Morland Graham Movies

Director David McDonald adapted the screenplay of The Brothers from a novel by L. A. G. Strong. Set at the turn-of-the-century, the story concerns the feud between two farming families on a remote Western Scottish island. Patricia Roc plays Mary, a serving girl who goes to work for the Macrae clan. This not only causes renewed hostility between the Macrae and the rival McFarish family, but also foments dissension between Macrae brothers Fergus (Maxwell Reed) and John (Duncan Macrae). In a break from tradition, the film substitutes the novel's unhappy ending with an even unhappier one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In one of his rare visits to his home turf, British actor David Niven essayed the title role in Bonnie Prince Charlie. The film's principal challenge was to transform 18th-century Scottish Prince Charles into a sympathetic character, which, patriotism aside, he most decidedly was not in real life. The court-intrigue scenes are the weakest aspect of the film; the strongest moments take place on the battlefield, where Charles "the pretender" and his followers face down the battalions of King George II (Martin Miller). Even in defeat, Charles is the victor, successfully eluding his British pursuers and escaping to France. Filmed in Technicolor at a cost of $4 million, Bonnie Prince Charlie fell with a thud when it premiered at a kidney-busting 140 minutes. Subsequent reissues were cut by as many as 40 minutes, and some were economically reprocessed in black-and-white. Thanks to constant exposure on American television, this notorious flop finally posted a profit in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though its title suggests that Gaiety George is yet another vehicle for British comedian George Formby, the film is in fact a biopic. Richard Greene plays Irish theatrical impresario George Howard, whose elaborately staged musical entertainments were highlights of the early 20th century. Wounded during World War I, Howard returns to London and virtually forgotten, compelling him to mount a spectacular comeback. Surprisingly, the weakest element is not its banal plotline but the musical numbers, which are staged with little of the "feel" or energy of the period. Released in the US as Showtime in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Henry V is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made, full of rousing action, beautiful colors and passionate performances. Henry V is the story of the newly crowned king of England who fights the French for possession of Normandy. Olivier's direction is inventive, beginning the film as if it were a performance at the Globe Theatre, and having it slowly expand so the final battle scenes take place in realistic settings. Released in 1944 during the height of World War II, Henry V didn't receive an American release until 1946, upon which Olivier won a special Academy Award for "his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Having underestimated Hitler in the 1930s, British propaganda specialists spent the early war years insisting they were prepared for any international contingency. Big Blockade was a morale-boosting film produced in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Welfare. In documentary fashion, the film underlines the importance of the economic blockade which Britain directed against Germany. An all-star cast (Michael Redgrave, Leslie Banks, John Mills, Robert Morley etc.) appears in brief sketches dramatizing the effect of the blockade and the reactions of the British public. While it received good reviews at the time, The Big Blockade quickly fell out of favor once it served its wartime purpose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tower of Terror is set in a lonely lighthouse on a tiny German-controlled island. Demented lighthouse keeper Kristan (Wilfred Lawson) is terrified that someday, somehow, the world will know that he murdered his wife 16 years earlier. Though he openly discourages visitors, Kristan is forced to play host for an odd assortment of strangers: A British secret agent (Michael Rennie),a German naval officer (John Longden) and a beautiful concentration-camp escapee (Movita). The latter so closely resembles Kristan's late wife that the old man goes completely round the bend, ordering the poor girl to dress in his wife's clothes and ultimately attempting to do her in as well. This juicy slice of Grand Guignol was produced in England by Pathe in 1941 and released in the US by Monogram the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pageantlike This England was designed by the Anglo-American film corporation to boost the morale of the war-besieged island nation. The story unfolds in the ancient British community of Claverly Village, which has already weathered serveral centuries of political upheavals, both foreign and domestic. A.R. Rawlinson and Bridge Boland's screenplay traces the history of the village from the Feudal Era to the Second World War, with Emlyn Williams (who also contributed additional dialogue), John Clements and Constance Cummings enacted the roles of several Claverly citizens throughout the years. Cummings is at her best in the "Spanish Armada" sequence, portraying a fetching gypsy not unlike her Latin American charmer in Harold Lloyd's Movie Crazy (1932). Perhaps because of its episodic construction, This England is one of those unfortunate films that never seems to turn up intact when shown today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This stirring wartime morale-booster stars John Clements in a virtual reprise of his "redeemed hero" role in The Four Feathers. Clements is cast as Lieutenant Stacey, a Fleet Arm Pilot whose recklessness causes the death of a fellow airman. Cashiered from the Service, Stacey becomes a mercenary charter pilot in the Mediterranean Island of Palmos. When the Nazis take over the island in the early stages of WWII, Stacey remains, but only because of his romance with cabaret singer Kay Gordon (Ann Todd). After his best friend (Edward Chapman) is murdered by the Nazis, Stacey's long-suppressed patriotism resurfaces, prompting him to embark upon a suicide mission to destroy a German dam site. Reportedly in production for 18 months, Ships With Wings was largely filmed on the decks of such authentic British aircraft carriers as the Ark Royal. At 140 minutes, the film is too long by half, but it never fails to come to life during the heart-stopping aerial sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rex Harrison astonished his fans by donning a Nazi uniform in the British suspenser Night Train (originally titled Night Train to Munich). Actually he's a British agent, working undercover to rescue a Czech inventor from the Gestapo. The inventor's daughter (Margaret Lockwood) becomes the unwitting pawn of a genuine Nazi (Paul von Hernreid, just before he became Paul Henreid) during a long train ride from Germany to France and back again. Director Carol Reed never denied that his inspiration for Night Train was Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (both films were written by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat). The homage was solidified by the presence in Night Train of two carryovers from the Hitchcock film: those ardent British cricket fans Charters and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne). Night Train was liberally adapted from the Gordon Wellesley novel Report on a Fugitive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alfred Hitchcock directed this disappointing misfire, memorable solely for the fact is that it is the final film from Hitchcock's early British period before he left for the Hollywood studio system and David O. Selznick. In the England of the 1800s, a group of ruthless smugglers, led by Sir Humphrey Pengallon (Charles Laughton), prey on ships by blacking out warning signals. When the ships crash on the rocks, the nefarious group loots the remains and kills the sailors. The plot kicks in when the beautiful orphan Mary Yelland (Maureen O'Hara) goes to visit her uncle Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks) at a creepy hotel called the Jamaica Inn, the home of the gang of smugglers. Mary doesn't realize that Uncle Joss is one of them. Meanwhile, Lloyd's of London sends one of their ablest men, Jem Trahearne (Robert Newton), to investigate the recurring shipwrecks. Jem checks in to the Jamaica Inn, and when the coven of smugglers finds out who he is, they capture him and attempt to kill him. But Mary comes to his rescue and saves him. Through the inn, the smugglers try to recapture Jem -- along with Mary. Thrown together by dire circumstances, the two fall in love. Meanwhile, all the shenanigans occurring at the Jamaica Inn appear to be driving Pengallon insane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a philandering playboy tires of the fast lane and decides to marry his current girl friend. At the reception, his best friend begins regaling the girl with stories of her new husband's romantic exploits. The bride becomes terribly upset, causing her groom to whisk her out and begin their honeymoon. Things don't get any calmer as they run in to a number of strange characters. The best friend's wife, who recently left him, is among them. Meanwhile, the poor bride has difficulty deciding whether or not she should stay married to the playboy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anthony Asquith evokes a vivid impression of Russia in 1916 in I Stand Condemned. The story follows handsome Russian officer Captain Ignatoff (Laurence Olivier), who is carried into a hospital in a delirious condition from severe war wounds. When he comes to his senses, he sees the beautiful Red Cross nurse Natasha (Penelope Dudley-Ward) staring down at him and he is immediately smitten. Although she feels the same way about Ignatoff, she is unhappily engaged to Brioukov (Harry Baur), a middle-aged war profiteer who has paid off the mortgage on her parent's home. Since she owes so much to Brioukov, she is reluctant to leave him and take up with the comely captain. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide