W.A. Whittaker Movies
- 1967
When a builder writes a serious drama, the world views it as a comedy and it turns into a huge success. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1964
This British comedy comes from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, writers of the hit television program Steptoe and Son. Harry H. Corbett (who played Steptoe, Jr. on the tube) is Hemel, a canal-cruising bargee who is dead-set against marriage. He goes about his freewheeling ways until he finds out that he has impregnated one of his playthings (Julia Foster). Unfortunately for him, the young woman's father (Hugh Griffith) is the lock-keeper and he is not about to get out of this predicament without a vow or two. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, (more)
- 1963
This colorful slapstick comedy concerns an honest locksmith who gets talked into a safecracking scheme by a couple of ruthless gangsters. Ernest Wright (Charlie Drake) is duped by a con man into opening a car and safe, which lands him in jail for a year. He is released, but a subsequent event gets him three year in jail and an undeserved reputation as a master thief. The Guv'nor (George Sanders) and Domino (Eddie Byrne) put the squeeze on Ernest to help them in a plan to pilfer some precious gems. With the help of undercover police woman Muriel (Nyree Dawn Porter), Ernest helps trap the crooks and clear his name. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Drake, George Sanders, (more)
- 1961
Zany British comedian Tony Hancock was briefly a major draw in the 1960s, with several popular TV series, sellout personal appearances, and a string of theatrical films to his credit. In The Rebel (released in the US as Call Me Genius), Hancock plays a middle-class businessman who decides to chuck it all and become a painter. He heads for Paris, there to starve in an attic until fame and fortune comes calling. Like many British comedies of the era, The Rebel has great fun at expense of modern art and bohemian artistes; Hancock takes full advantage of every humorous possibility, with suave George Sanders acting as his dignified foil. Alas, by the end of the 1960s, Tony Hancock was dead by his own hand, a victim of alcohol and acute depression. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Hancock, George Sanders, (more)
- 1958
The British Ice Cold in Alex was released in the US as Desert Attack. John Mills stars as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. Travelling to his destination by ambulance, Anson becomes acquainted with his fellow passengers, nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and South African officer Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). One of these worthies is a German spy-and only two of the passengers will survive until the fade-out. For its American release, Ice Cold in Alex was not only given a new title, but was also trimmed from 132 minutes to 79. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1957
Anna Neagle steps down from her expensive musical extravaganzas to play a recognizable human being in No Time for Tears. She plays the dedicated director of a busy children's hospital, battling red tape, family hassles and public indifference. A large and stellar cast appears in this episodic tale, dramatizing the triumphs and tragedies of pediatrics. An unfortunately predictable happy ending sends the filmgoers home without trauma. No Time for Tears came close to the end of Anna Neagle's starring career; she would appear in two more films, and produce two additional features, before returning to the stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1955
The British The Dam Busters is the story of the development and utilization of the "bouncing bombs" in World War II. Michael Redgrave stars as Dr. Barnes Wallis, who developed these unorthodox explosives. Wallis' invention is put to practical use during the British raid on the Ruhr Dams in Germany. Most of the film is devoted to the two years spent in creating the bombs and training the pilots; the final sequence is a special-effects masterpiece, even allowing for the obvious models standing in for the dams. Adapted by R.C. Sherriff from both Guy Gibson's book Enemy Coast Ahead and Paul Brickhill's The Dam Busters, this film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, (more)
