Cameron Hall Movies

John Rae's novel The Custard Boys became this World War II drama from British documentary filmmaker Philip Leacock. Martin Tomlinson stars as John Curlew, a troubled teenager who is part of a gang of London boys evacuated to a small English coastal town during World War II. Desperate to join the war effort and fearful that the fighting will be over before they're of age to enlist, the boys stage their own mock war games with the local teens, practicing to become soldiers and taking the entire matter very seriously. John, who is conflicted between his loyalty to his zealous friends and his burgeoning desire for an Austrian Jewish refugee, Mark Stein (Oliver Grimm), invites Mark to join the "battles." At first mocked for his Semitic heritage, Mark is eventually allowed to participate, but when he runs off during a battle, the gang decides to court-martial him for cowardice, with tragic results. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A palatable combination of horror and science fiction, Blood of the Vampire takes place in 19th century Transylvania-and never mind that all the locals have cockney accents. British stage star Donald Wolfit, who never spoke when shouting would do, plays the vampiric Dr. Callistratus. Though we see Callistratus being dispatched in traditional stake-through-the-heart fashion during the opening credits, it isn't long before he returns to life, this time in the guise of a prison warden. Using his criminally insane charges as his guinea pigs, Callistratus drains their bodies of blood in order to stay alive. In the film's incredibly busy climax, Callistratus is prevented from carving up the toothsome Madeleine (Barbara Shelley) by his hunchbacked assistant Carl (Victor Maddern). We didn't see the kitchen sink, but we'll bet that that's in here somewhere too. Often mistaken for a Hammer film production (mainly because it was written by perennial Hammer scrivener Jimmy Sangster), Blood of the Vampire was actually produced by the short-lived Artistes Alliance Ltd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a brief fling at Hollywood stardom, John Ireland set up camp in England and Europe. It was in England that Ireland was top-billed in Black Tide, aka Stormy Crossing. The bulk of the film's storyline is carried by villain Derek Bond. After murdering his lover, cross-channel swimmer Joy Webster, Bond attempts to do same to her other boyfriend, Sheldon Lawrence. Ireland plays an Interpol detective who stems Bond's homicidal hijinks. Black Tide was produced by Monty Berman in his pre-Saint days. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, two WW II veterans become fugitives from the police after one of them kills a man during a fight. A friendly reporter offers them sanctuary aboard her boat, but one of the two is so flighty he is almost psychotic. His erratic actions attract too much attention and during a fight with police he is killed causing his cohort to surrender. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The British Passing Stranger stars Hollywood actor Lee Patterson as a deserting American GI. He drifts about until he falls in with a gang of gunrunners. He wants to quit, but can't until he makes enough money to support himself and his love Diane Cilento. Just before this is possible, Cilento's ex-boyfriend blows the whistle on the crooks. Just long enough not to wear out its welcome, The Passing Stranger is a passing good little film noir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mr. Henry Lord (Stanley Holloway) and his wife Lilian (Kathleen Byron) have been asked to move from their home to make room for the 1950 Festival of Britain. But Mr. Lord, as the title makes clear, has no intention of doing so. The government tries all sorts of persuasion and coercion, but ends up stumbling over its own feet. What starts out as a minor legal skirmish snowballs into a nationwide cause celebre, as often happens in whimsical British comedies like Mr. Lord Says No. Based on Michale Clayton Hutton's The Happy Family, the film also features such delightful British supporting players as Naunton Wayne, Dandy Nichols, George Cole, Miles Malleson and the ubiquitous Laurence Naismith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

David Lean's Madeleine was inspired by a true story that rocked the English legal system to its foundations in the mid-19th century. Told in flashback, the film explains why aristocratic young Scotswoman Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd, then the wife of director Lean) is on trial for murder. The audience is apprised of Madeleine's illicit romance with deceptively charming Frenchman Emile L'Angelier (Ivan Desny), her futile attempts to break off the relationship, her "proper" betrothal to Englishman William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), and the murder by poison of the now-inconvenient L'Angelier. The jury's verdict was as controversial in 1950 as it had been a century earlier. David Lean and scenarists Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps refuse to take sides, permitting the viewers to draw their own conclusions about the notorious Madeleine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a young Englishman wants to become a surgeon, but after medical school, his father dies, leaving him the responsibility of supporting his mother and paying for his brother's education. He becomes a partner in a small practice and watches the woman he wanted to marry go off with his brother. The brother is killed in WWI, after which his illegitimate son is born. The doctor marries the woman, but she dies in childbirth, leaving him to raise his brother's child. Eventually, he finds a new wife. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

This heartwarming British drama is based on Beth the Sheepdog, a novel by Ernest Lewis. Beth is played, quite well indeed, by a magnificent animal named Fleet. The story concerns the efforts of various interested human parties to enter Beth in the All-England Dog Championship. When a farmer is unsuccessful in his efforts to purchase Beth for his own, he spitefully accuses the dog's owner of sheep stealing. After this mess is straightened out, the plot segues into the Championship, and it is at this point that the film finally comes to life. Percy Marmont is the biggest "name" actor in Loyal Heart, while Marmont's daughter Patricia plays a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the late 1930s-early 1940s, diminutive British music-hall and radio comedian Arthur Askey enjoyed a popularity commensurate to that of Hollywood's Abbott & Costello; accordingly, Askey's earliest starring films were all box-office bonanzas. In I Thank You, Askey and his perennial straight man Richard Murdoch are cast as Arthur and Stinker, members of a nearly bankrupt theatrical troupe. To raise some much-needed money, our heroes hire on as servants for Lady Randall (Lily Morris), who'd been an entertainer herself before marrying into the Upper Crust. When Lady Randall learns of Arthur and Stinker's plight, she bankrolls a major stage production for the boys' fellow performers, leading to the inevitable big-production-number finale. Way, way down the cast list of I Thank You is distinguished Shakespearean actor Felix Aylmer, who was seen to rather better advantage as Polonius in Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this supernatural drama, a college student finds himself fixated upon thoughts of his late lover. Unable to forget her, he attempts to contact her spirit by holding a seance. The experience so frightens him and afterward he suffers a breakdown. Eventually he heals with the assistance of a childhood friend who has secretly loved him all along. He finally awakens to her love and returns it. Soon he has forgotten his unhealthy obsession on the other girl. The story is also known as Spell of Amy Nugent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Scottish stage, radio and film favorite Will Fyffe heads the cast of Neutral Port. The star is cast as crusty Captain Ferguson, who is forced to dry-dock his torpedoed ship at the mythical port of Esperanto. Anxious not to injure its neutrality, the country refuses to allow Ferguson to seize a Nazi supply ship as compensation for the loss of his own vessel. But the good captain takes matters into his own hands by stealing not one but two German ships. When these are shot from under him, the captain returns to Esperanto to face the consequences, but chances are he'll be back in business again before the sun sets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide