Macdonald Hobley Movies

Laurence Olivier recreates his stage role of Archie Rice in this in-your-face film adaptation of John Osborne's play. The son of a legendary music hall comedian (Roger Livesey), Archie is strictly a third-rater, headlining a tacky music hall revue in a seedy seaside resort town. Archie can't admit that he's a failure, and his grim insouciance destroys everyone around him. Archie finagles his dying father into financing one last revue; he cheats shamelessly on his alcoholic wife (Brenda De Banzie); and he all but forces one of his sons (Albert Finney) to run off to join the army, only to die in the Suez. Through all his personal crises, Archie jigs and jabbers before his ever-diminishing audience, but by the end of the film he isn't even entertaining himself. Joan Plowright, who married Olivier shortly after completing The Entertainer, plays the film's one sympathetic character: Archie's daughter, whose love for her father blinds her to his flaws. The Entertainer was remade for television in 1976, with Jack Lemmon as Archie Rice and original songs by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Norman Wisdom made his third film appearance in the slapstick musical Man of the Moment. This time, Norman is a clerk in the British ministry who is forced to sub for an ailing delegate at a Geneva Peace Conference. In his usual bumbling fashion, our hero becomes intimately involved in the affairs of a tiny Pacific-island monarchy. As a result, the island's queen refuses to participate in any sort of negotiations unless Norman sits in at the proceedings. The nervous British government immediately bestows a knighthood on the hapless delegate. . .and then the fun begins, as several scurvy types try to kill off Norman and topple the Queen from her throne. Featured in the cast of Man of the Moment is Norman Wisdom's music-hall straight man Jerry Desmonde in a prominent but thankless role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jennifer (Janette Scott) is the 12-year-old daughter of divorcing couple William (Leo Genn) and Paula (Beatrice Campbell). Though both parents profess their love for Jennifer, both mentally abuse the poor girl during the custody tug-of-war. Unable to withstand the pressure, Jennifer runs away from home. She ultimately finds happiness with another family, where game-playing is not part of the agenda. Based on No Difference to Me, a novel by Phyllis Hambleton, No Place for Jennifer concentrates more on the sentimental aspects of the story than its does on the psychological effect a divorce has on an innocent child. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi