John Gregson Movies

John Mills stars as Commander Scott, the leader of the ill-fated and famed 1911 expedition to be the first to discover the South Pole. The British were up against the Norwegians in the Arctic quest for fame and honor which was won by Norway. ~ Rovi

Originally released in Great Britain as Whisky Galore!, Tight Little Island is a comedy predicated on the notion that all Scotsmen are lushes. The tiny Scots Island of Todday suffers from a wartime whisky shortage. Luck of luck, a ship full of the precious liquid is wrecked on a reef. The islanders conspire to smuggle the whisky off the ship right under the noses of the pesky British revenue officials. Numerous clever comic complications occur before the happy ending--which, we are told by the narrator, was not so happy once all the whisky was consumed. Tight Little Island is regarded by devotees of British comedy as the best and most representative offering from the short-lived Ealing Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cairo Road is a standard British "police precinct" drama with a twist; this precinct is located in Cairo, Egypt. Eric Portman plays an Egyptian police chief who takes on the seemingly routine matter of a murdered Arab. Portman deduces that this was no ordinary street killing, and that the Arab was mixed up with drug smuggling. The chief leaves the relative security of his office to set a trap for the murderers within the teeming streets of Cairo. Cairo Road was photographed by Oswald Morris and included in its supporting cast a young Lawrence Harvey--two worthies who wouldn't be working in British programmers much longer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Charles Crichton directed this Ealing caper comedy, with a witty script by T.E.B. Clarke that won an Academy Award. Alec Guinness is Henry Holland, an unassuming transporter of gold bullion who, after working for twenty years with no rewards in sight for his faithful service to his company, decides to reward himself by stealing one million pounds worth of gold. Calling on his old friend Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway), a manufacturer of paperweights and an amateur sculptor, and a couple of Cockney crooks, Lackery (Sidney James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass), they conspire to lift a gold shipment. After absconding with the gold, Henry melts the gold into a collection of souvenir Eiffel Towers, which he then ships off to Paris. But chaos reigns when a group of English schoolgirls purchase the gold towers, and the gang now become embroiled in a wild goose chase to recover their stolen gold. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The Brave Don't Cry aspires to the "feel" of a documentary, right down to the deliberate absence of background music. A mine in Scotland falls victim to a cave-in, trapping some one hundred workers. Rescue parties are formed as the tremulous families of the miners wait in agony. As in the actual incident upon which this film is based, the rescue is nip and tuck and times, but eventually successful. The faces of real-life Scottish mining folk are melded with the professional actors in The Brave Don't Cry, adding poignancy to this otherwise cut-and-dried film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The British Conflict of Wings was also released as Fuss over Feathers: Both titles are applicable, but only the second title captures the mood of the proceedings. The story takes plays in a Norfolk-country village, where the populace is up in arms over the announcement that the RAF plans to build a target range. It seems that the village is the site for a bird sanctuary that was allegedly established 400 years earlier by King Henry VIII. Faced with an intractable government and an equally unsympathetic bureaucracy, the villages decide to resolve matters in their own inimitable way. Commendably, the RAF is not cast as the villain of the piece: both sides are well represented in the argument, though audience sympathy understandably leans in the direction of the bird-huggers. Conflict Over Wings was adapted by Don Sharp from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Had the women-behind-bars drama The Weak and the Wicked been made in Hollywood, the cast would probably have included the likes of Ida Lupino, Marie Windsor, Peggie Castle and Hope Emerson. Instead, the film was lensed in Britain, with Glynis Johns and Diana Dors heading the cast. Framed on a charge of fraud, "good girl" Glynis is tossed into prison. Her cellmates include hard-boiled Ms. Dors, murder suspect Jane Hylton, blackmailer-poisoner Dame Sybil Thorndyke and shoplifter Olive Sloane. Each of their stories is detailed in a series of flashbacks. Downplay the potential sensational elments of the storyline, The Weak and the Wicked takes great pains to point out the positive values of a special rehabilitation program, wherein the main characters are given the opportunity to make themselves useful members of society. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Gregson stars as Chayley Broadbent, a young Yorkshire businessman leading a dull, perfunctory life. He inherits a sizeable fortune, plus a prosperous textile factory, from his wealthy father. Soon after, he has a fight with his straight-laced girlfriend, Ethel (Susan Stephen) and leaves her, taking off for London. Once there, he plunges into the nightclub circuit, falling in love with showgirl Diana Dors. But she mistakes him for an impoverished chap and thus rejects his marriage proposal. When she finally figures out the truth, she makes a beeline for him, but by then he's onto her golddigging motives and instead opts to return to Ethel. Adapted from a novel by Derick Boothroyd, Value for Money shows no shame in trotting out all the cliches and obvious comic set-ups indigenous to this sort of film farce. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The British omnibus thriller, Three Cases of Murder includes two supernatural tales and a straight whodunit. The first segment, "The Picture," was directed by Wendy Toye, based on a short story by Roderick Wilkinson. A museum tour guide, Jarvis (Hugh Pryse), is plagued by artworks going missing, and by the mysterious repeated breaking of the protective glass over a gloomy landscape painting. Jarvis is fascinated by the dark, foreboding house in the painting. One day while he's admiring it, he bumps into a stranger (Alan Badel, who appears in all three segments). Jarvis ends up following the stranger into the world of the painting with terrifying consequences. Eddie Byrne (General Willard in Star Wars) plays the demented taxidermist, Snyder. In the second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," written by Sidney Carroll (who co-wrote The Hustler), and directed by David Eady, lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman. George (Emrys Jones) has always stood in Edgar's (John Gregson) shadow. The two have a falling out when they realize they both love Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars), and when she later turns up dead, it affects the friendship in a surprising way. Badel plays the friendly bartender, Harry. The final story, "Lord Mountdrago," was based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by George More O'Ferrall, the segment stars Orson Welles as Lord Mountdrago, the officious secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mountdrago uses his oratory powers to destroy the career of a charismatic political opponent, Owen (Badel again). Mountdrago then finds himself tormented by the vengeful Owen, who seems to have found a way to enter his dreams. Andre Morrell (Bridge on the River Kwai) plays Mountdrago's baffled psychiatrist. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Time is of the essence in this comedy when an American cabaret singer learns that she is in line for a large inheritance. The money will be hers if her ex-husband cannot produce a son by a given date. She immediately takes off to London to find him. Unfortunately, she discovers that his new wife is due to give birth any day. The situation grows complicated as they deal with the unborn's unknown gender, and the fact that neither the man's new marriage, nor the divorce may be legal. The time difference between New York and London is also a factor. At the last possible minute, the new wife bears twins: one girl, and one boy. The singer still gets the money, as the newlyweds did not consider the ramifications of Daylight Savings Time. Fortunately, she shares the wealth. Songs include "Give Me a Man" and "You're the Only One." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

London's colorful but rundown Soho district is the setting for this thinnish romantic comedy. John Gregson plays a Soho roadworker who has little hopes of finding happiness in life. Belinda Lee is a like-minded barmaid in a tiny pub. Gregson and Lee discover each other, and the "miracle" happens. The script was written by Emeric Pressburger, who apparently was so accustomed to "big" projects like The Red Shoes (47) that he couldn't scale himself down to the genuine emotions of normal people. Too, Miracle in Soho cries out for location filming, but the producers insisted upon lensing the story in the most unconvincing of studio sets. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rooney (John Gregson) is a handsome but unambitious Irish sanitation worker. Rooney's landladies would love to see him married to one of their daughters, or nieces, or whatever, but Rooney ain't buyin'. Barry Fitzgerald plays Rooney's elderly bedridden neighbor, whom the young man befriends, turns to for advice, and tries to shield from the old man's bickering relatives. Stronger on characterization than plot, Rooney was based on a popular novel by Catherine Cookson. The film is at its best when the camera roams around the misty streets of Dublin, and at its worst when it pauses for sentiment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi