Annie Esmond Movies

Released in the US as The Randolph Family, Dear Octopus was based on the internationally popular play by Dodie Smith. The story is motivated by the Golden Wedding anniversary of Charles and Dora Randolph (Frederick Leister, Helen Haye). As the relatives gather, each reveals his or her personal quirks and shortcomings. Caught in the middle is family secretary Penny Fenton (Margaret Lockwood), who has the unenviable task of sorting and smoothing out the family's many deep-set hostilities and jealousies so that a good time will be had by all. The basic premise of Dear Octopus is established early on; the rest of the film is variations on a single theme, albeit consistently amusing ones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the Waters sisters and their charges are accused of stealing Esmond's gems, they work to uncover the real thieves. ~ All Movie Guide

Adapted from the best-selling novel by K. J. Benes, A Stolen Life serves as a tour de force for German actress Elizabeth Bergner, whose husband Paul Czinner directed the film. Bergner stars as identical twins Sylvina and Martina, whose mild sibling rivalry intensifies when one of the girls tricks the other's sweetheart Alan McKenzie (Michael Redgrave) into proposing to the wrong twin. While Alan is away on business, his new bride and her sister go off on a yachting expedition. A storm at sea capsizes the vessel, wherupon one of the twins-the unmarried one--is drowned. As the other girl recovers, she finds that everyone assumes that she's actually her lookalike sister. Assuming the dead woman's identity, the surviving girl hopes to resume her pre-marital romance with Alan-only to discover that her sister had been carrying on a clandestine affair. If the plot sounds familiar, it's because A Stolen Life was remade in 1946 with Bette Davis as the sisters and Glenn Ford as the confused husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a nephew is accused of murdering his aunt who had just refused to loan him some money. Unfortunately, he is not the real culprit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A broken string of pearls provides the basis for this comedy. The pearls are lost by a woman who had borrowed the necklace to wear to a dance. It wouldn't be such a problem had not the pearls been loaned to her husband as security for a business deal. She tries to get them repaired, but they are stolen. Thus begins her frantic search. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this satire of British-American relations, Edward G. Robinson stars as Dan Armstrong, a hard-sell American saleman whose company sends him to England to learn how to tone down his act. There he meets some distant relatives, the aristocrats Sir Peter and Lady Challoner (Arthur Wontner and Annie Esmond). They invite him to their mansion for the weekend, where among the house guests are the penniless aristocrats the Duke and Duchess of Glenavon (Nigel Bruce and Constance Collier) and their daughter Lady Patricia (Luli Deste), as well as a conniving stockbroker, Henry Graham Manningdale (Ralph Richardson). The Duke and Duchess own only an apparently worthless mine in Rhodesia that supposedly contains a metal called magnelite. Manningdale says that he will develop the mine in exchange for permission to marry Lady Patricia. Armstrong also has designs on Patricia, however, and he engineers a scheme to start a company and sell stock in the mine. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The troubles of two brothers living in a tiny English village are chronicled in this family drama. The trouble begins when a single mother and her newborn begin staying in their home. One of the brothers gets involved with a gold-digger who succeeds in absconding with much of the brother's money. Fortunately, the other brother comes to his rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This epic costume drama is set in turn-of-the-century Turkey and chronicles the ruthless reign of a paranoid ruler who begins killing everyone he suspects of treachery against him. The despot's loyal chief of police obediently enacts his master's bloody whims until he too stands accused of conspiracy and is sentenced to die. To save him, his lover, a Viennese actress, offers to join the despot's harem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally released in 1932, Men of Tomorrow represented the film debut of Robert Donat. The story follows a young, idealistic Oxford student in the years following his graduation. Now a successful novelist, Allen Shepherd (Maurice Bradell) has married college sweetheart Jane Anderson (Joan Gardner). A firm proponent of the "woman's place is in the home" school, Allen walks out on Jane when she accepts a teaching post in Oxford's chemistry department. Eventually he realizes what a heel he's been, and the couple is reunited. Though both Robert Donat and Merle Oberon are cast in supporting roles, they were given top billing when Men of Tomorrow was distributed in the U.S. in 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a husband gets bored with his own wife, and therefore begins pursuing the wife of his best friend. The two then run away together. Things are fine until he realizes that the woman is totally banana crackers. He then returns to his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Producer and director (Alexander Korda) followed up The Private Life of Henry VIII (one of the first internationally successful British films) with this historical comedy. After years in exile, the great lover Don Juan (Douglas Fairbanks) returns to Seville, the city of his salad days. However, Don Juan is now married and middle-aged, and his days as a spoiler of women seem to be behind him. When he learns that a young man in town (Barry McKay) has been posing as him and making time with the local ladies, Don decides to prove who the great lover truly is and attempts the seduction of Antonia (Merle Oberon), a beautiful dancer. However, Don's doctor informs him that girl-hunting will tax his fragile health, and his wife Dolores (Benita Hume) will no longer turn a blind eye to his infidelity. When the impostor is killed by a jealous husband, Don is relieved, as his "death" allows him to retire from his career as a rake with his reputation intact. But when the old itch returns, Don makes the sad discovery that if he can't convince women he's Don Juan, they simply aren't interested in him. The Private Life of Don Juan provided one of the few speaking roles for silent screen swashbuckler Douglas Fairbanks, and proved to be his last picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this 1934 drama, a rabid feminist utterly despises all men. She changes her tune when her financial benefactor, her aunt, pays her a surprise visit in London. The aunt believes her niece is happily married. To maintain the illusion, the niece quickly gets married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide