Wilfred Babbage Movies
Based on Noël Coward's play "Still Life," Brief Encounter is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet by chance in a London railway station and carry on an intense love affair. Sentimental yet down-to-earth and set in pre-World War II England, the film follows British housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), who is on her way home, but catches a cinder in her eye. By chance, she meets Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), who removes it for her. The two talk for a few minutes and strike immediate sparks, but they end up catching different trains. However, both return to the station once a week to meet and, as the film progresses, they grow closer, sharing stories, hopes, and fears about their lives, marriages, and children. One day, when Alec's train is late, both become frantic that they will miss each other. When they finally find each other, they realize that they are in love. But what should be a joyous realization is fraught with tragedy, since both care greatly for their families. Howard and Johnson give flawless performances as two practical, married people who find themselves in a situation in which they know they can never be happy. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, (more)
- 1949
Music-hall comedian Arthur Lucan first brought his "drag" character Old Mother Riley to the screen in 1937. Lucan went on to star in 14 films as the rambunctious Irish washerwoman, while Lucan's wife Kitty McShane co-starred as Old Mother Riley's daughter, who had a habit of bursting into song whether the audience liked it or not. The first series entry, aptly titled Old Mother Riley, found the title character put in charge of managing a huge luxury hotel. A jewel theft seriously compromises Mother Riley's new position, but everything is resolved in a climactic slapstick-fest, replete with pie-throwing. Perhaps because the character was too regional in her (his?) appeal, Old Mother Riley wasn't released in the U.S. until 1952, 15 years after it was made. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, (more)
- 1958
One of the most popular characters in British children's literature, the delightfully mischievous schoolboy Jennings was created for a 1948 BBC radio series by former schoolteacher Anthony Buckeridge. The character subsequently appeared in several books, and on at least two occasions was transferred to television. The first British video appearance of Jennings was in the ten-episode series Jennings at School, based on the 1950 novel of the same name. Enrolling at Linbury Court boarding school, Jennings (John Mitchell) and his sidekick Darbyshire (Derek Needs) wreaked all manner of harmless havoc, especially whenever they tried to match wits with fearsome headmaster Mr. Wilkins (Wilfred Babbage). Jennings at School was broadcast from September 6 to November 8, 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitch Mitchell, Derek Needs, (more)
- 1967
The subject matter being taught at this girls' school consists of teaching the ladies how to find rich husbands and separate them from their dough. ~ All Movie Guide
The Royal Ballet Company brings Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Pigling Bland, and Pigwig to the screen doing pirouettes and pas de deux in this filmed ballet production directed by Reginald Mills. The film more properly belongs, however, to choreographer Frederick Ashmore, composer John Lanchbery, and costume designer Rostislav Douboujinsky. This literal adaptation concerns the shy Beatrix Potter and how, when all of the toy animals in her room come to life, she emerges from her shell and begins to enjoy life. Sequences include a rowdy dance with Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca destroying a collection of plaster food, a midnight pas de deux between Pigling Bland and Pigwig, and a corps de ballet of dancing mice. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frederick Ashton, Alexander Grant, (more)
