Arthur Hill Movies
He first acted in college productions and in Seattle, then moved to England, where he became well-respected as a fine stage actor; he also appeared in two or three films in the '50s. In the late '50s he gave several impressive performances on Broadway; for his work in Broadway's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? he won a Tony Award in 1962. His film work has been sporadic, with occasional bursts of activity; he has often played intelligent, introspective leads and key supporting roles. He has done similar work in many TV productions. He starred in the TV series Owen Marshall: Counsellor at Law. ~ All Movie Guide- 1955
British actor Kenneth More's screen charisma helps smooth over the rough spots of Raising a Riot. More plays Tony, a young husband and father. When Tony's wife Mary (Shelagh Fraser) takes a trip to Canada, the hapless hubby is left in charge of their three precocious (to put it mildly) children. The film then goes off on several directions, many of them hilarious: some of the best scenes involve the kids' ongoing feud with a bunch of American children. One of the three youngsters is played by Mandy Miller, who'd previously burst onto the movie scene with her brilliant portrayal of a deaf child in Crash of Silence. Ronald Squire indulges in his usual scene-stealing as the kid's rogueish grandpa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Shelagh Fraser, (more)
- 1954
In the tradition of Derby Day and The Extra Day came another multiplotted British comedy/drama, The Crowded Day. A huge and mobile cast play the various persons connected with a department store sale during the Christmas season. Special attention is given five members of the store's sales staff, each of whose private lives comprises a story wavering twixt laughter and tears. Joan Rice, John Gregson, Freda Jackson, Rachel Roberts, Thora Hird and Edward Chapman are among the familiar British faces commiserating at the bargain counter. The fragmentary nature of Crowded Day came in handy when the film was trimmed to accommodate commercials on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Based on The Hand and the Flower, a novel by Jerrard Tickell, A Day to Remember stars Stanley Holloway as Charley Porter, captain of London darts team. When the team travels to the French town of Boulogne for the annual darts tournament, a good time is had by all--and more besides. Jim Carver (Donald Sinden), one of the team's members, is reunited with a little French girl he'd befriended during the war, who has now developed into a beautiful young woman (Odelle Versois). And Fred Collins (James Hayter) makes a poignant journey to the hotel where he'd honeymooned with his late wife (Brenda DeBanzie). The film works best as a low-key comedy-drama; it is least successful when it ventures into O. Henry territory and strains for "surprise" story twists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Holloway, Donald Sinden, (more)
- 1952
In this mystery, a woman desiring to locate her missing employer engages the services of "The Toff," a suave amateur detective. Mayhem ensues until the detective reveals that the boss wanted to disappear so he could hide from the man behind an insurance fraud who wants to kill him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this murder mystery, an aspiring novelist and amateur detective begins looking into the case of a famous unsolved murder and eventually ends up in a mansion filled with serpents. He then enlists the aid of his wife, solves the murder, and gets kudos for his newest book. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
In this British crime drama, a petty crook teams up with a gangster to steal some jewels, but somehow the robbery goes awry and an innocent man is fatally shot. The man later turns out to be the father of the crook's newest girl friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
In the Anglo-American The Body Said No!, actor Michael Rennie plays his most challenging role: "himself." The scene is a British TV studio, where Rennie is performing in a live dramatic broadcast. On another set, singer Yolande Donlan mistakes a director's hand signals as "secret code" in a murder plot. Future Dr. Who star Jon Pertwee pops up as a studio watchman. Believe it or not, commercial television had been a reality in Great Britain for 14 years at the time of The Body Said No!'s 1950 release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Miss Laramie Pilgrim (Yolande Donlan) is an American factory girl. Anxious to see what life is like outside her own backyard, Miss Pilgrim trades places with a British lass. After reels and reels of culture-clash comedy, the heroine comes to the rescue of her new friends and neighbors, who are being exploited by a local land developer. On the verge of his American stardom, Michael Rennie plays Miss Pilgrim's English love interest. Miss Pilgrim's Progress was another of those minor British films that were played to death on American TV in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yolande Donlan, Michael Rennie, (more)
Howard Hawks directed this classic farce about how love attempts to triumph over military red tape after the close of World War II. Capt. Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) is a French officer who is assigned to put a stop to a black market operation in occupied Germany with the help of Lt. Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan), an American WAC. While their initial meetings are hardly harmonious, in time Rochard and Gates find that opposites really do attract, and they fall in love. The two decide to get married, which seems simple enough, but the moment Gates receives orders to return to the United States and Rochard wants to join her, they soon discover just how complicated the U.S. Army can make things. While the Army has a strict protocol for dealing with "war brides," there is no similar routine for men who marry female Army personnel, so in order to follow his new wife into the States, Rochard has to disguise himself as a WAC. From this moment on, nearly everything that happens to Rochard is an affront to his dignity and/or his patience, from his inability to share a bunk with his new bride to his discovery that Army regulations prevent him from driving a motorcycle (Gates has to take the handlebars, while her husband is forced to ride in a sidecar). As more than one writer has pointed out, while Grant gives a deft comic performance, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that he's French (but probably no more than to imagine that anyone would really believe that he's a woman). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan, (more)
