Frederick Cooper Movies

Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Henry V is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made, full of rousing action, beautiful colors, and passionate performances. Henry V is the story of the newly crowned king of England, who fights the French for possession of Normandy. Olivier's direction is inventive, beginning the film as if it were a performance at the Globe Theatre, and having it slowly expand so the final battle scenes take place in realistic settings. Released in 1944 during the height of World War II, Henry V didn't receive an American release until 1946, upon which Olivier won a special Academy Award for "his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

In this WW II espionage drama, German paratroopers drop into England to take over Buckley Hall and kidnap the lord within. Following the abduction, they replace him with an impostor. They then replace the staff with German operatives and begin waiting for the expected guest, Winston Churchill, to arrive. Fortunately, the lord's niece was in the house during the entire operation. Soon she creeps out and goes for help. The British army arrives and wipes out the evil household before the Prime Minister arrives. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Bob Randall (Richard Greene) is a reporter who gets to witness first-hand the British retreat from Dunkirk in May of 1940. He returns to his job in a London now facing nightly German bombing raids, and finds himself saddled with Carol Bennett (Valerie Hobson), a neophyte reporter. Bob is eager to take on the Nazis and, in the absence of any on the ground that he can fight, he turns to the leaders of a pacifist movement, The People for Peace. But no sooner does he start to look into who they are than he finds himself being shadowed by mysterious men and stirring up a hornet's nest of activity in his wake. While Carol tries to keep up and do her bit, and Bob tries to look out for her and find out just what he's stepped into -- which soon involves kidnappings and murder -- the German bombers keep coming and the newspaper's survival is threatened. Bob and Carol are drawn together romantically in the midst of these overlapping crises, and manage to find some time for each other while helping their long-suffering editor (Brefni O'Rorke) save the newspaper and the British secret service save the country. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this drama, a black American corporal gets court-martialed for a murder and receives a death sentence. Unfortunately, he is innocent. A white captain believes him and gives him one last furlough so he can spend New Year's Eve with his friends. Naturally the corporal uses the opportunity to go AWOL. The captain is later thrown out of the military and imprisoned for letting the colonel go. The colonel had no idea that the captain suffered so much on his behalf. The former captain, feels betrayed by the colonel and vows to get his revenge. After he is finally freed from prison, the ex-captain goes on a world-wide search for the former colonel. He finds him living in the African desert, leading a large tribe, and raising a family. The captain is just about to kill the colonel, and then has a change of heart. He decides to return to the States. The ex-colonel agrees to go with him, but the captain fights him because he wants him to stay. Unfortunately, the rest of the tribe misconstrues the captain's reasons for fighting with their leader. They shoot him in cold blood. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The staunchly anti-war Every Mother's Son stars Rex Davis as David Brent, one of those "sons." Unnerved by his experiences in World War I, Brent is unable to secure work after the Armistice. He becomes a tramp, albeit a good-looking one. Brent is ultimately joined by his true love Janet Shaw (Jean Jay), likewise an outcast because of her illegitimate child. The aptly named Johnny Butt provides comic relief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi