J. Lee Thompson Movies
Before reaching his twentieth birthday, British film director J. Lee Thompson was an established repertory actor and playwright. He entered films as an actor in 1934, then switched to screenwriting (usually in collaboration) five years later. Lee-Thompson's directorial debut was Murder Without Crime (1950), but it was his second picture, the noirish The Yellow Balloon (1951), which established him as a bankable director of action programmers. In 1958, Lee-Thompson introduced Hayley Mills to moviegoers in the taut melodrama Tiger Bay (1958). After 1960's I Aim at the Stars, an historically questionable Werner Von Braun biopic, Lee-Thompson was given his most prestigious directing assignment to date: The international moneyspinner The Guns of Navarone (1961). Henceforth all of Lee-Thompson's projects would be expensive A-pictures, even those with B-story values and artistic aspirations like 1961's Cape Fear. The director's style veered from pristine stylishness (What a Way to Go [1964]) to appalling tastelessness (John Goldfarb Please Come Home [1966]); in general, Lee-Thompson could be counted upon for excellent box-office returns. Most of his later assignments were erratic in quality: For every McKenna's Gold (1968), there'd be a Greek Tycoon (1978). In the early '80s, J. Lee-Thompson and his Jaylee production firm hopped on the Indiana Jones bandwagon with a brace of sloppily constructed adventure films (actually one long film cut in two) based on H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1949
In this drama, a frustrated upper-class writer decides that he will find real inspiration by examining his subjects first-hand. This leads him to begin wandering about the seamiest side of town where he witnesses a murder. When an innocent man is arrested, the writer refuses to assist him as the knowledge that he has been "slumming" could destroy his career. The young man is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Upon his release, he hears his own story in a radio drama written by the author. This enables the ex-con to get the necessary evidence to clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Murray, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1945
In this British WW II drama, a British housewife proves herself to be as patriotic and courageous as any soldier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Possibly inspired by the 1937 British melodrama They Drive By Night, East of Piccadilly is an austere shocker set in London. Novelist Sebastian Shaw finds himself in a "Nick and Nora" relationship with girl reporter Judy Campbell, as together they seek the whereabouts of a silk-stocking killer. For a while, Shaw is a suspect, but his top billing expunges him of all guilt (we suppose). Perhaps the real murderer lurks within the supporting-cast ranks of Niall McGinniss, Henry Edwards and Martita Hunt (among others), all of whom look guilty as sin. The deceptive whimsical quality of the title East of Piccadilly was lost on the American distributor, who renamed the film The Strangler for US consumption. One of the screenwriters was J. Lee Thompson, later the director of such cinematic blockbusters as The Guns of Navarone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Campbell, Sebastian Shaw, (more)
- 1941
The Strangler is the American title of the British East of Piccadilly. London's Soho district is terrorized by a strangler who favors silk stockings as his method of disposal. All evidence points to American millionaire George Pughe. Thanks to the diligence of girl reporter Judy Campbell, Pughe is condemned to be hanged. But Judy begins to have second thoughts, and together with mystery writer Sebastian Shaw she tracks down the real killer-nearly ending up a victim in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
In this comedy, a battleship captain has a large party to celebrate their next voyage and is dismayed to find that two glamorous women are still aboard after they set sail and cannot turn back. To protect them, and himself, he hides the unwilling stowaways in his quarters. Unfortunately, they are too soon discovered and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
