James Donald Movies

White Corridors was based on Yeoman Hospital, a novel by Helen Ashton. Told episodically, the story concentrates on the day-to-day activities in a busy hospital, where research pathologist Neil Marriner (James Donald) conducts experiments in the hopes of curing diseases impervious to penicillin. Marriner is aided in this endeavor by lady surgeon Dr. Sophie Dean (Googie Withers), who happens to be in love with him. After a tragedy occurs for which Marriner holds himself responsible, the film builds steadily to an exciting climax involving a untested -- and potentially dangerous -- serum. The top-rank British supporting cast includes Barry Jones, Moira Lister, Petula Clark, Basil Radford, Dagmar (later Dana) Wynter, Bernard Lee, and, in a minor role, future "Dr. Who" Patrick Troughton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Businessman Spencer Tracy is devoted beyond all reason to his son Edward. Tracy lies, cheats, steals, commits arson, and drives two people to suicide in order to smooth Edward's path in life. The boy repays this loyalty by becoming an ungrateful wastrel, who fathers a child out of wedlock and ends up killing himself. After serving a prison sentence for his crimes, Tracy tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life by searching for Edward's child. Based on the play by Robert Morley and Noel Langley, Edward My Son unsuccessfully retains the play's devices of never showing Edward and of having Spencer Tracy speak directly to the audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This disaster movie is based on the true story of ways in which a diverse group of plane passengers managed to survive after their plane crashed in the Swiss Alps. Some of the surviving passengers were publically prominent people. All of them had to face new challenges that tested their inner strength. The rescue of the passengers is particulary dramatic. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Immortal Battalion has a bit of a convoluted history. It started life as a training film, The New Lot, which ran 44 minutes. When Winston Churchill approached David Niven about creating a film that would do for the British Army what In Which We Serve had done for the Royal Navy, he contacted Carol Reed and suggested expanding The New Lot. The result, written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, was the acclaimed The Way Ahead. For its U.S. release, Way Ahead was edited to a shorter length and retitled The Immortal Battalion. In either of its feature length forms, the film is concerned with the training of a bunch of raw recruits into a capable and efficient fighting regiment. Niven stars as Jim Perry, a lieutenant and former ordinary guy who finds that he must learn to take a tough line in order to make his wildly diverse crew come together and understand the importance both of the war and of their place in it. Although it takes time and constant effort on the part of Perry and his sergeant, the eight men eventually overcome their different backgrounds and feelings, and transform themselves into a unit which performs its tasks with admirable skill and dexterity, preparing them for their battle against the Desert Fox in Africa. Told in a semi-documentary style, Battalion also features the screen debut of Trevor Howard. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Few morale-boosting wartime films have retained their power and entertainment value as emphatically as Noël Coward's In Which We Serve. To witness Coward's sober, no-nonsense direction (in collaboration with his co-director/editor, David Lean) and to watch his straightforward portrayal of navy captain Kinross, one would never suspect that he'd built his theatrical reputation upon sophisticated drawing-room comedies and brittle, witty song lyrics. The real star of In Which We Serve is the British destroyer Torrin. Torpedoed in battle, the Torrin miraculously survives, and is brought back to English shores to be repaired. The paint is barely dry and the nuts and bolts barely in place before the Torrin is pressed into duty during the Dunkirk evacuation. The noble vessel is finally sunk after being dive-bombed in Crete, but many of the crew members survive. As they cling to the wreckage awaiting rescue, Coward and his men flash back to their homes and loved ones, and, in so doing, recall anew just why they're fighting and for whom they're fighting. Next to Coward, the single most important of the film's characters is Shorty Blake, played by John Mills. (Trivia note: Mills' infant daughter Juliet Mills appears as Shorty's baby.) Even so, the emphasis in the film is on teamwork; here as elsewhere, there can be no stars in wartime. For many years, the only prints available to television were from the bowdlerized American version, which crudely cut out all "hells" and "damns." Fortunately, this eviscerated American release has since been shelved in favor of the full, glorious 115-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide