Anna Neagle, Sylvia Syms. Poor Anna just can’t seem to ‘straighten out’ her delinquent daughter. Her path eventually leads to crime, rebellion, death, and redemption. Her sleazy boryfriend leads her down a path of moral ineptitude. Good performance by Syms.
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Tag Archives: UK
Dead Men Are Dangerous (1939) Harold French, Robert Newton, Betty Lynne, Peter Gawthorne, Crime, Drama
A down-and-out writer being hounded by collectors stumbles upon dead man lying under a fallen tree limb. Little did he know the man had been murdered, and he concocts a scheme of exchanging clothes and identifications in hopes of making a clean slate of things. Coincidental happenings lead the police to his new alias. A secret diary and a murder weapon hold the truth to his innocence while Scotland Yard is now the hound on his trail. The true killers are eventually exposed to him and his sweetheart. Then the truth is exposed. A somewhat frustrating story as the viewer watches errors in judgement from all angles. But a good ending for all except the murderers.
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Bartleby (1970) Anthony Friedman, Paul Scofield, John McEnery, Thorley Walters, Drama
Updated to 1970s London, this faithful adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic follows a young accounting clerk rebelling against his employer by responding to demands to do work by saying, “I prefer not to.” This is carried on ad absurdum until the office is in chaos because the other employees must do Bartleby’s work. His boss is unable to fire or help him and eventually has him placed in a mental hospital. Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons), John McEnery (The Duellists) and Thorley Walters (TV’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”) star in this impeccably mounted study of employment, insanity, and the rigors of everyday life from one of literature’s most acclaimed geniuses.
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After the Fox / Caccia alla volpe (1966) Vittorio De Sica, Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Britt Ekland, Comedy, Crime
Peter Sellers plays Aldo Vanucci (aka the Fox), one of the greatest criminals of the world, and master of disguise. After Aldo escapes from the Italian prison he was held in, he meets again with his friends, and plans to retrieve the “gold of Cairo” a large shipment of gold, that waits to be unloaded somewhere in Italy. Aldo devices the perfect plan. Posing as a famous director, he finds the ideal coastal village to unload the shipment, and persuades the entire population that he has chosen their village as the set for his new movie. Everybody, including the idiot chief of the local police is so excited, that they can’t even imagine that in fact they are helping the Fox to get the “gold of Cairo”…
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Nouvelle-France / Battle of the Brave (2004) Jean Beaudin
Prejudice, perfidy, love, and bravery in Québec. In 1779, a priest on his deathbed receives a young woman. Read More »
Antonia / Antonia’s Line (1995) Marleen Gorris, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Jan Decleir, Veerle van Overloop, Comedy, Drama
In an anonymous Dutch village, a sturdy, strong-willed matriarch looks back upon her life, the generations of family and friends gathered around her table, and ponders the cyclical nature of time.
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The Wandering Jew (1933) Maurice Elvey, Conrad Veidt, Marie Ney, Basil Gill, Drama, Fantasy
This story is based both on a long-standing legend and a play by E. Temple Thurston. Veteran British director Maurice Elvey brought years of experience with theatrical adaptations to the difficult task of filming a movie that spans centuries and strains credulity. Conrad Veidt stars as the Jew who urges Roman authorities to crucify Jesus and release Barabbas. As a punishment, he is condemned by God to wander the Earth for many centuries, enduring innumerable trials and tribulations on several continents.
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Penny Paradise (1938) Carol Reed, Edmund Gwenn, Betty Driver, Jimmy O’Dea, Comedy
A Liverpool tug boat captain finds he’s won a fortune on the penny pools and it changes his life. However, after giving up his job and throwing a large expensive party, he discovers that he may not really have won after all.
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West Of Zanzibar (1954) Harry Watt, Anthony Steel, Sheila Sim, William Simons, Adventure
The story of native tribesmen who move towards Mombasa, getting drawn info the world of ivory smuggling.
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The Awakening (1980) Mike Newell, Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Horror
An American archaeologist is in Egypt with his pregnant wife, searching for the tomb of a long-lost Egyptian queen. At the same moment he discovers the tomb and opens it’s accursed seal, his wife gives birth to his daughter. Years later it transpires that the malevolent spirit of the Egyptian queen left the tomb just as he was entering, and possessed his baby girl. As the truth becomes clear, the archaeologist realizes that he must destroy his daughter in a ceremonial ritual, before she uses her awesome powers to threaten the safety of mankind.
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