Charles Cullum Movies

Jean Gabin carries this conventional political drama set in pre-World War II France. He is Emile, a retired politico with a long memory, a curmudgeon who is not yet prepared to stand on the sidelines and watch others wield power. Flashbacks fill in the details about his earlier career -- and why he wants to block the new cabinet proposed by a politician he knew in his former days of government service. A bit long at almost two hours, director Henri Verneuil worked often enough with Gabin in his films to elicit a strong portrayal. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this slapstick British comedy, a proud man from a family of seamen is so prone to seasickness that even the slightest aqueous movement makes him unbearably ill. The man's illustrious family history is witnessed from the Stone Age via flashback. To preserve his family's name and his own honor, he opens up a hotel for sailors with an amusement pier. It is a great success and this inspires the jealousy of the local residents who try to destroy his new empire. Fortunately, the fellow's sailor pals intervene and save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Alec Guinness has one of his finest comic roles in this Ealing satirical comedy about a much patronized amateur scientist whose latest invention creates an uproar in the British textile industry. In the British manufacturing country of Northern England, factory owner Michael Corland (Michael Gough) is showing competitor Alan Bimley (Cecil Parker) around his plant, hoping to borrow some money and marry off his daughter Daphne (Joan Greenwood). They come upon a curious contraption that turns out to be an experiment by employee Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness). Being a lower class worker, Sidney is summarily fired from his job. Sidney ends up working at Bimley's factory, where he is befriended by militant worker Bertha (Vida Hope). Daphne spots Sidney at the factory and he explains to her the results of his experiment -- a material that is indestructible and impervious to dirt. Bimley discovers this project and throws Sidney out. But Daphne, impressed by his experiments, funds Sidney, installing him in his own laboratory. After a few false starts, Sidney develops a pure white material that can't be dirtied or ruined. But it seems Sidney's invention is too brilliant and effective; if a material is marketed that will last forever, textile mills will go out of business and workers will lose their jobs. Suddenly, poor, luckless Sidney has both management and labor banding together to combat his new invention. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

By 1949, British stage and film star A.E. Matthews was more widely celebrated for his advanced age (eighty) than his considerable thespian achievements. In The Amazing Mr. Beecham (original British title: The Chiltern Hundreds), Matthews goes into his well-calculated "doddering aristocrat" routine as an elderly earl confounded by political upheaval. The old man's son (David Tomlinson) attempts to be elected to Parliament on the socialist ticket, but it is the family butler (Cecil Parker) who ends up being elected as a Tory. The original play, written by William Douglas Home, had also served as a vehicle for the venerable Matthews (who had made his stage debut in 1886!) After Amazing Mr. Beecham, A.E. Matthews remained active until his death in 1960 at age 91. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In one of his rare visits to his home turf, British actor David Niven essayed the title role in Bonnie Prince Charlie. The film's principal challenge was to transform 18th-century Scottish Prince Charles into a sympathetic character, which, patriotism aside, he most decidedly was not in real life. The court-intrigue scenes are the weakest aspect of the film; the strongest moments take place on the battlefield, where Charles "the pretender" and his followers face down the battalions of King George II (Martin Miller). Even in defeat, Charles is the victor, successfully eluding his British pursuers and escaping to France. Filmed in Technicolor at a cost of $4 million, Bonnie Prince Charlie fell with a thud when it premiered at a kidney-busting 140 minutes. Subsequent reissues were cut by as many as 40 minutes, and some were economically reprocessed in black-and-white. Thanks to constant exposure on American television, this notorious flop finally posted a profit in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The title tells all in the German-made Legend of William Tell. Hans Marr is at his most nobly heroic as the title character, the 13th-century Swiss huntsman-patriot who defied the despotic dictatorship of Herr Gessler (Conrad Veidt). The famous scene wherein Tell is forced to shoot an apple off his son's head rather surprisingly comes in the middle of the picture. The climax consists of the hero's escape from Gessler's dungeon and his subsequent victory over his enemies. Within a few years, anti-dictator films would be on German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels' no-no list, and Conrad Veidt would be plying his villainy in American films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Often consigned to comic relief roles in Hollywood, Reginald Gardiner is awarded top billing in the British Borrow a Million. Gardiner plays an affable millionaire who strikes up a friendship with humble London tea-shop proprietor Charles Cullum. At the urging of his lovely sister Vera Bogetti, Gardiner backs Cullum in a risky business venture. As a result, Cullum becomes the wealthy manager of a string of profitable restaurants. Clocking in at 50 minutes, Borrow a Million was produced by Fox Studios' British facilities. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this melodrama, a delicately beautiful ghetto girl works her fingers to the bone in hopes of escaping the oppressive poverty of her home. Her hard work pays off and she becomes a prosperous fashion designer. Her success is threatened when a former acquaintance reappears and demands that she hand over a lot of money lest her dark, impoverished past be revealed to the wealthy men who woo her. Fortunately, a brave boxer, who has secretly loved her all along, takes care of the extortionist and the woman is free to marry her true love--a doctor's son. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi