Frank Tickle Movies

Sir Walter Scott's medieval take on the "John Alden" story formed the basis of Quentin Durward. Robert Taylor dons armor in the title role, playing the son of an aging Scottish nobleman. He has been dispatched to propose to a high-born Frenchwoman (Kay Kendall) on his uncle's behalf, but one look at the lady and Quentin Durward falls head over heels. But there are villains to vanquish in several sword fight setpieces, the best of which is the climactic battle in which the hero and the head bad guy (Duncan Lamont) dangle on bell ropes. Quentin Durward was the fifth MGM Robert Taylor picture filmed in whole or in part in England; the others were Conspirator, Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe and Knights of the Round Table. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Brandy for the Parson is a wafer-thin comedy with plenty of maritime humor. James Donald and Jean Lodge play a young couple on a yachting vacation. They agree to share a ride with a few seemingly benign fellow landlubbers. What they don't know (but we do) is that their "harmless" yacht-mates are actually running a slick brandy-smuggling operation. With a few alterations here and there, the basic premise of Brandy for the Parson bobbed to the surface again in 1969 for Disney's The Boatniks, which like the earlier film, benefitted from a strong cast of supporting comic players. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rex Harrison's extramarital relationship with Patricia Wayne comes to an end when Wayne is murdered. All evidence points to Harrison; we know that he's innocent, but the detectives don't have this advantage. With his faithful wife Lilli Palmer at his side, Harrison goes on trial for his life. Anthony Dawson, the genuine murderer, intends to confess after Harrison is hanged. Thanks to a governmental quirk, Dawson's letter reaches the authorities just a few steps ahead of the hangman. Anthony Bushell, co-director of Long Dark Hall, is featured as Harrison's defense attorney. The film was co-scripted by Hollywood's Nunnally Johnson and based on a novel by Edgar Lustgarden. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the infamous Archer-Shee case of 1912, The Winslow Boy features Neil North as the 14-year-old title character. Accused of a petty theft, North is expelled from Naval College. His father, retired bank official Sir Cedric Hardwycke, is prevented by existing British law to clear his son's name. He engages attorney Robert Donat, who successfully petitions for the right to sue the Admiralty and make this august organization prove its charges in court. Public opinion, however, is strongly against Hardwycke and his family: particularly effected is Hardwycke's daughter Margaret Leighton, whose fiance breaks off their engagement. For dramatic purposes, Margaret finds solace in a romantic relationship with barrister Donat. Terrence Rattigan worked on the cinemadaptation of his own play, which was later restaged on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, set after the war, a WW II flying ace and hero comes to the aid of a hooker who is being harassed by a policeman. He pushes the abusive cop away during the tussle; the cop falls, hits his head, and dies. The former flier is promptly tried and given a three-year prison sentence. He escapes one night during a heavy fog. He is taken in by a caring woman who tries convincing him to surrender. The fugitive at first refuses, but then after seeking sanctuary in a church relents because he does not want the parson to have to lie on his behalf. His surrender is made easier by the knowledge that the woman will wait for him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A pair of furloughed British sailors and a Wren go for a visit to Stonehenge, get caught in a violent storm and end up in ancient Rome. This comedy chronicles their exploits that begin when they try to curry the emperor's favor by predicting the future. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Emeric Pressburger was one of the scenarists on the big-budget British seafaring saga Atlantic Ferry. The film is a romanticized recounting of the first-ever steamship crossing of the Atlantic in 1837. Michael Redgrave and Griffith Jones star as the MacIver brothers (the film is based on a story by one of the MacIver progeny). The siblings battle both the Atlantic and (whenever a woman is involved) each other, but they achieve their goal, making shipping lanes safe for steam power. Inasmuch as the film was made at the outbreak of World War 2, the filmmakers contrive to rabbet a bit of anti-German propaganda into the proceedings. "Has considerable gusto" was the New York Post's pithy critique of this morale-boosting film. The huge cast includes such British-movie stalwarts as Valerie Hobson, Bessie Love, Frederick Leister and Felix Aylmer. Atlantic Ferry was distributed in the US by Warner Bros. under the title Sons of the Sea. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi