Peggy Ann Clifford Movies
- 1973
Offscreen husband and wife David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt star in this average British shocker from director Kevin Billington. After their son drowns, the woman loses her mind and is committed to a mental hospital. Upon her release, the couple moves into a remote mansion in the country, where ghostly apparitions and terrifying visions threaten her fragile sanity. Billington's film (based on a Richard Lortz play) features a surprisingly effective ending, but its stately pace and drawing-room civility make it as uninspiring as most British horror films of the time. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
This film is a faithful rendition of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' last major poem, Under Milk Wood. It affectionately examines the day-to-day life of the inhabitants of a small Welsh fishing village. The poem is narrated by Richard Burton, himself a Welshman and a great aficionado of Thomas' work. The narrative framework comes through the character of Captain Cat (Peter O'Toole), a retired seaman who, though blind, knows the village and its inhabitants so well, it is as if he could see. The colorful characters of the village are delineated in short vignettes by a host of very distinguished British actors. Elizabeth Taylor, Burton's wife at the time, makes a brief appearance as Rosie Probert. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
This 1967 version of Thomas Hardy's novel should have done better at the box office than it did, given the star power of Julie Christie and the visual and aural fidelity to its source material. Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a country heiress who is loved by three different men: Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Convinced that she is the intellectual superior of all three, Bathesheba loses many early opportunities for lasting happiness. Finally shedding herself of her haughty attitude, Bathsheba unconditionally accepts the love of Bates. The euphoric exuberance of Nicolas Roeg's photography is matched by the direction of John Schlesinger and the screenplay by Frederick Raphael. Only the nittiest of nitpickers would complain that some of the medium shots don't match the closeups (watch Terence Stamp's clown makeup in one scene). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, (more)
- 1965
A British sex farce, this movie stars Nyree Dawn Porter as a flirtatious young waitress, Eileen. Her seductive ways so arouse a young customer, Alan Crabbe (Michael Crawford), that he tries to seduce her. But he is so inept that she becomes bored and ditches him. Eileen goes off to a nightclub to find more experienced men. Alan hooks up with a shop clerk named Beth Crowley (Julia Foster). At a wedding of another friend, Alan sees Eileen and is again smitten with her, so much so that he gets into a fight with her boyfriend. The film is based on a coming-of-age novel, In My Solitude, by David Stuart Leslie. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Crawford, Nyree Dawn Porter, (more)
- 1965
Freddie and the Dreamers--remember them?--star in the British musical quickie Cuckoo Patrol. Apparently hoping to cash in on the Beatles' success with A Hard Day's Night, the producers place Freddie and his aggregation in as many "wacky," stream-of-consciousness situations as possible. The main plot has something to do with a group of Boy Scouts. Freddie and the Dreamers disguise themselves in scout uniforms, inexplicably getting away with their subterfuge. Veteran British farceurs Kenneth Connor, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier provide acting relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This British comedy drama of the lower classes features actors with such thick cockney accents that some prints of the film were subtitled. James Booth stars as Charlie, a merchant seaman who returns home to the East End after two years to find that his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor) has taken up with another man, a married bus driver named Bert (George Sewell). After taking his brother Fred (Roy Kinnear) hostage in a pub, Charlie gets a reunion with Maggie, who shows up pushing a pram. It seems she's given birth to a child, and the father's identity is uncertain. Charlie and Maggie reconcile, but not before a vicious row with Bert, who doesn't want to give up his girl. Windsor, a BAFTA Best Actress nominee for her role, also performed the film's title song. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Booth, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1962
One's enjoyment of On the Beat rests solely upon one's tolerance of British comedian Norman Wisdom, who can be described as a Jerry Lewis without the discipline. Wisdom plays a Scotland Yard parking attendant who seemingly can't draw breath without breaking something or knocking someone down. He wants to become a detective, but the Yard isn't quite ready for such a catastrophe. He proves his worth--and wreaks more havoc--by going undercover and trapping a gang of jewel thieves. The slapstick is serviceable in On the Beat; as for the "serious" moments, Wisdom's notion of pathos is to scream at the top of his lungs. You may want to join him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Jennifer Jayne, (more)
- 1958
This soft-pedalled British comedy was adapted from Quiet Wedding, a play by Esther McCracken that had previous been filmed in 1940. On the eve of their nuptials, David (Ian Carmichael) and Janet (Janette Scott) have a serious falling out. It isn't really the couple's fault, however; as usual, their relatives have messed things up with their well-intentioned meddling. Patching up their differences, David and Janet decide that the best strategy is to hide out until the wedding, and to that end they embark upon a long motor trip. Unfortunately, a zealous traffic cop nearly prevents the couple's appearance at the altar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, (more)
- 1958
There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was executed for the Strangler's crimes, but was he guilty? It turns out that the actual culprit was the surgeon who performed Styles' autopsy. Coming into possession of the surgeon's scalpel, Rankin is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of bloodlust and guilt. It is at this point that Rankin realizes that he is truly his own, and London's, worst enemy. Originally released in England as Grip of the Strangler, The Haunted Strangler was distributed by MGM in 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Anthony Dawson, (more)
The third of the droll British "Doctor" series, Doctor at Large once more stars Dirk Bogarde as young Dr. Simon Sparrow. Back in his old stamping grounds at St. Swithin's Teaching Hospital, Sparrow misses his chance at becoming chief surgeon when he crosses swords with the formidable Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice). Forced to go job hunting, our hero undergoes a variety of hilarious medical and romantic misadventures before ending up right where he started. Some of the film's best scenes involve shapely nurse Nan, played by Shirley Eaton of Goldfinger fame. Like its predecessors, Doctor at Large was based on characters created by real-life medico George Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Dandy Nichols, (more)
- 1956
In this drama, a construction contractor gets into trouble when he inadvertently receives some stolen property. This makes it even more difficult for him to frantically finish a housing estate designed to harbor a visiting princess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This farce is the third movie version of Fred Duprez's play. A newlywed with a dominating mother-in-law attempts to surprise his wife with a baby grand piano, but when she overhears him talking about it, she mistakes it for an illegitimate child, particularly when his old flame shows up. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1955
An 18-month-old baby disappears in London. The parents, US embassy worker David Knight and his wife Julia Arnall, are panic-stricken. Detective David Farrar tries to locate the child, but clues are scarce. At the last possible moment, Farrar rescues the infant from a grueling fate and collars the kidnappers. This nail-biting film is filled to capacity with many of Britain's top supporting players, including Thora Hird, Everley Gregg, Joan Sims, Shirley Anne Field, Joan Hickson, Dandy Nichols, Mona Washbourne, Barbara Winsor and George Woodbridge. Released in the US by Republic, under the title Tears for Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Farrar, David Knight, (more)
- 1955
In this romantic comedy, a womanizing uncle tells the story of his good-hearted but fickle niece, whose tendency to always champion the underdog causes her endless romantic woes. It all begins when she breaks up with her fiance on the eve of their wedding so she can marry and help out a half-starved aspiring playwright. With her moral support and his talent, the playwright makes it big. Unfortunately, her old fiance shows up. He has lost his fortune and must flee the police. The tender-hearted lass, unable to resist a hard-luck story, then falls for her former love until he is proven innocent. It is at that point that the niece chooses her man once and for all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, (more)
- 1955
In this comedy, a snooty socialite is so embarrassed by her father, an ex-con, that she tries to have him sent to Australia. That doesn't work so she locks him in an attic. That doesn't work either. In the end, the father gets a job as the governor's handyman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Filmed on location in a British industrial town, Chance of a Lifetime is a trenchantly amusing satire of labor-management relations. When a group of angry workers protest their wage and working conditions at a plough factory, they are permitted to take over the operation themselves. It isn't long before they realize that you can't run a business on idealism and goodwill. Wisely, no one in the film is depicted as a clear-cut hero or villain; "hateful" company boss Dickinson (Basil Radford) is just as human and likeable as the incensed workers. For reasons that now seem frivolous, Chance of a Lifetime was rejected by three major British distribution firms before it was picked up--at the behest of the government--by British Lion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Radford, Niall MacGinnis, (more)
Alec Guinness gets to die eight times, playing a line of successors to a dukedom, in the Ealing black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) is ninth in line to inherit the dukedom from the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family. Louis vows to kill all eight people who stand between him and the duke's title. Aside from two cases of natural causes, Louis works through the list, eliminating rivals (all played by Guinness). Along the way he romances Sibella (Joan Greenwood), a childhood friend who ends up marrying a dullard, and Edith (Valerie Hobson), the beautiful widow of one of his victims with whom he plans to share his title. But just when Louis is ready to assume the D'Ascoyne mantle, a bizarre irony strikes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, (more)
- 1949
In this drama, a medicine seller falls for an ice cream vendor. Unfortunately, his wife won't grant him a divorce. In order to help her change her mind, he slips her some pills in an attempt to give her a coronary. It works and so he buries her. As he does, he finds the extra pills. She had died of natural causes. The police chase him down because they think she was murdered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
