The Big Sleep (released in 1978) - Starring Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Candy Clark and Joan Collins

Based on the vintage noir 1946 film (having the same name), which was released in 1978, this version is directed by Michael Winner, sourced from the 1939 novel by Raymond Chandler. Unlike the previous version (which was set in LA), the 1978 film takes us to London. Many critics and viewers consider the latter film to be truer to the portrayal of Chandler’s novel, since taboo themes such as homosexuality and  pornography wouldn’t have been well received in the conservative and staid 1940's.
The character of Phillip Marlowe is assayed for the second time by Robert Mitchum, who first played Marlowe in Farewell, My Lovely. In a digression from the traditional portrayal of celluloid detectives, Marlowe does not function from a shabby office or live hand-to-mouth. He owns an expensive set of wheels and a Rolex, with snazzy suits thrown in for good measure.
The PI has a new client - a wheelchair bound millionaire General Sternwood (played by James Stewart). The General tells Marlowe that the homosexual proprietor of a local book store – Arthur Geiger (played by John Justin) - is blackmailing him. Geiger has some nude photographs of the General’s younger daughter Camilla (played by Candy Clark), intimidates Sternwood with blackmail, warning him that unless he pays Geiger a handsome sum of money, the slime all will make the pictures public. The actual reason why Sternwood isn’t just telling all this to the police instead of hiring a PI is revealed when he gives away the fact that he’s interested in the whereabouts of his son-in-law, his older daughter, Charlotte’s (played by Sarah Miles) husband - Rusty Reagan (played by David Seville). However, Mrs. Reagan also seems to have her eyes set on the elusive and brooding Phillip Marlowe!




The PI hunts Geiger down to his house - but on arrival is confronted with his corpse, shot between the eyes, an unclothed Camilla by its side. On further investigation it is revealed that the families chauffeur Owen Taylor (played by Martin Potter) had committed this crime of passion, as Camilla was his lover. Taylor, is himself later murdered by an associate of Arthur Geiger – Joe Brody (played by Edward Fox) who dumps the man’s corpse into a nearby river. It seems like Arthur has few friends as Brody had intended to steal the film all along, not unaware that his partner was already dead.
Not only does the General’s younger daughter have to hauled out of a mess, even Charlotte has a whole lot of troubles, especially with gambling debts she has piled up - earning the ire of the unsavory mobster Eddie Mars (played by Oliver Reed), also the house where Geiger lived was owned by the goon. Following close at Eddie’s heels is his sadistic, club footed sidekick ‘Brown Man’ Lash Canino (played by Richard Boone) and others from the red light district which include a lover of Arthur’s. But ultimately, it’s all about the elusive Rusty Reagan.
Marlowe sets up Charlotte, to learn if whether she’s actually grieving for her husband and is disturbed about his disappearance, or whether she was in some way responsible for his fate, his suspicions are proven right. It is she who is responsible for Rusty’s disappearance. Phillip is saddened and now he faces the task of breaking the news to the General. The audacious Camilla points a gun in his face, and Marlowe is appalled by the wickedness of both women.
It has long since been the case for debate whether it was at all necessary for doing a remake of The Big Sleep; critics and viewers look askance, torn between loyalty for greats like Bogart and Bacall and fondness for king of drawl - Mitchum. However, since the second version is more free in its treatment  of taboo issues like promiscuity and drug abuse, Winner’s version is worth a watch.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (released in 1978) - A flop musical movie

If you like utter confusion along with Beatle lyrics sung by the Bee Gees, then this film is entirely for you. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is an American musical film released in 1978. This movie was initially a Broadway show directed by Tim O'Horgan and has twenty sound tracks from the Beatles which act as the dialogue. Only George Burns has actual spoken lines which serves for the narration. The Sound-tracks include the Beatle albums 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and 1969's Abbey Road.
In the land called “heartland” lived Sgt. Pepper who with his music and band singlehandedly wins the World War one and returns home a hero to be immortalized on the top of of a wind vane in the town center. Pepper grows old and inevitably dies and his band is scattered. Cut to the present, Sgt. Pepper's grandson Billy wearing white overalls with his name emblazoned on it reforms the band and declares himself the new Sgt. Pepper. His new band has the Henderson brothers and they take Heartland by storm. They sing the Beatles number's so provocatively that you suspect the towns peoples sanity. The Mayor declares them the new phenomena and opens the town for them.



Anyways the new “it” boys are lured to Los Angeles where they go ga-ga over money, machines and women. In the mean time an unnamed villain gives his henchman Mr. Mustard a carte-blanche to destroy the innocence of Heartland. So Mr. Mustard plans to replace the pristine fields and the quaint town with gambling arcades and fast food restaurants. The villain also directs him to steal the original instruments of Sgt. Pepper and sell it to another bunch of bad guys, played by Steve Martin and Aerosmith. In the view of such debauchery and destruction, Billy's girl friend Strawberry fields set out in search for the saviors to Los Angeles.
As Billy and Co return Mr. Mustard gets nasty. Billy is electrocuted and is in a comatose state and even the sad songs from Strawberry Fields does not zap him to life. Then horror of horrors Strawberry is killed accidentally by Aerosmith. All this sadness brings the Sgt. Pepper weather vane to life (played by Beatles collaborator Billy Preston) and he zaps everything back to normal. Then all the bands sing “we are the world" with Tina Turner.
This movie has been a very odd wacky production which runs haywire. It started as a 1974 Broadway show, whose producer Robert Stigwood, determined to make a movie knocked out a script with all the Beatles songs. The end result was a patchwork story interspersed with songs pushing the audiences in to hysteria. Even critical acclaim was denied mercifully with majority of them pillorying the direction and script.
I for one thing would never recommend watching the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie even on a really good day. Even the most wackiest simpleton would never understand the motives for making this movie.

Force 10 from Navarone (released in 1978) - Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel

This movie is a sequel to the highly popular 'Guns Of Navarone' and is loosely based on Alistair MacLean's novel of the same name. Directed by Guy Hamilton and stars Robert Shaw,Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel.
Miller and Mallory are back from Navarone and are sent on a mission to Yugoslavia to assist the war efforts and to neutralize a spy who escaped from Navarone. The German spy Nikolai is posing as Captain Lescovar and has infiltrated the Partisans and is undermining the war efforts of the allies in Eastern Europe. They join effort with the Force 10 unit headed by Captain Barnsby. They are air dropped over Yugoslavia and are captured by the Germans and their allies the Chetniks lead by Captain Drazak.
Drazak brings them before Captain Schroeder and the prisoners present themselves as Allied deserters who were court martialed. Schroeder is skeptical and opens their suitcase which is supposedly filled with Penicillin. To their surprise the suitcase contains wooden logs and they concoct a story about burying it on their way to capture. So Schroeder sends Mallory and Barnsby along with his trusted lieutenant Maritza and two other soldiers to retrieve the Penicillin. Maritza proves to be a partisan spy, and helps them to escape and meet Colonel Petrovich, the Partisan leader. Here Mallory recognizes Captain Lescovar and informs Petrovich about the spy. But Petrovich is not impressed and informs Mallory that the spy Nikolai was killed by himself. He asks them to focus on destroying the bridge to avoid attack by the German forces.



Mallory informs Petrovich that Miller is the real explosive expert and is held captive by the Chetniks. He forms a plan to rescue them along with Maritza. They infiltrate the camp and help Miller and others to escape. Miller informs them that the bridge is impregnable to explosives, but the force of tons of water from the dam nearby could do the trick. So Force 10 plans to destroy the dam instead and ask for supplies. But a sabotage by Lescovar foil the plan and Maritza is killed before she can stop him.
Miller and co plan to raid the German Yard for explosives while a dejected Petrovich plans to return to the head quarters. A daring raid which is suicidal in its planning with a spy Lescovar thwarting their actions is hell enough but the team is successful in the end. Lescovar is killed by an enraged Barnsby and they leave to destroy the dam. With German forces closing on them the bombs are set at a short fuse which makes their survival doubtful. But as they walk away the bombs detonate bringing the dam and the bridge down washing down the enemy hopes. The protagonist trapped on the wrong side of the river start the perilous journey home through enemy lands.
The movie was a box-office and critical disaster and even Ford is said to have disliked his role. I would prefer the book which has better action sequences compared to the insipid sequences in the movie. Just watch it to complete the Navarone Saga.