Isabel Jeans Movies

Another cheeky entry from the Aldwych Theatre farceurs, Banana Ridge is based on a play by Aldwych perennial Ben Travers. Alfred Drayton plays a wealthy, respected gentleman suddenly confronted with old flame Isabel Jeans. She shows up out of nowhere, claiming that her illegitimate son is his. The possibility of scandal creates a brouhaha with Drayton's wife Adela Dixon, and daughter Nova Pilbeam. Old chum Robertson Hare offers to help Drayton out--and nearly wrecks his own marriage in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the early stages of his directing career, Alfred Hitchcock made a number of hackneyed studio films which barely resemble the works he would go on to direct. The society drama Easy Virtue is one of the nine silent movies Hitchcock directed. The film opens with Larita Filton posing for her portrait in an artist's studio. The behavior of her boorish, philandering husband, Aubrey Filton, drives her into the artist's arms where her husband discovers her. In the melee that follows, the artist shoots the husband, wounding but not killing him. Aubrey sues for divorce and Larita falls from grace in the courtroom while journalists feed the public a salaciously inflated account. Ruined, Larita flees to the south of France and meets John Whittaker, a young, upstanding British man. They fall in love, marry, and the happy couple returns to England to mummy. Mother Whittaker, a Victorian in the modern age, strenuously opposes the union and upbraids John for bringing scandal upon the family name. Neither John nor his father has the strength to withstand Mother Whittaker's onslaught, and the film, and Larita, end miserably. Hitchcock does one of his wordless cameos in the film. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

In her only Warner Bros. starring film, Carole Lombard plays a Hollywood movie actress who makes the park-bench acquaintance of an impoverished French marquis (Fernand Gravet). Hoping to coerce Carole into marriage, the nobleman poses as a butler and enters her household. His plan is to compromise Lombard and force her to make him an "honest man"--with the attendant cash settlement. Ralph Bellamy, as ever, is the poor clod who really loves Lombard but who loses her in the end to the chastened Gravet. Rodgers and Hart were commissioned to write several songs for this film, but found most of their efforts consigned to the cutting room floor. Fools for Scandal was based on Nancy Hamilton's stage play Return Engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Garden of the Moon is a fancy New York nightclub owned by Pat O'Brien. Margaret Lindsay (replacing a recalcitrant Bette Davis) is the girl who comes between O'Brien and his bandleader, John Payne. The duplicitous O'Brien spends most of his screen time figuring out various underhanded means to keep Payne from breaking his contract--and to keep Ms. Lindsay for himself. Though directed by Busby Berkeley, Garden of the Moon is surprisingly shy of dance numbers. Its musical highlight is that Looney Tunes standard "The Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish," with vocal solos by John Payne, Johnnie "Scat" Davis, and Jerry Colonna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French film version of Colette's best-selling novel Gigi predated both the 1950 stage adaptation and the 1958 Hollywood musical of the same name. Set in fin de siecle Paris, The story is the familiar one about 16-year-old Gigi (Daniele Delorme), a waif-like creature who is trained to become a Parisian courtesan by her worldly wise Aunt, Mme. Alvarez (Yvonne de Bray). The girl's first assignment is to serve as the "arm ornament" of wealthy playboy Gaston (Frank Villard), whose previous experiences with women have turned him into something of misogynist. When Gigi falls genuinely in love with Gaston, Mme. Alvarez is appalled: after all, true love is bad for business. Gaston is likewise taken aback by Gigi's devotion -- until he realizes with startling suddenness that he has fallen for her. Long unavailable in the U.S. due to the Oscar-winning MGM musical remake, Gigi happily resurfaced on American cable television in the mid-1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

American first lady Eleanor Roosevelt's impending visit to a tiny English country village is the motivation of the Anglo-American coproduction Great Day. As the villagers prepare for their prestigious guest, all sorts of internal squabbles and personal foibles rise to the surface. The story concentrates on embittered WW1 veteran Captain Ellis (Eric Portman), whose insecessant drinking and sponging is a source of embarrassment for his long-suffering family. The Captain's daughter Margaret (Sheila Sim) is on the verge of entering into a wealthy but loveless marriage so that she can rescue her mother (Flora Robson) from her father's excesses. In the Lesley Storm stage play on which this film was based, Captain Ellis comes to a bad but not entirely undeserved end; the film allows him a last-minute reprieve, as well as a chance to change his ways before Mrs. R. shows up. A moderate hit in England, Great Day sank like a stone when released in the US by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Considered a bit too sacrilegious for general consumption in 1963, the Boulting brothers' Heavens Above was simply ahead of its time, and has since accrued a loyal and vocal following. Peter Sellers plays an idealistic British reverend with a bad habit of telling the truth at all times. He also follows his conscience whenever possible, resulting in several cleric decisions that shock his wealthy, landed-gentry parishioners. By inviting such "undesirables" as gypsies and West Africans to worship freely in his church, Sellers rouses the ire of the rest of his white-bread flock. He does, however, compel the selfish owner (Isabel Jeans) of a laxative firm to "see the light" and to sell off all her holdings on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Unfortunately, by doing this the woman wrecks her business--which is the principal source of income for the community where Sellers works. Retreating from town with an angry mob on his heels, Sellers relocates on a tiny island in the Pacific. Since the island is the site of a missile base, and since the local astronauts have shown signs of agnosticism, where else is there for Sellers to go...but up? Heavens Above was inspired by a notion cooked up by iconoclastic British satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British mystery, a diplomat's wife, thinking she is protecting her lover, takes the rap for her husband's murder. It is later revealed that a spy was the real culprit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romance, a typist is the secret mistress of a wealthy man. After three years of illicit romance, he suddenly dumps her for the love of a wealthy heiress. The broken-hearted girl goes on with her life and falls in love with another, but when her original lover returns to beg forgiveness, they are happily reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The superb cinematography of Aldo Tonti adds immeasureably to the enjoyment of Souvenir D'Italie. The story revolves around three lovely young ladies: Margaret (June Laverick) from England, Hilde (Ingeborg Schoener) from Germany and Josette (Isabelle Corey) from France. Hitchhiking through Northern Italy, our three heroines enjoy numerous picaresque adventures. Some of the best scenes involve Alberto Sordi as a self-styled gigolo whose charms fail to impress the trio of lovelies. Likewise amusing is Vittorio de Sica in an extended cameo role. An English-language version of Souvenir D'Italie was prepared simultaneously by British producer J. Arthur Rank. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Crouching Beast was based on Clubfoot, an espionage novel by Valentine Williams. Set in 1915 Constantinople, the story is motivated by the sinister activities of Turkish secret agent Ahmed Bey (Fritz Kortner), better known as Clubfoot. Wynne Gibson stars as American newspaperwoman Gail Dunbar, who becomes inadvertently involved in Clubfoot's skullduggery, and at one point is subjected to a torturous interrogation by the villain. She escapes in time to aid a British agent in stealing plans of the Dardanelles fortifications. Originally released at 79 minutes, The Crouching Beast was shown of a reel's worth of footage before its American release through RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide