Ann Casson Movies
- 1940
In this family comedy, the life of a suburban clan is disrupted when they learn that two old friends are coming to call. The house is thrown into a tizzy as they struggle to prepare. One of the three brothers then chooses an inopportune moment to announce that he is planning to marry the maid. The cook then organizes a kitchen strike. Finally things settle down, and the household is ready to entertain the esteemed guests -- they never show up. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie Lohr, Judy Kelly, (more)
- 1932
Based upon a thrice-filmed book by Sir Compton Mackenzie, Dance Pretty Lady is a romantic drama set in the Edwardian era. Jenny (Ann Casson) is a young Cockney lass who, despite her humble origins, is pursuing a career as a ballerina. Jenny meets Maurice (Carl Harbord), a young bohemian artist for whom money is no problem. She finds him attractive and falls in love with him. Maurice, for his part, is quite taken with her. However, he does not support the concept of marriage, and so asks her to be his mistress rather than his wife. Despite her love for him, Jenny wants no part of such an arrangement. Maurice eventually gives in and agrees to marry her, but Jenny does not want believe in his sincerity, and so the two part. After Maurice has left for the continent, Jenny realizes how much she desperately loves him and becomes extremely unhappy. Waiting for him to return, she pines away and grows disconsolate, at length believing that he has surely become involved with someone else. Despondent, she somehow falls into a relationship with Jack Danby, a friend of Maurice's, but is then filled with remorse. When Maurice finally returns, he learns of what is happened; initially upset, he then realizes that Jenny behaved this way because of her feelings for him and the way he treated her, and he makes a genuine offer of marriage to her. Dance marked the feature film debut of a young Hermione Gingold in a small role. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
- 1932
William Freshman is in love with Ann Casson. She's engaged to military officer Henry Wenman. To eliminate competition, Freshman "borrows" a baby and claims that it's Wenman's. Fire, flood, famine, plague-you'll see none of these in Bachelor's Baby, but the complications lean towards the comically apocalyptic all the same. The film was based on a novel by Rolph Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This early Hitchcock effort is a parody of the thriller genre about a transient (Leon M. Lion) who accidentally discovers the hideout of a gang of jewel thieves. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey, (more)
- 1932
In this family drama, a woman's children finally convince her to leave her alcoholic husband. Later she finds herself courted by a rich baronet. Meanwhile her children grow up to be angry adults, bitter about their lives. When her husband finally dries out and changes, they reconcile and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1931
In this interesting British prison film, an innocent man goes to prison and his wife later commits a crime so she can join him there. Unfortunately, while she is out trying to get in, he gets released. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Godfrey Tearle, Kathleen O'Regan, (more)
- 1930
In this early talkie, Capt. Matt Denant (Gerald du Maurier) is a former war hero who intervenes when he sees a crooked detective threatening a woman on the street. Denant and the detective soon fall into a brawl, and the detective is accidentally killed. Sentenced to five years in prison at hard labor, Denant finds that he cannot stand the indignities of life behind bars and escapes. A number of friends and compassionate strangers help him hide from the law, but when Denant goes into hiding in a church, he puts the pastor in the difficult position of having to lie about him in order to protect his safety. Escape was the first production for RKO Radio Pictures' British branch; leading man Gerald du Maurier is the father of famed novelist Daphne du Maurier. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gerald du Maurier, Edna Best, (more)
