Ian Colin Movies

An effective, low-budget crime drama about a bank robbery gone wrong, this tale begins when three men get together to plan the bank heist over a long weekend. What they do not count on is the presence of two cleaning women who tragically alter their plans. The thieves end up locking the bank manager and a female teller in the air-tight vault -- thereby dooming them to death by suffocation. After the thieves leave the bank, they agree that one of them should call the police and leave the keys to the vault next to the phone. But that plan is ruined when the lone thief is killed in a traffic accident. Caught between the desire to save the two people in the vault and the need to escape, the remaining two thieves are caught in a serious dilemma. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In London to close an oil deal, middle-eastern potentate King Tenuphon (played by Burt Kwouk of "Pink Panther" fame) is targetted for assassination. Assigned to protect Tenuphon, Steed suspects that the would-be killers are sequestered in a seedy suburban London flat. The climax involves a low-flying helicopter -- but who's at the controls? Written by James Mitchell, "Kill the King" was taped on August 30, 1961, and telecast on September 2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this tragic drama, an imprisoned war hero worries about his wife who is just about to give birth to their first child. An old war buddy helps him escape and get to the hospital. There he creeps into his wife's ward. She gives birth to a healthy boy, but the trauma is too much for her and she dies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Peter Graham Scott adapted the screenplay of the British The Big Chance from a novel by Pamela Barrington. William Russell plays a travel agency clerk who pines away for socialite Adrienne Corri. Unable to support Corri in the manner in which she is accustomed, the desperate Russell seeks out ways of realizing some quick money. He decides to rob the agency where he works-major mistake. The Big Chance goes from crime to punishment in a greased-lightning 61 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the infamous Archer-Shee case of 1912, The Winslow Boy features Neil North as the 14-year-old title character. Accused of a petty theft, North is expelled from Naval College. His father, retired bank official Sir Cedric Hardwycke, is prevented by existing British law to clear his son's name. He engages attorney Robert Donat, who successfully petitions for the right to sue the Admiralty and make this august organization prove its charges in court. Public opinion, however, is strongly against Hardwycke and his family: particularly effected is Hardwycke's daughter Margaret Leighton, whose fiance breaks off their engagement. For dramatic purposes, Margaret finds solace in a romantic relationship with barrister Donat. Terrence Rattigan worked on the cinemadaptation of his own play, which was later restaged on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this African adventure, a band of Englishmen search for a buried cache of diamonds. Unfortunately, their greed creates considerable friction that erupts in violence culminating in the death of one party member and the wounding of another. The rest of the men end up abandoning the killer and opting to share their new-found wealth equally. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a dart-playing clerk catches a jewel thief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a suspicious blind scientist neglects to tell his cheating wife that a fluke during a recent experiment has restored his sight. He then tries to catch her with her lover, his rival. He also continues to perfect his newly invented invisibility ray, something the rival is eager to steal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

D.W. Griffith served as supervisor (but not director) for the Fine Arts production Cross Currents. Helen Ware plays Elizabeth Crane, the fiancee of handsome and wealthy Paul Beale Courtenay Foote. Upon learning that her kid sister Flavia (Teddy Sampson) is hopelessly in love with Beale, Elizabeth nobly steps aside to allow sis to marry the man. After the marriage, Beale and Flavia go on a yachting voyage, accompanied by Elizabeth and several other wedding guests. The yacht catches fire, stranding Elizabeth and Beale together on a desert island. By an amazing coincidence, the island is inhabited by one of Elizabeth's former suitors, Silas Randolph (Sam DeGrasse). The two men fight over Elizabeth's attentions, and for a moment it looks as though the physically stronger Silas will win. But Elizabeth takes a hand in matters by killing Silas, allowing her and Beale to live as common-law husband and wife until their rescue. Returning to civilization, the couple discovers that Flavia is pregnant with Beale's child. With the same nobility she exhibited in reel one, Elizabeth once again removes herself from Beale's life, insisting that he "belongs" to Flavia and swearing him to silence regarding their idyllic island romance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a group of shopkeepers unite to prevent the owners of a major department store from buying up their stalls. Together, the vendors plan an enormous sale in the hope that it will save their failing businesses. Unfortunately, their plan fails and they must sell out. Fortunately, their stalling tactics have forced the store to pay them each a considerable sum. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Burly American character actor Ralph Ince both directs and stars in the British Blue Smoke. Ince plays a prizefighter whose greatest rival is gypsy Bruce Seton. Most of Ince and Seton's non-ring battles concern the affections of gypsy lass Tamara Desni. Seton wins that emotional round, and as a result Ince messes himself up professionally. Scripters Fenn Sherie and Ingram d'Abbes adapted their Blue Smoke screenplay from a story by perennial Hitchcock collaborator Charles Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide