Hugh Williams Movies

After declaring a holy war to rid the Sudan of Anglo-Egyptian rule in the 1880s, the fanatical Sudanese leader Muhammad Ahmad (Laurence Olivier) massacres a British-led force of 8,000 and marches on the strategic city of Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The British government of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (Ralph Richardson) then sends one of its greatest generals, Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston), to Khartoum to make peace and save the city. Gordon had previously served with distinction in the Crimea, China, India and South Africa. Most important, he had also served as governor of the Sudan in the late 1870s at the request of the khedive of Egypt, instituting administrative reforms, reducing the slave trade and bolstering the economy. However, before Gordon reaches Khartoum with his aide, many of his former Sudanese friends defect to the Mahdi. Nevertheless, Gordon receives a rousing reception when he arrives in the city in February 1884. Heartened, he meets in the desert with the Mahdi to try to forge a peace agreement, but the Arab leader tells Gordon he is bent on taking Khartoum. What's more, he means to conquer other cities -- Cairo, Mecca, Baghdad and Constantinople -- to establish a vast empire under his leadership. Convinced that more war is inevitable, Gordon and the loyal Egyptian troops under his command prepare for battle. Meanwhile, in London, the Gladstone government is reluctant to dispatch troops to support the outnumbered Khartoum forces because colonial meddling has become bad politics. To forestall disaster, Gordon diverts the Nile to create a moat around Khartoum and leads a foray in which he steals cattle from the Mahdi's herd to supply the besieged city with food. But when the Nile recedes, the stage is set for the final battle that will decide the fate of Khartoum. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a cynical sculptor finds a fresh outlook on life after meeting a lovely ballerina. He is utterly enchanted with her and begins creating a life-sized depiction of the beauty. Unfortunately, this enrages her jealous lover who brutally beats the artist. The sculptor is severely injured and begins losing his sight. He desperately needs an operation to save his failing vision, but instead focuses on finishing his work. He then tries to make the dancer believe that he doesn't care any more, but when she learns the truth she abandons her thuggish beau in favor of the sculptor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comedy is essentially a prototype of Disney's 1961 film Parent Trap and tells the tale of twin girls, separated after their parents divorce, who meet each other at summer camp and hatch an elaborate scheme to get their parents back together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jack Hawkins plays a former British army officer who is surprised in his home one evening by a burglar. His surprise is compounded when the intruder turns out to be one of the men from his World War II army unit. With the straight-arrow diligence of a wartime commander, Hawkins delves into the unfortunate burglar's past, trying to discover why so promising a soldier hit the skids. The film is not so much a mystery but a genteel expose of the socioeconomic problems facing discharged servicemen in postwar England. The Intruder was adapted by Robin Maugham (son of Somerset Maugham) from his own novel Line on Ginger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British drama was originally titled Naughy Arlette. The title character, played by future director Mai Zetterling, is a French exchange student at a British art school. Teacher Hugh Williams is unable to resist Arlette's seductive charms, a fact that brings about his downfall. The girl's randiness also adversely affects Williams' daughter Petula Clark. Based on Serge Weber's novel Lycee des jeaunes filles, The Romantic Age lacks the stylishness demanded by its subject matter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fans of British film star Anna Neagle had a field day with her bravura Technicolor vehicle Elizabeth of Ladymead--though not enough fans showed up back in 1948 to make the film a success. Neagle portrays four different characters from four different historical periods, each named Elizabeth. The first, Beth, lives in 1854 London, as the Crimean War rages thousands of miles away. The second, Elizabeth, lives in 1903, just after the Boer war. The third, Betty, is a girl of 1919, the year after World War I. And the fourth, Liz, is a contemporary lass of post-World War II London. We watch as each of the four Elizabeths emerges as a woman of independence while the menfolk are off to war. Whenever the film becomes too repetitious, Elizabeth of Ladymead scores on the charm of Anna Neagle and her attractive deportment while wearing period costumes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The blind goddess is justice, which may or may not be served in this British second feature. Eric Portman plays the private secretary to a celebrated public figure (Hugh Williams). Portman holds his boss in an esteem that borders on hero worship. But when his idol is brought into court, the secretary quickly learns that the Great Man is waist-deep in political corruption. Blind Goddess was based on a stage play by Patrick Hastings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Feminists beware! This blatantly sexist comedy may definitely raise a few hackles as it tells the story of a recently divorced inventor who becomes a scientist for the War Office to escape women, especially overtalkative, nagging ones like his ex-wife. Unfortunately, his female-free peace is disturbed when an American colonel and his mute daughter, who stopped speaking after a terrifying torpedo attack during a visit to Blighty, comes to work there. The inventor finds the quiet lassie utterly charming and so marries her. Unfortunately, soon afterward, the girl suffers another shock and begins talking again. Now it seems as if she is trying to make up for lost time and this drives the insensitive inventor crazy. They have a big fight and she ends up running away. Unfortunately, she is pregnant and so later agrees to return and never speak when he is around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two sisters stick by each other through thick and thin in this drama. The elder sister has a rather sexually checkered past. The tale begins as she heads for the French Riviera in search of more adventure and meets a charming man who knows nothing about her notorious past. They end up getting married. It is then he sees his bride's name figured prominently in a tabloid. The younger sister intervenes to save the union and tells him that she was the naughty sister. Unfortunately, her admission causes her own romantic life to crumble so the older sister finally 'fesses up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This subtle, unadorned British war drama was the second collaboration between "The Archers," Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Six British bomber crewmen are obliged to bail out over Holland. To escape detection from the Nazis, the crewmen accept the hospitality of several Hollanders, all dedicated to the freedom-fighting activities of the Underground. The film is constructed along the lines of the earlier Powell-Pressburger film The Invaders, except that the escapees are British rather than German and their Dutch contacts are willing rather than reluctant co-conspirators. The six male stars are Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, and Emrys Jones; among those who aid them in their flight to freedom are Googie Withers, Joyce Redman, and Peter Ustinov. The austere photography by Ronald Neame is complemented by the to-the-point editing of future director David Lean. Adding to the verisimilitude of One of Our Aircraft Is Missing is the utter absence of a musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lightweight but elaborately produced musical melodrama was originally released in Great Britain as Premiere. While watching the opening night of a Parisian stage extravanganza, the show's principal backer is murdered. Inspector Bonnard (John Lodge) deduces that the fatal shot was fired from the stage-meaning that everyone involved in the production is a suspect. Bonnard demands that the cast and crew restage the play so that he can witness the proceedings and ascertain the killer's identity. One thing is certain: heroine Carmen (Judy Kelly) is not the guilty party, though she should have shot whoever designed her unflattering costumes and makeup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a boys' school matron is brutally murdered after she wins the French lottery. The story tells how it was done. She is killed by a French loan shark who tricks her into coming to his place. He then kills her and has another woman put on her clothing and collect the lottery winnings. The law pursues the killer, who commits two more murders before he kills himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide