Michael Howard Movies
Versatile British supporting actor Michael Howard got his start as the house comic at the notorious Windmill burlesque house during the war years and became a popular radio star. Howard also wrote scripts, worked in British theatre and appeared in assorted films between 1946 and 1957. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1956
British sailors John Mills and Richard Attenborough would like to take Neopolitan lass Lisa Gastoni out on a date. But Gastoni can't leave the house unless her baby brother tags along. During a rowdy evening on the town, Mills is forced to sneak the infant on board his ship. When Gastoni and Attenborough arrive to claim the kid, they find that the ship has already sailed. Essentially a British Abbott & Costello picture, Baby and the Battleship manages to deliver a sufficient supply of hearty chuckles. The film was based on a somewhat subtler novel by Anthony Thorne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1955
Basil Dearden was co-producer and co-director of the British "slice of life" drama Out of the Clouds. Filmed in quasi-documentary fashion, the story takes place during one unusually busy day at London's Heathrow Airport. The dramatis personae includes Gus Randall (Anthony Steel), a pilot with a chronic (and potentially fatal) gambling weakness; chief duty officer Nick Milbourne (Robert Beatty), who yearns to be a pilot himself; American engineer Bill (David Lorenz), who finds romance in the form of Jewish girl Leah (Margo Lorenz); and Captain Brent (James Robertson Justice), whose doubts about a new aircraft prove to be well-founded. The obligatory romantic triangle involves Gus, Nick and airline -hostess Penny Henson (Eunice Gayson). Out of the Clouds is an intriguing small-scale precursor to the Airport school of multicharactered drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty, (more)
- 1954
In this newsroom drama, a workaholic editor refuses to take a vacation with his wife. Instead he remains in his office and deals with a series of fascinating stories. They include: four children tossed out of their home, a woman accused of euthanasia, an alcoholic journalist's search for an atomic scientist, and a tragic plane crash. Unfortunately, the editor's wife was supposed to be on that plane. Fortunately, something caused her not to board it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
- 1951
This film is comprised of extracts from several Charlie Chaplin silent shorts made around 1915, including The Bank, His New Job, The Tramp, The Champion, and A Night in the Show. The clips are edited together into a loose storyline. Michael Howard narrates. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
This comedy offers yet another version of a popular stage play that chronicles the exploits of a tricky old woman who cheats her landlady out of rent and then masquerades as her wealthy sister in order to reclaim the trunk she left behind. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
After the war, British films began avoiding the heiresses and lordships that had dominated the drama field and began pursuing "realism" -- which often was just as artificial as the earlier white-telephone pictures. John McCallum plays Tommy Swann, a product of the working class who tries to better himself by becoming a criminal. Escaping from prison, Swann hides out in the East London home of his former mistress Rose (Googie Withers), who has since married George Sandigate (Edward Chapman). The film is told from Swann's point-of-view, and a dismal view that is. Nor does Rose seem any happier with her drab lot in life. Swann's return does nothing but further their misery, tearing Rose' family apart and sending Swann back into the arms of the law. Considered a tension-laden slice of life in 1949, It Always Rains on Sunday seems a bit contrived today, though it does full justice to the Arthur La Bern novel on which it is based -- especially when the film leaves the environs of the house and zeroes in on its colorful roster of bit actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Googie Withers, Edward Chapman, (more)
I See a Dark Stranger manages to be both an absorbing espionage yarn and a slyly amusing send-up of the entire genre. Deborah Kerr is terrific as Irish colleen Bridie Quilty, raised from childhood to despise the British and everything they stand for. Bridie's anglophobia proves useful to Nazi spy Miller (Raymond Huntley), who hopes to use the girl to help him steal the plans for the D-day invasion. Playing her "Mata Hari" role to the hilt, Bridie wholeheartedly throws herself into a world of clandestine meetings and coded messages, certain that by helping the Germans she is also helping Mother Ireland. Eventually she realizes the error of her ways, enabling her to turn the tables on Miller and his co-conspirators. Trevor Howard co-stars as David Baynes, with whom the impulsive Bridie falls in love despite his English forebears. I See a Dark Stranger was released in the U.S. as The Adventuress. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Trevor Howard, (more)
Set not in the 14th century milieu of Geoffrey Chaucer but in wartime Britain, A Canterbury Tale begins with rural justice of the peace Eric Portman adopting a "lock up your daughters" policy when the American soldiers are stationed nearby. To escape the arbitrary edicts of Portman, British tank sergeant Dennis Price, American GI John Sweet and shopkeeper Sheila Sim head down the road to Canterbury. Each of the principals finds their lives changed by the journey. In particular, Sweet (a real-life American sergeant, rather than the usual stereotyped "yank" common to British war films) encounters genuine romance. A product of the always adventuresome "Archers" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), A Canterbury Tale contains some extremely creative cinematic moments, though it is the quieter scenes which work best. Esmond Knight narrates the film and shows up in a couple of amusing cameos. A ubiquitous presence on American TV, Canterbury Tale is available in two versions; the American release version, cut from 124 to 95 minutes and including several arbitrary scenes with Kim Hunter, is the lesser of the two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, (more)
