Peggy Evans Movies
- 1953
In this murder mystery, a police detective begins suspecting that his sister's newest beau is a murderer. Unfortunately, he is dead wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
All the various Bulldog Drummond movie series had run their courses by 1951; nonetheless, MGM decided to revive the property (and simultaneously liquidate some "frozen funds") with the British-filmed Calling Bulldog Drummond. Walter Pidgeon stars as novelist Sapper's soldier-of-fortune, here retooled as a respectable retired military officer. Summoned to London by Scotland Yard, Drummond is assigned to break up a dangerous criminal gang. He is aided by female undercover officer Helen Smith (Margaret Leighton), who turns out to be not much help at all. Trapped in a bombed-out building and surrounded by hulking henchmen, Drummond seems to have run out of luck. Some of the film's brightest moments are provided by David Tomlinson as a traditional "silly ass" type who is lot smarter than he seems. Bernard Lee, the future "M" in the James Bond films of the 1960s, appears as a secondary villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, (more)
- 1949
The Blue Lamp was an immensely popular British crime film (and the winner of the BFA Award), concentrating on interrelated episodes in the lives of several London policemen. Jack Warner heads the cast as George Dixon, a veteran "bobby" who is murdered by scuzzy small-time criminals Dirk Bogarde and Patrick Doonan. Rookie cop Jimmy Hanley, who'd looked upon Warner as a father figure, is instrumental in bringing the crooks to justice. The semi-documentary style of The Blue Lamp could not help but have been an influence on Jack Webb's Dragnet. Jack Warner proved so popular in the character of George Dixon that he was brought back from the dead to star in the BBC TV series Dixon of Dock Green. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, (more)
- 1948
Ann Markham (Margaret Lockwood) is an employee with the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro. Though ostensibly businesslike and intelligent, Ann can't help falling in love with irresponsible Charlie Kent (Griffith Jones). On their wedding day, Ann discovers that Charlie is on the lam from fraud charges throughout the world. Still, she believes his promise that he'll mend his ways once they've tied the nuptial knot. Not unexpectedly, Charlie goes back on his word, and it is up to handsome millionaire Ashley Morehouse (Norman Wooland) to save Ann from her poor judgment. It was surprising to see the British film industry's resident "wicked lady" Margaret Lockwood playing so gullible a character -- so surprising, in fact, that audiences tended to stay away from Look Before You Love in droves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Griffith Jones, (more)
- 1948
Long before he became the Disney Studios' favorite stuffy Brit, David Tomlinson enjoyed top billing in the 1948 comedy Love in Waiting. The main story is carried by Peggy Evans and Elspeth Gray, cast as a pair of cute waitresses. Evans makes the mistake of crossing a fellow employee, and as a result she is set up on a petty theft charge. Her antagonist loses out in the end, and all is well. Originally aimed at the British "home market," Love in Waiting was telecast to death in the early days of American TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Produced, directed and scripted by Peter Ustinov (who did not star), Secret Flight was released in Great Britain in 1946, but not distributed in the U.S. until 1951 -- at which time it was panned as being out-of-date! The fact-based screenplay details the efforts of five dedicated British scientists to develop Radar and other preventative measures on the eve of WW II. The five "boffins" are played by Ralph Richardson, Raymond Huntley, John Laurie, Ernest Jay and David Tomlinson. Some excitement is engendered when a test pilot (Richard Attenborough) cooperates with the scientists' remote-control airflight experiments. Given the film's sober treatment of certain British wartime military maneuvers, it is surprising that Peter Ustinov frequently chooses to depict the scientists as Dr. Watson-style comic figures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Raymond Huntley, (more)
