Dame Cicely Courtneidge Movies

Years before the story proper in The Wrong Box gets under way, a "tontine" is drawn up on behalf several young British boys. Each of the boys' parents had placed 1000 pounds in a pool, to be invested and expanded upon. The resultant fortune will go to the last surving member of the tontine. A series of montages depicts the various demises of the heirs (our favorite occurs when one of them is inadvertently beheaded while being knighted by Queen Victoria). Finally, only two of the tontine participants are left: aged brothers Ralph Richardson and John Mills. On his last legs, Mills is determined that Richardson will not outlive him, and to that end attempts to kill his brother; each attempt fails spectacularly, with the doddering Richardson none the wiser. Standing to benefit from the tontine are Mills' dimwitted med-student son Michael Caine and Richardson's greedy nephews Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. When Richardson is supposedly killed in a train wreck, Cook and Moore don't want the authorities to find out, so they appropriate what they think is their uncle's corpse and ship it home in a box. Thus it is that Caine finds the body of a perfect stranger on his doorstep. The farcical complications begin flying about thick and fast from this point onward. Among the participants in this wacky gigglefest are such formidable talents as Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Wilfred Lawson, Thorley Walters, Norman Rossington, Irene Handl and Cicely Courtenedge. Based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box is a delightful harkback to the glory days of Britain's Ealing comedies. We were so wrapped up in the story that we didn't even notice all those TV antennae sprouting up on the rooftops of Victorian London. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This mystery is based on a 1954 play by Agatha Christie. It tells the story of an ambassador's wife who must hide the corpse of her husband from his daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this lively spy caper, the male half of a married song-and-dance duo moonlights as a government spy. The trouble begins when he is assigned to monitor a sexy foreign spy, something he must keep from his wife, who soon gets jealous when she sees the two constantly together. To monitor her own husband, the wife gets herself hired as a maid to the seductive secret agent. Her husband, impressed by her natural surveillance skills, finally gives in and allows her to help. Using their special talents, the two investigate and expose a master-spy who has fitted a new kind of carburetor on his airplane. To get at it, the couple dresses up like mechanics and hides upon the plane. Once airborne, they force the pilot out and head back for England. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this sentimental drama, a nightclub singer finds herself in charge of her late sister's children. To support them properly, she leaves the nightlife behind and takes the kids to a farm. Her manager, not anxious to lose his main source of income, tries to get her declared legally incompetent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Celebrated British musical comedy star Cicely Courtneige was given a chance at American movie stardom in Perfect Gentleman. Courtneige plays an actress whose career has faltered. Frank Morgan portrays a retired military officer and longtime fan of Courtneige, who engineers her comeback. Despite being given the red carpet treatment by MGM, Cicely Courtneige was unhappy with her film, as indicated by the numerous script changes and haphazard shooting schedule. While Perfect Gentleman did small business in the US, it was popular in Great Britain, where in deference to Ms. Courtneige the film was retitled The Imperfect Lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British comedy, a proper teacher at a private girl's school secretly elopes with a wrestler. To conceal the wedding, she has her twin sister, a trick rider for the circus, take her place in school. The circus performer turns out to be a natural teacher and before her sister comes back, is promoted to headmistress. Keep a sharp eye out for Vivien Leigh in her feature film debut. She plays a school girl and though she only had one line, a number of close-ups centered on her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, two rival reporters vie for the scoop on the whereabouts of a missing heiress. They find her in Switzerland. One of the journalists falls in love with her and saves her from marrying an aristocrat. His rival gets to write the story as a consolation prize. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a frail artist is victimized by a con artist who cheats her out of her life savings. Two window washers named Willie stop the girl from sinking any lower and simultaneously fall in love with her. They help her become an incredibly popular singer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this British drama, a superstitious group of people, stranded in a lonely, isolated train station are frightened by the distant rumble and roar of what they think is a "ghost train." But the train is very real; it is only its contents that should frighten them as a detective reveals that it is loaded with Communist propaganda headed for England. Fortunately the forces of goods stop the Russian conspiracy right in its tracks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide