Hazel Court Movies
Briton Hazel Court gained her early acting experience in the various stock companies in and around her home town of Birmingham. She continued her apprenticeship at the London Academy of Dramatic Art, where, according to her own account, she was a glorified "spear-carrier." Hazel's red hair and bewitching looks led to a one-line bit in Ealing Studios Champagne Charlie (1944), thence to a lengthy movie contract with Gainsborough. Favorites among her earlier films include the multistoried Holiday Camp (1947) and Ghost Ship (1952), the latter co-starring her then husband Dermot Walsh. With the role of Elizabeth in Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Hazel became a fixture of horror films, spending most of her time in the Hammer and Corman talent pools. She spoofed her predilection for "scream queen" roles in the satirical The Raven (1963), wherein, for a change, she was allowed to live to the end of the picture. Extremely busy on television, Hazel co-starred with Patrick O'Neal in the 1957 comedy/mystery series Dick and the Duchess; she was also starred on four Alfred Hitchcock Presents installments, including the famous episode in which Hazel's disgruntled husband Laurence Harvey grinds her up for chicken feed. After 1964's Masque of the Red Death, Hazel Court married actor/director Don Taylor, retiring from films to devote time to her family, her civic and charitable activities, and her new hobbies of painting and sculpture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1944
Bud Flangan and Chesney Allen, members in good standing of Britain's Crazy Gang comedy troupe, carry the story in Dreaming. The story involves a cheeky British soldier who is knocked unconscious and begins...yes, dreaming. Our hero imagines himself at New York's Stage Door Canteen, at the Ascot races, in Northern Africa and in the middle of Nazi Germany. There's not much in the way of plot, but Flanagan & Allen seldom needed plots, merely premises. Hazel Court shows up in several different characterizations as the hero's dream girl. It might prove interesting to compare Dreaming to the similar 1945 Fred MacMurray vehicle Where Do We Go From Here? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Champagne Charlie is a luxuriously produced tale of the 19th Century British music halls. Tommy Trinder stars as 1860s singer George Leybourne, better known as "Champagne Charlie" thanks to his most popular song and his highrolling lifestyle. The dramatic tension of the film is stoked by Leybourne's rivalry with fellow entertainer The Great Vance, played by Stanley Holloway. Future British leading ladies Kay Kendall and Hazel Court can be spotted amongst the bit players in Champagne Charlie. PS: the 1989 2-part TV movie of the same name is not a remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Trinder, Stanley Holloway, (more)
- 1946
Of the many films (English and American) bearing the title Carnival, only one was based on the Compton MacKenzie novel of the same name. This 1946 melodrama stars Sally Gray as a 19th century ballet dancer who makes an unfortunate career move by marrying a taciturn Cornish farmer (Bernard Miles). Sally soon longs for the bright lights of the big city, and for the arms of her artist lover (Michael Wilding). Her husband is all too aware of this; and when the lover comes calling to renew the affair, the husband shoots Gray to death. The first film version of Compton MacKenzie's Carnival was filmed in 1931 as Dance Pretty Lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Arundell, Marie Ault, (more)
- 1946
Though its title suggests that Gaiety George is yet another vehicle for British comedian George Formby, the film is in fact a biopic. Richard Greene plays Irish theatrical impresario George Howard, whose elaborately staged musical entertainments were highlights of the early 20th century. Wounded during World War I, Howard returns to London and virtually forgotten, compelling him to mount a spectacular comeback. Surprisingly, the weakest element is not its banal plotline but the musical numbers, which are staged with little of the "feel" or energy of the period. Released in the US as Showtime in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Greene, Ann Todd, (more)
- 1947
This romantic comedy is set in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. It tells the story of a professional duelist who is hired by politicians to insult and challenge an important senator. He does this by pretending to have a tiff over a young woman whose father runs the local newspaper. Having no idea that it his daughter who is the bone-of-contention in the duel, he dubs the woman "Madame X. " In the end, the duelist and the girl fall in love, but now he must duel with her father, whom he accidentally insulted. To save his honor, and his life, the hero allows the father to nick him during the contest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Eythe, Stanley Holloway, (more)
- 1947
