Film Diary: 1981
List of films seen in 1981.
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- DirectorMohy QuandourStewart RaffillStarsHenry BrandonHerbert NelsonDan HaggertyAvakum (Henry Brandon) is an old trapper who is having a harder and harder time getting by because of the dwindling wildlife in the region. One day he is on a tiger hunt when a big cat attacks his friend's son. Ava tries to shoot the tiger but accidentally kills the boy instead. Thinking he's accused of murder, he flees civilization, and eventually adapts to life among these same tigers. Boris (Herbert Nelson) , knows that his son's death was an accident, and tries to find Avakum and tell him he's innocent and should came back to the village. In the year that follows, Ava survives the harsh Siberian winter and finds himself at home beyond civilized life, to the point where when Boris finally does find him, it is a very touching goodbye, since the two old friends have drifted apart and have to remain in their separate worlds.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsCharles BronsonBen JohnsonRichard CrennaJohn Deakin is being transported, as a prisoner, on a train with supplies and medicine to Fort Humboldt, Nevada.
- DirectorJohn RobinsStarsRichard O'SullivanPaula WilcoxSally ThomsettA property developer wants to flatten the street to make new buildings. Householder George Roper is happy to take the offered money and run but his wife Mildred join with other residents to take a stand and keep things as they are.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsMichael CaineTrevor HowardLawrence DouglasIn eighteenth century Scotland, during the Jacobite Rebellion, David Balfour claims his inheritance from his uncle who has him shanghaied on a ship where David meets fugitive Jacobite rebel Alan Breck.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBernard CribbinsBill MaynardJoss AcklandWhen D. C. Dangerous Davies, not held in high regard by his superiors, is assigned to find a notorious criminal kingpin, he uncovers the details of 15 year old cold case.
- DirectorPeter HallStarsRod SteigerClaire BloomJudy GeesonSteve Howard, a British sales executive living in Middlesex, England, begins an affair with a young hitchhiker, Ella Patterson, to emotionally get away from his marriage to his wife Frances. But when Ella moves into a room in Steve and Frances's house, he must keep the true nature of his relationship with Ella under wraps at all costs.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsSam J. JonesMelody AndersonMax von SydowA football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
- DirectorBryan IzzardStarsReg VarneyStephen LewisDoris HareAfter being fired from the bus company for crashing two buses, Stan and Jack seek bus-driving work at a holiday camp - only to find that Inspector Blake too now works there.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsCary GrantSophia LorenMartha HyerA widower, his three young children, and an Italian nanny get to know each other better when circumstances have them living together aboard a badly neglected houseboat.
- DirectorPeter HammondStarsJames MasonDiana CouplandHannah GordonA stern father and lenient mother try to deal with the ups and downs of their four children's lives in working-class Bolton.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsRichard CrennaYvette MimieuxKim RichardsA dog that is a minion of Satan terrorizes a suburban family.
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsJackie ChanKristine DeBellJosé FerrerA young Asian-American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fighting competition.
- DirectorSteve CarverStarsLee MajorsJennifer O'NeillArt CarneyThe construction of a steel skyscraper becomes a race against time and challenges the sanity of a building foreman and his crew.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsSidney JamesKenneth WilliamsCharles HawtreyAfter having just wed Marie of Normandy, Henry VIII's eager to consummate their marriage. Unfortunately, she's always eating garlic, and refuses to stop. Deciding to get rid of her - in his usual manner, Henry must find some way of doing it without provoking war with Marie's cousin, the King of France.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsPeter SellersVictor MatureBritt EklandAn Italian criminal mastermind, impersonating a film director, plans to grab the loot on a beach where a bogus movie is being filmed.
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsRichard JordanOliver TobiasDavid NivenReleased from a British prison, an American is hired as an electrician for a London bank but his criminal acquaintances show-up and force the reluctant Yank to join them as the inside-man in a well-planned bank heist.
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsMichael CraigVirginia MaskellLeslie PhillipsDoctors Burke and Hare leave the confines of St. Swithin's for the world of general practice, stopping off on the way as patients at the Foulness anti-cold Unit. Hare then takes up a position as junior in a well-heeled general practitioner's surgery, while Burke continues to sow his doctorial wild oats.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsMaureen O'HaraRossano BrazziRichard ToddAn English mother leaves husband and two children to follow her Italian lover to a lakeside villa. Her children follow her, intent in breaking up her affair.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaLinda DarnellVictor MatureAfter their cattle are stolen and their brother murdered, the Earp brothers have a score to settle with the Clanton family.
- DirectorRoger VadimStarsJane FondaJohn Phillip LawAnita PallenbergIn the 41st century, an astronaut partakes in sexy misadventures while seeking to stop an evil scientist who threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy.
- DirectorPeter SykesStarsFrankie HowerdRay MillandHugh BurdenIn 1907, an actor is invited to perform in an isolated country house, and becomes involved in mysterious and dangerous events.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyFrank SinatraWith socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsTed RayJean KentLeslie PhillipsThe orderly suburban life of a 1950s English town is turned on its head when the teenage daughter of one of the residents writes a steamy bestseller featuring characters obviously based on the local population. They begin to see themselves and their neighbours in a surprising new light.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsDavid JanssenSusannah YorkPaul CoufosIn San Francisco, a police detective, aided by a Catholic nun, investigates the case of a priest who falls to his death from the Golden Gate bridge.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsLauren BacallTony CurtisNatalie WoodA womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to get an expose on renowned psychologist Helen Gurley Brown.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJune AllysonHarry MorganBiography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.
- DirectorRobert Hartford-DavisStarsPeter CushingSue LloydNoel TrevarthenA doctor goes to extreme lengths--even murder--to restore the badly burned face of his fiancée.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsSidney JamesKenneth WilliamsCharles HawtreyA group of tourists arrive at a half-finished hotel in Spain where the oddly identical staff and bad weather threaten the building's stability.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCary GrantLeslie CaronTrevor HowardDuring World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
- DirectorOtto PremingerJean NegulescoStarsRobert MitchumMarilyn MonroeRory CalhounThe titular river unites a farmer recently released from prison, his young son, and an ambitious saloon singer. In order to survive, each must be purged of anger, and each must learn to understand and care for the others.
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsGeorge SegalTimothy BottomsRichard WidmarkA blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingVeronica CarlsonFreddie JonesBaron Frankenstein, with the aid of a young doctor and his fiancée, kidnaps the mentally sick Dr. Brandt in order to perform the first brain transplant operation.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsSidney JamesDiana CouplandTerry ScottNeighborhood tensions arise when rambunctious Baines family moves next door to reclusive Abbots, clashing over home distillery and unruly teens while matriarch tries mediating the feud.
- DirectorGiulio PetroniStarsLee Van CleefJohn Phillip LawMario BregaA young gunfighter forms a tenuous alliance with an aging ex-outlaw to track down and eliminate the bandits who killed his family, till the surprising end.
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsDirk BogardeMuriel PavlowKenneth MoreThe trials and tribulations of a group of medical students at St. Swithin's hospital in London, England.
- DirectorJimmy SangsterStarsJudy GeesonJoan CollinsRalph BatesA young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown moves with her husband to a boys' school, and finds herself being terrorized by a mysterious one-armed man, but nobody believes her.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsJames CoburnLee J. CobbGila GolanWhen scientists use eco-terrorism to impose their will on the world by affecting extremes in the weather, Intelligence Chief Cramden calls in top agent Derek Flint.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky NelsonA small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsHywel BennettLeigh Taylor-YoungJane AsherBorn to twin sisters on the same day in London, France and Margaret are more like brother and sister than cousins. Two decades later, they fight their unrequited love, each taking lovers who eventually fall for each other.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingShane BriantMadeline SmithBaron Frankenstein works with a mental patient to reanimate the dead.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBen JohnsonA cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingEdward JuddCarole GrayAn isolated remote island community is threatened by an attack by tentacled silicates which liquefy and digest bone and tissue.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsLouise BrooksFritz KortnerFrancis LedererThe rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinA weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsChristopher LeePatrick AllenPeter CushingWhile mainland Britain shivers in deepest winter, the northern island of Fara bakes in the nineties.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRon LeibmanDavid SelbySheila FrazierThe true story of two New York City cops. Greenberg & Hantz fought the system, became detectives and were known on the streets as "Batman & Robin".
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsMalcolm McDowellRalph RichardsonRachel RobertsAn ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures that seem designed to challenge his naive idealism.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsPatricia HealeyArthur LoweJohn SharpAn impassive young girl is taken from her suicidal Big city life, back to a city in North England, on a bizarre bus trip. Seen through the poetic eye of the camera, this is a commentary of doomed British morbidity.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsDonald SutherlandJennifer O'NeillRobert DuvallAn insurance investigator romances a wealthy young beauty when he suspects she may be involved in fencing stolen jewels.
- DirectorJules BassStarsBoris KarloffAllen SwiftGale GarnettOn the Isle of Evil, Baron Boris von Frankenstein reveals his imminent retirement and that he has refined the secret of total destruction, only to be upset when the other monsters try to steal the secret and kill his nephew, Felix Flanken.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsPaul NewmanGeorge KennedyStrother MartinA laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsKenneth WilliamsSidney JamesKenneth ConnorTwo Britons, Hengist and Horsa, are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Caesar.
- DirectorPeter DuffellStarsJohn BryansJohn BennettDenholm ElliottAn anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsMargaret RutherfordRon MoodyBernard CribbinsA tiny country persuades the Americans and Soviets that they're starting a space program, when they really just want some money for new plumbing.
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsKirk DouglasMartin SheenKatharine RossA modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRoger MooreJames MasonAnthony PerkinsWhen terrorists take over two oil rigs, and threaten to blow them up if their demands are not met, an eccentric anti-terrorism expert volunteers his unique commando unit to stop them.
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsKelly RenoMickey RooneyTeri GarrAfter being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion, and trains him to race after their rescue.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodGian Maria VolontèMarianne KochA wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSophia LorenAnthony QuinnMargaret O'BrienStory of theatrical troupe that travels through the Old West.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsBob HopeRhonda FlemingRoland YoungOn an ocean liner, an inept scoutmaster pursues a duchess while a killer pursues him.
- DirectorDon SharpStarsClifford EvansEdward de SouzaNoel WillmanWhen car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsElizabeth TaylorPaul NewmanBurl IvesBrick is an alcoholic ex-football player who drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife. A reunion with his terminal father jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
- DirectorCy HowardStarsGig YoungBea ArthurBonnie BedeliaMike and Susan's wedding is overshadowed by family drama, including Mike's brother's divorce, Susan's father's affair, her sister's marital troubles, and Mike's friend pursuing the maid of honor.
- DirectorC.M. Pennington-RichardsStarsBob MonkhouseKenneth ConnorShirley EatonThe marketing department of a pharmaceutical company decides to find a dentist to endorse its brand of toothpaste.
- DirectorMichael TuchnerStarsBarry NewmanSuzy KendallJohn VernonA man is in radio contact with his family when their airplane is shot down. He wants those responsible and becomes a criminal to get a job as deep sea diver with those salvaging the plane's cargo.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsFredric MarchVeronica LakeRobert BenchleyA beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsRosalind RussellNatalie WoodKarl MaldenBased on the Broadway hit about the life and times of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee and her aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneRita HayworthClaudia CardinaleWhen circus proprietor Matt Masters decides to take his show on a European tour, it is beset by problems, while he searches for Lili, the mother of his adopted daughter, who disappeared years before.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsVivien LeighMarlon BrandoKim HunterDisturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsJerry LewisJill St. JohnRay WalstonNorman Phiffier works as a store clerk in a large department store. Clumsy and inept, he can't do anything right. Boy are they in trouble!
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxThe Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.
- DirectorHal WalkerStarsBing CrosbyBob HopeDorothy LamourTwo unemployed show-biz pals accept treasure-diving work in Bali for a local princess and they find treasure, love and trouble.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsRobert ShawRichard RoundtreeBarbara HersheyRichard Roundtree (SHAFT), Robert Shaw (JAWS) and $100 Million of the Hottest Rocks in the World!
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenAli MacGrawBen JohnsonA recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
- DirectorChristopher MorahanStarsVictor HenrySusan GeorgeJack ShepherdAn irresponsible window cleaner believes he has found true love with a woman he picked up in a tavern.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsBarbra StreisandYves MontandBob NewhartA troubled young woman who visits a psychotherapist to help her quit smoking undergoes hypnosis and finds herself reliving a tragic Victorian romance from a past life.
- DirectorNorman JewisonSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenAnn-MargretEdward G. RobinsonAn up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
- DirectorDon SharpStarsEdward WoodwardEric PorterCarl MöhnerGreg Callan's cousin David Callan top agent/assassin for the S.I.S., was forced to retire because he had lost his nerve. Now, Callan is called back into service to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. His former boss promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status if he follows orders, but as always Callan refuses to act until he knows why Schneider has been marked for death.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJames CagneyHorst BuchholzPamela TiffinIn West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsRon MoodyJack WildDorothy McGuireWhile fleeing across the Irish countryside, two orphans are pursued by their villainous uncle, a master of disguises.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJean ArthurRonald ColmanAn escaped prisoner has to prove his innocence to a stuffy law professor with the help of a spirited school teacher.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCharles BronsonHope LangeVincent GardeniaA New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSteve McQueenFaye DunawayPaul BurkeA debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.
- DirectorLawrence HuntingtonJulio SalvadorStarsRichard GreeneAnouk AiméeMichael DenisonA government agent is sent to the French-Spanish border to round up smugglers and counterfeiters after his brother is murdered. He is helped by singer Anouk Aimee, who he falls in love with.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsWarren BeattyJulie ChristieRene AuberjonoisA gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCharles DennerBrigitte FosseyNelly BorgeaudBertrand Morane's burial is attended by all the women the forty-year-old engineer loved. We then flash back to Bertrand's life and love affairs, told by himself while writing an autobiographical novel. A film about romantic relationships, the need to charm, and the literary creation.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsPeter SellersMai ZetterlingVirginia MaskellA frustrated librarian (Sellers) in Swansea, Wales is torn between his wife Jean (Markell) and a glamorous married woman, Liz (Zetterling), who wants to have an affair.
- DirectorJim O'ConnollyStarsTelly SavalasEdith EvansWarren OatesTwo crooks are hired to rob an eccentric old lady's estate, but once they get to know her, they can't bring themselves to do it.