Robert Atkins Movies
Actor/director/producer Robert Atkins enjoyed a long and renowned career on the stage -- for which he was subsequently knighted -- but also made some notable contributions to film and television. Atkins was born in Dulwich, London, England, in 1886, and was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art early in that institution's history. His theater career began early in the twentieth century, and he was sufficiently established by 1913 to make his screen debut, portraying Marcellus in a film adaptation of Hamlet that starred Johnston Forbes-Robertson. His second film appearance didn't take place until 1935 when he played Dr. Johnson in Peg of Old Drury, a prestigious Herbert Wilcox production starring Anna Neagle and Cedric Hardwicke, and featuring a young Jack Hawkins. He appeared in other Wilcox productions before the war and also starred in and directed a handful of early BBC television productions of the late '30s, during the fledgling medium's early days, including a portrayal of Samuel Johnson, no less. Much of Atkins' career revolved around Shakespeare, on-stage and on-screen, and so it was something of an "in" joke when Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger cast him as the ebullient Vicar ("We're shaping Frank -- we're shaping!"), overseeing a rehearsal of an amateur production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the fantasy film A Matter of Life and Death (aka, Stairway to Heaven) (1946). During the immediate postwar period, he rejoined the BBC and produced and directed several small-screen adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. He once again portrayed Dr. Johnson in Roy Ward Baker's time travel fantasy The House in the Square (1951), and the following year was part of an Anglo-German cast in a film adaptation of Otto Nicolai's opera The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Julian Amyes. But after that, his screen work was confined to television. He made his last small-screen appearance on the series Burden of Proof in 1963. Atkins passed away in 1972. Robert Atkins was married twice: to Mary Sumner, whom he divorced, and to Ethel Davey, a film editor. He died in London, England in 1972. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1952
The Merry Wives of Windsor contains one of those complicated, tangled love plots that are typical of Shakespeare's comedies. In this one, lovely Anne Page is the object of affection of three suitors -- Caius, whom her mother favors; Slender, whom her father favors; and Fenton, whom Anne favors. Mr. Page and Mrs. Page plot to have their favored suitor win their daughter's hand, but in the midst of all this comes merry Falstaff. Needing money (as usual), Falstaff hits upon the idea of writing love letters to Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford, thinking that they are both in love with him and will be willing to give him some financial support. The ladies decide to teach the rogue a lesson and arrange a meeting with him. Their husband surreptitiously learn of Falstaff's letters; Mr. Page trusts his wife, but Mr. Ford is suspicious. A series of complications ensue during which Mr. Ford disguises himself to spy upon Falstaff and his wife, and during which the wives put Falstaff in a number of embarrassing situations. At the end, the wives "agree" to meet Falstaff underneath an oak tree one night, and arrange for some fairies to be there to scare him. One of these fairies is to be Anne. Mr. and Mrs. Page plot with Slender and Caius for each to elope with Anne, but they are tricked when she ends up with Fenton. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonja Ziemann, Camilla Spira, (more)
- 1951
I'll Never Forget You is an updated remake of 1933's Berkeley Square; both films used John L. Balderston's stage play as a launching pad. Tyrone Power stars as an American atomic scientist working in London. He lives in an ancestral home which dates back to the 18th century. Late one rainy evening, Power is struck down by lightning just as he enters his home. When he awakens, he finds himself transported back to the 1700s, in the person of his own ancestor. As he falls in love with his beautiful cousin Ann Blyth, Power tries to bring some 20th century technology to his "backward" forebears (this is a departure from the original Berkeley Square, in which the hero so loved the 18th century that he wanted to become part of it). Branded as a lunatic for his "hallucinations" of the future, Power is about to be carted off to Bedlam when he lapses again into unconsciousness. He awakens in his own time, to discover that his long-ago love Ann Blyth was so enamored of him that she died young, without ever marrying. At this point in the original play, the hero shuts himself off from the world, to await his ultimate reunion with his lost love in the afterlife. But I'll Never Forget You couldn't do that to virile matinee idol Tyrone Power, so the adaptors contrive to have him meet a woman who looks just like the girl he left behind 200 years ago. In the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, I'll Never Forget You opens in black and white, then switches to color when Power is sent back in time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth, (more)
- 1949
- NR
Gregory Ratoff is listed as sole director of the 1949 Orson Welles starrer Black Magic, but it is now common knowledge that Welles directed most of this lavish costumer himself. Told in flashback, the film recounts the life and times of notorious 18th-century hypnotist/magician/scam artist Cagliostro (played, but of course, by Welles). Learning the secrets of hypnosis from Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner), Cagliostro exploits this skill to gain wealth, prestige and, on occasion, romance. His downward slide begins when Cagliostro enters into an Anastasia-like scheme to substitute a young lass named Lorenza (Nancy Guild) for French queen Marie Antoinette. The charlatan's partners in crime are gypsies Gilbert (Akim Tamiroff, who manages to out-ham Welles in some scenes) and Zoraida (Valentina Cortese). Longer on style than substance, Black Magic is a wickedly delightful cinematic exercise, with Welles at his overbaked best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Nancy Guild, (more)
- 1949
The British That Dangerous Age is based on Autumn, a play by Margaret Kennedy and Ilya Surgutchoff. Myrna Loy heads the cast as Lady Brooke, the wife of famed barrister Sir Brian Brooke (Roger Livesay). Neglected by her husband, Lady Brooke inaugurates an affair with a younger man. Meanwhile, Monica (Peggy Cummins), Brooke's daughter by a previous marriage, enters into her own romantic entanglement. When Sir Brian falls ill, his wife comes to her senses, and the result is lasting happiness for all, especially Monica. The story is set on the isle of Capri, allowing for several restful and pleasing landscape shots. That Dangerous Age was originally released as If This Be Sin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Livesey, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1946
Also known as Stairway to Heaven, A Matter of Life and Death is the remarkable British fantasy film that became the surprise hit of 1946. David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a World War II RAF pilot who is forced to bail out of his crippled plane without a parachute. He wakes up to find he has landed on Earth utterly unharmed...which wasn't supposed to happen according to the rules of Heaven. A celestial court argues over whether or not to claim Carter's life or to let him survive to wed his American sweetheart (Kim Hunter). During an operation, in which Carter hovers between life and death, he dreams that his spirit is on trial, with God (Abraham Sofaer) as judge and Carter's recently deceased best friend (Roger Livesey) as defense counsel. The film tries to have it both ways by suggesting that the heavenly scenes are all a product of Carter's imagination, but the audience knows better. Among the curious but effective artistic choices in A Matter of Life and Death was the decision to film the earthbound scenes in Technicolor and the Heaven sequences in black-and-white. The film was a product of the adventuresome team known as "The Archers": Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Kim Hunter, (more)
- 1942
The tumultuous life of 18th-century composer Handel is chronicled in this dramatic biography. The story begins when the self-exiled German composer adopts England as his new homeland. While there, he and the bishop of the Anglican Church get into a heated argument while they rehearse a choir for the upcoming royal coronation. The fight is over who is the better Englishman, the bishop, a native, or the ex-patriate Handel, who deliberately chose his nationality. The argumentative composer also has a row with the Prince of Wales, but he makes it up to him by writing the "Messiah." Much of the musical score is comprised of Handel's work. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfred Lawson, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
- 1941
Based on Monica Ewer's novel Ring O'Roses, the British musiccomedy He Found a Star is dominated by the thousand-watt personality of music hall favorite Vic Oliver. He's cast as Lucky Lyndon, a seedy but enthusiastic talent agent specializing in small-time variety acts. Lyndon spends the entire picture searching for the next "big star", never realizing that his secretary Ruth Cavour (played by Sarah Churchill, Winston's daughter) is madly in love with him. By the time he's figured out what's what, Lyndon has nearly come to grief trying to promote ungrateful nightclub songstress Suzanne (Evelyn Dall). An average subject at best, He Found a Star is distinguished by the creative cinematography of Oscar-winning lensman Ernest Palmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vic Oliver, Sarah Churchill, (more)
- 1936
A stellar Hollywood cast gives an extra boost to the atmospheric British feature Everything is Thunder. The story involves a Canadian POW being hidden by a German citizen during World War I. The surprise herein is that the German is Constance Bennett, one hundred percent sympathetic and (eventually) apolitical. Douglass Montgomery is the prisoner, first discovered in Connie's bathroom while the police scramble through her apartment building. Despite the possibility of being liquidated as a traitor, Ms. Bennett, who has a remarkable propensity for disguise, helps the likeable Montgomery reach the allied lines. The pro-German sentiments in Everything is Thunder (and in the Jocelyn L. Hardy book on which it was based) were not all that uncommon in 1936 Britain; funny, though, how this film disappeared from circulation in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Bennett, Douglass Montgomery, (more)
- 1936
Set in 15th-century Italy, The Cardinal stars Matheson Lang as one Cardinal de Medici. Bound by the rules of the confessional, the cardinal is unable to disclose the multitude of sins revealed to him by one of his most influential parishioners. De Medici's dilemma is compounded by the fact that the confessor has committed a murder for which the Cardinal's brother has been arrested. The basic plot gimmick was good for another go-round in the 1953 Hitchcock flick I Confess. This 7-reel British film was based on a play by Louis N. Parker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matheson Lang, Eric Portman, (more)
- 1936
This period drama is based on the relationship between 18th-century British stage stars Peg Woffington and David Garrick. The story begins as Woffington leaves Dublin to be with her lover who is an aspiring actor. Unfortunately, by the time she arrives, he has found another, causing her to try her hand at acting which in turn gives her the chance to meet Garrick, a popular actor who becomes her mentor. Under his expert tutelage, she becomes a famous actress at the Drury Lane Theatre where they eventually fall in love. Unfortunately, Woffington has a weak heart and during a performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It collapses and dies soon afterward. Actually, Peg Woffington lived three years beyond the attack, but that isn't nearly as dramatic. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, (more)
- 1913
Johnston Forbes-Robertson, considered the greatest Hamlet of his era, starred in this 6-reel adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. Also featured was Forbes-Robertson's wife Gertrude Elliot as Ophelia. Existing stills and clips reveal that both actors were rather along in years. This is the sort of thing that can be compensated for in a stage production, but the cruelty of the camera--at least in 1913--exposed every liver spot and dewlap. Director Hay Plumb showed little cinematic imagination in conveying the melancholy tale of the Prince of Denmark, but the production scored on its sumptuousness and professionalism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
