Sidney James Movies

If official documentation didn't exist, we'd never believe a fantastic yarn like I Was Monty's Double. Actor M.E. Clifton James plays himself, a British stock-company actor who becomes an unsung hero during World War II. It seems that James, serving his country as a junior officer, is the exact double of General Montgomery. Major John Mills trains James to impersonate Montgomery to the last detail, then sends the actor on a tour of North Africa, the better to divert the German's attentions away from the real "Monty." Based on James' own written reminiscences, I Was Monty's Double was released in the U.S. under the baffling title Hell, Heaven or Hoboken! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this efficient British crime drama, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is an ex-con looking for honest work. He thinks he's found it when he takes a job as a truck driver, but he soon discovers that the trucking firm he's signed on with is not playing by the rules. Red (Patrick McGoohan), the company's best driver, and Cartley (William Hartnell), the manager, have created five fictional drivers who have been added to the payroll. The other staff drivers are given the shifts that the phony drivers are supposed to be working, while Red and Cartley divide their pay packets. When Tom attempts to expose the corruption at the trucking firm, he soon discovers that he's taken his life in his hands in the process. Keep an eye peeled for a supporting performance by a young Sean Connery (it was only his fifth screen role); the cast also includes Herbert Lom, Jill Ireland, Peggy Cummins, and David McCallum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Hammond Innes, the British Campbell's Kingdom is set in the Canadian Rockies. Dirk Bogarde plays Bruce Campbell, a British aristocrat who has been given only six months to live. Inheriting a financially troubled Canadian valley, Campbell finds a new lease on life as he champions the cause of the local citizenry. He is particually effective in standing up to the eco-unfriendly excesses of contractor Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker), whose ethically-challenged dam project threatens to flood the valley. Methodically paced, Campbell's Kingdom rewards the viewer's patience with an abundance of action highlights, the best of which is reserved for last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

King Shadov (Charles Chaplin), the newly deposed monarch of a small European country, arrives in New York to face a life in exile. No sooner does he get here, however, than he discovers that his prime minister has stolen the entire royal treasury and departed for parts unknown. Stranded in New York in a luxury hotel without any money, the king tries to adjust to life in America and elicit interest in his plan for the peaceful use of nuclear power. He finds America in 1957 to be too noisy for his taste, however -- a run-in with some rock & roll dancers leads to some slapstick antics, and he doesn't take much to modern movies or the blaring entertainment that goes with them. He meets a pretty young lady (Dawn Addams) in a slightly risqué slapstick encounter in which he is trying to "rescue" her, and she maneuvers him into helping to plug a deodorant on television. The king proves so beguiling on the small screen that he is deluged by offers from advertising agencies, which he rejects at first. But the king soon finds that advertising may be the only thing he can do to earn enough money to keep him living like a king in exile, and he tries to work the system to his advantage, his earnings from television enabling him to remain in the country and push his peaceful nuclear plan. He soon finds the true dark side of life in the United States, however, when he crosses paths with an unhappy little boy (Michael Chaplin, the star/director's own son) whose parents are about to be jailed as part of the anti-Communist hysteria of the period. In the end, the king provides a shelter to the boy but compromises himself in the process, and while he does make the Congressional committee investigating him look foolish, he sees that he has done all of the good that he can do for now in the United States and leaves. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Based on a best-selling Australian novel by D'Arcy Niland, The Shiralee stars Peter Finch as an Aussie "swagman," or poacher, saddled with a faithless wife (Elizabeth Sellars). Concerned over the well-being of his young daughter (Dana Wilson), Finch takes her out of her hostile environment and hits the road. Against the breathtaking landscapes and panoramas of the Outback, Father and Daughter grow to love and understand one another on a deeper and more profound level than ever before. The storyline rambles more than does Peter Finch, but the relationship between the two main characters holds the film together. The Shiralee was remade as an Australian TV miniseries in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wicked as They Come stars Arlene Dahl as Kathy Allen, whose sour attitude on life has been formed by a sexual assault in her childhood. Rising out of the shabbiness of the Lower East Side, Kathy ruthlessly climbs the social and financial ladder by using and then abandoning a series of gullible older men. When she finally gets what she wants out of life, it still isn't enough, and it is this insatiability that leads to her downfall. Extensive location filming in London and Paris adds an exotic touch to this predictable melodrama. Wicked as They Come is based on Portrait in Smoke, a novel by Bill Ballington. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy three bookies attempt to win back their recent losses by kidnapping the favored horse and substituting it with a heavily drugged nag. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lensed in England, The Iron Petticoat has been out of circulation for so long that it's difficult to determine whether it is a long-lost classic or the unmitigated disaster many have claimed it to be. Essentially a rehash of Ninotchka, the film stars Bob Hope as Chuck Lockwood, an American military officer assigned to "de-Communize" defecting Russian aviator Vinka Kovelonko (Katharine Hepburn). Meanwhile, Vinka tries to win Chuck over to the glories of the People's Republic. The film remains on a fairly subtle comic level until its unecessarily slapsticky finale, which, in to paraphrase one reviewer, caused many film fans to completely "give up Hope." Those who've seen The Iron Petticoat are astounded at how well Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn worked together, especially since it has been well documented that the two stars were decidedly not close chums off screen. The film sparked a now-famous war of words between Hope and scriptwriter Ben Hecht, both of whom took out long, rambling trade-paper ads to lambaste each other for "ruining" the project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former circus aerialist Burt Lancaster was the logical choice to star in the Technicolor drama Trapeze. Lancaster plays a crippled acrobat, disabled after attempting to perform a dangerous triple mid-air somersault. Tony Curtis co-stars as an aspiring aerialist who coerces Lancaster into teaching him the tricks of the trade. The friendship between Lancaster and Curtis is threatened by the arrival of beautiful, ambitious circus tumbler Gina Lollobridgida (it's a toss-up as to which of the three stars looks best in spangled tights). Surprisingly, Lancaster's former circus partner Nick Cravat is nowhere to be found in the film; we are, however, treated to the harmonica virtuosity of Johnny Puleo. Trapeze is highlighted by its truly breathtaking stunt sequences, performed by the cream of the European big-top circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

A carnival freak show provides the setting for this murder mystery. The trouble begins when the "Starving Man" the world's longest survivor of a fast is found dead inside his glass cage. It is later learned that he was killed because he had witnessed the murder of an extortionist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this sentimental comedy, Carol Reed tries for a bit of neo-realist whimsy that takes place in the London slums of Petticoat Lane. The film centers upon Joe (Jonathan Ashmore), a six-year-old London East-ender who believes strongly in the magical power of unicorns. Joe and his lonely mother Joanna (Celia Johnson) live with wily, philosophical tailor Kandinsky (David Kossoff), who convinces Joe that if he could only come upon the legendary unicorn, he could grant all the wishes of his poor neighbors. Taking Kandinsky at his word, Joe searches the slums for a unicorn. Then one morning, he finds one. Only thing is, it is not a unicorn but a baby goat with a growth sticking out of his forehead. Nevertheless, Joe is convinced that the goat is a unicorn. He gives an elderly homeless man all of his savings for the kid and triumphantly takes it home. Hoping to use the kid to grant all his friends' wishes, he hopes to grant the wishes of Kandinsky, who wants a steam-pressing table, and Sonia (Diana Dors), an attractive blonde who wants to marry Sam (Joe Robinson), a handsome wrestler. And finally, he wishes for his father to return home to his lonely mother. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Alex Nicol stars as writer Mark Kendrick, who becomes involved in an affair with his murderous neighbor Carol Forrest (Hillary Brooke). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide