Noel Dainton Movies

In this sci-fi comedy, a nutty inventor and his loyal butler use his time machine to travel to Elizabethan times. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, an amnesiac gardener, who lost his memory after he was buried alive during WW I, works for a wealthy man whose son is about to marry an actress. When he is accused of stealing, the honest gardener becomes so upset that his memory returns. He then remembers that he is a wealthy military officer. He also realizes that the actress is none other than his own daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this romance, a young woman gets into a real mess when her mother begins meddling in her romantic life by conning her into becoming engaged to her boss. Unfortunately, the girl loves another who has gone off to fight the war. Upon his return, he is enraged to learn about the engagement. Mayhem ensues until the whole mess is straightened out and the lovers are reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The popular British music hall and radio team of Gert and Daisy (Elsie and Doris Waters) heads the cast of It's in the Bag. The whole thing starts when the cackling cockney duo sells an old dress. Turns out that there's 20,000 pounds sewn in the lining of the frock, a fact that precipitates a merry chase. Also in pursuit of the money is Reginald Purdell, whose honesty is a matter of grave doubt. It's in the Bag comes to a literally explosive climax in a deserted theater. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released in the US as The Randolph Family, Dear Octopus was based on the internationally popular play by Dodie Smith. The story is motivated by the Golden Wedding anniversary of Charles and Dora Randolph (Frederick Leister, Helen Haye). As the relatives gather, each reveals his or her personal quirks and shortcomings. Caught in the middle is family secretary Penny Fenton (Margaret Lockwood), who has the unenviable task of sorting and smoothing out the family's many deep-set hostilities and jealousies so that a good time will be had by all. The basic premise of Dear Octopus is established early on; the rest of the film is variations on a single theme, albeit consistently amusing ones. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scottish stage, radio and film favorite Will Fyffe heads the cast of Neutral Port. The star is cast as crusty Captain Ferguson, who is forced to dry-dock his torpedoed ship at the mythical port of Esperanto. Anxious not to injure its neutrality, the country refuses to allow Ferguson to seize a Nazi supply ship as compensation for the loss of his own vessel. But the good captain takes matters into his own hands by stealing not one but two German ships. When these are shot from under him, the captain returns to Esperanto to face the consequences, but chances are he'll be back in business again before the sun sets. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The film opens on a theatrical stage where the principal players are introduced in a manner that suggests the audience already knows the story about to be played out. It begins inside the Red Barn in Polstead, Suffolk, where local girl Maria Marten (Sophie Stewart) dances with local, middle-aged squire and magistrate William Corder (Tod Slaughter) during a merry barn dance. Stealing a moment from the festivities, Carlos, a gypsy (Eric Portman) declares his love for Maria, but she rebuffs him and does not disclaim her interest in Corder. Corder is angered when a gypsy palm reader gives him a bad fortune and all of the gypsies are ejected from the party. Maria catches up with Corder later and shares a drink with him at his home; meanwhile, her father (D.J. Williams) notes Maria's absence and suspects her out with the gypsy. Corder, in the meantime, has become intimate with Maria and sends her home, promising marriage. A chance encounter with Carlos is interrupted by Maria's father, who pleads with Corder to have the gypsy barred from the locality. Corder then travels to London and loses big with a disastrous tumble of the dice; Corder schemes to recoup his losses through wooing a local widow of means, plans that do not include Maria.

Over time, Maria's delicate condition becomes apparent and her father casts her out of the family home. Maria approaches Corder for help, but becoming aware of her dire situation threatens to tell her father the truth. Corder renews his pledge to marry Maria and tells her to meet him at the Red Barn in couple of hours. Once there, Corder shoots Maria with a pistol and buries her body under the floor, but misplaces a damning piece of evidence at the scene. Disarmed by the pleas of Maria's grieving mother (Clare Greet, a favorite actress of Alfred Hitchcock's), Maria's father resumes the search for her. Carlos appears at Corder's and begins to pressure him about Maria's whereabouts; they are interrupted and Corder sets a trap for the gypsy which he barely escapes. Carlos, Corder, Mr. Marten and a number of police constables all end up at the Red Barn; at first it looks bad for Carlos, but when Corder's own dog begins sniffing around in the barn, Corder finds himself facing a spell of misfortune that will make his poor luck at the dice table seem insignificant by comparison.
~ David Lewis, Rovi

This ironic little British character study stars Stuart Rome as a "most likely to succeed" type. Rome has been invited to give a speech to his old classmates about self-sufficiency and optimism in the face of worldwide depression. Unfortunately, to finance his trip to London, the impoverished Rome must hock everything he owns. The hero's regaining of his own self-respect is the core of this understated drama. Reunion wasn't seen in the US until the early 1950s, when hungry-for-product TV stations were running every British picture they could get their hands on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Coming in at an economical 44 minutes (and costing an economical 3700 pounds), Star Reporter was one of several collaborations between director Michael Powell and acclaimed mystery writer Philip MacDonald. A sly character named Mandel (Garry Marsh) persuades Lord Longbourne (Spencer Trevor) to participate in an insurance scam: Mandel will abscond with a precious diamond belonging to Longbourne's daughter, Lady Susan Loman )Isla Bevan), and Longbourne can cash in on the insurance money. Things go awry when Lady Loman's chauffeur, Major Starr (Harold French), foils their efforts and Mandel is killed in a fall from a rooftop. Starr, who it turns out is the star reporter of the title, then proposes to Lady Loman, who accepts. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi