Betty Stockfeld Movies
- 1957
True as a Turtle isn't nearly as funny as its title, but it tries hard to please. Most of the action takes place aboard a yacht called the Turtle, owned by crusty Dudley (Cecil Parker). The yachtsman's guests are newlywed Tony (John Gregson) and his chronically seasick bride Jane (June Thorburn). After a series of slapstick mishaps, the plot rears its ugly head when crew member Harry (Keith Mitchell) reveals himself to be a criminal -- only he isn't really a criminal, see? Moderately successful in England, True as a Turtle made it to the U.S. by way of the Late Late Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gregson, June Thorburn, (more)
- 1956
In this thriller a French woman is arrested for the death of her cruel lover. She certainly had motive as the man was a real snake. She hides him from the Nazis during WW II; he gets her pregnant, betrays her, and has her sent to a concentration camp. Even though it seems obvious that she was the killer, the woman pleads innocent. Two reporters believe her and begin investigating the stabbing. They soon find themselves entangled in a ring of international counterfeiters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Les Amants du Tage (The Lovers of Tage) was based on a novel by Joseph Kessel. Daniel Gelin plays a soldier who is acquitted after committing a crime of passion. Relocating to Lisbon, and still feeling remorse over his impulsive killing of his faithless wife, Gelin manages to find love in the form of gorgeous widow Francoise Arnoul. Alas, it turns out that Arnoul has a sordid past of her own, leaving our hero sadder but wiser. Trevor Howard, whose presence in this essentially Gallic entertainment comes as a surprise, plays the relentless police inspector who exposes the seemingly virtuous Arnoul. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Gélin, Françoise Arnoul, (more)
- 1950
French filmmaker Jacques Becker's Edouard et Caroline has been described as a film without a story. This isn't quite true, though the most memorable aspect of the film is the byplay between the two title characters. Edouard (Daniel Gelin) is a young, headstrong musician. Caroline (Anne Vernon) is his flibbertigibbet spouse. The two quarrel over an evening dress, they separate and then reunite. These farcical proceedings are counterpointed by Becker's naturalistic choice of settings, including Eduoard and Caroline's less-than-fashionable apartment and the prison-like confines of Caroline's uncle's mansion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Vernon, Elina Labourdette, (more)
- 1949
In this tragedy, a troubled young woman with a tragic childhood is befriended by a hobo who brings her the first happiness she has ever known. Unfortunately the girl suffers a bout of amnesia and forgets who he is. The patient tramp helps her retrieve her memory. To thank him, the ungrateful girl tosses him out of her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Produced by Britain's Teddington Studios on behalf of Warner Bros., The Flying Fortress stars Richard Greene, who had to be furloughed from the Army to participate in this wartime morale-booster. Greene plays millionaire playboy Jim Spence, a carefree aviation enthusiast whose avocation becomes his vocation when the war breaks out. Giving up wine, women and song for the duration (well, at least wine and song), Spence mans the controls of a British "flying fortress" for periodic bombing forays over Berlin. The film's "money scene" finds Spence clambering out of his plane to repair a hole in its side in mid-air-a bit of bravado which, amazingly, is based on a true incident. For unknown reasons, Flying Fortress was heavily edited for its American release, rendering its storyline a tad hard to follow at times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Greene, Carla Lehmann, (more)
- 1941
In this drama, an amiable steel worker suddenly changes when he becomes a foreman. Suddenly Mr. Nice Guy becomes Mr. Hard Nose and he mercilessly pushes his men to work harder and faster. His callous attitude comes home with him and his wife, too suffers. Trouble ensues when the foreman pushes the men so hard that a man dies. The other workers revolt, and at home, his wife leaves. The foreman turns to his friend, a preacher, for guidance and begins to see where he went wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
The English-language title of this stagebound French drama is They Were Twelve Women. The eponymous leading ladies run the full gamut age-wise, from twentysomething Micheline Presle to fiftyish Francoise Rosay. The story concerns the efforts of a dozen females from various walks of life to contribute to the war effort, renting a communal home for this purpose. The expected cultural clashes break out, most notably a war of words and wills between aristocratic Rosay and "loose woman" Gaby Morlay, but in the end all 12 women are solidly united in a common cause. Though it can't be proven, it is quite possible that Elles Etaient Douze Femmes was one of the principal inspirations for the American novel (and subsequent film) Tender Comrade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Françoise Rosay, (more)
- 1939
Le President Haudecoeur stars Harry Baur as a stern and merciless district attorney who undergoes a "humanizing" process in the course of the film's 107 minutes. Making the acquaintance of attractive young Canadian widow Betty Stockfield, Baur lets himself go and falls in love for the first time in his life. Alas, it turns out that Stockfield already has a fiancé, but Baur emerges from the experience with a warmer and more liberal outlook on life all the same. Featured in the cast as the DA's son is Baur's real-life offspring, Cecil Grance. Le President Haudecoeur was produced by Marcel Pagnol, though surprisingly the film does not show up on his "official" resume. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Stockfeld, Harry Baur, (more)
- 1938
A pair of slippers is the plot catalyst for this rambling French comedy. Hoping to save the reputation of a philandering friend, do-gooder Beatrice (Betty Stockfield) drives all the way from Paris to Switzerland to return an incriminating slipper to its mate. Along the way, she is sidetracked by handsome Georges (Roger Treville). By the time Beatrice arrives at her appointed destination, she finds that her friend has already replaced the tell-tale slipper. Now she's got to get rid of that pesky third slipper-which isn't as easy as it sounds, and which results in all sorts of merry misadventures. The Slipper Episode is based on a story by Tristan Bernard, who appears briefly at the beginning of the film to "explain" the action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Stockfeld, Roger Treville, (more)
- 1938
Toothy, ukelele-plucking British comedian dominates the proceedings in I See Ice. The nonsensical story concerns the misadventures of a prop man (George Formby) for a travelling ice-skating troupe. Inventing a new sort of candid camera in his spare time, our hero gets into a passel of trouble when he photographs what he shouldn't. Though well directed and exceptionally well cast (Kay Walsh and Cyril Ritchard appear in support), I See Ice wouldn't amount to a hill of beans without the presence of the ebullient Formby, who halts the action every once in a while for one of his unsubtly risque comic songs. Not surprisingly, the film was infinitely more popular as a "regional" than as a big-city attraction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Formby, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1937
Based upon a hit German musical that had already been filmed in 1934, Who's Your Lady Friend? emerged as a British comedy-with-music in 1937. Dr. Mangold (played by Vic Oliver, a popular dance-band leader of the day) is a famous Viennese "beauty specialist" (i.e., plastic surgeon), saddled with a rather incompetent secretary named Fred (Romney Brent). Expecting an extremely important new client from France, Dr. Mangold makes the mistake of sending Fred to the station to pick her up. Due to a mix-up about identities, Fred instead returns with a vixenish cabaret singer named Lulu (Frances Day). To add to the complications and misunderstandings, Fred's fiancée Mimi (Margaret Lockwood) sees him out with the beautiful singer and leaps to the conclusion that he is being unfaithful to her. At the same time, Mrs. Mangold (Betty Stockfield) assumes that her husband, the doctor, has also succumbed to Lulu's wiles. Matters are not made any better when Fred goes on a bender and somehow ends up in the same bed as Mrs. Mangold. Eventually, everything is cleared up and the couples reunite happily. The score features the minor hit "Moonlight and Music", and the character of the maid is played by Sarah Churchill, daughter of Winston Churchill and wife of Vic Oliver. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1936
The Club de Femmes (Girl's Club) of the title refers to a Parisian boarding house, populated in its entirety by beautiful, unwed damsels. The rules of the club are quite strict, with chaperones making certain that the ladies keep a safe and respectable distance between themselves and their gentleman callers. But the mischievous Claire (Danielle Darrieux) is determined to enjoy a rendezvous with her sweetheart Robert (Raymond Gall), and to that end she talks him into disguising himself as a woman. Things look bleak for Claire when she becomes pregnant, but things turn out OK when she gives birth to a girl, thereby upholding the club's "No Males Allowed" edict. Featured in the cast is a young newcomer named Else Argell, who by an incredible coincidence was the wife of director Jacques Deval. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Betty Stockfeld, (more)
- 1936
In this tuneful and sentimental romance, a young architect from France falls in love with his employer's daughter. Unfortunately, she feels differently and marries another. The loss inspires him to quit his job and return to France where he becomes a wanderer. Eventually he encounters a beautiful gypsy and together they form a minstrel act. When she learns that he must return to England at summer's end, she is very sad. He too is sad, but he goes and discovers that the first woman didn't marry after all. He is happy until he sees that she is really an avaricious, conniving gold digger. Soon he is back in France with the good-hearted woman he has really come to love. A French version of this film was shot and released at the same time. Both are remakes of an earlier version. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Chevalier, Betty Stockfeld, (more)
- 1936
Dishonor Bright draws upon the talents of two master farceurs from Britain's Aldwych Theatre, Tom Walls (star-director) and Ben Travers (screenwriter). A correspondent in a bitter divorce case, Stephen Champion (Walls), ends up marrying the defendant, Ivy Lamb (Dinah Churchill), though he still carries a torch for Stella (Betty Stockfield), the wife of the plaintiff's attorney (Cecil Parker). While on an Alpine honeymoon with Ivy, Stephen tries to rescue Stella from the libidinous machinations of rakish Lisle (George Sanders, in one of his earliest major roles). In so doing, Stephen not only nearly messes up Stella's marriage but his own as well. Hollywood's Eugene Pallette offers a well-rounded characterization (in every sense of the word) as a duplicitous American tourist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Eugene Pallette, (more)
- 1935
An uncharacteristically light-hearted Edgar Wallace yarn was the basis of this mild British comedy-drama. Gordon Harker stars as The Lad, a cheeky ex-convict who is mistaken for a private detective. Paid a huge sum of money not to dig up dirt on the Fandon family, our hero is all for taking the money and running. But upon being reunited with old flame Pauline (Jane Carr), now the Fandon's maid, he decides to leave the money behind and turn over a new leaf. A cute surprise ending allows The Lad to come out on top without resorting to dishonesty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Betty Stockfeld, (more)
