TPTV Films Page 14

Once in a New Moon (1934)

This is just plain weird, and the only reason I watched it, about a village that is ripped out and away from the Earth by a passing dead star and orbits the Earth. The premise then revolves around the local squire trying to take governmental control, but the villagers eventually having none of it.

Flouts so many scientific principles, but why let that get in the way of a good (?) story.

No one of note except for Thorley Walters in his first film and the ubiquitous Wally Patch.

Burnt Evidence (1954)

Mediocre reviews of this on the IMDb, but I liked it, although yet again the end was wrapped up quickly.

Husband (Duncan Lamont - a face mainly seen on TV) and bit on the side (Donald Gray - never heard of him) vie for the attentions of Lamont's wife (Jane Hylton) and through a series of misunderstandings the two men have a fight in Lamont's workshop where a service revolver is produced, a fire starts and is the shot burnt body the husband or the lover, as both have now disappeared, and crucially did the wife tamper with the evidence and even maybe do the murder.

So, couple of twists to be solved by the Welsh police detective Meredith Edwards (who I always get mixed up with the other Welsh actor **Glynn Houston for some reason) and along the way we see the wonderful Irene Handl in her usual acting role of effecting a posh accent, but not quite pulling it off - she does so make me smile. Brilliant actress.

** Just notice he died today last year aged 93. Belated RIP Mr Houston

93's not bad though.
That's reminds me of him as Bunter in the Lord Peter Wimsey stories that were very popular in our house in the 70's.

Damn

I just noticed they started showing Budgie with Adam Faith

But I missed it

Quote: lofthouse @ 30th June 2020, 10:20 PM

Damn

I just noticed they started showing Budgie with Adam Faith

But I missed it

View original

I did mention this over a week ago............................

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd June 2020, 10:29 AM

..............this was not a pop film in the true sense of the word and was quite a good drama. I see Budgie has just started running on TPTV.

View original

Break-In (1956)

Actually, a training film for the Red Caps with most of the cast being Army personnel, but there were exceptions, notably the main suspect to a NAAFI break-in being Jim Dale in his first film and Wilfrid Brambell as the camp cook (no pun intended).

I think I also saw Ray Brooks and Mark Eden but there's no mention of them on the IMDb

Not a bad very short film and worth watching if only to see all the packets of 1950s groceries on the NAAFI shop shelves such as OMO washing powder, VIM cleaner, Shreddies cereal, Smiths Crisps, Quaker Oats and Players Navy Cut cigarettes.

The Black Rider (1954)

With Jimmy Hanley in the main part you know this is going to be a mild spy/fifth columnist "thriller" involving some sort of atomic weapon those (what/who?) are smuggling into the country to wreak havoc with, and to keep nosey people away from their base in an old castle on the coast they use the cover of the dreaded (aarrgh!) Black Rider who turns out to be just a motorcyclist dressed in black waterproofs - aww, shame.

Anyway, the local motorcycle club get involved and save the day. Hurrah!

Nice to see a few old British motorbikes and the likes of Kenneth Connor (briefly as a silly-arse drunk), Mr.Partridge (Hi De Hi - Leslie Dwyer), Edie Martin as "Elderly Lady" (what else?) and the villain of the piece being none other than Lionel Jeffries, against type.

Just about watchable, if only for the bikes.

50's for bikes,that's a bit early for me.My father had an Ariel.1000cc massive thing.Made for a side car really but it didn't have one.Top speed about 60 with a good wind.

Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945)

Pub landlady (sexy 28 year old Googie Withers) fools local chemist's son (22 year old Gordon Jackson) into enabling her to get some poison from the shop so she can kill her abusive husband. Add to that one of my favourite actors Mervyn Johns playing the chemist and as a VERY strict parent, you have the makings of a very good film.

Why the film is titled what it is, is odd as apart from being in B&W, the only time string and sealing wax features is once only in the opening titles. Perhaps I missed summat.......................

Enjoyable though

Death Goes to School (1953)

Good old fashioned murder mystery, a sort of Agatha Christie does St. Trinians if you like, with Gordon Jackson as a quite good quiet and unassuming DI investigating the case with Sam (ITMA!) Kydd as his sidekick sergeant.

A teacher is found dead in the grounds and all the other teachers are the main suspects as they all disliked the victim for one reason or another.

Only thing that spoilt it was the bloody awful sound quality.

The Narrowing Circle (1956)

Messy murder mystery where a newspaper reporter tries to clear his name after a colleague he doesn't like is found in his flat dead, and then all witnesses who can prove it wasn't him are bumped off too.

The only person of note in it is yet again the token Yank (I've mentioned this before about this in B movies of the 50s) in the shape of Canadian Paul Carpenter.

This could have been better if it hadn't such an abrupt end, like the writer had run out of ideas. Up to the final scene is was quite a good film.

It Happened in Soho (1948)

Dire. Well the bit I saw was, which was about 15 minutes which is all I could stand. Talk about never getting going - I was bored with it before, if ever, it got somewhere. Nobody has a good word to say for it on the IMDb and I'm not surprised.

Richard Murdoch was the only face I recognised. Don't bother if you ever see it advertised - not unless you want to lose the will to live of course.

TPTV shows some great films but when you watch the channel a lot there is a lot of turkeys to get through to the good ones

The Dummy Talks (1943)

Only watched this for Jack Warner, in this instance also doing his stage act of monologues and silly songs as well as being a suspect in the murder of the ventriloquist. Also had the silly arse Claude Hulbert who never appealed to me.

Weak story with a stupid end, but if you like to see music hall acts of the period then this fits the bill as the whole thing is set in and around the theatre as the acts are on, and I have to say some were quite good speciality acts, which sadly we don't see any more.

With regards to Chappers query on the other thread - cannot be 100% sure (it certainly wasn't Jimmy Clitheroe) - one of the acts was American Sylvester & Nephew, where he did an acrobatic routine of him dressed as an American cop with the cheeky street wise "boy" who he "juggled" and did a slapstick routine with. The original act was Sylvester and the Three Midgets, and one of those was in this film and was the dummy..............well, that's my two penneth.

Deadly Record (1959)

Token Yank (Canadian) Lee Patterson again, as tired pilot just back from the States to find his wife not at home, so goes to sleep and is woken by the police who find her dead in an adjoining studio. Cannot account for his movements when he came home, so is prime suspect.

Bit different from the usual murder type story and holds your interest, with a bit of a twist at the end when you see who actually killed his wife, although a cynic would see it coming off a mile as it being the last person you would have thought of.

The real interest for me though was the shiny brand new Hillman Minx convertible with white wall tyres they (him and his girlfriend) drove around in, trying to make all the pieces fit i.e. YET AGAIN trying to do the police's job.