Lilly Kahn Movies

Reminiscent of the film noir detective films like The Maltese Falcon, The House of Seven Hawks is really the same type of bird. Aptly directed by Richard Thorpe, the story features Robert Taylor as John Nordley, the captain of a charter-boat service on the British sea coast. Nordley's problem is that he tends to ignore regulations, and when a passenger is murdered on board, his already tarnished reputation is no help in trying to prove his innocence. As the mystery of the murder is unraveled, the story jumps back to the end of World War II and a cache of valuable diamonds that suddenly disappeared. Nordley had been trying to track down the whereabouts of this treasure trove -- would that be connected to his passengers death? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This not-so-subtle variation on Val Lewton's classic Cat People (1942) is enlivened by the presence of exotic Barbara Shelley -- who would later grace many Hammer Studios productions (most notably Terence Fisher's Dracula -- Prince of Darkness) with her feline beauty. Shelley plays Leonora, a woman who believes she has inherited a curse which will transform her spirit into the body of a ferocious, man-eating leopard. Though her disbelieving psychiatrist (Robert Ayres) tries to persuade her that this belief is merely a by-product of her rage toward her unfaithful husband, the vengeful "phantom" cat she releases from her subconscious triggers the curse and spells doom not only for those who betrayed her, but perhaps for Leonora's own soul as well. Despite a superb performance by the smoldering Shelley and noir-ish direction from Alfred Shaughnessy (though nothing to compete with that of Jacques Tourneur), it's hard to overlook the obvious parallels to Lewton's film, which outclasses it in nearly every respect and makes the entire effort seem unnecessary. Produced by British Lion, this film was later distributed in the United States by the ubiquitous American International Pictures, sometimes under the title Cat Woman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Former Hollywood musical director (and erstwhile government spy) Boris Morros was one of the producers of the British Tale of Five Cities. Bonar Colleano stars as British soldier Bob Mitchell, who has picked up American habits and speech patterns while employed in the U.S. Suffering from amnesia, Mitchell is led to believe that he is an American GI, though of course no records exist to verify this. Mitchell's confusion prompts a Manhattan-based magazine to launch a search for Bob's true identity, a search leading inexorably to the girls he left behind during WW II. The "five cities" visited during this exploratory journey are Rome, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and London; Mitchell's Roman sweetheart is played by Gina Lollobridgida, while his Viennese amour is Eva Bartok. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Flemish Farm is based on a true story. Clifford Evnas plays Duclos, a Belgian airman who joins the British air corps at the outbreak of WW2. Feeling the need to do something more for his country than merely dropping bombs on Nazi installations, Duclos flies back to his German-occupied homeland to symbolically retrieve a Belgian Air Force flag he'd buried just before evacuating. He hides out in the farm of the title, where he is given aid and support by the Belgian underground. Ultimately, however, his presence becomes known to the Nazis, leading to a tension-filled denouement. Jane Baxter costars as Trescha, who in true WW2-propaganda fashion gives her life for her cause. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide