Hugh Wakefield Movies
- 1954
Released in the US as Man With a Million, The Million Pound Note is a satisfying adaptation of a satirical short story by Mark Twain. Gregory Peck plays Henry Adams, an impecunious American living by his wits in London. Henry becomes the object of a wager between millionaire brothers Oliver and Roderick Montpelier (Ronald Squire and Wilfred Hyde-White), who want to find out if a man with a million pound note in his bank account could live comfortably for one month on the strength of that note--without ever spending a penny of it. When Henry is given the note and lets it be known that he has it, every courtesy imaginable is extended to him by hoteliers, restauranteurs, etc. Trouble brews when Henry uses the note's reputation to speculate on the stock market. When his creditors demand that he produce the note as an act of faith, Henry is unable to do so, whereupon pandemonium reigns--and the audience's laughter cascades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Jane Griffiths, (more)
- 1952
A group of provincial actors are fond of their boss, less fond of his jealous wife. To keep wifey out of their hair, and incidentally to teach her a lesson, the troupe assumes a variety of bizarre disguises. She is allowed to assume the worst; the actors then have ever so much fun proving her wrong. Hugh Wakefield, who portrays the impresario with the inconvenient spouse, co-wrote the screenplay of The Caretaker's Daughter, which was based on a play by Guy Paxton and Edward V. Hole. The film was originally released in Britain as Love's a Luxury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Henry Koster directs the 1951 aviation drama No Highway in the Sky, based on the novel by Nevil Shute. James Stewart stars as Theodore Honey, a widower and single parent to 11-year-old Elspeth (Janette Scott). He's also an absent-minded engineer who has formed a scientific theory about metal fatigue in a specific model of aircraft. He tries to convince British Airways that their airplanes will come apart after a certain amount of miles, but no one believes him. Then administrator Dennis Scott (Jack Hawkins) sends him on a flying mission to investigate a crash site in Newfoundland. Along the way, he meets stewardess Marjorie Corder (Glynnis Johns) and movie star Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
- 1948
In this musical, a renowned tenor meets a lovely woman at a British railway station. When the woman's dog gets in a fight, he saves it. Unfortunately this causes them to miss their train. Later, the tenor discovers that his suitcases by been stolen. The thief, a tramp, is then mistaken for the singer and taken to a Roman studio. Meanwhile, the tenor and the woman must somehow earn enough money to eat supper before the next train arrives. They do it by singing. Later they are arrested for passing a counterfeit bank note. Fortunately they are released in time to make it to Rome and find the tramp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Martini, Patricia Roc, (more)
- 1946
Filmed in 1945 and released in the US the following year, the Anglo-American Journey Together is a tribute to the Royal Air Force, with several members of the RAF (and the acting profession) in prominent roles. The story follows the progress of two aspiring RAF pilots, cockney David Wilton (Sgt. Richard Attenborough) and college graduate John Aynesworth (Aircraftsman Jack Watling), from basic training to bombing mission. David and John are briefly sent off to America, where they are trained for aerial combat by no-nonsense Dean MacWilliams (Edward G. Robinson). The two flyboys then separate, with David going to Canadian Navigational School while John earns his wings and is shipped back to England. It's a tougher road to hoe for the combative, fiercely independent David than it is for the calmly resilient John, by by film's end the two comrades in arms are together again, flying their first hazardous mission over Berlin. Bessie Love, an American actress then living in London, plays Edward G. Robinson's wife; other roles are filled by members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the US Army Air Corps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Richard Attenborough, (more)
The Noel Coward/David Lean combination which turned out such dramas as Brief Encounter and This Happy Breed sets its sights on the viewer's funny bone with Blithe Spirit. Rex Harrison plays a novelist, newly married to straight-laced Constance Cummings. Via a seance, Harrison accidentally summons the spirit of his first wife, Kay Hammond. Believing that Hammond wants to ruin his marriage, Harrison enlists the services of local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to exorcise Hammond's spirit. She fails, and in time, Harrison's second wife is killed; now he has two playful spirits on his hands! Technicolor is used throughout Blithe Spirit, with the ghosts' shimmering paleness providing contrast to the plain, everyday colors of Harrison's conservative country home. Blithe Spirit was later transformed into the Broadway musical High Spirits, with the original script bent out of shape to turn the character of Madame Arcati (played by Beatrice Lillie) into the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, (more)
- 1937
In this British musical, the trouble begins when a performer has a tiff with his singing partner during a show and ends up running outside. He is costumed as a beggar and in this guise encounters a kindly orphan who is in the custody of a former musician. Seeing his ragged clothing, she pities him and brings him home for a hot meal. The performer realizes that in the face of the poverty she and the magician suffer with daily, that he is truly a lucky man. Later he falls in love with the orphan girl and makes her his new partner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Tracy, Arthur Riscoe, (more)
- 1937
The murder of a songstress promotes the investigation by reporter Jim Martin (Hugh Wakefield) to clear the name of Lady Constance Gaye's (Antoinette Cellier) missing brother. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1937
In this British comedy, a Yankee con artist hides out in England. Trouble ensues when he follows a pretty girl into a office building and encounters the company president just before he commits suicide. He then learns that the distraught executive has been involved in embezzling scheme. The con man then talks the frazzled fellow into taking a six-month leave and allowing him to run the company. He then begins fixing the books to the company is saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Nedell, Jean Gillie, (more)
- 1936
Adapted from a stage play by Maurice Braddell, It's You I Want is a vehicle for veteran scene-stealer Sir Seymour Hicks. The star is cast as Victor Delaney, a middle-aged roue who decides to take a break from girl-chasing. This proves impossible when Delaney's bachelor flat becomes a veritable pit-stop for cheating husbands, vengeful wives and dizzy mistresses. Time after time, Delaney is caught in innocent but compromising situations, paying off in loud and long laughter from the audience. Director Ralph Ince does little to "cinematize" his material; it's essentially the original stage play on the original set with most of the original cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Marie Lohr, (more)
- 1936
In this remake of the 1931 film, an informer is plagued by the three ex-cons he was responsible for sending to prison. They exact their revenge by bedeviling the man in his newly inherited estate and try to drive him crazy by having him believe the place is haunted. The young man then hires a detective who saves the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis L. Sullivan, Hugh Wakefield, (more)
- 1936
Blackmail is the basis of this crime drama based on a novel by Edgar Wallace. The trouble begins when the leader of a ring of blackmailers becomes an amateur sleuth to outfox Scotland Yard. He spends a lot of time in the Yard getting to know the higher ups. When not schmoozing with the cops, the crook is plotting blackmail schemes. Despite their efforts the Yard has many problems figuring out the leader of the ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Wakefield, Alfred Drayton, (more)
- 1936
The Alexander and Zoltan Korda production Forget Me Not serves as a splendid showcase for that matchless Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli. The star is cast in the strangely unsympathetic role of opera star Enzo Curti, who falls in love with impressionable tourist Helen (Joan Gardner). After their marriage, disillusionment quickly sets in for Helen, who can't cope with sharing her new husband with his thousands of fans. When seductress Irene (Jeanne Stuart) moves in on Enzo, Helen leaves him, returning to her former sweetheart. Now contrite, Enzo spends the rest of the film desperately trying to win his young wife back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beniamino Gigli, Joan Gardner, (more)
- 1936
The Improper Duchess is never as naughty as its title, or else it wouldn't have made it to the screen in 1936. Yvonne Arnaud heads the cast as the Duchess of Tann, who comes to Washington D.C. on matters of state. In her efforts to secure a much-needed loan for her country, our heroine must first do battle with a cartel of crooked oil executives. Romance enters the picture in the form of the King of Poldavia (Hugh Wakefield). The satirical nature of the story eventually gives way to farce, which in turn concedes to slapstick. Improper Duchess was adapted from a play by James B. Fagan, which also starred Yvonne Arnaud. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Arnaud, Hugh Wakefield, (more)
- 1936
In this comedy, a helpful friend offers to care for the apartment of a honeymooning couple. As soon as they leave, he brings his mistress to the place to spice it up. Meanwhile, in Paris, the honeymooners experience trouble after the husband accidently kisses a jealous man's wife. They quickly flee from France fighting all the way home. The couple is quite surprised by what they find at the apartment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In this comedy, a young man encounters opposition when he gets engaged. His jilted girlfriend's mother then has her daughter sue the fellow for breach of promise. Meanwhile the new fiancee hires another lawyer to catch the other girl in a unseemly act to ruin her chances in court. Unfortunately the scheme falls apart and her love is blamed for it all. Then his fiancee dumps him in favor of the lawyer. In the end, he decides to go back to his first girl, the one who was suing him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
A remake of a German film, No Monkey Business certainly lives down to its title. Goonish comedian Richard Hearne dominates the film as Charlie, the acrobat pal of circus performer Jim Carroll (Gene Gerrard). In love with anthropologist's daughter Clare Barrington (June Clyde), Jim realizes that he'll never impress the girl unless he proves himself of a scientific nature. Thus, Jim talks Charlie into posing as a gorilla, then claims that he's trained the "beast," thereby thrilling Clare. The plot thickens when a real gorilla appears on the scene. Yes, it's Charley's Aunt with fur, and no opportunity for a low, cheap laugh is overlooked. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Gerrard, June Clyde, (more)
- 1935
Dreams Come True for Ilona Ratkay (Frances Day), a popular opera singer who falls in love with gangly farm boy Anton (Nelson Keys). Not so lucky is Anton's father Albert (Hugh Wakefield), who is left all alone when his son runs off to the Big City with Ilona. Things really get sticky when Albert becomes obsessed with the notion that Ilona is actually his own illegitimate daughter! The more censurable aspects of the story are neatly skirted and circumvented with liberal doses of music and comedy. Dreams Come True is a remake of the German operetta Liebesmelodie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Day, Nelson Keys, (more)
- 1935
In this farce, a dancing shoe almost causes the end of a marriage. More complications ensue when a fluff-headed girl attempts to return the missing slipper and ends up getting the hapless husband arrested as a jewel thief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Ratoff is a lion tamer who hears that a rival of his has died by a lioness. Ratoff adopts the daughter of the deceased man, and he buys the lioness that killed him. As time goes on, he becomes increasingly jealous of the men who pay attention to the girl, who has grown into a beautiful woman. As his fame at the circus is being surpassed, he demands the woman marry him. She becomes involved with the very one surpassing his fame, however, and this pushes Ratoff too far. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Ratoff, John Loder, (more)
The first film version of The Man Who Knew too Much proved to be the international "breakthrough" film for British director Alfred Hitchcock, transforming him from merely a talented domestic filmmaker to a worldwide household name. While vacationing in Switzerland, Britons Leslie Banks and Edna Best befriend jovial Frenchman Pierre Fresnay. Not long afterward, Fresnay is murdered. He whispers a secret in Banks' ear before expiring. This is witnessed by several sinister foreign agents, who kidnap Banks' daughter Nova Pilbeam to keep him from revealing what he knows: That a diplomat will be assassinated during a concert at London's Albert Hall. Unable to turn to the police, Banks desperately attempts to rescue his child himself, still hoping to prevent the assassination. The film's now-famous setpieces include the "Siege of Sidney Street" re-creation and the climactic clash of cymbals at Albert Hall, followed by the crucial scream of Edna Best. German film star Peter Lorre made his English-speaking debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much, though he was still monolingual in 1934 and had to learn his lines phonetically. Written by A. R. Rawlinson, Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham Lewis, Emlyn Williams and Edwin Greenwood (an impressive lineup for a 75-minute film!), Man Who Knew Too Much was remade by Hitchcock himself in 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Banks, Edna Best, (more)
- 1934
Mein Herz Ruft Dir is a tailor-made vehicle for Polish singing sensation Jan Kiepura. The star is cast as the lead tenor in a travelling operatic troupe, who while taking a boat to Monte Carlo falls in love with pretty stowaway Martha Eggerth. When the troupe's Monte Carlo engagement is cancelled, Kiepura tries to use his splendid singing voice to find a wealthy patron for himself and his co-workers. Nothing seems to work until he stages an impromptu street performance of Tosca, drawing a huge crowd away from an indoor performance of the same opera. Oh yes -- he also ends up marrying Marta Eggerth, who like everyone else in the film plays second fiddle to Mr. Kiepura. Director Carmine Gallone filmed Mein Herz Ruft Dir three times: this German version, the French Mon Coeur D'Appelle and the English-language My Heart is Calling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Kiepura, Marta Eggerth, (more)
- 1934
Tom Walls is both star and director of the airy comedy-melodrama Lady in Danger. Marooned in the revolution-torn kingdom of Ardenburg, British businessman Richard Dexter (Tom Walls) is requested by the leader of the insurgents to safely escort the country's beloved queen (Yvonne Arnaud) to England. Dexter obliges, bundling the queen into his private plane and zooming across the border. He hides the pretty monarch in his apartment, resulting in quite a row when his fiancee Lydia (Anne Grey) shows up unannounced. The farcical possibilities of Lady in Danger are played to the hilt, and the rest is good semi-clean fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Arnaud, Tom Walls, (more)
