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I got hooked on this show in England in 1979 and got to the point where I was turning down invitations to stay home and watch the adventures of Turtle and his mates. Set in London's east end, Turtle's Progress follows a group of Cockney neer-do-wells in their attempts to lead lives of honest thievery. The stories were good, the dialogue sharp, and the characters engrossing. You'll notice some familiar names here, especially Michael Atwell, who have all gone on to higher things.

Be warned: the show was made by Brits for Brits, so the Cockney accents are not the usual watered-down fare you'll find in the made-for-export-to-America products. But persevere; Turtle's Progress is well worth the effort.

Wodehouse's more eccentric characters are often notoriously difficult to render on screen, as witness David Niven's bland and lifeless Bertie Wooster. In Peter O'Toole and Richard Briers, however, we finally have the perfect renditions of the Earl of Emsworth and his younger brother, the Honourable Galahad Threepwood (respectively). It's clear that both actors spent a fair amount of time reading the Wodehouse stories to get their characters down, and it's paid off.

Wodehouse frequently describes the Earl as "dreamy," "lanky," "boneless" (in more ways than one), and, when visiting his prize pig, draping himself over the fence "like an old sock" or "an unused pair of overalls." He is also forgetful, placid, and inattentive. The Hon. Galahad, on the other hand, is small, dapper, quick witted, and inordinately fond of alcohol, bar maids, and chorus girls. If possible, the Hon. Galahad is even more difficult to render than the Earl. But in "Heavy Weather," O'Toole and Briers have brought them to life without making them either foolish or ridiculous. On first viewing it, I thought Briers was perfect but that O'Toole may have gone a bit overboard on the ninth Earl of Emsworth. So I re-read the Blandings Castle books and, no, O'Toole had it exactly right.

In short, "Heavy Weather" is a real gem that should be available on DVD and isn't. Petition the producers to release it and, in the meantime, try to catch it on your local PBS Masterpiece Theater. In the meantime, check out Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry as Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, another perfect pairing that is available on both VHS and DVD.

This is one of those movies that is just immensely good fun. First of all, it has an excellent cast. Caine is wonderful as the world-weary London private eye adrift in Los Angeles. Michael Constantine, as the ex-con desperate to find his daughter, has never been better. Natalie is very good as the satin-clad femme fatale. And then there's the outstanding supporting cast. In a sense, this film is a tribute to character actors. Even the unappreciated Robert Ito shows up as the sinister Japanese butler.

But even given the cast, what really shines is the W. D. Richter's script. Especially our hero's brilliant analysis of the location of a house based on the angle of the sun and the shadows it casts, followed by his discovery that: "I wasn't even close. It was in Beverly Hills."

On the other hand, your favorite bit may be the Humphrey Bogart impersonator reciting the credits at the beginning of the film to the accompaniment of a lone trumpet (at least, that's how I remember it; actually, since the other reviewer and I seem to be the only people in the world who have actually seen this film, who's to argue?) It's a sad fact that Peeper has been dumped. It doesn't even appear on most filmographies of Michael Caine. It's not available on video in any form, and I have never seen it appear on television (maybe we can persuade The Mystery Channel to show it, if the tape hasn't disintegrated by now). So if there's a patron saint of forgotten films wandering around this site, why don't you see if you can nudge 20th Century Fox into releasing it. It deserves better.