Bramwell Fletcher Movies

One of the first important distinctions to be made about this version of King Lear is that it is not the same version directed by Peter Brook in 1971. Brook was responsible for the staging of this 1953 version, but it was Andrew McCullough who put it to film. Orson Welles portrays the titular character, one of the most memorable and important characters from the Shakespearean canon. The story begins with the famous request Lear makes of his daughters: to express how much they love him. In exchange, Lear will divide his land and power amongst them based on the extent of their answers. Cordelia (Natasha Parry), the youngest and the one whom Lear loves the most, answers very modestly -- yet honestly --and incurs the wrath of Lear, who not only withholds his gift to her, but banishes her as well. Lear divides his lands and power between the two older daughters, Goneril (Beatrice Straight) and Regan (Margaret Phillips), who intend to take swift and complete control of their father's power almost instantaneously. Lear is reduced to an angry, bitter man who realizes too late what has happened. After a series of indignities are inflicted upon him by his daughters, he retreats into a storm, vowing revenge. This film is an above-average adaptation with a very capable cast and a well-staged presentation. The subplot of Gloucester and his sons has been removed, however, presumably in interests of time conservation, but it doesn't seriously hinder the story. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Though Henry Fonda is top-billed in The Immortal Sergeant, the title character is played by Thomas Mitchell. Set in the Libyan Desert during WW2, the story finds tough but compassionate British Eighth Army sergeant Kelly (Thomas Mitchell) in charge of a 14-man patrol. Kelly's corporal is Colin Spence (Henry Fonda), a shy and retiring Canadian. When the squad becomes lost in the desert, it is the guidance and example of Kelly that brings the timid Spence out of his shell. Kelly ultimately dies, leaving Spence in charge of the surviving soldiers. Applying the lessons learned from the Immortal Sergeant, Spence is able to lead his comrades back to allied lines, becoming a hero in the process. Second-billed Maureen O'Hara plays Spence's sweetheart in a series of gratuitous but effective flashbacks. Immortal Sergeant was based on the novel by John Brophy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the close of World War I, shell-shocked amnesia victim Ronald Colman is sequestered in a London sanitarium; with no identity and no next of kin, he has nowhere else to go. Unable to stand the loneliness, Colman wanders into the streets, then stumbles into a music hall, where he is befriended by good-natured entertainer Greer Garson. That Colman and Garson fall in love and marry should surprise no one; what is surprising, at least to Colman, is that he discovers that he has a talent for writing. Three years pass: while in Liverpool to sell one of his stories, Colman is struck down by a speeding car. When he comes to, he has gained full memory of his true identity; alas, he has completely forgotten both Garson and their child. Returning to his well-to-do relatives, Colman takes over the family business. Having lost her child, the distraught Garson seeks out the missing Colman. Psychiatrist Philip Dorn helps Garson, advising her that to reveal her identity may prove a fatal shock for her husband. To stay near him all the same, Garson takes a job as Colman's secretary. "Strangely" attracted to Garson, Colman falls in love with her all over again. Will there be yet another memory lapse? Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't believe a minute of Random Harvest, but the magic spell woven by the stars and by author James Hilton (Lost Horizon, Goodbye Mr. Chips etc.) transforms the wildly incredible into the wholly credible (just one quibble: isn't Colman a bit long in tooth as a "young" World War I veteran?) The film was one of MGM's biggest hits in 1942--indeed, one of the biggest in the studio's history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a novelist whose latest book details the 'perfect murder,' finds himself accused of murdering the husband of the woman he loves--for real. He is accused by his own father. Later it is discovered that the real killer is the woman's mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This film from director Harold Young is the second big-screen adaptation of Baroness Emmuska Orczy's 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Leslie Howard stars as Sir Percy Blakeney, a British aristocrat who rescues innocent victims of the French Revolution under the guise of The Scarlet Pimpernel while maintaining the identity of a foppish dandy by day. Even his wife, Lady Marguerite Blakeney (Merle Oberon), is unaware of Percy's heroic alter-ego as he and his band of likeminded masked men save countless people from the guillotine. Perhaps the most famous adaptation of the classic book, The Scarlet Pimpernel would later be lampooned in 1966's Don't Lose Your Head. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Distantly related to Frederick Lewis Allen's non-fiction book of the same name, Only Yesterday uses fictional characters to trace the years between 1917 and 1929. Wealthy New Yorker John Boles recalls a long-ago affair with southern belle Margaret Sullavan. She gave birth to his child without ever naming the father, then moved to New York herself and set up a dress shop. As the stock-market crash of 1929 wipes out his life savings, Boles becomes remorseful over how he's forgotten Sullavan, who is now dying. He acknowledges that he is the father of her child, and promises to make a good life for the boy despite his dire financial situation. Only Yesterday opens with a remarkable montage sequence showing the devastating effects of the Depression; after that, it never quite gains momentum despite the superb performance of Margaret Sullavan (in her film debut). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film version of the Jack DeLeon-Jack Celestin play Silent Witness stars Lionel Atwill in his original stage role of Sir Austin Howard. When his son Anthony (Bramwell Fletcher) strangles his mistress Nora Selmer (Greta Niesen) in a fit of jealous rage, Sir Austin gallantly takes the blame, secure in the belief that he will not only be able to clear himself in court, but keep his son's name out of the case. Alas, Sir Austin's strategy blows up in his face when it is revealed that the murder victim held onto life long enough to serve as the "silent witness" to her own demise. All of this is offered in flashback form, to excellent effect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Katharine Hepburn made her auspicious film debut in the otherwise undistinguished A Bill of Divorcement. Based on a play by Clemence Dane, the film is set on the day that Hepburn's mother, Billie Burke, is to divorce her insane and long-institutionalized husband John Barrymore. But Barrymore escapes from the asylum and returns home, only vaguely aware of the passage of time (he was shell-shocked during WWI). His presence puts Burke in an uncomfortable spot, especially since she plans to wed Paul Cavanaugh. Pressured by her idiotically traditional family to renew her vows with her first husband, Burke is saved from a lifetime of misery by her spunky daughter Hepburn, who takes care of her child-like father. The film's attitude towards male-female relationships, not to mention its archaic approach to the problem of mental illness, make Bill of Divorcement a chore to sit through today. Its saving grace is the warm rapport between Katharine Hepburn and John Barrymore (contrary to Hollywood legend, they did not despise one another). Even given its dated quality, Bill of Divorcement is more palatable than its empty 1940 remake, which starred Maureen O'Hara and Adolphe Menjou. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the mystery series, the Chinese criminal mastermind exacts revenge upon his enemy Fletcher, the man responsible for slaughtering Manchu's wife and son during an uprising. To get even, he sends out his daughter to kill Fletcher, but en route, she meets up with a Scotland Yard detective and her plans are waylaid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, the love affair between an American pilot and a French spy is chronicled. Also involved is the spy's father, also an agent. Although the story begins happily, by the film's end, tragedy ensues. Songs include: "Every Little While," "Boys March," "Stolen Dreams," and "You Ought to See Sweet Marguerite." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a Russian woman marries a British aristocrat, bears him a daughter, and is forced to abandon them by his snooty family when he decides to run for Parliament because constituents would disapprove of her eccentric Russian ways. The poor wife moves to Paris and many years pass. The daughter travels to Paris, and there unknowingly meets her mother who gives her some sage advice when the young woman falls in love with a man her father disapproves of. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The third in a succession of film adaptations of author E.W. Hornung's novel Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman, this version was the first to also be produced in sound. Ronald Colman stars as A.J. Raffles, an utterly unflappable British gentleman cricket player who by night is secretly a thief known in the press as The Amateur Cracksman and causing apoplectic fits at Scotland Yard. Raffles has fallen in love with society girl Gwen Manders (Kay Francis) and intends to give up his criminal pursuits, but first he must help an indebted pal, Bunny (Bramwell Fletcher) by stealing a valuable necklace owned by Lady Melrose (Alison Skipworth) at a weekend soiree. Suspecting that Raffles and the Cracksman are one and the same, Inspector McKenzie (David Torrence) is a guest at the same party, with a keen eye peeled at Raffles. In the meantime, rival crook Crawshaw (John Rogers) also has designs on the necklace, setting himself as an unfortunately perfect scapegoat. Although George Fitzmaurice was credited as the sole director of Raffles (1930), he was actually the replacement for Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, who was fired during production. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide