Hermione Baddeley Movies

Higgins (John Hillerman) enthusiastically mounts a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado" to entertain his distinguished visitor Sir Cedric Brooke (Terence Knapp). Meanwhile, Magnum is hired by Sally DeForrest (Kay Lenz) to locate her brother Eric (Christopher Mitchum), who has apparently been spirited away by a religious cult. The two plotlines converge--or more accurately, collide--when Sally is invited to sing a major role in Higgins' operetta, thereby setting the stage (no pun intended) for a not-so-melodic political assassination. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this detective drama set in Hollywood, a private investigator uses logic to solve the murder of a famous mystery writer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Retrograde even at the time of its 1980 release, this filmed version of the mid-'70s play by the same title stars Tom Smothers as Timothy Westerby, the bumbling father of the bride, and his imaginary dance partner, Polly (Twiggy). Events of the chaotic wedding day are told in flashback as Westerby is shown sweating over an advertising assignment from a bra company and hoping that a photo of Polly from the bygone '20s will inspire him. Instead, Westerby bangs into a door and Polly comes fuzzily to life, but only he can see her, causing all sorts of havoc at the wedding and among the guests. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When lovable eccentric Aunt Kezia (Hermione Baddeley) fails to pay her taxes, the old woman's property is bought up by the insufferable Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor). In a gesture of uncharacteristic generosity, Mrs. Oleson offers to let Kezia remain on the premises -- albeit as the Olesons' menial servant. To save Kezia from this grisly fate, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) try to scare off Mrs. Oleson with rumors of a hideous monster, dwelling in a nearby lake -- a ruse that requires a lot of ingenuity, not to mention an elaborate costume. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With Charles (Michael Landon) in Mankato on business for two weeks, Caroline (Karen Grassle) must find someone to complete the new kitchen in the Ingalls house. She hires a handsome handyman named Chris Nelson (Gil Gerard) to do the job. Outraged at the apparent too-friendly relationship between Chris and Caroline, Caroline's daughter Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) suspects the worst -- and perennial gossip Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) is all too willing to spread malicious rumors throughout Walnut Grove. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Zany British comedian Frankie Howerd, who'd previously laid waste to Ancient Rome in Up Pompeii, does same with World War II in Up the Front. Howerd plays a timorous servant who undergoes hypnosis. While thus entranced, he imagines himself a fearless warrior, and makes a beeline to the recruiting office. The laughs come fast and furious when Howerd finds himself the recipient of the enemy's war plans--tattooed on his tush. As was customary, Frankie Howerd took several opportunities in Up the Front to directly address the audience and crack wise about the situation at hand. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from the book and play of the same name, The Happiest Millionaire is the (mostly) true story of eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle (Fred MacMurray). The Biddle mansion is the gathering place for a pugilistic boxing class, pet alligators and would-be opera singers. Cordelia Biddle (Lesley Ann Warren), the daughter of Anthony and his wife (Greer Garson), wants to marry wealthy and handsome Angie Duke (John Davidson), but Angie's parents are shocked by the Biddles' freewheeling lifestyle. Thanks in part to the ebullient intervention of John Lawless (Tommy Steele), the Biddles' butler, all misunderstandings are eventually swept away. Like Disney's previous Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire is decked out with a vibrant musical score by Richard and Robert Sherman, but the magic is somehow lacking this time around. This was the last live-action film to personally supervised by Walt Disney; released several months after Disney's death, the film was made available in 141-minute and 164-minute versions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This rambunctious Disney comedy was based on the novel By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman. Roddy McDowall plays Griffin, the very proper butler of Bostonian Bryan Russell. When Russell runs off to California during the 1849 gold rush, Griffin dutifully tags along. Master and butler team up with Shakespearean actor Richard Haydn, who owns a treasure map. Crooked judge Karl Malden (a master of many disguises), pilfers the map once Our Heroes reach San Francisco. While endeavoring to retrieve the valuable parchment, Griffin has any number of adventures, ranging from a bout of fisticuffs with ox-like Mike Mazurki to a romance with Russell's sister Suzanne Pleshette, a former debutante turned saloon singer. If Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin resembles an animated cartoon at times, credit should go to veteran Disney animator Ward Kimball, who provided the spirited cartoon transitions between scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A couple's marriage is nearly destroyed by their attempts to save it in this farcical comedy. Dan and Valerie Edwards (Frank Sinatra and Deborah Kerr) are a couple who have been married for close to 20 years. Dan, a busy but successful advertising executive, believes they have a happy relationship, but Valerie feels stifled and thinks her once fun-loving husband has become a bore. Valerie consults a lawyer, Shad Nathan (John McGiver), about a divorce, but Nathan suggests she give things one more try, and recommends a romantic second honeymoon to put the spark back in their relationship. Following his advice, Valerie books a vacation in Mexico; Dan agrees to join her, but once they arrive south of the border, they encounter Miguel Santos (Cesar Romero), an overzealous shyster lawyer who grants them a divorce before they're entirely aware of what's happening. Dan and Valerie take the matter in stride and decide to use it as an opportunity to renew their vows, but just prior to their ceremony, Dan is called away on business. Dan asks his best friend, Ernie Brewer (Dean Martin), a devil-may-care ladies' man, to keep Valerie company until he gets back; however, as Ernie tries to explain to Valerie and Miguel that the wedding is off, he finds he's just become Valerie's new husband. Valerie, angry at Dan's sudden disappearance, decides not to divorce Ernie right away, while Ernie, who has long been infatuated with Valerie, is torn between his feelings for her and his loyalty to Dan. Marriage on the Rocks also features guest appearances by Nancy Sinatra and Trini Lopez; keep an eye peeled for DeForest Kelley in a bit part. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime drama, a band of robbers hire a Yankee safecracker but he is captured and arrested by Scotland Yard before he gets there. The robbers then free him from prison. They do not realize that the inmate is really a decoy. They take him to the home of a married couple. After the wife kills her husband she tries to frame the decoy who escapes and ends up hiding in someone else's home. There he calls the head robber. He later cracks the save and retrieves secret government plans. The head robber then plans to kill the safecracker and take off with the murderous wife. Fortunately, the Yard intervenes and the decoy reveals himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Released in the US in 1963, the British Let's Get Married was actually filmed three years earlier. Anthony Newley plays a medical student who buckles under pressure. Hoping to get accustomed to dealing with people, he takes a job as a delivery boy. While thus employed, he meets and marries model Anne Aubrey, who's been impregnated by her previous beau. When Aubrey goes into early labor, Newley's first impulse is to panic. Will this prove to be his emotional coming of age-or his Waterloo? Based on a novel by Ken Taylor, this lightweight effort allows both Newley and Aubrey to sing a few sprightly tunes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi