Ronald Chesney Movies
- 1981
Rula Lenska, a European actress who gained international fame as star of a series of cosmetics commercials in the 1970s, played one of the two leading characters in the British sitcom Take a Letter Mr. Jones. Predicated on the old sexual-role-reversal gimmick, the series cast Lenska as prominent female business executive (and recent divorcée) Mrs. Joan Warner. When her work load became too much for one person to handle, Mrs. Warner hired a male personal secretary, Graham Jones (John Inman) -- and it wasn't hard to predict what would happen next. Other characters included Joan's spoiled-rotten daughter Lucy (Claudie Bowyer), her Italian maid Maria (Miriam Margoyles), and office help Brenda (Gina Maher) and Ruth (Joan Blackham). The six half-hour episodes of Take a Letter Mr. Jones were telecast over Britain's regional Southern Television from September 5 to October 10, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Expectations ran high for the success of this daffy British sitcom about a busy advertising agency. Christopher Biggins starred as Brian Reeves, head man of the agency, who presided over a crew that gave "motley" a whole new meaning. Among the supporting players was future TV favorite Liza Goddard as Claire. Unfortunately, few British viewers accepted the invitation posed by the series' title, and thus Watch This Space lasted only six episodes, from January 17 to February 21, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Biggins, Liza Goddard, (more)
- 1976
The British sitcom Yus My Dear was a spin-off of the comedy series Romany Jones, focusing on two of the earlier program's secondary characters, Wally and Lilly Briggs (Arthur Mullard, Queenie Watts). Having spent most of their lives moving from one trailer park to another, Wally and Lilly put their caravan in mothballs and settled down in a government-subsidized apartment house. Though he endeavored to bring in a steady paycheck as a bricklayer, Wally was constantly undermined by his shiftless brother Benny (Mike Reid). Originally telecast from January 9 to November 28, 1976, Yus My Dear eventually weighed in at 19 half-hour episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Mullard, Queenie Watts, (more)
Various bus crashes combined with damaged property puts a bus depot manager in financial problems. ~ All Movie Guide
On the Buses was an engagingly daffy British TV sitcom set in a bus depot and made in the late sixties. Reg Varney starred as the head of the lost and found department, who spent the better part of his time fielding wisecracks from his fellow bus-company employees. The series proved popular enough to spawn three theatrical features, the second of which was 1972's Mutiny on the Buses. This time around, a labor dispute leads to endless slapstick complications. Reg Varney and Doris Hare repeat their TV series roles. On the Buses was "Americanized" as the 1973 Dom DeLuise sitcom Lotsa Luck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reg Varney, Bob Grant, (more)
Based on a popular British television series from the late sixties, On the Buses centers on the chaos caused in a bus depot when the boss hires a passel of female bus drivers. This marked the first of three theatrical features based on the series (the second and third installments were the 1972 Mutiny on the Buses and the 1974 Holiday on the Buses, respectively). Though all three films were critically savaged, they grossed dollar one in Great Britain, particularly this first installment - eliciting a host of sequels and imitators. The Motion Picture Guide wrote of On the Buses, " The humor is sexist, of course, and infantile, with no wit or sophistication, which of course ensured its appeal to a large segment of the masses." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reg Varney, Doris Hare, (more)
- 1969
The British sitcom Wild Wild Women was set not in the American West (as might be expected), but in Victorian England. The stories revolved around a group of feisty young ladies who worked in a milliners' shop for autocratic Mr. Harcourt (Paul Whitsun-Jones). The leading character of Daisy was played by Penelope Keith in the pilot episode, which aired May 24, 1968, and thereafter by Pat Coombs. The series itself was broadcast from January 6 to February 10, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Whitsun-Jones, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1967
The British sitcom Sorry I'm Single was something of a dry run for the longer-lasting Man About the House, which of course was adapted for American television as Three's Company. Comic actor Derek Nimmo starred as David, a likeable if somewhat stuffy student. The fun began when David ended up sharing a flat with three nubile young ladies: Brenda (Gwendolyn Watts), Karen (Elizabeth Knight), and Suzy (Pik-Sen Lim). Although nothing of an intimate nature ever happened, the implications of the premise were enough to generate laughter. Eight half-hour episodes of Sorry I'm Single were beamed out by BBC1 from August 1 to September 26, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this comedy, an irresponsible pop singer avoids rehearsing for his gig for a summer show by the sea in favor of playing with his dogs. He then purchases a racehorse and goes off to watch it race. The show's opening night totally slips his mind until the very last minute. He gets back in the nick of time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Fury, Amanda Barrie, (more)
- 1955
John Gregson stars as Chayley Broadbent, a young Yorkshire businessman leading a dull, perfunctory life. He inherits a sizeable fortune, plus a prosperous textile factory, from his wealthy father. Soon after, he has a fight with his straight-laced girlfriend, Ethel (Susan Stephen) and leaves her, taking off for London. Once there, he plunges into the nightclub circuit, falling in love with showgirl Diana Dors. But she mistakes him for an impoverished chap and thus rejects his marriage proposal. When she finally figures out the truth, she makes a beeline for him, but by then he's onto her golddigging motives and instead opts to return to Ethel. Adapted from a novel by Derick Boothroyd, Value for Money shows no shame in trotting out all the cliches and obvious comic set-ups indigenous to this sort of film farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gregson, Diana Dors, (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
Give Me the Stars is a British comedy aimed squarely at the regional audiences of the 1940s. Lenni Lynn plays an American girl (complete with a line of unconvincing slang) who heads to Scotland on family business. She appoints herself protector of her cranky Scots grandfather (Will Fyffe), who of course is not nearly as helpless as she believes. While tolerably produced, Give Me the Stars rather resembles an elongated music hall sketch. But Will Fyffe was enormously popular, and the film brought in the shillings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Never mind that first name; Bunny Doyle is the male protagonist of the British Facing the Music. Doyle plays a clumsy munitions worker, who is incredibly put in charge of a major war plant. Well, maybe it's not so incredible at that; Doyle's plant is actually a decoy, set up to confuse potential enemy saboteurs. Though obviously regarded as expendable by his employers, Doyle emerges as a hero when the Nazis come calling. Future Hollywood starlet Chili Bouchier, billed under her real name of Dorothy, appears as an alluring secret agent in Facing the Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
