Barbara Denny Movies
In this sentimental comedy, Carol Reed tries for a bit of neo-realist whimsy that takes place in the London slums of Petticoat Lane. The film centers upon Joe (Jonathan Ashmore), a six-year-old London East-ender who believes strongly in the magical power of unicorns. Joe and his lonely mother Joanna (Celia Johnson) live with wily, philosophical tailor Kandinsky (David Kossoff), who convinces Joe that if he could only come upon the legendary unicorn, he could grant all the wishes of his poor neighbors. Taking Kandinsky at his word, Joe searches the slums for a unicorn. Then one morning, he finds one. Only thing is, it is not a unicorn but a baby goat with a growth sticking out of his forehead. Nevertheless, Joe is convinced that the goat is a unicorn. He gives an elderly homeless man all of his savings for the kid and triumphantly takes it home. Hoping to use the kid to grant all his friends' wishes, he hopes to grant the wishes of Kandinsky, who wants a steam-pressing table, and Sonia (Diana Dors), an attractive blonde who wants to marry Sam (Joe Robinson), a handsome wrestler. And finally, he wishes for his father to return home to his lonely mother. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Celia Johnson, Diana Dors, (more)
- 1941
One Night in Lisbon is one of several pre-1942 films which used the screwball-comedy form to comment upon the raging war in Europe. While transporting American warplanes to the beleagured RAF, Texas flyboy Dwight Houston (Fred MacMurray) is caught in a London air raid. Scurrying to a shelter, Dwight meets icy, well-bred Briton Leonora Pettycote (Madeleine Carroll), with whom he falls in love--a feeling that is far from mutual at first. Eventually responding to Dwight's charms, Leonora agrees to join him for a night's revelries (as soon as the Nazi bombers head home, that is), but their budding relationship is complicated by the unexpected presence of Dwight's ex-wife Gerry Houston (Patricia Morrison and Leonora's erstwhile sweetheart, Cmdr. Peter Walmsley (John Loder). Escaping their respective suitors, Dwight and Leonara end up in neutral Lisbon, only to land in the middle of a Nazi spy ring. Although poor Leonora gets the worst of it at the hands of the villains, she is game enough to realize that she wants to spend the rest of her life with the footloose Dwight. The film is filled to overflowing with familiar character faces, including Britishers Edmund Gwenn and Dame May Whitty, French émigré Marcel Dalio and even perennial Laurel and Hardy foil James Finlayson. One Night in Lisbon was based on There's Always Juliet, a pre-WW2 play by John Van Druten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, (more)
- 1939
Based on a classic tale from Rudyard Kipling, this melodrama chronicles the desperate attempt of a painter to finish his greatest painting before he goes blind. His affliction is due to a war wound and his final project is to paint a portrait of London's most notorious prostitute. Trouble begins when the hooker falls deeply in love with the artist. Unfortunately, social mores forbid their union and this frustrates the wanton woman. Meanwhile, the artist feverishly continues to paint her. The result is exquisite. Unfortunately, by this time, the whore can no longer contain her frustrated rage, and unbeknownst to the painter whose sight is nearly gone, viciously slashes it. Later the artist takes his prized work and shows it to his best friend, a military officer, in a heartbreaking scene. Afterward the two colleagues head down to fight in the Sudan. There, the devastated painter begs the officer to allow him to participate in one final, glorious charge atop a shining white stallion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Walter Huston, (more)
- 1938
This saga spans the globe as the three young heroes search for the man who killed their much-admired, beloved father, a cashiered officer who was wrongly dishonorably discharged before he was murdered. Their quest takes them from India to South America, London, Egypt, and the U.S. As the progress, they begin to discover the disturbing truth about the murder of the father they idolized. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Richard Greene, (more)
