Carla Lehmann Movies
- 1947
When a young man from an economically depressed area of England (played by Michael Redgrave) decides that his calling is to help the beleaguered workers in his area, he takes as his symbol a sword passed down to him by an ancestor who picked it up at the Battle of Peterloo in 1819, where it had been used against workers. Beginning as an idealistic defender of the oppressed workers, he rises to power in the Parliament, where he discovers that power corrupts and he becomes the very type of politician he had originally set out to displace. Sometimes slow-moving, this is an interesting look into the reasons why the Labor and the Conservative factions are at loggerheads with each other in Great Britain. Very loosely based on labor leader Ramsay MacDonald's climb to power, the story was adapted by Howard Spring and is a combination of both fact and fiction. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, (more)
- 1945
One of the few low-budget British programmers to enjoy a reasonably widespread American release, Facts of Love tells its tale in one basic set in a compact 65 minutes. The film weaves three separate romantic subplots into an entertaining unified whole. An elderly couple (Gordon Harker and Betty Balfour) are at sixes and sevens when their son Peter (Jimmy Hanley) falls in love--twice! One of Peter's lady friends is naïve country girl Fay (Carla Lehmann). The other is worldly, wealthy Joan (Jill Evans), who happens to already have a husband (Hubert Gregg) A farcical near-menage a quartre is interrupted when the older couple unexpectedly returns from a holiday. Facts of Love was originally released in England as 29 Acacia Avenue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Betty Balfour, (more)
- 1944
Fact, fiction and espionage are combined in this drama that follows the exploits of Eisenhower's top aide, Mark Clark, and other important Allies as they journey to an important meeting held on Algeria's coast. The precise location of this vital secret gathering is upon a piece of film which must not fall into enemy hands, lest the Allied honchos get captured. The film is hidden in a German colony in Algiers. It is up to one of Britains top spies to bring it to safety. He is hindered by a Nazi spy who follows him. He is assisted by an American woman and a French woman. They are successful and gun-play ensues as they try to flee the country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Carla Lehmann, (more)
- 1942
Produced by Britain's Teddington Studios on behalf of Warner Bros., The Flying Fortress stars Richard Greene, who had to be furloughed from the Army to participate in this wartime morale-booster. Greene plays millionaire playboy Jim Spence, a carefree aviation enthusiast whose avocation becomes his vocation when the war breaks out. Giving up wine, women and song for the duration (well, at least wine and song), Spence mans the controls of a British "flying fortress" for periodic bombing forays over Berlin. The film's "money scene" finds Spence clambering out of his plane to repair a hole in its side in mid-air-a bit of bravado which, amazingly, is based on a true incident. For unknown reasons, Flying Fortress was heavily edited for its American release, rendering its storyline a tad hard to follow at times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Greene, Carla Lehmann, (more)
- 1942
In this WW II actioner, two British Intelligence agents and a French agent follow their leader into Nazi-occupied France to see how strong the invaders really are; unfortunately, the only way to get that information is to break into the German headquarters. They do so by pretending to be champagne vendors. As soon as the Nazis figure out their scheme, they begin chasing the Allied agents who are assisted by the French Resistance to make sure the information is given to the British who use it to destroy the German supplies and munitions. During their flight, one of the agents his killed; later his sister vows to do everything she can to stop those evil Nazis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Williams, Carla Lehmann, (more)
- 1942
Two sisters stick by each other through thick and thin in this drama. The elder sister has a rather sexually checkered past. The tale begins as she heads for the French Riviera in search of more adventure and meets a charming man who knows nothing about her notorious past. They end up getting married. It is then he sees his bride's name figured prominently in a tabloid. The younger sister intervenes to save the union and tells him that she was the naughty sister. Unfortunately, her admission causes her own romantic life to crumble so the older sister finally 'fesses up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Williams, Carla Lehmann, (more)
- 1941
Based on the Evadne Price-Ken Attiwell stage play, Once a Crook stars Gordon Harker as ex-safecracker Charlie Hopkins. Convinced that Charlie was responsible for his arrest, his former partner The Duke (Bernard Lee) vows to get even our hero. The Duke accomplishes this by luring Charlie's son Bill (Cyril Cusack) into a life of crime. It turns out that Bill is an even more accomplished safecracker than his old man, leading to a series of curious complications which come to an end only through the auspices of The Duke's golden-hearted girlfriend Estelle (Carla Lehmann). Fans of the "James Bond" series might enjoy seeing a young Bernard Lee (later cast as Bond's no-nonsense boss "M") in a comically villainous role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Sydney Howard, (more)
- 1941
Cottage to Let is a taut British wartime spy thriller, laced with moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. The "maguffin" in this instance is a revolutionary new bombsight, designed by inventor John Barrington (Leslie Banks). A group of Nazi spies intend to steal the blueprints for the invention (hence the film's alternate title Bombsight Stolen), and to that end dispatch one of their top agents (John Mills), who parachutes into the story posing as wounded RAF pilot Lt. Perry. Hailed as a war hero by the gullible locals, Perry rents a cottage from the unsuspecting Barrington and his wife (Jeanne de Casalis). The treacherous Nazi meets his match in the unlikely form of oafish Charles Dimble (Alastair Sim), who turns out to be a British undercover agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Banks, Jeanne de Casalis, (more)
- 1940
In this British comedy, three sailors accidentally get on a Nazi ship. Mayhem ensues when they commandeer it for the Royal Navy. The story is also known as Three Cockeyed Sailors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
In this WW II comedy, three British sailors get roaring drunk in a South American port, accidentally mistake a German battleship for their own and stagger aboard. Boozy mayhem ensues until the tipsy trio manages to capture the ship and its entire crew on behalf of the Royal Navy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1939
This comedy is based on George M. Cohan's popular play and centers on an American businessman and his family who journey to England to meet a prominent English lord. It is an important meeting complicated by the fact that neither men care for each other's nationality. Unfortunately, their children have no such bias and they end up falling in love, forcing the two men to reconcile their differences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Drayton, Robertson Hare, (more)
- 1939
North Sea Patrol is a remake of the 1927 film of the same name; both were adapted from Luck of the Navy, a stage play by Mrs. Clifford Mills. Using a few clips of actual battleships for versimilitude, the film concerns a covert plan by an unnamed enemy nation to invade the sacred shores of England. The spies disguise themselves as the household servants of an admiral, so it can be said with some assurance that this is one picture in which the butler did it. Coming to the rescue is the admiral's daughter (Judy Kelly) and her dashing young navy officer beau (Geoffrey Toone). Made just before the outbreak of WW2, North Sea Patrol was promoted as "up to date" entertainment, even though its source material was nearly twenty years old. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Toone, Judy Kelly, (more)
