Peter Coke Movies
- 1960
Terry-Thomas plays the military-officer head of an amiable gang of amateur British thieves. He is recruited for this task by wealthy dowager Athene Seyler, who merely wants to retrieve stolen minks from genuine crooks. Any profits accrued by this undertaking are to be turned over to charity. Once we're aware that everyone's heart is in the right place, we can laugh freely at the film's collection of would-be reprobates, and vicariously hold out hopes for their success. Best bit: Terry-Thomas, backed by Anton Karas' "Third Man" theme, skulking into what appears to be a waterfront dive to make contact with a "fence," only to discover that he's stumbled into a Salvation Army mission. Make Mine Mink was based on Breath of Spring, a play by Peter Coke. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, (more)
Up the Creek is a mirthsome remake of the classic Will Hay comedy Oh, Mr. Porter (1937). Whereas the Hay film concerned an inept railroad stationmaster, the hero of the remake, Lt. Fairweather David Tomlinson, is an inept naval officer. Transferred to the HMS Berkeley, a decrepit WW2-vintage destroyer where he can do the least amount of damage, Fairweather teams up with his new bosun Peter Sellers for a variety of slightly larcenous money-making schemes. Things come to an uproarious conclusion when the admiralty shows up for an inspection of the Berkeley. Surprisingly, Up the Creek was filmed with full permission of the Royal Navy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Tomlinson, Peter Sellers, (more)
- 1957
The grass is always greener.... In this British comedy, two drunken comrades find out the truth of that saying when they decide to trade places for a while. One of the boozers is a public relations man who knows nothing about sailing, while the other is a captain for the Royal Navy. Riotous comic mayhem ensues as the hapless "captain" tries to run his ship and follow orders. When the bumbling fellow's inadvertence sinks one of the fleet's own ships, he ends up locked in a rubber room until the two manage to extort someone into helping them resume their rightful identities. The film was originally titled The Ship was Loaded, and bears no relation to the popular "Carry On" series. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Tomlinson, Peggy Cummins, (more)
- 1956
The Extra Day is a portmanteau film in the tradition of the earlier Derby Day. The ball gets rolling when Joe Blake (Richard Basehart), the assistant to film director Kurt Vorn (Laurence Naismith), routinely summons a group of movie extras for a few necessary retakes. The audience then learns the "backstories" of the various extras. Starving artist Steven Marlow (George Baker), who has been doing crowd work to pay the bills, is the object of movie star Michele Blanchard's (Simone Simon) affections, even though he doesn't know it. Prizefighter Barney West (Sidney James) worries that he'll lose his extra job if his face is messed up in the ring. Socialite Toni Howard (Josephine Griffin) works in films to get away from the social whirl; her callback to Vorn's set nearly scotches her impending marriage to a famous singing star. And so it goes until the extras are assembled and Vorn yells "action." Future pop star Shani Wallis makes her screen debut in The Extra Day in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Basehart, Simone Simon, (more)
- 1955
Scads of color stock footage from the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth was strategically deployed in John and Julie. The story involves two little provincial children (Colin Gibson, Lesley Dudley) whose parents have no plans to attend the Coronation. Left to their own devices, John and Julie run off to London, where with the help of several eccentric types they get to see the Queen's installation. On the basis of its content, it isn't surprising that John and Julie isn't revived much these days. But some enterprising distributor might take note that the film features an early supporting appearance by Peter Sellers, once again hiding his youthfulness beneath a ton of makeup. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Gibson, Lesley Dudley, (more)
- 1953
Robert Beatty stars in this rapid-fire British programmer as an innocent bystander mixed up with drug smugglers. When things look darkest, Beatty is helped out by femme fatale Elizabeth Sellars. The smugglers are routed, and the figurative broken horseshoe of the title is mended so far as Beatty is concerned. The film was based on a popular British TV series by Francis Durbridge. Apparently, Broken Horse-Shoe wasn't popular enough to make it into Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide, which contains write-ups on virtually every other British TV show-cum-B picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1939
Cheer Boys Cheer is a provincial British comedy with slight Romeo and Juliet undertones. Edmund Gwenn and Moore Marriott play rival brewery owners who detest the sight of one another. Not so their children--the son of one man, the daughter of the other--who fall in love. One glance at the film's title, and the viewer knows that boy and girl will not take poison in the end. For so modest an endeavor, Cheer Boys Cheer has a remarkable talent lineup: Edmund Gwenn, Moore Marriott, Jimmy O'Dea, Nova Pilbeam and Alexander Knox in front of the cameras, and Walter Forde and Ronald Neame on the production end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1939
In this thriller, a playwright overhears a gang of men plotting a kidnapping and enlists the assistance of a detective to investigate them. They soon find the ring is fronted by a bogus employment agency that sends "clients" to check out potential victims. Action ensues as they endeavor to stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1939
James Mason stars in this nerve-wracking British suspenser. Mason plays a henpecked farmer, driven over the edge by his spiteful wife. He kills her and buries her in their garden. Convinced that he'll be caught someday, Mason becomes a fugitive. He briefly enjoys a romantic relationship with authoress Pamela Kellino until he realizes that Pamela's interest is purely professional: she plans to use Mason as "material" for her upcoming novel "I Met a Murderer." But that's not the end of the story, which contains more twists and surprises than are dreamt of by the relatively unimaginative Pamela. Unlike her character in the film, Pamela Kellino was able to concoct the screenplay of I Met a Murderer without any first-hand experience; she also coproduced the film with her husband, director Roy Kellino. As for Roy, he may very well have had second thoughts about teaming Pamela with James Mason; Pamela divorced Roy in 1941, and went on to marry...you guessed it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Mason, Pamela Kellino, (more)
- 1939
A wealthy man's valet, Blore, concocts a blackmail scheme about an attempted poisoning when his employer passes out at a party in this farcical comedy. ~ Rovi
- 1938
A loving mother sacrifices all for her son in this drama. She is an artist's model who finds herself financially drained by a dead-beat artist when she falls in love with a younger man, marries him and bears a son. When her beloved husband dies in the war, the old artist tries to win her back. When that doesn't work, he lures her into his studio and pulls a gun on her. During the ensuing struggle, she accidentally shoots him and ends up spending 15 years in jail. Upon her release she heads for America to keep her son from discovering the truth. In the States, she gets involved with a gambler, but then returns to England and discovers her son is being flimflammed by gamblers. She then saves him from losing it all, but the ungrateful son only has eyes for his lover and his mother slowly fades from view. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Arthur Margetson, (more)
- 1938
British musical comedy star Gracie Fields made a bid for stardom in the U. S. with this lighthearted story. Music hall entertainer Gracie Gray (Fields) has grown tired of dealing with her less-than-honest manager and quits her job in the revue, with the rest of the cast soon following suit. Gracie moves out to her uncle's farm, with her friends tagging along; they happen to meet Bert (Roger Livesey), a successful musician, and with his help and advice, Gracie and the gang work up a whole new act. Taking their routines to the stage of a theater in Brighton, Bert and Gracie's show proves to be a huge hit. As usual, Fields sings several songs, including "Swing Your Way to Happiness" and "The Holy City." Notable among the supporting cast is Skippy the dog, who as "Asta" became a scene-stealer in The Thin Man. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gracie Fields, Roger Livesey, (more)
