Frank Atkinson Movies
Lancashire-born character actor Frank Atkinson appeared in at least 130 films in the 33 years between the advent of sound in 1930 and his death in 1963. His work extended to both sides of the Atlantic -- although he worked primarily in his native England, he did go over to Hollywood in the mid-1930's, where he seemed to keep busy at Fox. He was often in roles too small to be credited, but that didn't stop him from doing a memorable turn (or two) in pictures. Tall and slender, and with gaunt facial features that lent themselves to looks of eccentricity, and with a highly cultured speaking voice, he could melt unobtrusively into a scene, as an anonymous bit-player, or could, with the utterance of a few words or a look, transform himself into a wryly comedic presence -- he played everything from jailers, guards, garage attendants, and soldiers to upper-class twits, and, in a manner unique to his era, sometimes got into some gender-bending portrayals. His most interesting attributes were shown off in a pair of Raoul Walsh-directed features: Sailor's Luck (1933), starring James Dunn and Sally Eilers, in which Atkinson plays an overtly gay swimming pool attendant in an important scene in the middle of the picture; and in Me And My Gal (1932), an excellent romantic comedy/thriller starring Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett, in which he turns in a brief (but wonderfully rewarding) comedic tour-de-force as the funniest of a trio of effete, drunken waterfront tavern patrons, debating the matter of the type of fish with which one of them has been assaulted. His roles were usually not named, but Atkinson was highly regarded enough so that in The Green Cockatoo, he gets some memorable lines as a wry-toned butler named Provero, whose name becomes a comical issue. Atkinson also wrote screenplays and scripts for various British films in the 1930's, in genres ranging from light comedy to thrillers. Toward the end of his career, he also worked extensively in British television, on series such as Z-Cars and The Saint, and in 1963, the year of his death -- at age 69 -- he was in three television episodes as well as chalking up an uncredit appearance in Murder At the Gallop. In more recent years, thanks to the activity of various researches and scholars, and revivals of Fox's pre-Code features, especially Sailor's Luck, Atkinson has been mentioned in articles and books dealing with gay images and personae in Hollywood films. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1964
The British town of Warlock is scandalized by Hazell's cottage-turned-tearoom with the local inspector found in a compromising situation and the marriage of Hazell to the mayor. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1961
This microcosmic comedy/drama is set in the kitchen of a swank London restaurant. The kitchen's unofficial father-figure is chef Carl Mohner, who gleefully advises his fellow workers to enjoy life and to seek their heart's desires. But no one is around to boost Mohner's morale when his planned marriage to waitress Mary Yeomans is shot down in flames. This culinary variation of the Grand Hotel theme was the handiwork of screenwriter Sidney Cole. Because of its nonstop action and huge cast, the stage adaptation of The Kitchen has become a favorite of local repertory theatres in both England and the US. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Möhner, Eric Pohlmann, (more)
- 1959
This rollicking political satire stars Ian Carmichael as an impressionable British TV personality. His vanity is stroked by a group of political managers who talk him into running on the Conservative ticket during a political campaign. The managers hope that Carmichael's name value will draw voters, but don't intend to permit him anything like actual legislative power. Carmichael suddenly develops an abiding interest in politics when he meets his Labour Party opponent--lovely Patricia Breden. Left, Right and Center is blessed with an abundance of supporting character comedians, headed by Alistair Sim as Carmichael's avaricious uncle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Bredin, Eric Barker, (more)
- 1957
Norman Wisdom, Britain's much-funnier answer to Jerry Lewis, stars in Just My Luck. Wisdom plays a humble jewelry-store clerk who begins playing the horses, the better to raise enough money to buy a fancy gift for girlfriend Anne (Jill Dixon). Much to his surprise, Wisdom wins a fortune at the track: collecting the money, however, may not be as simple as he thinks. The funniest scene finds our hapless hero being trundled off to the hospital for a wholly unecessary operation; also good for laughs is a movie-house routine dominated by Carry On regular Joan Sims. Curiously, Just My Luck was bypassed by American distributors in favor of lesser Norman Wisdom vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Jill Dixon, (more)
- 1957
In this drama, the commanding officer of a British Royal Air Force flight training school must deal with an ornery, irresponsible cadet. The lad reminds the officer of himself when he was young. It also reminds him that his own youthful arrogance and foolishness caused the death of the new recruit's father. The young man only settles down when the C.O. saves him during maneuvers. The boy is injured during the flight which gives him serious pause for thought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, (more)
- 1957
Three Men in a Boat is the second film version of the comic novel by Jerome K. Jerome. The titular trio is played by popular British comedian Jimmy Edwards, up-and-coming leading man Laurence Harvey and stalwart character actor David Tomlinson. Escaping their dull weekday pursuit, the three pals take a pleasure excursion down the Thames in a small boat, encountering all sorts of comic and romantic complications. Jill Ireland makes an early screen appearance as a young lady who briefly bewitches the bookish Harvey. Though dated, Three Men in a Boat was just as capable of eliciting laughter as it had been in its first cinematic incarnation in 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, (more)
- 1957
Off-his-trolley concert pianist Stephen Murray craves both money and publicity. He hopes to attain both by kidnapping beauteous lady journalist Patricia Dainton. Notifying the London media, Murray announces that unless his conditions are met, Dainton will be murdered five days hence "at the stroke of nine". It is the "helpless" heroine herself who engineers the psychopath's downfall. Leading lady Patricia Dainton, who'd begun her career in precocious teen-ager roles, made only a handful of films after At the Stroke of Nine before her 1960 retirement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
This not-so-subtle variation on Val Lewton's classic Cat People (1942) is enlivened by the presence of exotic Barbara Shelley -- who would later grace many Hammer Studios productions (most notably Terence Fisher's Dracula -- Prince of Darkness) with her feline beauty. Shelley plays Leonora, a woman who believes she has inherited a curse which will transform her spirit into the body of a ferocious, man-eating leopard. Though her disbelieving psychiatrist (Robert Ayres) tries to persuade her that this belief is merely a by-product of her rage toward her unfaithful husband, the vengeful "phantom" cat she releases from her subconscious triggers the curse and spells doom not only for those who betrayed her, but perhaps for Leonora's own soul as well. Despite a superb performance by the smoldering Shelley and noir-ish direction from Alfred Shaughnessy (though nothing to compete with that of Jacques Tourneur), it's hard to overlook the obvious parallels to Lewton's film, which outclasses it in nearly every respect and makes the entire effort seem unnecessary. Produced by British Lion, this film was later distributed in the United States by the ubiquitous American International Pictures, sometimes under the title Cat Woman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, (more)
- 1956
Wicked as They Come stars Arlene Dahl as Kathy Allen, whose sour attitude on life has been formed by a sexual assault in her childhood. Rising out of the shabbiness of the Lower East Side, Kathy ruthlessly climbs the social and financial ladder by using and then abandoning a series of gullible older men. When she finally gets what she wants out of life, it still isn't enough, and it is this insatiability that leads to her downfall. Extensive location filming in London and Paris adds an exotic touch to this predictable melodrama. Wicked as They Come is based on Portrait in Smoke, a novel by Bill Ballington. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arlene Dahl, Philip Carey, (more)
The debate still rages as to whether Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934 version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music of Bernard Herrmann (who appears on-camera, typecast as a symphony conductor). Though the locale of the opening scenes shifts from Switzerland to French Morocco in the newer version, the basic plot remains the same. American tourists James Stewart and Doris Day are witness to the street killing of a Frenchman (Daniel Gelin) they've recently befriended. Before breathing his last, the murder victim whispers a secret to Stewart (the Cinemascope lens turns this standard closeup into a truly grotesque vignette). Stewart knows that a political assassination will occur during a concert at London's Albert Hall, but is unable to tell the police: his son (a daughter in the original) has been kidnapped by foreign agents to insure Stewart's silence. The original script for Man Who Knew too Much was expanded and updated by John Michael Hayes and Angus McPhail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Doris Day, (more)
- 1956
In this crime drama, the trouble begins when a crook cheats his buddies at a dog track, stuffs his loot into a suitcase, and flees. He then gives the suitcase to his lover who in turn gives it to her sister just before she takes a bus to the coast. Her actions rouse the suspicions of an observant reporter. Later the crook manages to catch up with the sisters. Unfortunately, the sisters catch them at the same time and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
In this suspense film, a woman journeys home to Great Britain to attend the funeral of her parents, who according to the official report seemed to have died naturally at the same time. But the woman doesn't believe this. She thinks her stepmother, a nurse who took care of the aged couple had something to do with it. She goes to the authorities, but is unable to persuade them to look into it because the step-mother is a prominent, respected citizen in town. The young woman, who stands to inherit her father's considerable wealth when she comes of age, continues to look into it, even though she knows her own life is in jeopardy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mona Freeman, Jean Kent, (more)
- 1954
In this actioner, a Yankee charter pilot finds himself entangled with art thieves who have just stolen the priceless object of the title from a museum. He ends up following the robbers to Battersea. There he saves a young woman from the crooks and helps retrieve the Buddha. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Lease of Life was the next-to-last film in the relatively short cinema career of actor Robert Donat. Written for the screen by Eric Ambler, the story is set in a small rural community, where William Thorn (Donat) serves as parson. Upon learning that he has only a year to live, Thorn begins to see his parishioners, and his purpose on earth, in a whole new light. The plot is thickened when a dying villager puts his money into the parson's care; in dire need of cash to pay for his daughter's school tuition, Thorn is sorely tempted to dip into the funds himself. Exceptionally well cast, Lease of Life features Kay Walsh as Thorn's wife, Adrienne Corri as their daughter and Vida Hope as the wealthy villager's grasping missus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1954
The British The Black Rider was inevitably listed as a "mystery" or "drama" in TV Guide back in the 1950s and 1960s. Don't you believe it! The star is former juvenile actor Jimmy Hanley, who plays a young, bright-eyed (but not necessarily bright) reporter. Hanley investigates reports that a ghostly "black rider" is haunting a local castle. In truth, the castle is being used as a hideout by smugglers. Hanley enlists the aid of a local motorcycle gang to round up the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Robert Beatty stars in this rapid-fire British programmer as an innocent bystander mixed up with drug smugglers. When things look darkest, Beatty is helped out by femme fatale Elizabeth Sellars. The smugglers are routed, and the figurative broken horseshoe of the title is mended so far as Beatty is concerned. The film was based on a popular British TV series by Francis Durbridge. Apparently, Broken Horse-Shoe wasn't popular enough to make it into Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide, which contains write-ups on virtually every other British TV show-cum-B picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
In this crime drama an American is assigned to guard a US art exhibit in London to protect one of da Vinci's most priceless paintings, "Madonna and Child." A series of art thefts has put the museum officials on red alert and they anxiously await the painting's arrival. Unfortunately, the painting is stolen en route to the show and replaced by an imitation. The intrepid guard follows the thieves to a private gallery run by a wealthy criminal. The film contains some useful and interesting information on art forgeries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Coleen Gray, (more)
- 1953
Released in the U.S. as Terror on a Train, the British MGM production Time Bomb is brief, to the point, and so suspenseful it hurts. Glenn Ford stars as Peter Lyncourt, who during WW II had been in charge of a bomb demolition unit. As luck would have it, Lyncourt and his French wife Janine (Anne Vernon) are in the vicinity when a freight train carrying explosives to a dockyard chugs into view. Someone has placed a time bomb on the train, forcing an evacuation of the neighborhood and the summoning of the "UXB" corps. When all is said and done, however, it is up to Lyncourt to defuse the bomb, if he can locate the well-hidden fuse, that is! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Anne Vernon, (more)
- 1953
The first Ealing Studios comedy shot in color, Titfield Thunderbolt takes place in a tiny British village serviced by a branch railway line. When the government plans to close the line down, the locals are in a panic--except for a group intending to set up an expensive bus service. The local vicar (George Relph) concocts a scheme with the town's wealthiest man (Stanley Holloway) for the villagers to run the rail line themselves; in this way they hope to prove to the railway inspectors that their branch is still worth keeping. When the bus interests attempt to sabotage this undertaking, the villagers respond by stealing a stray locomotive--and when this proves cumbersome, they reactivate a 19th century train engine from the local museum. The Titfield Thunderbolt is uniquely British in humor and approach, but not so "inside" as to alienate American filmgoers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Holloway, George Relph, (more)
Alec Guinness has one of his finest comic roles in this Ealing satirical comedy about a much patronized amateur scientist whose latest invention creates an uproar in the British textile industry. In the British manufacturing country of Northern England, factory owner Michael Corland (Michael Gough) is showing competitor Alan Bimley (Cecil Parker) around his plant, hoping to borrow some money and marry off his daughter Daphne (Joan Greenwood). They come upon a curious contraption that turns out to be an experiment by employee Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness). Being a lower class worker, Sidney is summarily fired from his job. Sidney ends up working at Bimley's factory, where he is befriended by militant worker Bertha (Vida Hope). Daphne spots Sidney at the factory and he explains to her the results of his experiment -- a material that is indestructible and impervious to dirt. Bimley discovers this project and throws Sidney out. But Daphne, impressed by his experiments, funds Sidney, installing him in his own laboratory. After a few false starts, Sidney develops a pure white material that can't be dirtied or ruined. But it seems Sidney's invention is too brilliant and effective; if a material is marketed that will last forever, textile mills will go out of business and workers will lose their jobs. Suddenly, poor, luckless Sidney has both management and labor banding together to combat his new invention. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1948
Douglas Barr and Angela Glynne, children of truckers, expose a plot to steal a trucking shipment before it reaches it's destination. ~ All Movie Guide
Immediately grabbing the audience's attention with a heart-stopping opening scene in a dark graveyard, acclaimed British director David Lean realizes the cinematic potential of Charles Dickens' classic 1861 novel, and the result is considered by many to be one of the finest literary adaptations ever made as well as one of the greatest British films of all time. Crystallized into a tight 118-minute running time by Lean, Ronald Neame, and a corps of uncredited contributors, this is the story of young Pip, a lad of humble means whose training as a gentleman is bankrolled by a mysterious benefactor. Along the way, Pip falls in love with the fickle Estella, befriends the cheerfully insouciant Herbert Pocket, has memorable encounters with the escaped convict Magwitch and the lunatic dowager Miss Havisham, and almost (but not quite) forgets his modest origins as the foster son of kindhearted blacksmith Joe Gargery. The role of Pip is evenly divided between Anthony Wager as a child and John Mills as an adult; Alec Guinness makes his starring film debut as the jaunty Pocket; Jean Simmons and Valerie Hobson are costarred as the younger and older Estella; and Martita Hunt is unforgettable as the mad Miss Havisham ("It's a fine cake! A wedding cake! MINE!") Remade several times, Great Expectations resurfaced in 1989 as a TV miniseries, with Jean Simmons, originally the young Estella, tearing a passion to tatters as Miss Havisham; and in 1998 it was remade again, in a contemporary version, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert DeNiro, and Anne Bancroft in the Miss Havisham role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1945
This 1949 British film told a very plausible story about a triangle between a woman, her soldier husband, and her new lover. Jim Colter (John Mills) has joined the services, leaving his wife Tillie (Joy Shelton) with his mother (Beatrice Varley) and sister. Tillie is lonely, meets Ted Purvis (Stewart Granger), and falls for him. It turns
out that Purvis is a small-time crook and swindler and falsified his medical records in order to avoid serving in the war. Jim finds out about the affair and deserts the war to return home and settle matters. But he is set upon and beaten by Purvis' hoodlum buddies. Unchastened, Jim goes after Purvis, and they engage in a climactic fist fight as bombs are dropping during a Nazi air raid. The entire story is played out against the noisy backdrop of a country at war. It was based on a story by director Sidney Gilliat. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
out that Purvis is a small-time crook and swindler and falsified his medical records in order to avoid serving in the war. Jim finds out about the affair and deserts the war to return home and settle matters. But he is set upon and beaten by Purvis' hoodlum buddies. Unchastened, Jim goes after Purvis, and they engage in a climactic fist fight as bombs are dropping during a Nazi air raid. The entire story is played out against the noisy backdrop of a country at war. It was based on a story by director Sidney Gilliat. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1944
In this British comedy, set in Tangleton, a small English village, a handyman finds himself in trouble when he inadvertently assists two London reporters in their investigation of corruption in the town's postwar plans. To protect themselves, the town fathers have the handyman destroy several incriminating housing forms. Unfortunately an errant gust of wind sends the flying. Enlisting the aid of an eccentric inventor, the handyman succeeds in getting the corrupt officials out of office. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this romance, a young woman gets into a real mess when her mother begins meddling in her romantic life by conning her into becoming engaged to her boss. Unfortunately, the girl loves another who has gone off to fight the war. Upon his return, he is enraged to learn about the engagement. Mayhem ensues until the whole mess is straightened out and the lovers are reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
