Anthony Asquith’s unusual look at wartime espionage garnered good notices in 1958, perhaps from reviewers rebelling against the trend toward ruthless screen violence. Star Paul Massie is fine as an emotionally-stricken Allied assassin who balks at carrying out his mission; the acting support from Irene Worth and Leslie French is superb. Screenwriter Paul Dehn was an ace at sharp, no-nonsense thrillers, but this story is soft around the edges — it seems to be explaining non-chivalric warfare to your sweet old grandmother. Which reminds us, Lillian Gish has a small role, too.
Orders to Kill
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1958 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 112 93 min. / Street Date September 20, 2022 / available from Amazon / 34.99
Starring: Eddie Albert, Paul Massie, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice, Leslie French, Irene Worth, John Crawford, Lionel Jeffries, Sandra Dorne, Lillabea (Lillie Bea) Gifford, Anne Blake, Sam Kydd, Ann Walford, Denyse Alexander, Ralph Nosseck.
Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson
Art Director: John Howell
Film...
Orders to Kill
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1958 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 112 93 min. / Street Date September 20, 2022 / available from Amazon / 34.99
Starring: Eddie Albert, Paul Massie, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice, Leslie French, Irene Worth, John Crawford, Lionel Jeffries, Sandra Dorne, Lillabea (Lillie Bea) Gifford, Anne Blake, Sam Kydd, Ann Walford, Denyse Alexander, Ralph Nosseck.
Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson
Art Director: John Howell
Film...
- 9/17/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s the ‘other’ version of Dickens’ terrific novel, an English film that few Americans have seen. This Australian DVD is in the Pal format and from a rather outdated transfer, yet I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a favorite story enacted by a great batch of UK talent. Dirk Bogarde stars and the many character roles go to familiar faces: Cecil Parker, Athene Seyler, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass, Rosalie Crutchley, Freda Jackson, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, Donald Pleasence, Eric Pohlmann, Danny Green and the lovely Marie Versini. It’s a regular actor-spotting quiz. Ralph Thomas directed and much of the film was shot in France … with excellent English diction.
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s the granddaddy of British cop dramas of the modern era. The most popular English picture of 1950 introduced PC George Dixon, a warm-hearted constable who would become a staple on BBC TV for 21 years. T.E.B. Clarke’s screenplay of a murder manhunt is stocked with actors American fans know well — Dirk Bogarde, Bernard Lee — and some we should know better — Jack Warner, Robert Flemyng, Dora Bryan. The show was made by the top craftsmen of Ealing Studios, and its fast pace and Brit sensibility will definitely impress. And remember — the Bobbies on the beat don’t even carry guns.
The Blue Lamp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 85 min. / Street Date June 1, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Bruce Seton, Meredith Edwards, Dora Bryan, Gladys Henson, Tessie O’Shea, Betty Ann Davies, Jennifer Jayne, Sam Kydd,...
The Blue Lamp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 85 min. / Street Date June 1, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Bruce Seton, Meredith Edwards, Dora Bryan, Gladys Henson, Tessie O’Shea, Betty Ann Davies, Jennifer Jayne, Sam Kydd,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I’d never heard of this gem of a British production; now it goes on my list of highly recommended titles. A dock area on the Thames is ‘the pool,’ and the sailors that disembark from the cargo ships are susceptible to the temptations of black market trade. A single eventful weekend traces the fates of a half-dozen young people, the women that like the sailors, and the sailor that gets mixed up in a deadly serious crime. Director Basil Dearden’s excellent cast is mostly unfamiliar to us Yanks, but we get really tied up in their problems. This picture should be much better known. It’s the first English movie to depict an interracial romance, and it does so without sensationalism or special pleading. The best new extra is an interview with actor Earl Cameron, who at 103 years of age has his act (and his memories) totally together.
- 5/16/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Much of Ealing Studios’ core appeal begins right here, with T.E.B. Clarke’s astute look at the character of pragmatic, energetic Londoners, who in this fantasy face an outrageous situation with spirit, pluck, and a determination not to be cheated. What happens when a few square blocks of London discover that they’re no longer even part of the British Empire? A classic of wartime ‘adjustments,’ the ensemble comedy even begins with a Tex Avery- like ode to rationing.
Passport to Pimlico
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.
Cinematography: Lionel...
Passport to Pimlico
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.
Cinematography: Lionel...
- 12/31/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Is this movie ground zero for Atom-fear science fiction? The Boulting Brothers assemble the very first movie about a nuclear terror plot, without cutting corners or wimping out. The incredibly dry, civilized André Morell must track down a rogue scientist who threatens to nuke London; the entire city must be evacuated. Barry Jones is the meek boffin with a bomb in his satchel. The impressively produced thriller won an Oscar for Best Story; it’s practically a template for the ‘docu-real’ approach of the first Quatermass films. It’s also the link between ordinary postwar thriller intrigues and the high-powered, science fiction- styled terrors to come.
Seven Days to Noon
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, André Morell, Sheila Manahan, Hugh Cross, Joan Hickson, Ronald Adam, Marie Ney, Wyndham Goldie, Russell Waters, Martin Boddey,...
Seven Days to Noon
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, André Morell, Sheila Manahan, Hugh Cross, Joan Hickson, Ronald Adam, Marie Ney, Wyndham Goldie, Russell Waters, Martin Boddey,...
- 11/2/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The chase is on: a mix of icy ruthlessness and warm romanticism enliven Ken Follett's novel of pre-invasion esponage intrigue. Kate Nelligan heats up the screen with Donald Sutherland, the 'seventies most unlikely sex star. Plus a lush and wondrous music score by Miklos Rozsa. Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Twilight Time 1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store29.95 Starring Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Christopher Cazenove, Ian Bannen, Philip Martin Brown, Bill Nighy, Stephen MacKenna, Sam Kydd. Cinematography Alan Hume Original Music Miklos Rozsa Written by Stanley Mann based on the novel by Ken Follett Produced by Stephen Friedman Directed by Richard Marquand
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We're all familiar with this kind of thriller -- over shots of fresh-faced troops moving off to war, a portentous scrolling text tells us about the desperate situation of London -- and the Free World -- as Hitler's Luftwaffe threatens.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We're all familiar with this kind of thriller -- over shots of fresh-faced troops moving off to war, a portentous scrolling text tells us about the desperate situation of London -- and the Free World -- as Hitler's Luftwaffe threatens.
- 10/25/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, David Oxley, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson, Ewen Solon, John Le Mesurier, Helen Goss, Sam Kydd, Michael Hawkins, Judi Moyens, Michael Mulcaster | Written by Peter Bryan | Directed by Terence Fisher
I’ve always been a Sherlock Holmes fan, and my horror leanings turned me to The Hound of the Baskervilles, a story I grew to love. It is evident by all different movies based on the tale and their popularity, that I’m not the only one. One of the best has to be Hammer’s with Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes. This is why when Arrow Video revealed their Blu-ray release I looked forward to seeing it, especially with the amount of behind the scenes material on the disc.
When Charles Baskerville is found slain on Dartmoor, the next in line Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee) inherits the estate, and...
I’ve always been a Sherlock Holmes fan, and my horror leanings turned me to The Hound of the Baskervilles, a story I grew to love. It is evident by all different movies based on the tale and their popularity, that I’m not the only one. One of the best has to be Hammer’s with Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes. This is why when Arrow Video revealed their Blu-ray release I looked forward to seeing it, especially with the amount of behind the scenes material on the disc.
When Charles Baskerville is found slain on Dartmoor, the next in line Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee) inherits the estate, and...
- 6/3/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
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