June Elvin Movies

In this mystery, a woman desiring to locate her missing employer engages the services of "The Toff," a suave amateur detective. Mayhem ensues until the detective reveals that the boss wanted to disappear so he could hide from the man behind an insurance fraud who wants to kill him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a musically talented child prodigy ends up exploited by his greedy manager who wants to become the lad's legal guardian. Fortunately, the boy's governess learns of his scheme and has the boy removed for a time. Things go a little crazy and the boy ends up held for ransom. The whole experience teaches the boy to think and speak for himself. He then makes the manager draw up a fair contract. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The old one about the much-exploited child prodigy is given a new coat of paint in the English-Austrian Entfuhrag ins Gluck (Wonder Child). Bobby Henrey, the amazing juvenile star of The Fallen Idol, is here cast as 7-year-old musical genius Sebastian Giro. Mistreated by his avaricious adult manager, Sebastian runs away to a remote Alpine village. He then falls into the hands of a gang of kidnappers, led by the basically sympathetic Jack (Robert Shackleton). Eventually seeing the error of his ways, Jack and his girlfriend Anni (Christa Winter) protect Sebastian against the homicidal intentions of the other crooks (one of whom is played by a young Oskar Werner). Though the film was produced in Austria, the dialogue was spoken in English--then redubbed into German. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1948, "The Archers" -- the writing and directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger -- had completed The Red Shoes, one of their greatest international successes, but it had yet to be released when the Rank Organization, doubting the commercial appeal of the picture, severed ties with the team and Powell and Pressburger signed a new deal with Alexander Korda's London Films. Their first project for Korda, The Small Back Room, was a dramatic change of pace, a thriller set in London in the midst of World War II. Sammy Rice (David Farrar) is explosives expert who works with British military intelligence as part of a ragtag munitions research team studying new ways to defuse enemy weapons and improve allied arms. While he's brilliant on the job, Rice is a troubled man with an artificial leg that causes him chronic pain and an appetite for alcohol that stands between him and those around him, especially his girlfriend and secretary Susan (Kathleen Byron). Rice's latest project is finding a way to defuse a new German bomb that's cleverly disguised as a children's toy, but Rice finds himself battling his superiors when Waring (Jack Hawkins), an unscrupulous businessman who has been pressed into service with the explosives team, and his colleague Professor Mair (Milton Rosmer) begin lobbying the Army to purchase a new weapon that Rice feels is both ineffective and dangerous. Despite excellent reviews and a fine cast that includes Cyril Cusack, Sidney James and Robert Morley in a cameo appearance, The Small Back Room was a box office disappointment on its original release, and it appeared in edited form in the United States under the title Hour of Glory, though later video releases allowed Americans to see the film in its original British cut. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ann Markham (Margaret Lockwood) is an employee with the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro. Though ostensibly businesslike and intelligent, Ann can't help falling in love with irresponsible Charlie Kent (Griffith Jones). On their wedding day, Ann discovers that Charlie is on the lam from fraud charges throughout the world. Still, she believes his promise that he'll mend his ways once they've tied the nuptial knot. Not unexpectedly, Charlie goes back on his word, and it is up to handsome millionaire Ashley Morehouse (Norman Wooland) to save Ann from her poor judgment. It was surprising to see the British film industry's resident "wicked lady" Margaret Lockwood playing so gullible a character -- so surprising, in fact, that audiences tended to stay away from Look Before You Love in droves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide