Anne Crawford Movies
- 1954
Mad About Men is the delightful sequel to the saucy British comedy-fantasy Miranda. Glynis Johns returns in the dual role of amorous mermaid Miranda and her somewhat more reserved "human" lookalike Caroline. Having inherited a house in Cornwall, Caroline goes on an extended holiday, whereupon Miranda takes her place as mistress of the estate. The dialogue is rather silly and obvious, but there's much fun to be had as Miranda casts out her net for every eligible male in the vicinity. Though not a big hit in the US, Mad About Men became a "Late Show" mainstay on TV, especially when color television came into common usage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Crawford, Donald Sinden, (more)
- 1953
The philosophies and practices of London policewomen provide the basis of this exciting and interesting docu-drama that centers on three such women. The film is also known as Street Corner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Street Corner was a marginally realistic study of British policewomen. The film takes its female cast through a typical day on the Chelsea beat. In the manner of Dragnet and The Blue Lamp, the skimpy plotline is merely there to string together several anecdotal incidents, illustrating that while a policewoman's lot is not a happy one, neither is it dull. Feminist film fans might point with pride to the fact that Street Corner was written and directed by a woman, Muriel Box. The fact that Box had been working in this capacity in the British film industry for years, while Hollywood had been relegating women to second-class status during the same period of time, is equally worthy of being pointed out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Cummins, Anne Crawford, (more)
MGM's first CinemaScope production was the lavishly appointed Knights of the Round Table. Without overlapping into any copyrighted material (specifically T.H. White's The Once and Future King), the film spins a lucid account of the King Arthur legend. The good king is played by Mel Ferrer, while Queen Guenevere is essayed by Ava Gardner. Arthur's efforts to create a perfect society in Camelot are compromised when Guenevere falls in love with trusted knight Sir Lancelot (Robert Taylor). The ambitious Mordred (Stanley Baker) uses his knowledge of the Queen's indiscretion to destroy both Camelot and King Arthur's round table. Most of the story material in Knights of the Round Table is lifted from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, (more)
- 1951
Charlotte Hastings' West End stage hit Bonaventure was adroitly translated to the American screen as Thunder on the Hill. The bulk of the action takes place at convent, presided over by Sister Mary (Claudette Colbert). Circumstances -- namely, a dangerous rainstorm and raging flood -- dictate that the convent become a stopover for Valerie Carns (Ann Blyth), a convicted murderess who is being escorted to Death Row by a brace of guards. Slowly becoming convinced that Valerie is innocent, Sister Mary sets about to clear the girl and bring the genuine killer to justice. It goes without saying that said killer is also a reluctant guest of the convent. A superb shadow-laden climax in the convent's belltower caps this heart-pounding mystery meller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, (more)
- 1951
This lightweight British satire on Freudianism stars Cecil Parker as a prominent doctor and Anne Crawford as his psychiatrist wife. Parker and Crawford are taken aback when their innocent young son Anthony Lang draws a picture of a horse, with all necessary reproductive equipment lovingly detailed. While Parker is all for paddling his precocious offspring, Crawford decides that the boy should be rewarded for so freely expressing his subconscious. This minor misunderstanding brews into a major brouhaha involving split-ups, supposed infidelity and tearful reconciliations. Tony Draws a Horse was adapted (and somewhat toned down) from a play by Lesley Storm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecil Parker, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1950
Trio was the 1950 follow-up to the successful Somerset Maugham "omnibus" feature Quartet. Maugham himself introduces the three short playlets in this captivating collection. "The Verger" stars James Hayter as a church verger who loses his position when it is discovered that he can neither read nor write. With the help of sympathetic Kathleen Harrison, Hayter becomes a successful tobacconist, a turn of events leading inexorably to the story's beautifully ironic punchline. In "Mister Know-All," Nigel Patrick plays an obnoxious, garrulous passenger on a luxury cruise, who becomes a hero simply by knowing when to shut up. The final story, "Sanitorium," details the touching romance between tuberculosis victims Michael Rennie and Jean Simmons. Like Quartet, this was popular and successful enough to inspire a sequel, 1951's Encore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Hayter, Anne Crawford, (more)
Daughter of Darkness was based on They Walk Alone, a play by Max Catto. The heroine of the play can be described as a "homicidal nymphomaniac," which understandably posed censorship problems when the Catto original was adapted to the screen. In her second film, Irish stage star Siobhan McKenna plays Emma Baudine, a "black widow" who lures men with her sexual charms and then murders them. Because she is the trusted assistant of village priest Father Corcoran (Liam Redmond), no one suspects what Emma is up to -- no one, that is, except the inquisitive Bess Stanforth (Anne Crawford), who emerges as the heroine of the piece. Also appearing in her first movie role is Honor Blackman, long before her international TV fame vis-a-vis The Avengers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Crawford, Maxwell Reed, (more)
- 1948
The oft-used title Night Beat was applied to the 1948 British melodrama. After serving as commandoes in WW2, Felix (Maxwell Reed) and Andy (Ronald Howard) follow widely divergent paths in peacetime. Andy joins the London police, while Felix falls in with the Black Market. As a result, their friendship and fidelity is sorely tested. The women in the case include Andy's fretting wife Julie (Anne Crawford) and sultry nightclub chanteuse Jackie (Christine Norden). Though its starts out strong, Night Beat metamorphoses into standard melodramatics towards the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Crawford, Maxwell Reed, (more)
- 1948
In this comedy, after being discharged from the British army, an idealistic officer and war hero attempts to test his theory that the world would be better if people would harbor more goodwill towards each other. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1948
The blind goddess is justice, which may or may not be served in this British second feature. Eric Portman plays the private secretary to a celebrated public figure (Hugh Williams). Portman holds his boss in an esteem that borders on hero worship. But when his idol is brought into court, the secretary quickly learns that the Great Man is waist-deep in political corruption. Blind Goddess was based on a stage play by Patrick Hastings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1947
Set in Yorkshire in the 19th century, this period drama centers upon a family of mill owners. The story shifts from the well-to-do surroundings of the Crowther family to the less desirable conditions in the mill. While there are the usual crises, disasters, and labor clashes, the film manages to include a few humorous moments, mostly providing by top-billed comic actor Tom Walls. The production couldn't really hope for a profitable American run, but it did well in the provincial British cinemas. Master of Bankdam was based on the novel The Crowthers of Bankdam by Thomas Armstrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar K. Bruce, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1946
In this British melodrama, an indigent writer suffers from amnesia, forgets that he is in love with an aristocratic lady, and instead falls in love with a seductive gypsy. The rich girl's father is enraged by her lover's betrayal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Crawford, Arthur Goullet, (more)
- 1946
Margaret Lockwood is cast against type as a "black widow" in the British Bedelia. Wealthy but naïve Charlie Carrington (Ian Hunter) is swept off his feet by the beauteous Bedelia (Lockwood), whose three previous husbands, also wealthy, have died ostensibly of natural causes. While on their honeymoon, the Carringtons are pestered by a young artist named Ben Chaney (Barry K. Barnes), who seems to be falling in love with Bedelia. No matter where they go, the Carringtons are pestered by the persistent Ben. On the verge of tossing the interloper out, Charlie reconsiders-and a good thing, too, since Bedelia has been planning all along to poison him at the first opportunity. In the film's operatic climax, Bedelia discovers that this time she has been set up for a fall! Bedelia is based on a novel by Vera Caspary, of Laura fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter, (more)
- 1945
Based on a novel by Dorothy Whipple, the British They Were Sisters is not so far removed from the standard Hollywood plot of three sisters' lives taking divergent paths. The siblings in this instance are Phyllis Calvert, Dulcie Gray and Anne Crawford. Each sister is married, thus the film periodically shifts attention from one household to the next. What gives this film teeth is James Mason, playing the nastiest and most abusive of the husbands. Incidentally, They Were Sisters supporting player Pamela Kellino became James Mason's real-life wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Dulcie Gray, (more)
- 1944
The "2000 Women" of the film's title are the female inmates in a WW II German concentration camp in France. Though many of the women don't get along, they are united in their hatred for their Nazi captors. The story takes a truly melodramatic turn when three English airmen parachute into the camp, offering a ray of hope for those inmates planning an escape. Some of the humor is "black" indeed, involving a card-playing corpse and other questionable sources of laughter, but this was the sort of material that wartime audiences wanted. Heading the cast of 2000 Women are Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson and Patricia Roc, fine British actresses all who overcome an abundance of script deficiencies. The film was the first production of Individual Pictures, formed by the producer-director-writer team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson, (more)
- 1943
Beneath the gay billows of the big-top seethes a veritable stewpot of illicit romance, false friends, rivalry and murder in this crime drama that contains the feature film debut of distinguished character actor Herbert Lom who plays a recently hired hypnotist who falls in love with a female trapeze artist, whose jealous partner is the brother of the circus owner. Desperately wanting the woman for himself, the new fellow mesmerizes the girl and suggests that she drop her partner during the next performance. She does, but the wicked hypnotist gets his comeuppance at the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1943
Millions Like Us is a fundamentally honest dramatization of the British "home front" during World War II. Patricia Roc plays a worker in a defense plant who lives in an all-female rooming house. Shy and sheltered, Roc loses some of her inhibitions when she falls in love with an airman (Gordon Jackson). After they marry, he is killed in battle. Roc's coworkers and friends rally round her, giving her the strength to persevere. Millions Like Us attempts to show the temporary breakdown of the British class structure during the war, with everyone--highborn to low--pitching in, working together, and bolstering one another's morale. That the old social system would inevitably resume after the war wasn't important to British movie fans, who lined up in droves to see Millions Like Us. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Patricia Roc, (more)
- 1943
That ubiquitous British character actor Frederick Leister essayed one of his largest and most rewarding screen roles in The Hundred Pound Window. Leister plays Ernest Draper, a mild-mannered race-track auditor who has spent his entire life playing it safe financially. All of this changes dramatically when Draper is put in charge of the track's "Hundred Pound Window", where the highest wagers are registered and the clientele consists of the Rich and Famous-and not a few crooked gamblers. A subplot involving a gang of black marketeers is handled by up-and-coming romantic lead David Farrar as Scotland Yard inspector George Graham. Filmed by England's Teddington Studios, The Hundred Pound Window was released stateside by Teddington's Hollywood "sister studio" Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Crawford, David Farrar, (more)
- 1943
Headline serves as a vehicle for handsome David Farrar, who in 1943 was Britain's fastest-rising leading man. Farrar is cast as Broogle, a crime reporter who'll do anything-ANYTHING-for a story. When the wife of the publisher disappears after witnessing a murder, Broogle ignores Scotland Yard's warnings to "lay off" and endeavors to solve the mystery himself. The film's best performance is rendered by BBC radio favorite Richard Goolden, cast as a self-styled "psychological" detective. While genuine journalists howled at the innacuracies in Headline, audiences ate it up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
In this WWII thriller, an agent parachutes into Holland to retrieve an important document, posing as an American reporter. He meets a baroness sympathetic to the British, and they fall in love and are able to escape the Nazis. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1942
In this comedy, a work-aholic husband pacifies his complaining, neglected wife by buying her the fabulous Peterville Diamond while they are on vacation in Mexico. He then returns to his work. Meanwhile, a jewel thief learns of her acquisition and begins courting the lonely wife so he can steal the stone. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Wings and the Woman was a reverent (read: dull) British biopic about pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson. Anna Neagle portrays Amy, whose fame in the 1930s is such that songs are written about her and a worldwide fan club is organized. See RKO Book. Ms. Johnson's fame exacts a toll on her marriage to pilot Jim Mollison (Robert Newton), a daredevil in his own right who chafes at being overshadowed by his wife (the film is careful not cast Mollison in an envious light). The film ends with Amy's death while transporting a fighter plane from a defense factory to an RAF field, a tragedy which gives producer/director Herbert Wilcox ample opportunities to wave the Union Jack. Released in Great Britain as They Flew Alone, Wings and the Women was heavily edited by its American distributor RKO, with some dialogue sequences ending in mid-sentence! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
In this European drama, a girl in reform school finds herself falling in love with school physician, but must compete with the liberal thinking superintendent for the doctor's affection. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Luchaire, Edna Best, (more)
