Charles Groves Movies
Two of the British film industry's most potent comic talents appear in One Wild Oat. Robertson Hare heads the cast as distinguished barrister Humphrey Proudfoot, whose daughter Cherrie (June Sylvaine) is about to marry. Unfortunately, Cherrie's fiancé is Fred Gilbey (Andrew Crawford), the son of notorious philanderer Alfred Gilbey (Stanley Holloway). Fearing that Fred intends to follow in Alfred's footsteps (so to speak), Proudfoot does his best to undermine the romance. Gilbey turns the tables by threatening to reveal Proudfoot's own past indiscretions (including one that Gilbey has completely fabricated). It is up to the wives of the two old antagonists to solve matters and pave the way for a happy ending. One Wild Oat was co-adapted by Vernon Sylvaine from his own stage farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robertson Hare, Stanley Holloway, (more)
- 1949
Based on the infamous Archer-Shee case of 1912, The Winslow Boy features Neil North as the 14-year-old title character. Accused of a petty theft, North is expelled from Naval College. His father, retired bank official Sir Cedric Hardwycke, is prevented by existing British law to clear his son's name. He engages attorney Robert Donat, who successfully petitions for the right to sue the Admiralty and make this august organization prove its charges in court. Public opinion, however, is strongly against Hardwycke and his family: particularly effected is Hardwycke's daughter Margaret Leighton, whose fiance breaks off their engagement. For dramatic purposes, Margaret finds solace in a romantic relationship with barrister Donat. Terrence Rattigan worked on the cinemadaptation of his own play, which was later restaged on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Margaret Leighton, (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
In this drama, an amiable steel worker suddenly changes when he becomes a foreman. Suddenly Mr. Nice Guy becomes Mr. Hard Nose and he mercilessly pushes his men to work harder and faster. His callous attitude comes home with him and his wife, too suffers. Trouble ensues when the foreman pushes the men so hard that a man dies. The other workers revolt, and at home, his wife leaves. The foreman turns to his friend, a preacher, for guidance and begins to see where he went wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Filmed in the North Country of England, this is a film noir set in the 1930s as a family struggles with poverty and unemployment. Depressing and realistic, it portrays the lengths to which a family can go in order to survive., though there is some humor interlaced to keep the bleakness under control. The beautiful, sepia-tinted photography enhances the portrayals, which are excellent. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, (more)
- 1938
In this action film, a truck driver must carry a load of dynamite. Meanwhile, his girlfriend gets mixed up with a gang that sells stolen furs. Eventually, the truck driver must rescue his girlfriend from the bad guys and blows them and their loot to Kingdom Come. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this British comedy, a ghost hunter believing he accidentally shot his boss, stuffs the body into a steamer trunk and races to the river where he will dispose of the body. Unfortunately before he can, the trunk gets mixed up with an exact duplicate. The one containing the body is taken by a woman who takes him into the supposedly haunted house where she stays. Meanwhile, deep within the trunk, the boss is waking up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this romance, a butler falls in love with his master's snooty daughter who will have nothing to do with him because he is but a commoner. The butler's life is about to dramatically change when he learns that he is to be the next Duke of Marlow. He keeps that news to himself as he wants the girl to love him for himself--not his title. When a married gangster from Chicago visits the household, the girl falls head-over-heels for him and readily agrees to rush off to Paris with him and elope. Unfortunately, she is dismayed to discover upon their arrival that marriage is not exactly what the gangster had on his mind. Fortunately, the devoted valet rescues her causing her to reevaluate him as a potential mate. They marry. After the ceremony, the butler tells her the truth about his social standing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Margetson, Victor Stanley, (more)
- 1932
Parisian detective Massey pretends to bring a dead man back to life to force a bank robber to reveal his true identity as a count. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1931
In this drama, two half-sisters begin fighting after they fall for the same man. The fight is resolved when one of the girls gets pregnant and must marry and the other ends up in a convent. Later murder, forgery, and extortion ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margot Grahame, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
