Ivan Craig Movies
- 1959
King Rashid (Vivan Matalon), a Middle Eastern potentate, is murdered by his treacherous military advisor General Shafari (Andre Morell), who plans to take over Rashid's kindgom. First, however, Shafari must force Princess Taima (Nadja Regin), the much-beloved heir to the throne, to abdicate. But the General has not reckoned with the resourcefulness of Taima's new friend Peter Brady, aka "The Invisible Man". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this crime melodrama, a bank robber double crosses his partner and takes all the loot for himself. Proving himself a brutal thug at every turn, he quickly hastens down a ruinous road and meets the bad end he deserves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
A novel by John Newton Chance was the basis for the British kiddie-matinee feature The Flying Eye. Geoffrey Summer stars as Colonel Audacious, an erstwhile inventor. With help of his young friend Bunstuffer (David Hannaford), the Colonel invents a "Flying Eye": a model airplane with a concealed TV camera. All sorts of slapstick complications follow, culminating in a hilarious set-to with a gang of foreign spies. Adults as well as children were entertained by Flying Eye when it first came out; whether the same would be true if the film were reissued in the 1990s, who can say? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
A U.S. military officer is motivated by love and compassion to begin a life of crime in this action adventure story. Sgt. Joe Lawrence (Richard Widmark) is an American Army officer who, while stationed in Berlin shortly after the end of WWII, falls in love with Maria (Mai Zetterling), a refugee trying to raise enough money to move a group of German orphans to South America, where they can start life anew. Joe wants to help her, and with his buddies Sgt. Roger Morris (George Cole) and Brian Hammell (Nigel Patrick), Joe plans a daring robbery. A fortune in gold is being transferred from England to Germany via military transport, and Joe, Roger, and Brian intend to hijack the plane and grab the treasure. While the robbery goes off as planned, the three participants soon have second thoughts about what to do with their ill-gotten gains. Seven years later, leading lady Mai Zetterling would commence a distinguished career as a director with her film Wargame. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1954
Oldtime Hal Roach comedy director Alf Goulding spent his last working years in England. Goulding raises very few laughs in the melodramatic Devil's Jest, but manages to keep the action well paced. Lady Irma Enderby (Mara Russell-Tavernan) is reunited with former lover Major Seton (Ivan Craig). Although a highly-respected British medical officer, Seton's behavior is hardly that of a proper English gentleman. As it turns out, the good Major is really a bad Nazi spy. In 60 minutes flat, Seton is foiled by his grieving ex-amour Lady Enderby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Some good performances and a fun chase scene, but there is little else to commend this movie. It's a pretty hackneyed plot wherein the editor of a magazine falls in love with the boss' daughter but the relationship is complicated by the boss' wife, who is also putting the moves on the hapless editor. Then, to make things even worse, he's accused of embezzlement. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Hell Below Zero was one of several 1950s films made in Britain by Hollywood's Alan Ladd. The star plays Duncan Craig, who signs onto a whaling ship to get the facts behind the death of Judy Nordahl's (Joan Tetzel) father. While on a whaling expedition near Antarctica, Craig becomes suspicious of skipper Erik Bland (Stanley Baker). These suspicions are confirmed when Craig and Judy are targetted for an "accidental" demise in the frigid waters of the Antarctic. The plot never interferes with the action highlights, which under the direction of Mark Robson are well worth the price of admission. Based on a novel by Hammond Innes, Hell Below Zero was, like Ladd's British vehicles Paratrooper and The Black Knight, released in the US by Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Joan Tetzel, (more)
- 1952
- PG
Better known as The Story of Robin Hood, this colorful costume adventure was the second made-in-Britain production for Hollywood's Walt Disney. Avoiding the familiar episodes covered in previous "Robin Hood" films, this Disney effort still manages to adhere to the basic chronology. Richard Todd stars as the Earl of Huntington, who loses his title and his lands after besting the despotic Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Finch) at an archery tournament. Reinventing himself as Robin Hood, our hero rounds up other victims of the oppression of the Sheriff and his dictatorial liege Prince John (Hubert Gregg), and thus the "Merry Men" are born. Robbing the rich to give to the poor, Robin manages to elude the villains and to prove his loyalty to John's brother Richard the Lionhearted (Patrick Barr) by raising the money for Richard's ransom. The Queen (Martita Hunt) is to deliver the ransom to Richard's Austrian captors, but Prince John schemes to steal the money and place the blame on Robin Hood. Maid Marian (Joan Rice) gets wind of this plan but is locked in John's dungeon before she can warn Robin and his men. How can virtue triumph with these odds? But triumph it does, as everyone in the audience knew it would. The success of The Story of Robin Hood inspired Disney to produce two additional British films, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Joan Rice, (more)
- 1951
In this crime drama, two Scotland Yard investigators try to break up "The Six Men," a notorious gang of jewel thieves. Their informer is a blind man known as "The Mole;" with his help, the inspectors find an actress who is involved with the gang. They then begin endeavoring to turn the gang members against each other. Their ploy succeeds and justice ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
In this crime drama a Yankee journalist goes to England to help break up a ring of car thieves. A female insurance investigator assists him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Miss Laramie Pilgrim (Yolande Donlan) is an American factory girl. Anxious to see what life is like outside her own backyard, Miss Pilgrim trades places with a British lass. After reels and reels of culture-clash comedy, the heroine comes to the rescue of her new friends and neighbors, who are being exploited by a local land developer. On the verge of his American stardom, Michael Rennie plays Miss Pilgrim's English love interest. Miss Pilgrim's Progress was another of those minor British films that were played to death on American TV in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yolande Donlan, Michael Rennie, (more)
- 1950
The tantalizingly titled Mystery at the Burlesque was originally released in England as Murder at the Windmill. It must be explained that, for many years, London's Windmill Theatre was famous for its scantily clad chorus girls and potty-mouthed comedians. Filmed on location at the Windmill, the story gets under way when a corpse is found in the last row of the theater. To reconstruct the crime, the detective inspector (Garry Marsh) insists that the Windmill troupe repeat the same show they'd performed on the night of the murder. The film's high or low point (depending on one's own tastes) occurs when one of the seedy Windmill comedians performs his magnificently unfunny monologue before an audience of one. Featured in the cast as Marsh's assistant is future "Dr. Who" Jon Pertwee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garry Marsh, Jon Pertwee, (more)
- 1950
You Can't Fool an Irishman is a heavy-handed satire of Hollywood movie cliches. Famed producer Stefan Wurlitz (Tommy Duggan) arrives in a tiny Irish village, hoping to film an epic biopic on the life of St. Patrick. Trouble is, Wurlitz hasn't a brass farthing to his name. When female pubkeeper Mrs. McDermott (Josephine Fitzgerald) discovers that Wurlitz, despite his Teutonic surname, is as Irish as a four-leaf clover, she comes to his rescue. Cast as the producer's movie-starlet leading lady is Shirl Conway, who later co-starred on TV's The Nurses. You Can't Fool an Irishman might make an interesting companion piece to the strikingly similar And God Spoke (1993). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirl Conway, Shamus Locke, (more)
- 1949
In this crime drama, a milque-toast bank clerk succumbs to the unending demands of his bullying girl friend for expensive things and embezzles money from his employer. Someone murders the girl, and terrified that he will be accused, the clerk takes his money and flees with a detective and the real killer in hot pursuit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
We're not sure, but the character of "Skimpy Carter" must have had some sort of following in Britain. Why else would a whole movie--Skimpy in the Navy--be built around this thinnish character? Music hall star Hal Monty plays the title role, playing an ex-soldier who becomes a sailor in order to seek out buried treasure. Monty and his pals Max Bygraves (later a stellar comedian in his own right) and Les Ritchie search and dig to and fro, all for the love of heroine Avril Angers. 84 minutes of forgettable songs and shapeless slapstick later, Skimpy emerges triumphant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
A window washer is hired to assist a woman get her jewels back from the thieves in this mystery comedy. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1948
The popular "William" novels of British author Richmal Crompton were brought to the screen several times in 1930s and 1940s. William Goes to Town one of the better efforts in this off-and-on series. Young William Graham plays the eponymous wise-mouthed little schoolboy who causes all sorts of havoc during a trip to London. He even tries to crash the Prime Minister's headquarters to offer him financial advice! A subplot involving a circus keeps the film on an amiable kiddie-matinee level. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garry Marsh, Jane Welsh, (more)
- 1947
William, the obstreperous Welsh schoolboy created by children's novelist Richmal Compton, appeared in several film incarnations in the 1930s and 1940s, none of them as successful as Compton's original books or the spin-off radio series. William Graham stars as the argumentative title character, who gets off to a bad start in the first scene by stealing his sister's cosmetics and wooden Indians -- after mixing up the shoe polish with the shaving cream. Venturing outside to play with his schoolmates, William decides to become a junior-league "righter of wrongs" by forming the Knights of the Square Table. This leads them to a "haunted" house, where William makes up for his past misdeeds by corralling a gang of crooks. Just William's Luck adheres strictly to formula, pleasing fans of the Compton books but doing nothing to broaden the character's appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Graham, Garry Marsh, (more)
