve Bull, Hope Powell and Casey Stoney, and Graeme Le Saux and commentator Jonathan Pearce.

The Eurovision Pointless special is a thing to behold, with Bucks Fizz's Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan trying to prove their wits against Martin Lee and Sonia Evans, Dana and Johnny Logan, and Jemini's Chris Cromby and Gemma Abbey.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has received its first ever complaint for The Railway Children.

One viewer complained that the 1970 movie starring Call the Midwife's Jenny Agutter may lead to children playing near railway tracks, reports BBC News.

"The correspondent was concerned that children may be encouraged to play on railway tracks as a result of seeing the film," the BBFC's annual report stated.

Directed by Lionel Jeffries, the classic film also starred Bernard Cribbins, Dinah Sheridan and Sally Thomsett.

Published today (July 11), the report ruled that it was "very unlikely" that The Railway Children would encourage "such dangerous activity".

"The Railway Children is set in the Edwardian period and trains and access to railway property are very different today," the censor said.

"The film also demonstrates the potential harm to children if proper care is not taken."

Senior examiner Craig Lapper added that while the film holds a U rating,...

If you had to complain about 'The Railway Children' - what do you think you would complain about?

The conservative values on show in a family that's incomplete until father returns? The bloomers ripped off in a hurry by Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett? The inherent snobbery of a family who consider it a disaster that they can't have jam And butter on their bread?

The Railway Children has been an enduring favourite since release in 1970

Nope, it seems the One correspondent who complained this year to the British Board of Film Classification "was concerned that children may be encouraged to play on railway tracks as a result of seeing the film".

The BBFC (including its director David Cooke, who blogs regularly for HuffPostUK) took stock of the complaint, but concluded that it was "very unlikely" that The Railway Children would promote "such dangerous activity".

"The Railway Children...

Actors Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett recall bunking off to a Leeds nightclub and being banned from driving during the making of the classic 1970 children's film

Jenny Agutter, actor

I was reluctant to accept the role of Roberta because I'd played her two years earlier in a BBC series, and had since left school. I'd filmed Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout, so it felt like going backwards. But the director Lionel Jeffries was such an exuberant personality, you couldn't say no.

He was also a fine actor and, whether deliberately or subconsciously, assumed the role of an Edwardian father figure while filming. If a take went well, he'd give us half a crown – I wondered how far he thought that would go down the pub. Once, Sally [Thomsett, who played Phyllis] and I slipped out, and when we got back he was waiting, pointing at his watch and saying he hoped we would be fit for filming the next morning.

Actors Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett recall bunking off to a Leeds nightclub and being banned from driving during the making of the classic 1970 children's film

I was reluctant to accept the role of Roberta because I'd played her two years earlier in a BBC series, and had since left school. I'd filmed Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout, so it felt like going backwards. But the director Lionel Jeffries was such an exuberant personality, you couldn't say no.

Continue reading...

Straw Dogs (1971) Direction: Sam Peckinpah Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T. P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison, Len Jones, Sally Thomsett, Robert Keegan, Peter Arne Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman and Sam Peckinpah; from Gordon Williams' novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm Oscar Movies Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Straw Dogs By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica: If there has ever been a more over-interpreted and misinterpreted film than director Sam Peckinpah's 1971 drama Straw Dogs, I've yet to encounter it. Citizen Kane and 2001: A Space Odyssey have had more ink spilled over them, but most of the ideas tossed about are on the money and far less is read into them. Also, those two classics have one big thing going for them that Straw Dogs does not. They are great films. Co-written by Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman from from Gordon Williams' novel...

The full line-up of guests has been announced for the Winter Memorabilia Show 2010, to be held at the NEC, Birmingham, this coming weekend (November 20-21)

They include Angel Coulby (above) and Rupert Young from the BBC series Merlin and Tommy Knight and Anjili Mohindra from Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Hollywood actors coming to the event include David Warner (pictured below left) - whose five decades in the industry have seen him in films such as Time Bandits, Tron, The Omen, Titanic and Planet of the Apes - and David Bradley, best known for playing cantankerous caretaker Argus Filch (below right) in the Harry Potter movies. Also attending is Warwick Davis, who plays Professor Filius Flitwick in the Potter films and whose other credits include Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Willow and the Leprechaun series.

TV stars making the trip to Birmingham include Richard Herd and Andrew Prine,...

You may have seen my blu ray review that I wrote earlier today and be excited to see the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Railway Children on DVD or Blu Ray this Monday, 3rd May. Well, why not save your pennies and enter our competition to win a copy on blu ray right here?!

We’ve been given five copies to give away in lovely high definition courtesy of the wonderful guys at Optimum Releasing who are distributing the movie. The Railway Children is a classic tale made in 1970 starring Jenny Agutter, Dinah Sheridan, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren, Bernard Cribbins and is directed by Lionel Jeffries.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the movie all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below.

Who wrote the original novel, ‘The Railway Children’?

The small print:

This competition is open to the UK only.

This Monday, 3rd May sees to the release of the 40th anniversary edition of The Railway Children on DVD and Blu Ray. Optimum Releasing were kind enough to send me a review copy where I got to see the movie for the first time in about 20 years. Find out what I thought of the movie and it’s conversion to blu ray below.

When I was trying to work out what word describes The Railway Children, the only one that I could think of was ‘quintessential’ and I’m not sure I’ve ever used that word before in my life! This Monday, 3rd May sees the release of Lionel Jeffries classic (based on the book by E. Nesbit) 1970 movie about 3 children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren) who’s lives are changed when they are forced to move from London to Yorkshire with their mother (Dinah Sheridan) after their...

Return of the lovable family film. By Peter Bradshaw

Only the hard-hearted could deny the lovability and charm of Lionel Jeffries's tremendous 1970 version of E Nesbit's children's classic The Railway Children, now on re-release. Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary F Warren play the Waterbury children who, when their beloved papa is wrongfully imprisoned for espionage, must take up residence in a little country cottage in Yorkshire, where there will be buns for tea as and when their authoress mother (Dinah Sheridan) sells a story. The depictions of being "poor" are quaint, given their apparent comfort and ability to mobilise assistance from the wealthy and well-connected. No matter. It all slips down very nicely; Bernard Cribbins is terrific as railwayman Perks, and Jeffries' final scene – in which Iain Cuthbertson, playing the father, materialises on the station platform wreathed in steam – is justly celebrated.

Rating: 4/5

FamilyPeter Bradshaw

guardian.co.uk...

It was a little film that became an instant classic. As The Railway Children celebrates its 40th birthday, Patrick Barkham catches up with the original cast

The Railway Children will always be remembered for that scene at Oakworth station, the one where Roberta's father emerges through the steam of a departing train. "Daddy, my Daddy!" Plenty of people will admit to weeping when the young Jenny Agutter is reunited with her father. But watching it now, 40 years after it was first released, I find myself welling up long before then: at the birdsong, the music, the Yorkshire countryside, the lost Edwardian world.

Why does it make me cry? "Because you're an old sentimentalist," says Bernard Cribbins, who played Perks, the station porter, and is now an astonishingly frisky 81. "Which would apply to most of the audience who watch The Railway Children." Does Agutter cry? "No, she's hard as nails," says Cribbins.

Cast members of the classic 1970 British film The Railway Children are scheduled to reunite at a screening of the film at the Bradford International Film Festival in England on Sunday, March 28. Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Bernard Cribbins are to appear to at the festival to discuss the film and attend a screening of a restored print of the movie. Sadly, the film's director, Lionel Jeffries, was scheduled to attend but passed away last week. For more click here...