Maudie Edwards Movies
Roger Corman's New World Pictures took a stab at the tale of the nefarious real-life graverobbers -- and filled it with the studio's usual quota of nudity, softcore sex and tacky humor. The result is pretty much as one would expect -- nothing to rival the excellent Flesh and the Fiends, or even Tod Slaughter's campy The Greed of William Hart. Harry Andrews plays the unscrupulous Dr. Knox, who enlists the aid of grave-plundering dirtbags Derren Nesbitt and Glynn Edwards in obtaining fresh cadavers for the medical academy. When the demand increases and local cemeteries begin to run dry, the industrious pair turn to the living to keep the doctor supplied. This time out, Burke and Hare are particularly randy fellows, who spend more time carousing in Edinburgh whorehouses than stalking their prey. Despite the macabre subject matter, the producers opted for sexploitation over gruesome horror, but the end result is decidedly dull. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
This film is a faithful rendition of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' last major poem, Under Milk Wood. It affectionately examines the day-to-day life of the inhabitants of a small Welsh fishing village. The poem is narrated by Richard Burton, himself a Welshman and a great aficionado of Thomas' work. The narrative framework comes through the character of Captain Cat (Peter O'Toole), a retired seaman who, though blind, knows the village and its inhabitants so well, it is as if he could see. The colorful characters of the village are delineated in short vignettes by a host of very distinguished British actors. Elizabeth Taylor, Burton's wife at the time, makes a brief appearance as Rosie Probert. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1962
Jazz musician Acker Bilk plays himself in this cinematic jam session of music, melodrama, and low comedy. The film's title is literal: the plot involves a jazz band comprised of ex-convicts. Once released, they supposedly go straight, taking their show on the road. Actually, their tour is a subterfuge to commit a series of robberies. Jimmy Thompson appears in Band of Thieves for comedy relief, while Jennifer Jayne hangs around for sex appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Welsh librarian John Lewis (Peter Sellers), unhappily married to Jean Lewis (Virginia Maskell), falls in love with the glamorous Elizabeth Gruffydd Williams (Mai Zetterling). Zetterling is likewise saddled with a dull spouse, wealthy Vernon Gruffyd-Williams (Raymond Huntley). Finding themselves to be kindred spirits, Sellers and Zetterling plan an illicit affair. Alas, none of their carefully calculated schemes for a romantic tryst come to fruition thanks to a series of comic (but utterly credible) complications.
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1959
In this comedy, a common chemist lives up to his lineage (he's a direct descendant of Dr. Jekyll), and creates a concoction which changes him into a suave jewel thief. After pulling off a caper, the thief becomes his original self and then helps bring in a gang of robbers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
In this drama, the host of a radio crime show finds himself mixed up with real gangsters after he re-creates a notorious murder on the air. He uses his knowledge of criminology to foil the gang's wicked scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Julien Vedey wrote, directed and starred in the British quickie Take a Powder. Vedey plays a medicine show con man who is mistaken for a brilliant atomic scientist. In Prisoner of Zenda fashion, the phony takes the place of the genuine article and is put in charge of a hospital (an atomic scientist running a hospital? Sure, why not?) A few laughs are scattered throughout the film's 58 minutes...very few. The sole distinguishing factor of Take a Powder is the above-average cinematography by Ernest Palmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this comedy, a funeral director, thinking himself quite clever, hides his cash in his wife's girdle. Trouble ensues when she gives it away. While the director makes a mad dash to find it, it seems that his wife may be attracted to another. Fortunately peace is restored when he finds his money and his wife comes back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
In this entry in the comedy series, Frank Randle plays a janitor at a girl's school. Mayhem ensues when he discovers that his estranged daughter is one of the students. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Future Doctor Who star William Hartnell plays the leading role in the British second feature Murder in Reverse. Hartnell portrays a man who has spent 15 years in prison on a murder charge. Not only is he innocent, but the murder never took place. Once released, Hartnell tracks down his "victim" and kills him in full view of a crowded courtroom. He then laughingly dares the authorities to convict him again for a murder he's supposed to have already committed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, (more)
- 1945
Australian-born comic actor Vic Oliver was usually at his best on-screen when teamed with an unusually talented leading lady. Oliver's vis-a-vis in the British I'll be Your Sweetheart was film favorite Margaret Lockwood. Set in the early 1900s, the film concerns the trials and tribulations of musical-hall diva Edie Story (Lockwood), whose happy-go-lucky partner is one Sam Kahn (Oliver). Halfway through the film, Kahn is shunted to the background when Edie falls in love with aspiring songwriter Bob Fielding, played by up-and-coming Michael Rennie. The outcome of the plot is predicated on a Parliamentary decision which rescued songwriters from being gypped out of their royalties by unscrupulous "pirate" publishers, which happens more than once in the early reels to the luckless Fielding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Vic Oliver, (more)
- 1945
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
- Starring:
- Mervyn Johns, Mary Merrall, (more)
- 1943
The Shipbuilders is a rare film of true merit from prolific British "quota quickie" director John Baxter. Clive Brook heads the cast as the owner of a shipbuilding firm, presently dedicated to the War effort. Though naturally concerned that his business will flag once the war is over, it is shown that Brook has nothing to worry about, so long as diligent, patriotic men like riveter Morland Graham are on his payroll. The film's message is clear: While it's important to think of one's service to the present National Crisis, it is equally important to take the Future into consideration. Actual footage shipbuilders at work give this hastily assembled patriotic exercise a veneer of reality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Brook
- 1943
Will Hay, he of the pince-nez, outraged sniff, and overall demeanor of dignified incompetence, stars in (and codirects) another of his popular British comedies. In My Learned Friend, Hay is a seedy lawyer, one of several people targeted for death by a vengeful escaped convict. As the criminal's victims pile up, Hay can't help but feel a bit insecure. When he ends up the only survivor on the list, Hay begins to really worry. A slapstick climax on the clock-face of Big Ben caps this rapid-fire comedy of murders. Released in 1943, My Learned Friend was Will Hay's final film; he died of a lingering illness in 1949. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Hay, Claude Hulbert, (more)
- 1936
The real-life Flying Medical Association of Australia was the inspiration for the box-office hit The Flying Doctor. Hollywood's Charles Farrell is cast as "sundowner" Sandy Nelson, who aspires to tend to the sick in the Austrian outback. He gets his chance when he joins the F.M.A., taking aviation training to become a "flying doctor." Nelson proves his mettle during a medical emergency, in which he's required to ship supplies to a remote, desolate and virtually impenetrable region. The Flying Doctor was also the title of a late 1950s series, again based on the exploits of the F.M.A. and again featuring an American screen favorite (Richard Denning) in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Farrell, Mary Maguire, (more)