Based on a novel by J. S. Fletcher, The Root of All Evil casts Phyllis Calvert as a grimly ambitious woman scorned. Jilted by wealthy Albert Grice (Hubert Gregg), farmer's daughter Jeckie Farnish (Calvert) vows to accumulate enough money so as to never again be dependent on any man's attentions. Suing Grice for breach of promise, Jeckie parlays her generous settlement into a sizeable fortune. She increases her riches by linking up with philandering mining-engineer Charles Mortimer (Michael Rennie). Though she and Mortimer accrue millions from oil wells, it simply isn't enough: the hard-hearted Jeckie has decided that she craves true romance after all. The moral of Root of All Evil is obvious from the first scene onward: it is up to Phyllis Calvert and her talented co-stars to wade through a sea of cliches and come up with something worth watching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, John McCallum, (more)
- 1947
When a wealthy man discovers that his wife is having an affair, he murders her lover, committing the perfect crime. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Greta Gynt, (more)
- 1947
Holiday Camp was a British comedy that served the same purpose as Hollywood's The Egg and I--to act as the launching pad for a successful B-movie series. The film takes place at a British summer resort, where various character types interact. A murderer on the loose invades the camp, but the damage he does is slight--and in some instances, his presence is beneficial. Among the secondary characters are the members of the suburban Huggett family, headed by Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. They proved popular enough to be spun off into a "Hardy Family" style series of their own, with such titles as Here Come the Huggetts, Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Blythe, Esma Cannon, (more)
- 1948
This multistoried drama purports to detail the events occurring in a single 24-hour period on Bond Street, a "typical" British thoroughfare. The Grand Hotel-like construction of the film allows for several colorful character vignettes. The "dramatis personae" includes an unpredictably temperamental dressmaker, a blinded war veteran, an escaped POW, a gang of blackmailers, and the owner of a valuable string of pearls. Linking the four main plotlines together is the impending wedding of Julia Chester-Barratt (Hazel Court in her pre-horror days). The presence of Roland Young in the cast assured Bond Street a few healthy American bookings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrianne Allen, Hazel Court, (more)
- 1948
There's dirty work backstage in the British melodrama My Sister and I. Sally Ann Howes plays Robina Adams, an aspiring actress who lands a job at the provincial repertory company managed by Miss Havisham-like Mrs. Camelot (Martita Hunt). Still carrying a torch for her late husband, Mrs. Camelot makes everyone's life miserable until she is found dead of gas poisoning. The solution to the murder is hinted at in the film's title, which is all that can be revealed for now. A subplot concerns the romantic tug-of-war between Robina and her two would-be swains, actor Graham Forbes (Dermot Walsh) and lawyer Roger Crisp (Patrick Holt). ies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hazel Court, Helen Goss, (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
- 1953
Originally released in England as Counterspy, Undercover Agent stars Dermot Walsh in the title role. When the film begins, however, Manning (Walsh) isn't a spy, but a mild-mannered accountant. Asked by a mysterious stranger to deliver a package, ostensibly containing compromising love letters, Manning arrives at the appointed address, only to stumble across the body of a murdered man. Upon discovering that the package contains the secret plans for a revolutionary new jet, Manning is forced to take it on the lam, lest he be the next victim. Future "scream queen" Hazel Court is the film's nominal (and inconsequential) leading lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, (more)
- 1953
In this drama, a courier must deliver a package. When he gets to the proper address, he finds a dead body in a bathtub. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This waterlogged adaptation of an obscure Grand Guignol stage play finds a hapless couple (Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court) convinced that their newly-acquired yacht is haunted by mysterious and deadly forces. After numerous fatalities, the couple eventually hires a paranormal investigator (John Robinson), who uncovers the yacht's bloody history and determines that the craft is occupied by the vengeful ghosts of the former owner's wife and her lover, who were murdered and subsequently entombed somewhere aboard. Writer-producer-director Vernon Sewell -- who filmed most of the scenes aboard his own private yacht -- executes a few interesting paranormal twists on the Old Dark House scenario, and he would revisit the seagoing thriller theme (on the same boat) somewhat less successfully with Terror Ship two years later. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, (more)
In this low-budget British science fiction tale (which, not surprisingly, has gained a cult following), Nyah (Patricia Laffan), a statuesque, leather-clad woman from another world, lands near a small Scottish town with her trusty robot in tow. It seems that Mars has recently seen a dramatic drop in their male population, and if the Martian species is to survive, healthy men are needed to serve as husbands on the red planet. Nyah has been sent forth to bring Earth men back with her, but the local Scotsmen aren't so interested in going -- and their women aren't about to give them up without a fight. The supporting cast includes horror fan favorite Hazel Court and Hugh McDermott. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1954
In this crime drama an insurance investigator takes a case from a pretty but troubled woman to save her from blackmail and ends up framed for murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
This anthology tells three stories of feminine crime. In the first vignette, a woman must decide whether or not to rat upon her lover, a killer. In the second a kleptomaniac girl faces prison until her true love shows up to save her. The third tale centers on a wife who knows that her husband has killed his accountant, but loyally keeps silent until she learns that he has been cheating upon her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Despite its provocative name, Britain's Eros Films was a small company set up for second-feature melodramas and murder mysteries rather than sexploitation flicks. The Narrowing Circle is a typical sausage off the Eros assembly line. The film is set in the offices of a magazine, where tensions and jealousies come to a head. A murder is committed; suspects include Paul Carpenter, Hazel Court, Ferdy Mayne and Russell Napier. The storyline cuts to the bone and gets everything settled within 66 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
The Anglo-American Behind the Headlines is not a remake of the 1937 RKO "B" of the same name, though both share a newspaper setting. Reporter Paul Carpenter heads the investigation of a murder case. The victim was black-mailing showgirl Hazel Court, and as usual there's a plenitude of suspects. Also as usual, the journalists prove to be quicker on the uptake than the cops on the case. Behind the Headlines was based on a novel by Robert Chapman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this thriller, a newspaper columnist is killed and another reporter looks into it. He is shocked when his investigation implicates his own wife. Unable to believe this, he begins a more thorough search to reveal the true killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this crime drama, a reporter begins looking into a young woman's suicide and finds that she was murdered. While looking for the murderer, the reporter exposes a counterfeiting ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Curse of Frankenstein was the "breakthrough" picture for the fabled Hammer Studios. Told in flashback, the story centers around Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), a dangerously arrogant scientist who takes it upon himself to play God. Using portions of dead bodies, Victor fashions a synthetic monster (Christopher Lee) with a bad attitude. In a radical departure from the Frankenstein canon, it is the imperious Victor who orchestrates the film's two murders by "borrowing" the brain of a learned professor, then leaving his next victim at the mercy of the monster. In 1958, the film spwaned the sequel Revenge of Frankenstein. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1958
Shortly after murdering Arthur Chaundry (Arthur Gould-Porter), Jack Lyons (Denholm Elliott) marries Arthur's widow, Phyllis (Hazel Court). Although she is naturally distraught over her first husband's demise, Phyllis seems equally concerned with her missing crocodile-skin makeup case. To mollify Phyllis, Jack reports the loss of the case, providing the police with a thorough description of the missing item -- a description which, alas, turns out to be just a wee bit too thorough. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Horror-film icon Hazel Court guest stars as nightclub ventriloquist Penny Page, who is unaware that she is being used as a dupe by enemy agents. The villains have planted microfilm containing valuable atomic secrets, the better to smuggle the film past customs. Inadvertently involved in the intrigue while on vacation, "Invisible Man" Peter Brady does his best to rescue Penny and thwart the bad guys. The final scene in this semiserious escapade would seem to have been inspired by the classic Danny Kaye comedy film Knock on Wood; also, keep an eye out for TV's future "Miss Marple", Joan Hickson. "The Mink Coat" was cowritten by award-winning American screenwriter Leonore Coffee (Four Daughters, The Great Lie et. al.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Season five of Alfred Hitchcock Presents gets under way with a darkly humorous character piece, directed by Hitchcock himself. Laurence Harvey heads the cast as Arthur Williams, a fairly prosperous New Zealand poultry farmer. Ever since he was jilted by his sweetheart, Helen (Hazel Court), Arthur has vowed to remain a bachelor. When the avaricious Helen comes back into his life, Arthur tries to explain that he is "set in his ways" and not interested in matrimony. Not long afterward, Helen vanishes without a trace, compelling the police to pay a visit Arthur's farm. Though the cops can find no signs of foul play, it is obvious to the viewer that a certain amount of "fowl" play has occurred. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
