Anthony Thorne Movies
- 1956
British sailors John Mills and Richard Attenborough would like to take Neopolitan lass Lisa Gastoni out on a date. But Gastoni can't leave the house unless her baby brother tags along. During a rowdy evening on the town, Mills is forced to sneak the infant on board his ship. When Gastoni and Attenborough arrive to claim the kid, they find that the ship has already sailed. Essentially a British Abbott & Costello picture, Baby and the Battleship manages to deliver a sufficient supply of hearty chuckles. The film was based on a somewhat subtler novel by Anthony Thorne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1950
So Long at the Fair is based on a true story -- or at least, a story that has been told and retold so often that it is now accepted as truth. The year is 1889: the setting, the Paris Exhibition. Among the thousands in attendance are Vicky Barton (Jean Simmons) and her brother Johnny (David Tomlinson). After the first night of the Exhibition, Vicky is exhilarated, while Johnny seems a bit under the weather. The next morning, Vicky knocks on Johnny's hotel door, only to discover that her brother has disappeared. When she goes to the police and, later, to the British consul, the authorities refuse to believe her story. In fact, there is no evidence that Johnny ever existed! The outcome of this story is rather well known; still, it is perhaps best not to reveal any further details. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, (more)
- 1949
George Gordon, aka Lord Byron, the clubfooted 19th-century poet with the uncontrollable libido, is played by Dennis Price in this lavish British chocolate-box epic. From the vantage point of his deathbed, Byron recalls his life and many loves, imagining that he's pleading his case before a celestial court. Joan Greenwood looks like she's just stepped out of a portrait frame as Lady Caroline Lamb (whose own sordid story would also be filmed in due time). Her performance is far more persuasive than that of Dennis Price, who seems less libertine than precocious as Byron. Roundly ridiculed by British film critics in 1949, The Bad Lord Byron has stood the test of time -- not really a classic, but an acceptable rainy-day wallow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, (more)
