Robert J. Cullen Movies
This film version of the famed Shakespearean comedy features Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. As the story goes, Rosalind, smitten by Orlando and not able to get his attention, disguises herself as a boy to more easily remain in Orlando's vicinity. Eventually Orlando grows to like his new friend and Rosalind is stuck playing a boy with a boy with whom she'd rather be a girl. Confusing? Maybe only Shakespeare could come up with the idea, but director Paul Czinner does a fine job executing the concept. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer, (more)
- 1928
One of the most controversial British films of the 1920s, Dawn is the story of World War 1 nurse and martyr Edith Cavell. Making a rare film appearance, Dame Sybil Thorndike stars as Cavell, who risked her life by rescuing British POWs from the Germans. Captured by the Kaiser's minions, Cavell was sentenced to be executed, an action that sparked an international outpouring of outrage, even from neutral nations. At the time Dawn was filmed, the world was at peace and the Germans were striving mightily to suppress their previous reputation as warmongers. Thanks to legal and political intervention, the film was heavily censored, then removed from distribution altogether (the official reason for the suppression was the film's startlingly brutal depiction of warfare). In 1939, with the threat of war once more looming over Britain, producer/director remade Dawn as Nurse Edith Cavell, with Anna Neagle in the starring role and with all the original film's anti-German sentiments intact. Both Dawn and its remake were based on a play by Reginald Berkeley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Ault
- 1935
Margaret Kennedy, whose novel The Constant Nymph dealt with a musician's love for a pretty young gamin, penned a variation of the same concept in Escape Me Never. Elizabeth Bergner stars as an unwed mother, who is befriended by impoverished composer Hugh Sinclair. He marries her out of pity, but his heart belongs to Penelope Dudley Ward, the wife of his brother. Sinclair is shaken out of his infidelity when his own wife's baby dies. This popular British version of Escape Me Never was remade by Warner Bros. in 1946, which though not as well cast (Ida Lupino is not a fair exchange for Elizabeth Bergner) boasts a superb musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold--who'd also scored Warners' filmization of Margaret Kennedy's Constant Nymph. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair, (more)
- 1926
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, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Richard Zelniker wrote and directed this low-budget drama, set in Los Angeles. When Mitch (Burr Steers) visits his brother David (James Patrick Stuart) in LA, he brings along sexy Kim (Lisa Collins) and a romantic triangle quickly develops. Shown at the 1997 Boston Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burr Steers, James Patrick Stuart, (more)
- 1933
In this actioner, a married pair of stunt pilots encounter turbulence when the husband becomes afraid of flying after a crash. When his wife cannot fly during an important race, the husband overcomes his fear and races in her stead. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1929
The first of three Herbert Wilcox productions for 1929, The Woman in White was based on the classic Gothic novel by Wilkie Collins. Promised in marriage to the despicable Sir Percival Glide (Cecil Humphries), beautiful young heiress Laura Fairlie (Blanche Sweet) stumbles into a diabolical fraud scheme cooked up by Sir Percy and the even more odious Count Fosco (Frank Perfitt). Were it not for the diligence of handsome Walter Hartwright (Haddon Mason), Laura would be doomed -- just as her look-alike, likewise enmeshed in Fosco's scheme, met her unfortunate demise. Rescuing Laura from being fraudulently confined in a mental institution, Walter confronts the clever Fosco, but it is Fosco's long-suffering wife (Mina Grey) who brings the villainy to an abrupt and final end. The Woman in White was remade in 1948 as a chop-licking vehicle for Sydney Greenstreet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Haddon Mason, (more)
