Constance Cummings Movies

Charlotte Bronte's classic Victorian novel is once again put through the paces, this time by Delbert Mann, in this stodgy Masterpiece Theater style television adaptation. Susannah York is Jane Eyre, the orphan girl who secures a position as a governess to the ward of Edward Rochester (George C. Scott), lord of an English manor house called Thornfield, whose halls hide a dark and sinister secret. Jane and the moody and the tyrannical Rochester fall in love and agree to marry. But at their wedding ceremony, Rochester is revealed to have been already married. Suddenly his dark past comes crashing in on both himself and the innocent Jane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Released in the US as A Boy Ten Feet Tall, Sammy Going South is a rugged youngster's-eye-view adventure set in South Africa. 10-year-old orphan Sammy (Fergus McClelland), who resides in Port Said, tries to locate his only relative, who lives 5000 miles away across the desert in Durban. After the death of his first guide, an erstwhile peddler, Sammy is rescued by a wealthy tourist (Constance Cummings). Not anxious to return to Port Said, Sammy escapes his benefactress and links up with a crafty old hunter/diamond smuggler (Edward G. Robinson), whose life is saved by the boy. When the police search for Sammy, they arrest the old man, who has been a fugitive for years. When Sammy is finally united with his Aunt (Zena Walker), he learns that the old smuggler has willed him his fortune. Released in the US at 88 minutes, Sammy Going South was restored to its full 118 minutes for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this 1959 comedy, Robert MacPherson (Robert Morley) inherits his family's textile business in Edinburgh, Scotland, then hires American efficiency expert Angela Barrows (Constance Cummings) to bring the business into the modern age. The House of MacPherson has long been known as a manufacturer of fine Scottish tweed, and the company's mild-mannered head clerk, Mr. Martin (Peter Sellers), worries that the no-nonsense Barrows will ruin everything with her new-fangled ideas and eventually replace him and his co-workers with automatons. So after she installs the latest labor-saving devices, including intercoms and noisy adding machines, he sabotages them in a gradually unfolding scheme to persuade MacPherson that the old Scottish ways are still the best, that true craftsmanship requires a human touch. By this time, however, MacPherson has taken a fancy to Barrows romantically, and she can do no wrong. Then, horror of horrors, Barrows proposes that the company make synthetic tweed -- mass-produced synthetic tweed -- in an all-out effort to Americanize the Scottish firm. That's the last straw for Martin, and he thinks there is only one option left for him: to murder Barrows. Of course, meek Mr. Martin isn't exactly a natural-born killer, and he botches one attempt after another in a sequence of scenes that keep the action moving briskly along. But Martin has pluck and plenty of persistence, and he eventually hatches another plot to undo the meddlesome Barrows. The film, loosely based on a James Thurber story entitled The Catbird Seat, was directed by Charles Crichton, the same man who directed the highly successful Lavender Hill Mob. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Scads of color stock footage from the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth was strategically deployed in John and Julie. The story involves two little provincial children (Colin Gibson, Lesley Dudley) whose parents have no plans to attend the Coronation. Left to their own devices, John and Julie run off to London, where with the help of several eccentric types they get to see the Queen's installation. On the basis of its content, it isn't surprising that John and Julie isn't revived much these days. But some enterprising distributor might take note that the film features an early supporting appearance by Peter Sellers, once again hiding his youthfulness beneath a ton of makeup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Into the Blue is enhanced by the presence of two veteran British movie favorites. Jack Hulbert and Constance Cummings star as John and Kate Ferguson, who embark upon their first vacation in years. Travelling from England to Norway by yacht, the Fergusons are joined by their taciturn skipper Bill (Edward Rigby) and romantic leads Nicholas Foster (top-billed Michael Wilding) and ship's cook Jackie (Odile Versois). The film's central conflict arises from the fact that Foster is a stowaway. And that's about all the plot there is; the film's real strong suits are its stars and its location photography. Into the Blue was originally released as The Man in the Dinghy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set near the beginning of WW II, this exciting war drama follows a courageous British factory foreman as he makes a dangerous foray into occupied France to recover three machine parts that will be vital to the Allies. He is accompanied by a pair of tough British soldiers and an American girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Released in America as Haunted Honeymoon, this droll British comedy-mystery stars Hollywood's Robert Montgomery as Dorothy L. Sayers' erudite amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. Upon marrying mystery writer Harriet Vane (Constance Cummings), Lord Peter swears off crime-solving and embarks upon his honeymoon. Alas, the couple is soon involved in yet another murder, and is forced by circumstances to piece together the clues themselves-and to avoid being knocked off by the murderer. Filmed at MGM's Elstree facilities, Busman's Honeymoon benefits from a strong "home-grown" supporting cast, including Leslie Banks and Robert Newton. The film was directed by the talented Arthur B. Woods, unfortunately an early casualty of WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gunrunners who even kill their enemies through the use of train wrecks are being trailed by Yankee detective Lowe and girlfriend Cummings. ~ All Movie Guide

In the wake of The Thin Man, every studio in Hollywood scrambled to churn out sophisticated mystery-comedies wherein murders are solved by a wealthy, attractive, fun-loving young couple. One of the best of these Thin Man derivations was Universal's Remember Last Night, adapted from Adam Hobhouse's novel Hangover Murders. During a wild cocktail party at the Long Island estate of Tony and Carlotta Milburn (Robert Young and Constance Cummings), one of the guests is murdered. It does not help at all that the revellers were too drunk to remember exactly what happened -- nor is it beneficial to the case that Detective Danny Harrison (Edward Arnold) is a personal friend of all the suspects. In addition, no one but Harrison seems willing to take the case seriously, though of course eventually Tony and Carlotta are obliged to do a bit of sleuthing on their own. The light-hearted aspects of the film are offset by moments of genuine terror, notably the scene in which Professor Jones (Gustav von Seyffertitz) attempts to solve the mystery by hypnotizing the suspects, only to become a victim himself when he gets too close to the truth. An unbilled E.E. Clive provides some great black-humor moments as a police photographer who prefers to "artfully" arrange the corpses. As always, director James Whale invests his material with several of his visual trademarks, including his fascination with elaborate set decorations. There are probably more off-angle close-ups of fancy wall clocks in this picture than in any other Hollywood film -- and how about that cocktail bar in the Milburn's living room, designed in the shape of a yacht? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama a rich banker loses his fortune in the stock market. His secretary's lover finds out that the banker has been using fake bonds to make a deal. The opportunistic young lout then begins threatening to blackmail the financier. In a panic, the banker tosses the extortionist overboard. When he learns that his secretary loved the creep, the boat captain launches a search party and the man is all wet, but saved. The repentant banker then kills himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jane Mufin's stage play Love Flies in the Window was the basis for the RKO Radio assembly-line romance This Man is Mine. Happily married to dull but dependable Jim Dunlap (Ralph Bellamy), level-headed Toni Dunlap (Irene Dunne) suddenly finds herself forced to fight for her husband's affections. The cause of it all is Toni's old school chum, the recently divorced Fran Harper (Constance Cummings). Fran graciously makes no secret of her intention to steal Jim away. With equal graciousness, Toni beats her rival at her own game. In addition to the sterling contributions of its stars, This Man is Mine benefits from a well-honed supporting performance by Kay Johnson, who two years earlier had co-starred with Constance Cummings in Frank Capra's American Madness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide