Davina Craig Movies

Eden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the silent era by Alfred Hitchcock. The 1940 talkie version was directed by Leslie Arliss, son of stage star George Arliss. The story remained the same: A middle-aged widower attempts to select a wife from his rural district's eligible females (Basil Sydney). Three unsuccessful dalliances later, the farmer settles for his housekeeper, whom the audience has been rooting for all along. The Farmer's Wife is a prime example of the sort of fare that struck a proper chord with British filmgoers, but whose appeal would be lost to any other nationality. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from the best-selling novel by K. J. Benes, A Stolen Life serves as a tour de force for German actress Elizabeth Bergner, whose husband Paul Czinner directed the film. Bergner stars as identical twins Sylvina and Martina, whose mild sibling rivalry intensifies when one of the girls tricks the other's sweetheart Alan McKenzie (Michael Redgrave) into proposing to the wrong twin. While Alan is away on business, his new bride and her sister go off on a yachting expedition. A storm at sea capsizes the vessel, wherupon one of the twins-the unmarried one--is drowned. As the other girl recovers, she finds that everyone assumes that she's actually her lookalike sister. Assuming the dead woman's identity, the surviving girl hopes to resume her pre-marital romance with Alan-only to discover that her sister had been carrying on a clandestine affair. If the plot sounds familiar, it's because A Stolen Life was remade in 1946 with Bette Davis as the sisters and Glenn Ford as the confused husband. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in England in the early 1900s, South Riding is a political and personal drama about a nearly bankrupt estate owner who is trying to keep himself solvent by buying into a real estate plan which he doesn't realize is morally suspect. The original British cut of South Riding ran 90 minutes, but for its American release, several Depression-era scenes were cut from the print. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

In this romance, a street performer gets into an argument with an ambassador's chauffeur and ends up falling in love with the diplomat. Unfortunately, when government secrets are revealed, the finger of blame is pointed directly at her. But she is innocent. The real culprit is her ex-fiance whom the diplomat trusted with his secrets. The jilted lover told the secrets to get revenge upon her. With his political life in shambles the ambassador resigns. Fortunately, the devoted street singer stays right by his side. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Will Hay plays Benjamin Stubbins, an unsuccessful and incompetent English lawyer with a tendency to tip the bottle and an inability to pay any of the considerable debts he has managed to accumulate. His wealthy family, of course, disapproves of him and has taken custody of his daughter so that she will receive a proper upbringing. Stubbins does not improve matters by visiting his brother-in-law and accidentally getting the butler drunk when he recommends alcohol as the cure for his toothache. He gets no more respect at the office, where lazy office boy Willie ignores his instructions in favor of reading the comics. Stubbins' life changes, however, when a gang of American crooks shows up. They know that the safe to a bank is located directly underneath his office and they employ the unsuspecting solicitor to track down a family tree, thus keeping him out of the office while they stage a robbery. Later, they show up at Stubbins' brother-in-law's house during a Christmas party, planning to fleece the host and his guests. Fortunately, Stubbins also shows up, disguised as Santa, and after the usual chase, the gang is captured. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Although Neil Grant's stage play Dusty Ermine enjoyed a 250-performance run in London, screenwriters Du Garde Peach and Michael Hankinson could not resist the temptation to "improve" the play for its 1936 film version. Surprisingly, the film actually did turn out to be better than the play, no small thanks to its star, the ever-delightful Roland Young. The story concerns a master forger named Jim Kent (Young) and his equally larcenous nephew Gilbert (Arthur Macrae). Upon discovering that Gilbert has followed in his crooked footsteps, Jim determines that the boy shall turn honest, and to that end he takes the blame when Gilbert is arrested in the company of an international counterfeiting gang. But Gilbert has no intention of going straight and continues manufacturing "funny money." Realizing at long last that Jim is not the culprit -- after all, he's safely behind bars -- the police track down Gilbert, rescuing him from an Alpine avalanche and finally convincing him to pursue a less-risky occupation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two waiters hit the road after they are mistaken for jewel thieves in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this British Victorian comedy, a wealthy Englishman comes back from a journey to India to discover that instead of becoming successful, his beloved nephew has run up so many debts that he has had to disguise himself as a minister to evade his creditors. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this mystery, a detective looks into the death of a man involved in the occult. Although the obvious evidence points to the dead man's niece as the killer, the detective doesn't believe it. Sure enough he proves her innocence and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, an impoverished exiled Russian prince is taken in by a good-hearted Cockney shopgirl. His presence creates chaos in her family's humble home. More trouble ensues when the girl is tossed out for getting romantically involved with her employer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi