Valentine Dyall Movies

In this mystery, a millionaire vanishes right before he is to marry. To find him, his sister hires a detective who is, after encountering many corpses, lead to "The Panda," the perpetrator of the crime. The investigator soon discovers that millionaire's fiancee is behind it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's much-lauded epic Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which satirizes British traditionalism, stirred up impassioned hostilities and indignations among the Brits when released in 1943. It so infuriated Winston Churchill, in fact, that he refused to allow its exportation to other countries, particularly the U.S. When Blimp finally did premiere in the States in 1945, it screened in a drastically cut version. The sweeping story covers several decades. It begins at the tail end of the Boer War, when handsome young British officer Clive Candy, recently back from the battlefront, is infuriated by his discovery that Deutschland papers have played up the British atrocities in South Africa, propagandistically. He grows so irate, in fact, that he travels to Germany to address the problem. Once there, he meets an attractive British educator, Edith Hunter (Deborah Kerr) who spends her days teaching English as a second language to German students. They grow close, but Candy so aggravates the local indigenes that he winds up in a duel with a German officer, Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff (Anton Walbrook). The men wound each other and are sent to the same hospital, where they become friends. Candy - who doesn't yet realize he's fallen in love with Edith -- senses that Theo and Edith are attracted to one another, and encourages the couple's marital union. Candy subsequently returns to England, then falls for and marries Barbara (again played by Kerr), a nurse who bears a strong resemblance to Edith. She later dies, but Candy meets a third woman during WWII, Johnny (Kerr a third time), assigned to drive him from one locale to another during his campaigns. Meanwhile, Theo - disgusted by Nazi atrocities -- absconds to England, where he reencounters his old friend, now a prattering old shuffler rapidly approaching the end of his career and raving continuously about Nazi conduct (or lack thereof) in battle. Powell and Pressberger adapted Colonel Blimp from a comic strip; it became one of the hallmarks of their careers. ~ Sidney Jenkins, All Movie Guide

The Yellow Canary was one of several wartime collaborations between British producer-director Herbert Wilcox and Hollywood's RKO Radio Pictures. The film stars Wilcox's wife Anna Neagle as pretty aristocrat Sally Maitland. Having alienated many of her friends with her prewar Nazi sympathies, Sally continues hobnobbing with the Third Reich once war has been declared. Actually, her pro-German activities are a sham; she's actually working hand and glove with the British government to smash an Axis spy ring in Canada. Along for the ride is British intelligence officer Jim Garrick (Richard Greene), who ultimately falls in love with Sally. There's a "mystery" angle to the plotline of The Yellow Canary, but it is largely ignored when the story takes a melodramatic turn in the last few reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title is whimsical, but the storyline isn't. Googie Withers plays the frustrated wife of a 1880s Brighton tavern keeper, looking for an easy way out of the relationship. Withers entices a chemist's son to act as accomplice in a tricky murder scheme. She is certain that no one will suspect that her husband has been poisoned by a undetectable chemical. Guess again, Googie. Pink String and Sealing Wax was based on a play by Roland Pertwee, the father of Jon "Dr. Who" Pertwee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Noël Coward's play "Still Life," Brief Encounter is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet by chance in a London railway station and carry on an intense love affair. Sentimental yet down-to-earth and set in pre-World War II England, the film follows British housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), who is on her way home, but catches a cinder in her eye. By chance, she meets Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), who removes it for her. The two talk for a few minutes and strike immediate sparks, but they end up catching different trains. However, both return to the station once a week to meet and, as the film progresses, they grow closer, sharing stories, hopes, and fears about their lives, marriages, and children. One day, when Alec's train is late, both become frantic that they will miss each other. When they finally find each other, they realize that they are in love. But what should be a joyous realization is fraught with tragedy, since both care greatly for their families. Howard and Johnson give flawless performances as two practical, married people who find themselves in a situation in which they know they can never be happy. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Derrick de Marnay stars as a Parisian sculptor who enters into a deadly menage a trois. The girl in the case (Joan Greenwood) is a bit all right; alas, her husband is off his trolley. When he discovers the illicit affair, Hubby, a sculptor in his own right, bumps off his wife and conceals her body in a very clever and (for him) characteristic manner. DeMarnay must resort to the occult to determine the location of his lost love; had he but consulted the movie audience, his problem would have been solved. No relation to the later Hitchcock film of the same title, Frenzy was based on the play L'Angoisse by Pierre Mills and C. Vylars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The White Unicorn would be worth watching if only for that lyrical title. The film itself, however, isn't quite so whimsical, not with disgruntled widow Lucy (Margaret Lockwood) and hard-bitten unwed mother Lottie (Joan Greenwood) at the forefront. Trying to find a purpose in life, Lucy takes a job as warden at a home for wayward girls. She tries to bring comfort to Lottie, who faces a stiff prison sentence for attempting to murder her baby. As the two women compare their life stories, they realize that they're truly sisters under the skin. A "woman's picture" if ever there was one, White Unicorn also affords its male actors (Ian Hunter, Dennis Price, Guy Middleton et. al.) ample opportunity to reach new dramatic heights. Featured in the cast as Lucy's daughter Norey is Margaret Lockwood's real-life daughter Margaret Julia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a man learns that he has six months left to live, and before he dies he decides to get revenge against the man responsible for his incarceration. First he hires a man to kill him and frame the traitor. Later the fellow learns that he is not sick after all. Fortunately his hit man died. Later the man he wants to avenge has a final showdown with him. A struggle ensues and the fellow kills his enemy in self-defense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Chris Massie, Corridor of Mirrors is a British attempt to match the poetry and lyricism of the French cinema of the late 1940s. Eric Portman plays a contemporary artist who tends to live in the past. He surrounds himself with Renaissance artwork, obsessed with the notion that he and his lady friend (Edana Romney) are reincarnations of the lovers in a centuries-old painting. Portman's delusions eventually lead to murder. Critical reaction to Corridor of Mirrors was split right down the middle: American critics found the film profound, while British commentators dismissed it as empty and ponderous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British crime drama offers a freely adapted account of the notorious, daring burglar who became a killer and later paid for his crimes with his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Detective Dyall is requested to solve the mystery of the incinerated heiress, a friend of his secretary Lang. ~ All Movie Guide

In this drama, a frustrated upper-class writer decides that he will find real inspiration by examining his subjects first-hand. This leads him to begin wandering about the seamiest side of town where he witnesses a murder. When an innocent man is arrested, the writer refuses to assist him as the knowledge that he has been "slumming" could destroy his career. The young man is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Upon his release, he hears his own story in a radio drama written by the author. This enables the ex-con to get the necessary evidence to clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide