Gordon James Movies
- 1942
Released worldwide by 20th Century Fox, Carol Reed's The Young Mr. Pitt is a static but sincere filmed biography of 19th century British prime minister William Pitt Jr., here played by Robert Donat. Appointed to his office at the tender age of 24, Mr. Pitt spends most of his time in Parliament alerting his countrymen of the dangers posed by France's Emperor Napoleon (Herbert Lom, in his first English-speaking role). The Frank Launder-Sidney Gilliat screenplay works overtime drawing parallels between the Pitt-Napoleon conflict and the present crisis involving Great Britain and Nazi Germany. Various historical personages are impersonated by the likes of Phyllis Calvert, John Mills, and Robert Morley, with Morley stealing the show hands down. Like its thematic "twin" Penn of Pennsylvania, Young Mr. Pitt is lavishly produced, but suffers from pedantic speechifying and substandard special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Robert Morley, (more)
- 1940
Director Walter Forde, a past master at blending mystery, melodrama and comedy (vide The Ghost Train and Bulldog Jack), is at his best with Saloon Bar. Most of the action takes place during one busy evening in an English pub, with a rich variety of believable comic characters weaving in and out of the scene. A murder is committed, and everyone falls under suspicion. Hero and heroine Gordon Harker and Elizabeth Allen solve the mystery with becoming modesty (compare this to the wisecracking protagonists in similar American films). Saloon Bar was based on a long-running stage play by Frank Harvey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
- 1938
In this British comedy, a bishop is desperate to finish the restoration on his cathedral. To quickly raise the needed cash, he gives a fellow some money. The fellow promises the bishop that he will use it to make the 1,000 pounds needed to complete the job. The ingenious man uses the honest money to buy smuggled goods. Among the things he buys are silk lingerie and brandy; the latter ends up being sold at a church bazaar and the money is raised. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
In this British comedy, a middle-aged fellow set in his ways marries a sweet young thing. After the wedding, he is surprised to discover that she is not willing to give in to his desire that she take the "second best bed." Later he begins flirting with another while his wife heads for Monte Carlo with her pals. In the end, the two reconcile and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
In this British comedy, set during the Boer War, a foot soldier saves his major's life. The officer is most grateful and puts the soldier in line for a Victoria Cross (a medal for valor). Unfortunately the well-meaning major's actions cause the soldier to be extradited back to England where he must stand trial for a series of crimes he committed before he joined the military. Later the major scours the British jails in search of the heroic lad. He finally finds him recruiting soldiers for WW I. The major offers to raise the soldier's son along with his own grandson. The boys are totally different. The soldier's son is a budding juvenile delinquent while the major's grandson is a perfect angel. The major hopes that the latter will have a good influence on the former, but this does not turn out to be the case. Twenty years pass. Goody-two-shoes is now serving time, while the soldier's son lives quite well on the spoils of his illegal activities. He also takes good care of the elderly major, who does not know the truth about his grandson ( he thinks his grandson is living in America) because the soldier's son refuses to tell him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1936
Another of the delightful Aldwych Theater farces, Pot Luck once again teams those flawless farceurs Tom Walls (who also directed) and Ralph Lynn. Walls is cast as retired Scotland Yard detective Patrick Fitzpatrick, who harbors a deep resentment for his pompous successor Reggie Bathbrick (Ralph Lynn). When a rash of art thefts breaks out in London, Fitzpatrick takes on the investigation himself, for the sole purpose of humiliating Bathbrick. As usual, Ben Travers' dialogue is chock full of familiar catch phrases, cleaned-up expletives and hilariously atrocious puns. Cast as Lynn's pretty daughter is Diana Churchill, in one of her first important screen roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1936
In this drama, a famed clown gets jealous and murders his wife and her lover, a soldier. It is notable for its early use of color sequences at the beginning and end of the film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In this British comedy, an aging aristocrat with a gambling addiction borrows money from a relative and ends up winning big at the track. Unfortunately he quickly loses it all in Nice. Impoverished once again, he encounters another loser. Together the two get in cahoots with a diamond thief masquerading as a count who cons the wealthy tourists out of their gems. The two end up going to rat on the count to the police when they are arrested. They go to trial, and at the last minute they are acquitted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a wealthy businessman and his two workers begin scoping out Chinatown for new business opportunities. It is there he learns that his new wife's ex-husband is a blackmailing crook, preparing to victimize him. The businessman decides to destroy the crook before he destroys him. Comic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Although this Laurel and Hardy short is quite funny, it's often neglected. The boys, playing chimney sweeps, don't appear right away -- first the stage is set in the laboratory of a mad scientist, Professor Noodle (Lucien Littlefield). He has been working intensely for the past 20 years to create an elixir of youth and he is just moments away from success. At this significant moment, Stan and Ollie arrive to sweep the chimney. The butler, Jessup (Sam Adams), directs them to the fireplace and they go to work while, in another room, Noodle is adding a few drops of this, a half drop of that (he uses a scissors to cut off the last half drop). The professor's work goes far more smoothly than Stan and Ollie's efforts -- in fact, by the time they're done, the room is ankle-deep in debris, and both the boys and the butler are black with soot. Jessup looks at the wreckage and promises that somewhere "an electric chair is waiting." While he is upstairs washing off the grime, the professor proudly appears with his successful elixir and since no one else is around, he decides to show it to the boys. He places a duckling in a big tub of water, adds just a few drops of the potent solution, and the duck reverts to an egg. When Noodle disappears in search of Jessup, Stan and Ollie wonder if there's any validity to what they've just witnessed. They decide to try it out with a fish, but as Ollie stands over the tub holding the full beaker, Stan accidentally knocks him in. The water violently bubbles and churns and finally Ollie emerges -- as a chimp, wearing the inevitable bowler hat. His reply to Stan and the whole situation: "I have nothing to say!" ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Lynn, Gordon Harker, (more)
- 1934
In this romantic comedy two young people defy their feuding parents and marry. Accusations of fraud ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this frothy farce, the personal secretary to a boorish lord finds himself in romantic trouble after he falls in love with his employer's niece. Because he cannot afford to marry her, he decides to steal his master's prize porker. Later he "finds" the missing pig and returns it in hopes of currying the favor of his boss. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winifred Shotter, Dorothy Bouchier, (more)
- 1933
In this film, an inn is filled to capacity and a couple must spend the night together in a room. The problem is that both of them are married to other people; before that, they had been engaged to each other. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Thark is a lively British filmization of a popular theatrical "old dark horse" satire. Aldwych Theatre stalwart Tom Walls directs the film and stars as real estate agent Sir Hector Benbow. The peer sells mysterious Thark Manor to Mary Brough, who has good reason to suspect that the joint is haunted. To prove her wrong, Benbow and his confreres (Ralph Lynn and Evelyn Bostock) spend the night in Thark Manor. Ben Travers, who along with Tom Walls virtually lived at the Aldwych Theatre, was the playwright responsible for this goosepimply gagfest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls, (more)
- 1931
The Aldwych Theater farceurs again combined forces in this adaptation of Will Evans and Arthur Valentine's stage farce Tons of Money. Ralph Lynn (who also co-wrote the script) plays eccentric inventor Aubrey Allington, on the verge of selling one of his creations for millions of pounds. To do this, however, Allington finds it necessary to pose as his long-missing cousin. On cue, the cousin shows up to label Allington a phony -- only to be labelled a phony himself by another man claiming to be the cousin. This goes on for reels and reels until director Tom Walls decides that enough's enough. Also on hand in Tons of Money is Aldwych regular Robertson Hare, expressing his usual panic and disdain over the hectic goings-on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Lynn, Yvonne Arnaud, (more)
