Kenneth Kove Movies
- 1965
Not to be confused with David Hewitt's abominable Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (AKA The Blood Suckers), this clever horror omnibus is one of the better early anthologies from Amicus Productions, thanks to Freddie Francis' stylish direction and a tongue-in-cheek approach from writer Milton Subotsky (who would later apply the same sardonic treatment to the EC Comics-based productions Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror). The framing story is set in a train car, where five passengers have their fortunes told by the all-seeing Dr. Schreck (Peter Cushing), who refers to his ominous tarot deck as his "House of Horrors." Their respective stories involve all manner of occult happenings: a jazz musician's involvement with a voodoo curse; an estate haunted by a werewolf; a doctor (Donald Sutherland) who suspects that his wife has become a vampire; a cottage besieged by a monster kudzu vine; and the most entertaining segment, in which arrogant art critic Christopher Lee is avidly pursued by a snubbed artist's severed hand. In the end, it doesn't take a jaded horror buff to deduce Schreck's true identity or the ultimate destination of the train passengers, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. Not all of the stories work (the vampire story's "twist" ending is rather silly, the voodoo tale painfully dated), and the effects are generally sub-par, but Francis keeps the pace snappy throughout, giving the entire film a throwaway, Halloween spook-house feel. Hammer horror fans will certainly find this a keeper on the strength of Cushing and Lee's performances. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1963
The Organizer (I Compagni) takes a gritty, near-documentary approach to its subject matter: the exploitation of Italian laborers in the 19th century. Shorn of all his studio-imposed glamour, Marcello Mastrioanni plays a Genoan political refugee visiting a friend in Turin. Appalled by the horrible working conditions in the town's textile mill, Mastrioanni stays on to organize the workers in a strike. Though he is nearly killed several times, Mastrioanni survives to set an example for the workers, who rally together into a powerful union. The fact that Marcello Mastrioanni was bearded and bespectacled in the manner of a Bolshevist radical was enough for The Organizer to be condemned by certain extreme anti-Communist elements in Hollywood--to no avail, since the film was nominated for an American Oscar, and even given a commendation by the ultraconservative National Board of Review. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, (more)
- 1953
Innocents in Paris is a series of anecdotes bundled together by geography. First we see the efforts by British diplomat Alastair Sim to loosen up Soviet-agent Peter Illing long enough to forge an economic plan between Russia and England. Then we watch as dotty artist Margaret Rutherford purchases a copy of the Mona Lisa. Next we see British officer Jimmy Edwards go off on a toot in a Parisian bistro. The next vignette involves impressionable Claire Bloom, who is swept off her feet by a local rake (the human variety, not the garden implement). And so it goes for 102 minutes in the British version of Innocents in Paris, and 93 minutes in the American print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, (more)
- 1952
This comedy is set in an Irish mansion and centers on its enigmatic owner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this drama, an average man of average income finds his life abruptly changed when the securities he purchased from a speculator pan out and he is rich. Unfortunately, the turn out to be securities are worthless and the newly rich man and the speculator lose everything. Unfortunately, by this time, he has developed a taste for the high life and this leads to his making a foolish decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nora Swinburne, Joyce Howard, (more)
- 1942
British music-hall comedian Max Miller ("The Cheeky Chappie") always had difficulty transferring his risque style to films, principally because the censors were on their guard the moment he sashayed into view. Asking for Trouble is a relatively "clean" Miller farce, though Max manages to slip a few double-entendres under the door. This time, Miller poses as a big game hunter, armed with an empty weapon and a litany of wheezy old gags. His ruse is designed to rescue the daughter (Carol Lynne) of a general (Mark Lester) from the lechery of genuine hunter Wilfred Hyde-White. When inspiration flags in the script department, Miller tosses in one of his inimitable comic songs. Asking for Trouble was the last of Max Miller's fourteen film appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1937
In this drama, a cute blue-collar kid sees her beloved dog run over by a car. A doctor is around and helps the crushed canine recover. The little girl swears life-long allegiance to the physician and later she and her friends stage a charity concert to help keep the doctor's struggling hospital stay afloat. The show is a tremendous success and the hospital is saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1936
British stage and screen favorite Stanley Lupino (Ida's dad) wrote and starred in this relentlessly upbeat musical comedy. Lupino portrays a struggling writer who is mistaken for a millionaire. The producers of a threadbare musical revue approach Lupino in hopes that he'll finance their show. Lupino sees an opportunity to help his own career, thus he maneuvers about to raise the necessary funding--all the while maintaining the illusion that he's a man of untold wealth. Cheer Up costars comic actor Roddy Hughes as a burlesqued matinee idol named Dirk Dirk, while popular film star Sally Grayalso shows up....playing popular film star Sally Gray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
The inimitable Gracie Fields illuminates the screen in her sole 1935 vehicle Look Up and Laugh. The Lancashire-born comedienne is cast as Gracie Pearson, one of several clerks in a small-town market. When Gracie and her co-workers are threatened with dismissal by a chain-store takeover, they manage to save their jobs by digging up a Royal Charter, declaring their store an autonomous nation. The film was based on a story by J. B. Priestley, who undoubtedly didn't include Gracie's traditional cheer-up songs in his original synopsis. Billed 15th in Look Up and Laugh is 22-year-old Vivien Leigh, whose third film this was. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a young man encounters opposition when he gets engaged. His jilted girlfriend's mother then has her daughter sue the fellow for breach of promise. Meanwhile the new fiancee hires another lawyer to catch the other girl in a unseemly act to ruin her chances in court. Unfortunately the scheme falls apart and her love is blamed for it all. Then his fiancee dumps him in favor of the lawyer. In the end, he decides to go back to his first girl, the one who was suing him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In this British musical, three young people start a renegade radio station to earn some badly needed cash. When the coppers crash one of their dances, the three flee to Big Ben where they are captured. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
In this comedy, a nephew, fearing that he has lost his aunt's precious ring, devises a strange scheme to get it back. He has all his friends act like crazy people. Meanwhile he suspects one person of stealing it. His suspicions prove groundless after the aunt's secretary finds the ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
In this thriller, a man becomes convinced that he has but one night to live before he dies from a family curse. The inspector believes that it is not so much the curse as it is the man's stepmother and son who are trying to frighten him to death. Sure enough, the man is found dead the next morning. It is the doctor that solves the mystery when he proves that the murderer was a maid whom he jilted that caused the deaths. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
In this romance, a working-class musician falls in love with a beautiful socialite. He is so smitten that he abandons his current lover to be with the rich girl. His little sister comforts the jilted girl and advises that she forget all about the louse. By the story's end the chastened young man returns and the humble lovers reconcile. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This film from director Harold Young is the second big-screen adaptation of Baroness Emmuska Orczy's 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Leslie Howard stars as Sir Percy Blakeney, a British aristocrat who rescues innocent victims of the French Revolution under the guise of The Scarlet Pimpernel while maintaining the identity of a foppish dandy by day. Even his wife, Lady Marguerite Blakeney (Merle Oberon), is unaware of Percy's heroic alter-ego as he and his band of likeminded masked men save countless people from the guillotine. Perhaps the most famous adaptation of the classic book, The Scarlet Pimpernel would later be lampooned in 1966's Don't Lose Your Head. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, (more)
- 1933
In this drama a farmer wins a sheepdog competition and gets to keep his land. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this romance, two people who have never met will inherit a million dollars if they marry each other. Neither is thrilled with the prospect, and the woman, to meet him, impersonates his new maid. Soon they fall in love for real. A lawyer mediates. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frederick Kerr, Ian Hunter, (more)
- 1933
In this murder mystery, Vicar Casson looks into the poisoning of a wealthy man. He soon finds that the man they convicted, the fiance of the rich man's niece, was innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
In this British farce, set during a big Christmas party, someone breaks into a save and steals a valuable necklace. This causes the host, a sneaky nephew who is not supposed to hold a party in his aunt's home to have conniption fits as he frantically tries to find the purloined gems. Later it turns out the jewels were cheap imitations. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Flapper Lupino wants to sew her wild oats before settling down to get married in this romantic drama and Napier assists her in her quest to have an affair with writer Curzon, Napier's husband! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ida Lupino, Diana Napier, (more)
- 1932
American film star Adolphe Menjou crossed the Atlantic to England to appear in Blame the Woman. Menjou and Claude Allister play a pair of sharpsters who prey upon eligible wealthy ladies. Priding himself on his ability to charm any woman out of her hard-earned diamonds, Menjou is himself victimized by Benita Hume, who finagles him into participating in a jewel heist. The sadder-but-wiser Menjou ends up in the slammer. Adolphe Menjou and Benita Hume would later reteam in the delightful pseudo-Lubitsch romantic comedy Worst Woman in Paris? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Benita Hume, (more)
