Aubrey Dexter Movies

The title of the Anglo-American The Prince and the Showgirl could well have alluded to the genuine stations in life of stars Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Based on the Terence Rattigan play The Sleeping Prince, the film casts Olivier as Charles, prince regent of Carpathia, who is in London to attend the 1911 coronation of King George V. Monroe is deceptively dizzy American chorus girl Elsie Marina, who while performing in a West End revue catches Charles' eye. The prince arranges for Elsie to attend an "intimate supper" at his hotel suite. Though Elsie successfully wards off Charles' advances, she drinks too much bubbly and ends up falling asleep. Comes the dawn, and Prince Charles is anxious to show the awkward Elsie the door. She, however, has fallen in love with the prince, and sticks around long enough to upset a plan to overthrow the Carpathian throne, and to patch up a feud between Charles and his son Nicholas (Jeremy Spencer). Olivier directed as well as starred in The Prince and the Showgirl; he knew he had his work cut out for him in dealing with the mercurial Marilyn Monroe, but he managed to hold his temper and to extract a delightful comic performance from the actress. Alas, the film was a box-office disappointment, leading many Hollywood insiders to moan and wail that Monroe was "washed up" in films -- at least until her spectacular comeback in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stars in Your Eyes is a glorified "vaudeville" picture, tied together by the thinnest of plotlines. As the top British vaudeville houses begin closing their doors, a great many entertainers are thrown out of work. At the instigation of music-hall headliners Sally Bishop (Patricia Kirkwood) and Jimmy Knowles (Nat Jackley), a group of veteran performers decide to reopen one of the old theatres, staging a gala opening revue to attract the customers. Financing this project is the wife of alcoholic ex-songwriter David Laws (Bonar Colleano). A gang of crooks tries to sabotage the show, but all ends happily -- especially for Laws, who is reunited with his loving spouse. Among the guest performers in Stars in Your Eyes is Vera Lynn, the sweetheart of WW II, whose famous rendition of "We'll Meet Again" was heard in the unforgettable finale of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this spooky thriller set in Victorian England, during the time Jack-the-Ripper was running amok, an invalid widow and her daughter run a boarding house. One day a man claiming to be a physician appears and lets a room. Soon he has the women terrorized and imprisoned in their home because they believe him to be the Ripper. Later a reporter looks into and discovers the man is really an escaped lunatic. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As part of a reciprocal deal, teeny-tiny PRC Pictures released several Associated British-Pathe films to American theaters. One of these was Castle of Crimes, featuring Kenneth Kent as A.E.W. Mason's famed professional sleuth Inspector Hanaud. The story concerns a wealthy recluse (Louise Hampton) who is convinced that her avaricious relatives intend to murder her. In turns out that she's right, but Hanaud refuses to jump to the "logical" conclusions in determining the guilty party. The murder weapon is a rare, almost undetectable type of poison-but not too undetectable for our hero. Castle of Crimes was originally released in Great Britain in 1940 as The House of the Arrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1940 British production of Gaslight was the first of two cinematic adaptations of Patrick Hamilton's play. Oozing faux continental charm, Anton Walbrook inveigles his way into the confidence of the young mistress (Diana Wynyard) of a large Victorian mansion. Walbrook is searching for the rubies that he'd stolen from the previous owner of the house -- whom he'd also murdered. Suspecting that Wynyard is about to catch on to his secret, Walbrook enlists the aid of a sluttish maidservant to drive his loving bride crazy. The ploy almost works, but Wynyard is rescued by an unexpected ally. Gaslight was released in the U.S. as Murder in Thornton Square, then withdrawn entirely on the occasion of MGM's expensive 1944 remake of Gaslight, which starred Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. To avoid confusion, MGM allegedly ordered that all prints of the original Gaslight be destroyed. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight is still safely available for both theatrical and TV exhibition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this gentle comedy, an aristocratic English fellow is not happy to be betrothed to a brewery heiress. One day he goes to a circus and ends up with a lively human cannonball in his life. He immediately falls for the daring young performer and they end up eloping and going to Paris to live out the rest of their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anna Neagle repeats her role from the successful Victoria the Great (1937) as the domineering Queen Victoria in this slice-of-life melodrama on royalty and the upper classes. The 60 years of the title refers to Victoria's reign on the throne of England. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

The rise of British entertainer Graci Fields from humble mill girl to the most popular and highest paid performer in Great Britain during the Depression era is chronicled in this biographical drama. Fields got her big break when a composer heard her singing in a ramshackle pub. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This early comedy from director Michael Powell centers around a number of corporate researchers who are trying to discover a way to flameproof celluloid. (The tests are performed on little celluloid "dolls.") The team is headed by a Chief Chemist, who as the movie opens, announces that he will soon be retiring, due to health concerns. His replacement is likely to be the only woman of the group (Mary), which fact causes a great deal of grumbling among the male co-workers. One in particular, by the name of Thompson, is vociferously against the idea of having a female as a boss. Although another co-worker, John, believes that Mary's credentials, not her gender, should be all that matter, his weak protest falls on deaf ears. Thompson comes up with a plan to derail Mary's promotion, suggesting that one of the men should pretend romantic interest in her, under the assumption that this will distract her from her work and make her uninterested in pursuing the position of Chief Chemist. John is chosen as the one to woo her, and despite his earlier protestations, he agrees. John succeeds in gaining Mary's affection -- and in falling in love with her himself into the bargain - but she is chosen to lead the lab anyway. Thompson devises a new plan that will impede the company's research efforts, hopefully resulting in Mary being fired. At the same time, events conspire so that John must be let go -- at which point Thompson claims a new discovery of John's as his own. Fortunately, things get sorted out in time for a reuniting of the lovers and a happy ending for all. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

In this British drama, based on a popular play, a wealthy young Jew goes to a weekend house party and finds himself victimized by anti-Semitic guests. To add insult to injury, his wallet is then stolen. The fellow exposes the pilferer and threatens to take him to court until the other guests, terrified of scandal, offer to make him a member of their exclusive club. It seems, like a good offer until the other members express their racist reservations about his joining. The angered fellow decides to take it to court after all. The distraught thief is found guilty and subsequently suicides. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This atypical Alfred Hitchcock effort is a cautionary fable which lends credence to the old saw "Love flies out the door when money flies in the window." Joan Barry and Henry Kendall play a young married couple who suddenly come into an inheritance. Bored with their working-class existence, hero and heroine embark upon a world cruise, and it isn't long before Barry gets romantically involved with a landed-gentry gentleman. Meanwhile, Kendall is swept off his feet by a phony princess, who tricks him out of all his money. Broke and miserable, Barry and Kendall head home on a shabby cargo boat, only to find themselves in the middle of a shipwreck. The couple is rescued by a Chinese junk, where the solemn crew members dine on their pet cat. By the time Barry and Kendall have returned to their humble suburban lodgings, they've both learned the sagacity of remaining in their own back yard. Partly a sophisticated sex comedy, partly a grim seafaring melodrama, Rich and Strange had the negative effect of confusing the public in general and Hitchcock's fans in particular, and as a result the film, which remains one of Hitch's best early talkies, died at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide