Tom Walls Movies
After working as a constable, busker (street entertainer) and jockey, English actor Tom Walls settled on a stage career in 1905. In the '20s, Walls inaugurated his long association with London's Aldwych Theatre, where he produced, directed and starred in a string of popular farces, written by Ben Travers. Non-fans of the Aldwych school may perceive that all of Travers' plays were identical, concerned as they were with upper-class twits becoming entangled with inconvenient young ladies just as all the suspicious wives and jealous husbands show up at once; but to devotees of Aldwych, Tom Walls' appearances were dearly treasured. Walls set the standard for most of his subsequent movie appearances with the 1929 filmization of the Aldwych-produced Rookery Nook, in which Walls functioned as both costar and director. He played the quintessential wealthy philanderer, while perennial costars Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare contributed their usual well-honed bits of comic business. In his last decade, Tom Walls was cast in other directors' films in character roles, essaying a variety of twinkle-eyed old scoundrels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1949
Intending to run off with the wife (Christine Norden) of his publisher (Alexander Gauge), novelist John North (Richard Todd) thinks the better of it as he sits in the compartment of a speeding train. North's journey is interrupted (hence the title) by a train crash, in which his lover is killed. Sifting through the wreckage, railroad inspector Clayton (Tom Walls) discovers that the dead woman didn't perish in the crash: someone shot her in the back! That's all the information that can be revealed without giving away the ending. Top billed in Interrupted Journey as Richard Todd's patient, supportive wife is Valerie Hobson, whose patience and support would be sorely tested in real life when she stood by her husband John Profumo during the British Parliament sex scandals of the early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1949
Maytime in Mayfair is concerned with England's high-fashion set, especially those creatures whose designs set the tone for London's upper crust. Two of the leading emporia are located directly across the street from each other, one run by the lovely Eileen Grahame (Anna Neagle) and the other by the charming but scheming D'Arcy Davenport (Peter Graves). Davenport feels threatened by Eileen and would like nothing more than for her to close up her shop. One day, a young man by the name of Michael Gore-Brown (Michael Wilding) appears. As appealing as he is in debt, it turns out that he has fortuitously inherited the shop for which Eileen designs. Although encouraged to sell it immediately and get some desperately needed ready cash, he becomes quite taken with Eileen and decides to hold on to the salon. At the same time, D'Arcy manages to get his hands on Eileen's latest, top-secret designs and disseminates them to the press, which will ruin Eileen. Thinking that it is Michael that has done this terrible deed, Eileen leaves and goes to Paris. Depressed that his true love has spurned him, Michael is all set to sell the business to two buyers (who are secretly acting on D'Arcy's behalf) when Eileen returns, having discovered the truth. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1949
One of many cinematic collaborations between actress Anna Neagle and her real-life husband, director Herbert Wilcox, this light, romantic "drawing room" comedy was Britain's biggest box office hit of 1948. Neagle stars as Judy Howard, the niece of wealthy art collector Joshua Howard (Tom Walls), for whom she also works as a personal secretary. Uncle Joshua's newest employee is a footman, Richard (Michael Wilding), whose aristocratic bearing seems out of place on a lowly domestic servant. As Judy begins falling for Richard and he for her, the plucky girl discovers the truth. Richard is indeed a member of the upper class, hiding out in working class disguise because he believes that he accepted a bogus payment for his family's valuable art collection and fears their wrath. Of course, no one is in a better position to help Richard with his transaction than Judy and her uncle. Voted England's most popular actress every year for nearly a decade after WWII, Neagle's career in America never materialized. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1947
Firmly in the fantasy groove previously plowed by such films as The Canterville Ghost and The Time of Their Lives is the 1947 British comedy The Ghosts of Berkeley Square. Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer play a pair of fatuous Colonel Blimp military types, whose efforts to shorten the war results only in getting the both of them killed. Summoned to a Heavenly court, Morley and Aylmer incur the wrath of Queen Anne. She orders them to haunt a mansion until they can prove themselves worthy of entering the Pearly Gates. For a film that practically no one has ever heard of, Ghosts of Berkeley Square is an embarrassment of riches in the casting department: among the British favorites appearing in the film are Martita Hunt, A.E. Mathews, James Hayter, Ernst Thesiger, and Wilfred Hyde-White. The film was based on the novel No Nightingales by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Arnaud, Felix Aylmer, (more)
- 1947
Also known as While I Live, this British programmer serves as an excellent dramatic showcase for veteran farceur Tom Walls. Covering a period of 25 years, the story concentrates on the reclusive Julia (Sonia Dresdel), who has never come to grips with the fact that her sister Olwen (Audrey Fildes) committed suicide. Each year on the anniversary of Olwen's "disappearance", Julia has regaled the citizens of Cornwall with a sacrament-like radio broadcast of the poem Olwen was writing at the time of her demise. When a young woman who dimly resembles Olwen arrives on the scene, Julia becomes convinced that her sister has returned from the Beyond, leading to a series of mystical events, romantic encounters and tender reconciliations. Billed first, Walls dominates every scene he's in as a local faith healer named Jeremiah, who claims to possess "second sight"-and he's the most normal character in the story! While I Love was adapted from a play by Robert Bell, which also starred Sonia Dresdel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Clifford Evans, (more)
- 1947
Set in Yorkshire in the 19th century, this period drama centers upon a family of mill owners. The story shifts from the well-to-do surroundings of the Crowther family to the less desirable conditions in the mill. While there are the usual crises, disasters, and labor clashes, the film manages to include a few humorous moments, mostly providing by top-billed comic actor Tom Walls. The production couldn't really hope for a profitable American run, but it did well in the provincial British cinemas. Master of Bankdam was based on the novel The Crowthers of Bankdam by Thomas Armstrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar K. Bruce, Anne Crawford, (more)
- 1946
This holiday comedy is set during the Christmas of 1946 and centers upon a fellow who has returned to his native Canada to spend the Yule. When he receives a telegram from "the Fergusons," many memories of the Christmas they spent together come flooding back. The story jumps backward four years when the man was serving in the Canadian army and was stationed in England. This family took him in for the holiday. While there, the soldier finds himself pursued by the Fergusons' daughter and by their maid. The story then jumps to the present where the former maid--now in the military too--is seen preparing the soldier's Christmas dinner in their home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Jeanne de Casalis, (more)
- 1945
Johnny Frenchman uses humor to drive home the point that, despite all previous rivalries and hostilties, the French and English should pull together during WW2. Aldwych farceur Tom Walls plays Nat Pomeroy, harbourmaster of a Cornwall fishing village, who is continually outsmarted by clever French fish poacher Lannec Florrie (Francoise Rosay). Pomeroy is further aggravated by the fact that Florrie's son Yan (played by French-Canadian radio favorite Paul Dupuis) is busily romancing Pomeroy's daughter Sue (Patricia Roc). But when the Nazis rear their ugly heads, the Cornish fisherman and the French miscreants band together to thwart the German menace. Many of the cast members of Johnny Frenchman are actual Cornish villagers and members of the Free French resistance movement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Tom Walls, (more)
- 1945
In this WWII drama, James Mason plays naval commander Richard Heritage, who is distracted from his duties by a beautiful young woman who is secretly in cahoots with Nazi spies. By accident, Heritage lets her discover the sailing dates of American warships. The mistake costs the U.S. Navy a war ship and costs Heritage his post. After his court-martial, he sets off to find the girl who tripped him up and discovers that she has been killed. With the help of Laura Verity (Joyce Howard), he uncovers the Nazi spy ring, which is being operated under the guise of a British theatrical agency in the seaside town of Blackpool. The head of the outfit is master spy Christopher Child (Tom Walls), a fearsome villain. Heritage hopes to redeem himself and win the heart of Laura by defeating Child and his schemes. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Joyce Howard, (more)
- 1944
No relation to the 1970 box-office blockbuster of the same name, the 1944 British film Love Story was originally released in the US as The Lady Surrenders. Margaret Lockwood stars as one of those brilliant but troubled concert pianists, so beloved of British wartime filmgoers. Knowing that she suffers from a potentially fatal heart condition, Margaret has one last fling with RAF pilot Stewart Granger, who is slowly going blind. As in such earlier romantic dramas of the One Way Passage variety, Margaret and Stewart keep their afflictions secret from each other. When the truth comes out, Granger agrees to a dangerous and experimental operation to restore his sight. This sets the stage for a war of wills between Lockwood, who wants Granger to undergo the surgery, and Gragner's fiancee Patricia Roc, who, for reasons of her own, does not. Love Story was cowritten and directed by Leslie Arliss, son of eminent British stage star Sir George Arliss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1944
The British Half-Way House is from the Thunder Rock and Outward Bound school of Divine Intervention films. A group of travellers, all of whom have reason to regret the actions of the past, take shelter from a storm in an old inn. There's something eerie about the place and its owner (Mervyn Johns)...something that indicates the guests aren't quite operating in their own time anymore. It develops that the inn really doesn't exist anymore; it had been destroyed by a bomb a year earlier. By staying in this half-way house, the guests all have a chance to rectify the errors that they've made in their own lives during the past year. Half-Way House was adapted from a play by Dennis Ogden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Tom Walls, (more)
- 1943
Undercover is a British-made WWII picture glorifying the efforts of a small group of Yugoslavian resistance fighters who struggled against the Nazis. In the tradition of Hollywood, virtually all the Slavic characters are played by such doggedly British types as Tom Walls, Michael Wilding and John Clements. As was customary, the Nazi invaders are shown to be the products of an evil totalitarian regime (quite true) while the Yugoslavs are freedom-loving individuals treated with equanimity by their expansive Communist government (not quite true). After the war, it became common knowledge that many supposedly patriotic Yugoslavian partisans, notably those commandeered by General Mihajlovic, were actually pro-Nazi. As a result, films like Undercover and Hollywood's Chetniks were hastily, and without explanation, withdrawn from circulation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Clements, Tom Walls, (more)
- 1938
Crackerjack tells the story of Jack Drake (Tom Walls), who is seemingly an ordinary, foppish member of England's idle rich, a true ne'er-do-well. He has a secret, however (actually, several) -- the first being a heart of gold and a social conscience, which motivate him to help the less fortunate; the second is an array of special, stealthy skills that permit him to be a master thief, so masterful that he can even steal from other thieves without their knowledge. His exploits, attributed to a master thief known as "Crackerjack," are even chronicled in an anonymously authored bestseller entitled Crackerjack (which even the Scotland Yard superintendent is reading). Its royalties are all directed to a charity. As he explains to his valet/social secretary, Burdge (Charles Heslop -- the only person who knows his secret), he never steals from anyone who would actually miss the money in any material way, and he does it because they're "too mean to give it away themselves." He is also in love with the Baroness Von Haltz (Lilli Palmer) and the two interests converge at a costume party thrown by Mrs. Humbold (Muriel George) -- he plans to court the baroness and steal the Humbold pearls. But all plans of romance are swept aside when the quartet of American entertainers at the party turn out to be armed robbers who kill one of the guests. Now a cat-and-mouse game ensues: Crackerjack on the one side trying to steer Scotland Yard to the American gang, the gang trying to get a line on Crackerjack to get the Humboldt pearls, and Scotland Yard caught between them, and on top of that, baroness is in jeopardy. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Lilli Palmer, (more)
- 1938
In this detective drama, a secret service agent is assigned to investigate the death of a bag lady who was discovered to be carrying highly classified airplane blueprints. He ends up taking a room at the boarding house where she lived. There he soon discovers that all of her housemates are part of a ring of spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Renée Saint-Cyr, (more)
- 1938
In this drama the trouble begins when a young woman marries and her ruthless, but wealthy father, a shipping magnate, cuts her off because he disapproves of the match. When his son marries, the father throws the bride's father off his board of directors. The enraged son, roars off in his car and accidentally hits a man. He is then charged with manslaughter leaving the father to contemplate his actions and reconcile his family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
In this British comedy, set during the Boer War, a foot soldier saves his major's life. The officer is most grateful and puts the soldier in line for a Victoria Cross (a medal for valor). Unfortunately the well-meaning major's actions cause the soldier to be extradited back to England where he must stand trial for a series of crimes he committed before he joined the military. Later the major scours the British jails in search of the heroic lad. He finally finds him recruiting soldiers for WW I. The major offers to raise the soldier's son along with his own grandson. The boys are totally different. The soldier's son is a budding juvenile delinquent while the major's grandson is a perfect angel. The major hopes that the latter will have a good influence on the former, but this does not turn out to be the case. Twenty years pass. Goody-two-shoes is now serving time, while the soldier's son lives quite well on the spoils of his illegal activities. He also takes good care of the elderly major, who does not know the truth about his grandson ( he thinks his grandson is living in America) because the soldier's son refuses to tell him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1937
In this British comedy, a middle-aged fellow set in his ways marries a sweet young thing. After the wedding, he is surprised to discover that she is not willing to give in to his desire that she take the "second best bed." Later he begins flirting with another while his wife heads for Monte Carlo with her pals. In the end, the two reconcile and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1936
Dishonor Bright draws upon the talents of two master farceurs from Britain's Aldwych Theatre, Tom Walls (star-director) and Ben Travers (screenwriter). A correspondent in a bitter divorce case, Stephen Champion (Walls), ends up marrying the defendant, Ivy Lamb (Dinah Churchill), though he still carries a torch for Stella (Betty Stockfield), the wife of the plaintiff's attorney (Cecil Parker). While on an Alpine honeymoon with Ivy, Stephen tries to rescue Stella from the libidinous machinations of rakish Lisle (George Sanders, in one of his earliest major roles). In so doing, Stephen not only nearly messes up Stella's marriage but his own as well. Hollywood's Eugene Pallette offers a well-rounded characterization (in every sense of the word) as a duplicitous American tourist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Eugene Pallette, (more)
- 1936
Another of the delightful Aldwych Theater farces, Pot Luck once again teams those flawless farceurs Tom Walls (who also directed) and Ralph Lynn. Walls is cast as retired Scotland Yard detective Patrick Fitzpatrick, who harbors a deep resentment for his pompous successor Reggie Bathbrick (Ralph Lynn). When a rash of art thefts breaks out in London, Fitzpatrick takes on the investigation himself, for the sole purpose of humiliating Bathbrick. As usual, Ben Travers' dialogue is chock full of familiar catch phrases, cleaned-up expletives and hilariously atrocious puns. Cast as Lynn's pretty daughter is Diana Churchill, in one of her first important screen roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1935
In this British comedy, an aging aristocrat with a gambling addiction borrows money from a relative and ends up winning big at the track. Unfortunately he quickly loses it all in Nice. Impoverished once again, he encounters another loser. Together the two get in cahoots with a diamond thief masquerading as a count who cons the wealthy tourists out of their gems. The two end up going to rat on the count to the police when they are arrested. They go to trial, and at the last minute they are acquitted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a wealthy businessman and his two workers begin scoping out Chinatown for new business opportunities. It is there he learns that his new wife's ex-husband is a blackmailing crook, preparing to victimize him. The businessman decides to destroy the crook before he destroys him. Comic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
The Aldwych Theater farceurs are at it again in Fighting Stock. The punning title refers to a well-stocked rural fishing stream, which sparks a battle royale between two rival groups of fishermen. Brigadier-General Sir Donald Rowley (Tom Walls) gets involved in the fray when he rents a country cottage with his nephew Sydney (Ralph Lynn). While the nephew pitches woo at the local maidens, General Rowley adopts military tactics to reclaim the stream from village squire Duck (J. Robertson Hare). The weapons deployed herein are slapstick, one-liners and outrageous double-takes. The script for Fighting Stock was penned by Aldwych perennial Ben Travers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1935
In this British comedy, the owner of a country pub finds her wedding night ruined when a man comes up and offers her husband a shilling. He accepts it, but discovers that it is really the Queen's bounty for enlistment and that the kindly man is the local recruiting officer. The bride decides she must be with her man and ends up impersonating one to be with him. Eventually she saves him from the French. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dame Cicely Courtneidge, Tom Walls, (more)
- 1934
Tom Walls is both star and director of the airy comedy-melodrama Lady in Danger. Marooned in the revolution-torn kingdom of Ardenburg, British businessman Richard Dexter (Tom Walls) is requested by the leader of the insurgents to safely escort the country's beloved queen (Yvonne Arnaud) to England. Dexter obliges, bundling the queen into his private plane and zooming across the border. He hides the pretty monarch in his apartment, resulting in quite a row when his fiancee Lydia (Anne Grey) shows up unannounced. The farcical possibilities of Lady in Danger are played to the hilt, and the rest is good semi-clean fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Arnaud, Tom Walls, (more)
