Margaret Boyd Movies
- 1971
10 Rillington Place is the true story of British mass murderer John Reginald Christie, played with chilling "normality" by Richard Attenborough. Throughout the late '40s, Christie lures middle-aged women to his London flat promising to cure their ailments with nitrous oxide, then kills them, assaults their dead bodies, and buries them. One of his victims is Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson), who misguidedly comes to Christie seeking an abortion -- and in the process, not only loses her own life, but sets in motion a horrid sequence of events that threatens to endanger her husband as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, (more)
- 1964
A British charwoman and her colleagues strike it rich on the stock market when she discovers a wastebasket filled with market tips in this drama. Later they decide to use their money for good after they overhear a wicked financier planning to destroy the cleaning woman's neighborhood. Together they manage to save the neighborhood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Mount, Harry H. Corbett, (more)
- 1964
This unsavory British programmer stars Ian Hendry as a hustler who seduces anything in skirts. He launches his sexual adventures by trying to put the make on his married boarding house neighbor June Ritchie. She spurns him until he agrees to find her young daughter, who has wandered off. Hendry moves on to Ritchie's sister Annette Andre, but this affair is squelched by Ritchie, who threatens to kill herself and tell all to her husband. Hendry leaves to find new conquests elsewhere. A novel by Nan Maynard was the launching pad for This Is My Street. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Ritchie, Avice Landone, (more)
After several years' absence, Dirk Bogarde returns to the popular British "Doctor" film series in Doctor in Distress. Where once Bogarde's Dr. Simon Sparrow was naive and wide-eyed, he is a bit more urbane in this edition. He even manages to offer romantic advice to his old mentor/nemesis Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson Justice). Sparrow's efforts to smooth the path for Sir Lancelot's amorous pursuit of physiotherapist Barbara Murray puts a strain on his own relationship with comely Samantha Eggar. Doctor in Distress is based on characters created by Dr. Richard Gordon, though the story is an original and not an adaptation of a Gordon novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, (more)
- 1961
In this drama, an American agent for the OSS after the war, hides a large treasure in Czechoslovakia for a Nazi general. The general commits suicide before getting the jewels. The general's top aide then convinces the American to help him get them back. They enlist the aide of the general's daughter, a hooker and find the valuable stones. Later the Yankee and the hooker are double-crossed by the aide who was working with the prostitute's roomie. The roommate then kills the aide, and escapes on the Munich Express. The agent also boards the quickly moving train. He almost has his hands on the box of jewels when it slips from his fingers and falls into the rushing river below. As the cops arrive and take the roommate away, the agent and the general's daughter decide to start a new life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Also known as Geordie, the British comedy Wee Geordie was immensely popular worldwide. A slight of frame and puny gamekeeper's son named Geordie (Paul Young), who is coming of age in the Scottish highlands, grows sick and tired of being picked on. He thus decides to answer a Charles Atlas-style bodybuilding ad. Flash forward several years: the little runt is now a strapping, muscle-bound, disgustingly healthy Olympic champ (portrayed by Bill Travers, who actually did "pump up" and slim down to play this role). Evidently his muscles have spread to his head, for Geordie sees no need for emotional fulfillment, and alienates his longtime girlfriend (Norah Gorsen). But in the process, he becomes the top-ranked hammer thrower at the Highland Games and is chosen to represent the UK in the Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. When Geordie finally falls in love again, it is with towering shot-putter Helga Doris Goddard -- the first woman ever able to best him on the athletic field. Director Frank Launder cowrote the screenplay for Wee Geordie with his longtime collaborator Sidney Gilliat; the film is based on a novel by David Walker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Bill Travers, (more)
- 1954
Fabian of the Yard is a feature-length compilation of episodes from the British TV series of the same name. Bruce Seton plays Scotland Yard superintendent Fabian, a man who prefers brain over brawn but isn't averse to cracking a few skulls to make his point. In three "Fabian" episodes represented herein, the good inspector goes after a serial-killing truck driver, a blackmailer and a group of bomb-happy IRA terrorists. The supporting cast features such familiar faces as Sarah Churchill (Winston's daughter) and Victor Maddern. When Fabian of the Yard was syndicated in America, its title was helpfully altered to Fabian of Scotland Yard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
This comedy is essentially a prototype of Disney's 1961 film Parent Trap and tells the tale of twin girls, separated after their parents divorce, who meet each other at summer camp and hatch an elaborate scheme to get their parents back together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
A small Scottish island has never paid its mandatory road tax. This brings forth an investigating committee of Parliament members, including the formidable Ronald Squire. The committee heads to the delinquent Hebridean isle, where they succumb to the easygoing charm of the residents. Cowritten by director John Eldridge, Laxdale Hall was an adequate imitation of the Ealing farces (notably Tight Little Island), with an overload of whimsy in place of originality. out to the Hebridean isle to check into this breach of law. The film made it to the States under the title Scotch on the Rocks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Squire
