Yvonne Arnaud Movies

Five years after his first appearance, Jacques Tati's M. Hulot returns with Mon Oncle, a film set along the dividing line between Paris' past and its future. Aligned (as is the film) with the former, Hulot lives in a colorful, overpopulated Parisian neighborhood and, lacking employment, spends his days waiting to pick up his adoring nephew from school, and subsequently escorting him to his parents' ultra-modern house. Filled with gadgets, some turned on only to impress the neighbors, the house seems designed specifically to frustrate Hulot, who unwittingly disrupts its operations at every opportunity. Concerned about his future, Hulot's relatives attempt to find him gainful employment and pair him off with a neighbor, with little success on either front. The nearly dialogue-free film is less concerned with the family's attempts as they relate to an overall plot, and more interested in how they play into its overall scheme of contrasts and allow for Tati's unmistakable sight-and-sound gag set pieces. ~ Keith Phipps, Rovi

The British Woman to Woman was the third film version of the war-horse stage play by Michael Morton. Hollywood's Douglass Montgomery plays David, a Canadian officer attached to the British secret service. Unhappily married to "ice princess" socialite Sylvia (Adele Dixon), David throws himself wholeheartedly into his espionage activities. While on a life-and-death mission in Paris, he falls in love with cabaret dancer Nicolette (Joyce Howard). Forced to evacuate Paris when the Nazis march in, David is unaware that Nicolette is pregnant. Years later, David searches desperately for Nicolette and the child he never knew, unaware that both are living in London. Will a happy ending follow? Well? best to wait until the final fadeout to be sure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scottish stage, radio and film favorite Will Fyffe heads the cast of Neutral Port. The star is cast as crusty Captain Ferguson, who is forced to dry-dock his torpedoed ship at the mythical port of Esperanto. Anxious not to injure its neutrality, the country refuses to allow Ferguson to seize a Nazi supply ship as compensation for the loss of his own vessel. But the good captain takes matters into his own hands by stealing not one but two German ships. When these are shot from under him, the captain returns to Esperanto to face the consequences, but chances are he'll be back in business again before the sun sets. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Gay Adventure is a typically verbose and complicated comedy-drama from the pen of playwright Walter Hackett. A gang of American con artists manage to convince gormless Englishman Darnton (Barry Jones) that he's a direct descendent of French swashbuckler D'Artagnan. Their motive is to shake down a French family for inheritance money, but Darnton has no way of knowing this. Enchanted by the notion that one of his ancestors may have rubbed shoulders with the Three Musketeers, Darnton imagines that he's back in the 15th century, crossing swords with the minions of Cardinal Richelieu. In traditional movie fashion, all of the characters who appear in the "modern" portions of the film likewise show up in period garb in the flashback sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

To save her country from revolutionaries, a princess decides to accept the marriage proposal of a neighboring king she has never met. The king then assigns a naval commander to escort the princess to his kingdom, but unfortunately, the escort is captured in a revolt and the only way he and the princess can escape is to get married. They go through many trials before reaching the kingdom where they are told to have their marriage annulled. But as this film is a romance, the couple, who are by now, truly in love, refuse and must then escape from the angry king. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Tom Walls is both star and director of the airy comedy-melodrama Lady in Danger. Marooned in the revolution-torn kingdom of Ardenburg, British businessman Richard Dexter (Tom Walls) is requested by the leader of the insurgents to safely escort the country's beloved queen (Yvonne Arnaud) to England. Dexter obliges, bundling the queen into his private plane and zooming across the border. He hides the pretty monarch in his apartment, resulting in quite a row when his fiancee Lydia (Anne Grey) shows up unannounced. The farcical possibilities of Lady in Danger are played to the hilt, and the rest is good semi-clean fun. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Aldwych Theater farceurs again combined forces in this adaptation of Will Evans and Arthur Valentine's stage farce Tons of Money. Ralph Lynn (who also co-wrote the script) plays eccentric inventor Aubrey Allington, on the verge of selling one of his creations for millions of pounds. To do this, however, Allington finds it necessary to pose as his long-missing cousin. On cue, the cousin shows up to label Allington a phony -- only to be labelled a phony himself by another man claiming to be the cousin. This goes on for reels and reels until director Tom Walls decides that enough's enough. Also on hand in Tons of Money is Aldwych regular Robertson Hare, expressing his usual panic and disdain over the hectic goings-on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though not as well known as the 1944 remake (which was directed by its star, Clive Brook), this first adaptation of Frederick Lonsdale's stage comedy On Approval was a worthwhile production in its own right. Tom Walls (who, like Brook, also directed) stars as George, the impoverished Duke of Bristol. In hopes of maintaining his lavish lifestyle, George talks American heiress Marie Wislak (Yvonne Arnaud) into a 30-day "trial marriage." This requires both George and Marie to exchange sweethearts, an arrangement that leads to one hilarious situation after another. The fact that neither hero nor heroine are the traditional sympathetic types adds a pinch of tangy spice to the stew. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi