Frederick Culley Movies

The Bells Go Down is a dramatization of London firefighting efforts during the 1940 Blitz. In structure, the film is very much like any other smoke-eating melodrama, with perhaps more emphasis on comedy than usual. The omnipresence of the Luftwaffe gives the film an urgency that others in its genre tend to lack. Making it all the more remarkable is the fact that most British studios were just as vulnerable as London's burned-down landmarks--a fact not lost on the actors, who perform with heightened credibility. Many of the better composed shots in The Bells Go Down would find their way into TV documentaries of the 1950s and 1960s as "reality" footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This WWII drama, based on a novel by Oscar E. Millard, takes place in Nazi-occupied Belgium. Andre Delange (Eric Portman) owns a nightclub but is connected with the resistance movement. He used to secretly publish an anti-Nazi paper before the German invasion. Now his underground comrades want to put out the paper again. Delange's assistant publisher is the alluring Julie Lanvin (Phyllis Calvert). But the co-owner of the cabaret, Charles Neels (Peter Glenville), is jealous of Lanvin's relationship with Delange. Neels informs on the publishers, the Nazis raid the newspaper, and the staff is arrested -- but Delange and Lanvin escape. When the two of them manage to put out another issue of the paper, the Nazis believe that they have arrested the wrong people, and they release the staff. Veteran British director Anthony Asquith was at the helm. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

This was the first sound production of A.E.W. Mason's classic adventure novel, which was brought to the screen three times in the silent era. Harry Faversham (John Clements) is the son of a military man who expects his son to follow in his footsteps on the fields of battle. Gen. Burroughs (C. Aubrey Smith), the father of Faversham's sweetheart, Ethne (June Duprez), was also a hero in the Crimean War, and he often regales Harry with tales of his exploits under fire. However, Harry is not so sure he believes in the family's tradition of military service and resigns his commission in 1898, shortly before his company is scheduled to head into the Sudan. Three of Faversham's comrades in arms, Capt. John Durrance (Ralph Richardson), Lt. Peter Burroughs (Donald Gray), and Lt. Arthur Willoughby (Jack Allen), each present Harry with a white feather, symbolizing their belief that he is a coward; Ethne shares their belief, and gives him one as well. Disgusted with himself, Faversham disguises himself as a Sangali tribesman and travels to the Sudan so that he might be able to move behind enemy lines and serve the British forces as a scout and reconnaissance agent. When his former regiment is attacked, Faversham is able to lead Burroughs and Willoughby to safety, with the wounded Durrance not realizing that the Arab who saved his life was in fact the man that he accused of cowardice. The Four Feathers was a great critical and commercial success and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Drum is an opulent Technicolor "British India" epic, based on a story by A.E.W. Mason (of Four Feathers fame). Teenaged actor Sabu stars as a young East Indian prince educated in England. By rights, his loyalties should lie with his countrymen, but in typical "Sun Never Sets" fashion most of the other Indian characters are as evil and untrustworthy as Prince Guhl (Raymond Massey). Guhl plans a revolt against the British, intending to wipe out the Royal troops as the English officers enjoy the hospitality of Guhl's spacious palace. It's up to Sabu to warn the troops of Guhl's treachery by means of tapping out a message on the drum of the title. In the US, The Drum was released as Drums, on the theory (according to film historian Alan Barbour) that Americans must have more of everything. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an honest clerk finds himself in a difficult situation when he refuses to help a corrupt financier cheat a group of investors. This angers the financier who then threatens to kill himself. The two men fight over his gun, and it fires. The financier falls to the floor. The panicked clerk then hides the corpse and begins running the company himself. Along the way, he cuts a deal that saves the company and the employees. Unfortunately, the body is found, and for a while, the clerk is in deep. Fortunately, the police investigation reveals the truth and he is acquitted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Paris and along the French Riviera, Dinner at the Ritz afforded David Niven the chance to play his first starring role. As Paul de Brack, he is a government agent and playboy and is quite at home among the elite set, whether in England or France. This comes in handy when he falls in with Ranie Racine (Annabella), a gay Paris socialite and the daughter of a recently murdered financier. The father's death has been ruled a suicide, but Ranie refuses to accept this. As the man assigned to investigate the banker's death, Paul accompanies Ranie on a series of undercover investigations that take them to Monte Carlo and London. Along the way, they discover the truth about a serious banking scandal, as well as evidence that the man responsible for acine's death may be someone close to Ranie. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

A trio of American actors head the cast of the British naval drama Torpedoed. Noah Beery appears as the unnamed President of an equally unnamed South American banana republic. When a group of insurgents stage of revolt, His Majesty's Navy is dispatched to put down the uprising. Richard Cromwell carries the romantic subplot as Bill Armstrong, the sweetheart of Pamela (Hazel Terry), daughter of American businessman Mr. Brent (H. B. Warner). Robert Douglas, years before being typecast as a villain, costars as stalwart captain Markham, while Esme Percy, a specialist in indeterminate "foreign" types, plays the rebel leader. Originally filmed as Our Fighting Navy, the title was changed to keep apace of world events-specifically, the torpedoing of the Athenia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a deliciously nasty villain endeavors to steal a successful shipping firm from an honest man. To get the company and gather information, the villain employs a talented mimic who begins dating the daughter of the company president. He succeeds and causes the president to take his own life to save his company. Later the villain tries to kill the mimic, but fortunately, the mimic survives, goes to the police, gets the crook arrested, and proves himself worthy of his lady's love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Annie Laurie bears little resemblance to the old Scottish ballad, but does serve as a suitable vehicle for Scots character actor Will Fyffe. Burr-accented Fyffe plays Will Laurie, a humble merchant who is the adoptive father of attractive Annie (Annie Laurie). She wants to escape her near-poverty environs and find success on the stage. Annie becomes a star dancer in London musical reviews, but fame means nothing without dead old Dad by her side. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Laughton became an international star by chewing both mutton and scenes in his Oscar-winning turn as King Henry VIII. Alexander Korda's British super-production also put the British cinema on the map, which, until this film, received precious little respect in the international film community. The film, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, details the private life of the famous British monarch. His first wife, Catherine of Aragon, is barely mentioned -- explained away by a prologue which states that she was "too respectable to be included." Henry then marries Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon) but she is soon beheaded. His next wife, Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie), dies during childbirth. His next wife is Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester, in a prelude to her Bride of Frankenstein role), whom Henry reluctantly beds with his famous sigh, "The things I've done for England." They divorce and Henry next marries Katherine Howard (Binnie Barnes), who also finds herself beheaded when she has an affair with Henry's friend, Thomas Culpepper (Robert Donat). Finally, Henry is brought down to size with his final wife, Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide