TPTV Films Page 45

Gaolbreak (1962) Yank title "Jailbreak" (Well, I never!)

I must be getting desperate, as this is the second early 60s film I've watched in succession, along with Murder in Eden (1961) I've just previously reviewed, and much the same with that - a film going nowhere with big plot holes; but again, a shortish film, in just over an hour.

Slow and with an actor I've taken a dislike to, for some reason, Peter Reynolds in a leading role - it did have the gorgeous Carol White in it though, 5 years before she made the brilliant, gritty TV drama "Poor Cow", which set a benchmark.
No one else of note, and it dragged, finishing with a stupid end, and end which couldn't come soon enough for me.
Here's IMDb's plot line:-

"A family of burglars and safecrackers plan a heist at a jewellery store. When one of the family--who is the safecracking expert--gets arrested and jailed, they hatch a plan to break him out so he can take part in the robbery."

The Third Alibi (1961)

Yet again! Another film from the early 60s, going against my no later than 1959 rule, but I liked the sound of this one and it was short - just over an hour.

And what a brilliant film it turned out to be!

Wife overhears husband and her step sister, plotting to murder her so they could be together, but little did either of them know that she had cancer and not long to live anyway, so in revenge, the wife uses the (third) alibi they concocted via tape recorded phone calls/while at the cinema to cover their tracks, turning the tables on them

Many twists at the end, with one I certainly didn't see coming, making for a very good film.
Just one thing - I think there was a big hole in the plot, but on checking the 18 very good reviews on the IMDb, it appears no one else queried it, so perhaps it's just me being a bit picky.

Trivia :-
Dudley Moore in his first (uncredited) film, appears as pianist, accompanying Cleo Laine in a night club, and Patricia Dainton, playing the wife, and is still alive aged 91 (!) made this her last film, to concentrate on bringing up her family of 4 children, with her husband of 58 years, who died in 2010 - just sayin'.

And a couple of nice unusual cars in the shape of a Triumph TR3A sports job and a Riley 4/68 large saloon.

The Big Chance (1957)

They managed to cram more action into this one-hour film, than some take two hours to tell, which proves my point with films that have, annoyingly, a lot of padding.

William Russell (ex Doctor Who 1960s sidekick, and still alive AND acting at 97!!) is fed up with his humdrum life and steals the firm's cash and a passport, and leave his wife for sunny climes in Panama, along the way he gets mixed up with the gorgeous Adrienne Corri, who is fleeing her boring husband.

The two of them decide to join forces, BUT everything that could go wrong in their escape, goes horribly wrong and they finish up on the run.

I won't go any further than that for fear of spoilers as to how it resolves itself, but it makes for a pleasant, gripping hour of suspense.

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)

A BLOODY GOOD FILM!

I wasn't going to watch this when I saw it was set in Spain, but it had Richard Todd, Herbert Lom and Anne Baxter in the main leads, and as it developed, I became more engrossed and certainly glad I did.

So, young woman (Anne Baxter) comes out of a sanctuary, following a breakdown, back to her father's villa, after suffering the loss of her father through suicide when he was cheated out of his collapsed diamond business, the disappearance of a large quantity of diamonds and the death of her brother in a car crash.

No sooner had she settled in again when her "brother" (Richard Todd) appears at the villa, which she vehemently will not accept of course, and calls in the local chief of police, played by Herbert Lom.

The brother has all the correct papers and passport etc. etc. verified by the police chief, but she is adamant that her brother is dead and this is all some sort of con, or even conspiracy when her reliable uncle confirms that it really is her brother.

And so, it develops with twists and turns and red herrings until BANG! right at the end, one final BIG twist I certainly didn't see coming.

An absolutely excellent film.

**EDIT
Forgot to mention they were driving two fabulous cars - a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental drop-head coupe, worth about £1,250,000 now (!) and very rare 1937 Lagonda L6 45R Rapide, of which only 25 were made and one sold for £ 785,500 7 years ago, and had been in the same family since new!!
The Lagonda

The Master of Bankdam (1947)

When I read this was nearly 2 hours long and about Victorian mill owners oop t'north, I was unsure, but it developed into quite a gripping story, with basically two sons at war with each other over the running of a cotton mill, which their father was still in control of, and this war then moved on to the grandchildren, played by Jimmy Hanley and David Tomlinson

Stephen Murray and Dennis Price (not in his usual dapper part) played the two sons, and excellent they were too in their parts, with a good cast around them telling the tale. Apparently, Nicholas Parsons was in it, in his first made for cinema film, but I didn't spot him.

Yes, surprisingly, I enjoyed this tale of grit, poverty and riches (for some).

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 30th January 2022, 9:48 AM

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)

A BLOODY GOOD FILM!

View original

Told my son about this film, as he's a bit of a film buff, and doesn't usually watch any of my taste of 1950s B&W British films, and he said it was very good. Wow, that's something coming from him.
But with his cynical eye and "seen it all before" re twists, turns and red herrings, he said it would have made for a better and less easy to spot film, if the first 5 minutes were deleted.

Don't know if I entirely agree with him, but if you do get a chance to watch it, then take his advice and zip through the first 5 minutes.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 30th January 2022, 9:48 AM

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)

A BLOODY GOOD FILM!

View original

It's on again this Friday (4 Feb) at 13.15.

Quote: Billy Bunter @ 2nd February 2022, 10:43 AM

It's on again this Friday (4 Feb) at 13.15.

View original

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 1st February 2022, 11:19 PM

But with his cynical eye and "seen it all before" re twists, turns and red herrings, he said it would have made for a better and less easy to spot film, if the first 5 minutes were deleted.

Don't know if I entirely agree with him, but if you do get a chance to watch it, then take his advice and zip through the first 5 minutes.

View original

Blow Your Own Trumpet (1958)

Made for Saturday Morning Pictures, looked like and I only watched because it was the film debut of a certain 16 year old Michael Crawford, playing a 12 year old schoolboy, and it was only an hour long. Also starred Peter Butterworth and a small part for Bill Shine. All the other child actors seem to have done nothing after this film.

More interesting for the location shots of life in the mid 50s, with council houses and what little cars there were on the roads.

From the IMDb :-
Set in the North of England, Jim Fenn and Tony Holroyd want to play the cornet in the local brass band. Jim comes from a poor family and has to work hard and save to buy a cornet from the band's conductor Mr. Duff. Rich kid Tony seems to have all the advantages in life but that's not enough and decides to make life even harder for poor Jim.

Mysterious Mr. Nicholson (1947)

I've watched some dogs over the years, but this one takes the (dog) biscuit, and speaking of dogs, as we were, the only good thing in this film was the remarkable music hall dog act, they showed in full for some reason as it had absolutely nothing to do with the plot - I have never seen so many dogs doing so many different kind of tricks, it makes the mind boggle as to how many years it took to get the act together.

Perhaps they realised the film was shit, but people would remark to others about the wonderful dog act "you must see!" and that encouraged more punters.

So, the film. It had nobody in it I'd heard of, which would explain the stilted acting, the plot was crap and full of holes..............need I go on.

1/10

Your favourite film The Offence was on Thursday night. Having lost my dvd of it I watched it with a glass or two, and was gripped all over again. Very much a drama, an actors piece, I think it's Connery's best work although Bannen stole the last Act. I thought the Trevor Howard scene was too long, but still good. Filmed stage plays are not everyone's cup of tea but I love em, it's what real actors love doing best and it shows.

Top film.

Forbidden Cargo (1954)

Been ages since I posted a TPTV pre/post war British film, as they have mostly been repeats, but this classy one turned up, which I was convinced I'd seen - perhaps it was all those British actors in it that had become well known to me.

So, drink smuggling from France to England on a deserted beach by a spoof naval unit that is twigged by the divine Joyce Grenfell who is concerned that "the Navy" is trampling all over her bird reserve and complains to the ministry. Customs and Excise get involved and they find that the power behind the smugglers, wants to get into something more lucrative by bringing in drugs.

Good cast of Jack Warner and Nigel Patrick for the goodies and, the usual, nasty piece of work in the shape of Terence Morgan. plus, Elizabeth Sellars, Eric Pohlmann, Michael Hordern, Jill Adams, Ronald Adam, and briefly the Major from Fawlty Towers (Ballard Berkeley), and you have the makings of a good film

Four Sided Triangle (1953)

You wait ages for another "new" film to come along and two come at once.

But this load of Hammer hokum was just about bearable to watch, and it was only Stephen Murray and James Hayter (Mr Kipling) being in it made me see it out.

James Hayter sort of narrates and appears as a wise old local GP, as two men invent a machine that can duplicate anything and are assisted in their endeavours by a sexy blond who they both fall in love with. She marries one of them, the other is jealous and persuades the blond to have herself duplicated so he can also have her too; BUT she also inherits the original girl's memory and is also in love with the man she married.

That's it. Just too silly to go on with.

The blonde was played by American Barbara Payton, who had come to England to revive her sordid career, but when she went back to the States it all went pear-shaped again and after dragging herself out of the gutter (even dabbled in prostitution, she died aged only 39 - tragic.

2/10

Secret People (1952)

Might have been a good film, if it hadn't got bogged down with padding and sub plots, oh and the confusion of all the men wearing similar suits with a trilby hat, especially at the end when it became difficult to know who was the baddie or goodie.

It was slow burn, with a good plot about assassinating a despot, but I felt my life ebbing away as I watched it to the bitter end.
Apart from a young Audrey Hepburn, Megs Jenkins and Sydney Tafler, I didn't know any of the other actors