TPTV Films Page 38

The Years Between (1946)

I only watched this because Michael Redgrave was the star, playing an officer who is lost in the war and comes back to find his wife (Valerie Hobson) has made another life for herself (nearly married a family friend) and to make matters worse, taken his seat in the House of Commons, to which he is very miffed.

Drags on a bit seeing her make her new life and it's a story that's been told before and since, but with a slightly different slant.

Other actors were the lovely Felix Aylmer, Flora Robson, Dulcie Gray, Edward Rigby, Esma Cannon and brief appearances of Michael Horden and Katie Johnson of "Ladykillers" fame.

Just about worth a watch.

The Net (1953) Project M7 Yank title

Had a job finding this owing to the US title being so different, and traced it eventually through Robert Beatty, and in this one instance I have to say the American title of "Project M7" (the futuristic jet plane) was more apt than the stupid UK title of "The Net", which made no sense at all.

There were a number of this type of film about in the 1950s about test pilots and supersonic craft (or so it seemed to me then), with the likes of say "The Sound Barrier" from 1952, of which this film reminded me of - brave pilot, engrossed in project, wife unhappy etc. etc. etc.

So, we have Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Robert Beatty, Herbert Lom (not playing the baddie this time, apart from trying to get the neglected wife into bed), Muriel Pavlow and Maurice Denham to name but a few, all concerned with the launch of the super-duper jet plane that was designed to eventually to take man into space via it's extra nuclear engines.

BUT there's a spy in their midst naturally (par for the course), and who is it!?

Not a bad film, but farcical engineering of course with what we know now.

It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)

I liked the sound of this, and it had one of my fave actors in it - Jack Warner (police detective of course), and as it turned out, it was superb!!

Normally these post war films can be a bit clunky and amateurish, but this was a good story of an escaped convict (hunky Oz John McCallum, who I've seen in a number of films now) as he heads for the East End of London in the hope his old flame (Googie Withers), who has since married Edward Chapman (Mr Grimsdale!!), a staid but reliable husband and his sprogs from a previous marriage.

Little bit of trivia - McCullum and Withers became an item during the filming and would eventually be married for 62 years until his death. Aww, ain't that nice)

Anyway, she hides him in the husband's bedroom, which is not used on a Sunday during the day, but of course things get a bit hairy before nightfall when he's nearly discovered a couple of times.

All this set against a couple of other stories of the dodgy criminal underworld with a number of faces such as Jimmy Hanley (playing totally against type as a psychotic spiv), Sydney Tafler, Susan Shaw, John Slater, Alfie Bass, with the wonderful Hermione Baddeley and petite Edie Martin (The Ladykillers) in minor parts.

YES, a very good film, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

King of the Underworld (1952)

I managed to watch half an hour of this, before I had to switch off as it was simply boring, being disjointed and not a very good story, but then I read that it is adapted from three TV police series joined together, which probably explains it, but what's this? Some glowing reports on the IMDb, so I retrieved it from the Deleted folder and watched the rest out of curiosity.

The being made up from three different stories became more apparent and made the whole thing look more of a mess
Had Patrick Barr in it who I vaguely knew.

Rubbish. Not much more to say really, apart from interesting scenes of 1950s London and cars.

Portrait from Life (1949) Lost Daughter Yank title

Not a bad film about an Army officer who becomes obsessed with finding the identity of the girl in a portrait painted by a dying artist (Robert Beatty) in a displaced persons camp, which were prevalent after the war.

The girl's Jewish father sees the portrait in a London gallery and is convinced it is his lost daughter and so the search is on, but when they do eventually find her, she claims to be the daughter of another man (Herbert Lom) who seems to have some sort of hold over her.

She needs convincing that Lom is not her father, for whatever reason (no spoiler!) and the film concludes with all concerned getting what they want out of life.

The girl is played by "beauty" Mai Zetterling, who is not my cup of tea, but plays the part well in this.

Few other faces, such as Anthony Steel in a very minor part in his first film, Donald Sinden, Pete(r) Murray the DJ!, Michael Hordern AND there he is in his "usual" role of Army driver - Sam Kydd. All is right with the world.

The Seventh Survivor (1942)

Being (the title) the captain of a German U-Boat that had just sunk a British cargo ship and ironically "cadges" a lift from the other six survivors in their lifeboat, which eventually manages to land safely at a remote lighthouse, run by Wally Patch and dimwit Ronald Shiner.

So it turns out, in this motley collection of survivors is also a German spy and an English counter-spy agent; BUT which of them is it? Eventually the U-Boat captain takes charge when he produces a Luger pistol and then it's a nerve of wars as each is suspicious of the other, especially when another pistol is produced by the lighthouse keeper, which changes hands a couple of times and one of the survivors is found murdered.

My natural instinct with this sort of set up is to suspect the least obvious to be the German spy, but through a nice twist I didn't get who the English counter-agent was.

Slow to start and red herrings aplenty, which made for a very good film.

The only other faces I recognised were Martita Hunt (as one of the passengers) and Felix Aylmer (again) in a minor part on land in England and in the government.

The Agitator (1945)

Billy Hartnell declares the opening titles, starring in The Agitator and so he was, the star of this film and very good he was too. (When he became know as William I do not know, but have seen him now in a few films as Billy)

Very left wing agitator who hates the bosses, including foremen who he classes as lackeys (the main one played by John Laurie), in the factory where he works and this all stems from his late father telling him he invented a modification for the company, which was very successful but he was never to profit from.

The company owner hears of this slander against his good name and interviews Hartnell to find out why he feels so strongly about it all. When he explains the situation, the boss gives him his head and lets him run the company, which he bequeaths to him on his death. BUT it all goes pear shaped.

This all changes when loony old duffer retired worker Moore Marriott appears on the scene, but I can't go any further than that, for fear of spoilers.

Mediocre reviews on the IMDb, but I thought this was very good and Hartnell excellent, and other faces I knew were Moira Lister, and Edward Rigby

Find the Lady (1956)

Quandary - not a fan of Donald Houston, but am of Mervyn Johns, who both starred in this. Houston the goodie and against type Johns as a reluctant bank robber, although the robbery was seriously weird and full of plot holes as far as I could make out.

The robbery involved a disappearing old lady from her rambling house in the country (so how come it was next to a bank???) and the house is taken over by Johns and two safe breakers, who tunnel up into the bank vault via a passage built and used by monks many years ago.

But the plans are upset when a young godchild turns up to visit and is turned away. So, she enlists the help of local doctor Houston and between them they try to solve the mystery blah, blah, blah without involving the police - as you do.

It's was OK I suppose and again a short film. And yet another actress marrying a toff, making this her last film - Beverley Brooks was married to Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere.

Ewww, swipe me.

The Hideout (1956)

Mediocre classic B feature crime caper with a few actors I'd seen before, and surprise, surprise, our man Sam Kydd in a leading part!!
Illegally imported furs (riddled with anthrax, it turns out), £8,000 in suitcase to pay for them via getting a criminal mastermind out of the country, but the suitcase gets "lost" and so all sorts of people get involved.

Thank heavens it was a short film, but did feature a very nice Ford Zephyr Six Mk1, with all the extras.

The Cat Gang (1959)

CFF fare for the Saturday Morning Pictures again yesterday, featuring three child actors, two of whom went on to better things, including the 14 year old Francesca Annis.

Kids suspect smugglers and set out to trap them with a silly uncle and a customs officer. Wasn't sure what they were smuggling as it wasn't mentioned, but when one of the cases broke open, it looked like currency of some sort.

A cat was loosely used as a code and that got a bit silly, but the usual fare for Saturday morning.

Some nice cars - an Allard Mk 1 ( which I thought was a Morgan! Similar grille), a Morris Six and a very unusual clapped out solid tyre Trojan Utility, which is apparently is now refurbished and in The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

Fanny by Gaslight (1944) "Man of Evil" Yank title, which is as expected for them, especially as they call the arse, a fanny. Weird people

OK, stop giggling at the back of the class, this is a classic tale.

Bit of a slow burner about the morals of Victorian society - like a Dickens, but set a bit later in the 19th century and involving sex and scandal.

Anyway, stars among others the brilliant James Mason, but you don't see enough of him as he plays the evil Lothario so well. Also has Stewart Granger as the nemesis of Mason, Phyllis Calvert as Fanny, Wilfrid Lawson, John Laurie, Jean Kent, and Esma Cannon and Peter Jones in minor parts.

Long film, and just about worth it.

21 Days Together (1940)

Not a bad film starring the husband and wife team of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh (married the year the film was made, and for 21 years) and also starring Leslie Banks and the wonderful Robert Newton.

I'll let the summary on the IMDb sum it up, which it does well :-

"After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together before the trial and if the man is found guilty then Larry will give himself up and prevent an innocent man going to the gallows."

Quite enjoyed it.

River Beat (1954)

B feature quickie, starring John Bentley, who seemed to specialise in these sort of films, and a pretty American actress Phyllis Kirk who I'd never seen before.

Diamond smuggling through the Port of London, with murder thrown in as the police close in on the gang.

Also had Trigger's dad again in it (Charles Lloyd Pack), Glyn Houston and the ubiquitous Michael Balfour.

Good story and interesting again, to see areas of post war London that do not exist anymore.

Stormy Crossing (1958) Yank title Black Tide

Another Canadian "American" John Ireland who I knew, but hadn't seen in a TPTV film so far and another genuine American Sheldon Lawrence playing his brother, who I'd never heard of before and it seems his career nose-dived in the mid 60s. And love interest Maureen Connell, who I also had never heard of and her career seems to have petered out in the early 70s.

So, pretty boring film about a man and a woman swimming The Channel and one of them gets murdered mid crossing in the fog. You know who did the deadly deed early on, so no mystery there then.

Also had Derek Bond in it, and the thing that made me laugh out loud was when Ireland goes to a local garage to check out an alibi, the greasy bloke under the car was none other than Arthur Lowe! So funny to see him playing a mechanic in a dodgy garage, AND his assistant mechanic was John Schlesinger - how weird is that!!!

Couple of unusual cars too - An open top Austin A90 "Atlantic" and a weird looking Willys Jeep station wagon with wooden slatted rear - was a RH drive though.

Average film, thank God it was short

Unpublished Story (1942)

Very slow burn spy/5th columnists in the UK, using the cover of a Peace movement to infiltrate Britain. It was so slow, and the only action was in the last 5 minutes - literally! But it wasn't overlong so stuck with it.

Starred Richard (Robin Hood) Greene, Valerie Hobson, Andre Morell, Basil Radford, Miles Malleson, Ronald Shiner and Wally Patch, with uncredited parts of for tiny Edie Martin, John Slater and Ballard Berkeley.

Despite mostly glowing reviews on the IMDb**, I wouldn't recommend it.

** One 10/10 is "Absolutely horrifying! A most important and truly remarkable film!" Really ?!?!!? Your were either watching a different film and got muddled with the titles or you are easily pleased.