Josephine Middleton Movies
- 1959
A man is forced to prove who he really is -- and discovers that it isn't as easy as one might think -- in this drama. Sir Mark Loddon (Dirk Bogarde) is a titled member of the British aristocracy who lives a life of wealth, privilege, and notoriety, until one day Jeffrey Buckenham (Paul Massie), a pilot from Canada, makes a startling accusation. Buckenham and Loddon were both inmates in the same POW camp during WWII, and Buckenham is convinced that Loddon is not the man he claims to be; Frank Welney, an actor who was also a prisoner in the same camp, bore a striking resemblance to Loddon, and he is convinced that the actor has taken Loddon's place. The press picks up Buckenham's story, and the question of Loddon's identity becomes the talk of all England; Lady Maggie Loddon (Olivia de Havilland), Mark's wife, is deeply offended and insists that he sue for libel to restore his good name. Mark obtains the services of Sir Wilfred (Robert Morley), one of the nation's best-respected attorneys, but it soon becomes evident that proving Mark's identity in court may not be as simple as it might seem; Mark suffered severe head injuries during the war that cause him to stutter at times and also result in periodic spells of amnesia; the testimony of the many witnesses called by Sir Wilfred and his opponent, Hubert Foxley (Wilfrid Hyde-White), establish no clear consensus of who Loddon really is. Libel was based on the popular stage drama by Edward Wooll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1956
In this suspense film, a woman journeys home to Great Britain to attend the funeral of her parents, who according to the official report seemed to have died naturally at the same time. But the woman doesn't believe this. She thinks her stepmother, a nurse who took care of the aged couple had something to do with it. She goes to the authorities, but is unable to persuade them to look into it because the step-mother is a prominent, respected citizen in town. The young woman, who stands to inherit her father's considerable wealth when she comes of age, continues to look into it, even though she knows her own life is in jeopardy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mona Freeman, Jean Kent, (more)
Michael Redgrave gives his greatest performance as Andrew Crocker-Harris, a boarding-school teacher who realizes that his life may be a failure, in this powerful adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play with a screenplay by Rattigan himself. Poor health forces Crocker-Harris to give up his teaching position after years of thankless service and scorn from his students and colleagues. His marriage to Millie (Jean Kent) is also in free fall, as his wife is openly having an affair with the school's chemistry teacher, Hunter (Nigel Patrick). The sensitivity of one student (Brian Smith) breaks through Crocker-Harris's reserved British exterior, but it takes the final departure of his wife, right before the school's graduation exercises, to wake him up once and for all. He discards his prepared speech and speaks openly to the assembled students, delivering a moving apology for having failed them as their teacher. The film's rich montage of incident and character detail builds to intense emotional heights that make this version of The Browning Version a classic. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, (more)
- 1950
The alternate title to the British The Woman in Question is Five Angles on Murder. That pretty much sums up the tenor of this investigatory drama, wherein an enigmatic fortune teller (Jean Kent) is murdered. The police track down the five most likely suspects and start asking questions. Each suspect offers a different perspective on the murdered woman, and each provides a vital clue towards solving the killing. This "prismatic" technique was of course the foundation of Citizen Kane; while The Woman in Question is not in Kane's league, its gimmick holds the audience's attention whenever director Anthony Asquith allows the pace to lag. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde, (more)
- 1944
No relation to the 1970 box-office blockbuster of the same name, the 1944 British film Love Story was originally released in the US as The Lady Surrenders. Margaret Lockwood stars as one of those brilliant but troubled concert pianists, so beloved of British wartime filmgoers. Knowing that she suffers from a potentially fatal heart condition, Margaret has one last fling with RAF pilot Stewart Granger, who is slowly going blind. As in such earlier romantic dramas of the One Way Passage variety, Margaret and Stewart keep their afflictions secret from each other. When the truth comes out, Granger agrees to a dangerous and experimental operation to restore his sight. This sets the stage for a war of wills between Lockwood, who wants Granger to undergo the surgery, and Gragner's fiancee Patricia Roc, who, for reasons of her own, does not. Love Story was cowritten and directed by Leslie Arliss, son of eminent British stage star Sir George Arliss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1943
Demi-Paradise stars Laurence Olivier as a Russian inventor (accent and all). In Europe to promote his new propeller device, Olivier is put off by English customs and manners-or, rather, the lack of the latter. No one in 1939 England trusts a foreigner, least of all one of those shifty "Reds", but when Russia and England become allies against the Nazis, the previously persona non grata Olivier is welcomed with open arms. Penelope Dudley Ward co-stars as Olivier's previously suspicious landlady, who ends up falling in love with him. Demi-Paradise was made before the comic quaintness that afflicted Olivier's later performances set in, thus his Russian portrayal is straightforward and most convincing. The film was released in the US as Adventure for Two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Marjorie Fielding, (more)
