Harry Locke Movies
In British films from the early 1940s, Harry Locke was a dependable character actor specializing in small "service" roles. Locke was most often seen playing porters, cabbies and desk clerks. His better known films include Piccadilly Incident (1944), Treasure Island (1950), Doctor in the House (1955), All at Sea (1957) and Man in the Cocked Hat (1959). Many of Harry Locke's last appearances were in such British horror flicks as Tales from the Crypt (1973) and The Creeping Flesh (1973). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1952
In this comedy, an off-center widow and her eccentric daughters must deal with a series of comic mishaps while they wait for one of the daughters to have a baby. The nervous father-to-be complicates matters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
"Angels One Five" is the cognomen bestowed upon a group of WW II British fighter pilots. The squadron leader is Tiger Small (Jack Hawkins), who is taken out of commission after an accident. Despite the protests from his fellow flyboys, Tiger insists upon taking to the air again, thereby setting the stage for the film's exciting and inspirational finale. Angels One Five differs from other combat films in that the battles generally take place offscreen; the progress of the principal characters is relayed to the audience via radio reports and control-room charts. If this sounds dull and static, it isn't: in fact, Angels One Five is among the best of the "Battle of Britain" war epics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, (more)
- 1951
In this drama, a reporter helps prove the innocence of a man wrongfully incarcerated for dealing drugs. The reporter learns of the situation when the convict's vagabond pals, with his influence and support, justice soon prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
The Naked Heart was also released as Maria Chapdelaine, which also happened to be the title of its source, a novel by Louis Hemon. Adapter-director Marc Allegret has fashioned the material into a vehicle for one of his most successful discoveries, Michele Morgan. This is the story of a young woman whose romantic fantasies begin spilling over into actuality. The film's novelty value is its setting: a remote village in Northern Canada. Filmed simultaneously in French and English-language versions, The Naked Heart was produced independently on a tiny budget; while the seams begin to show towards the end, for the most part the film works. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Kieron Moore, (more)
- 1950
Rocky Mountain was planned as a big budget western, but Warner Bros. pared down both its budget and its length to "programmer" dimensions. Errol Flynn plays a Confederate officer trying to recruit troops in California. Unfortunately the only folks interested in the Southern cause are bandits and drifters, so Flynn has to watch his back. The fiancee (Patrice Wymore) of a Union Army officer (Scott Forbes) is rescued from an Indian attack by Flynn's men, but they are reluctant to release her lest she tip off their whereabouts. A Yankee patrol headed by the girl's fiance is captured by Flynn, but he eventually allows the Yanks and the girl safe passage in order to save them from an Indian massacre. Rocky Mountain was no great advance in cinematic art, but it did serve to introduce Errol Flynn to Patrice Wymore, who became his third (and last) wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Scott Forbes, (more)
The Walt Disney production of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic novel Treasure Island is one of the company's best live-action films of the '50s, and one of the best family-oriented adventures ever filmed. Bobby Driscoll plays Jim Hawkins, a young cabin boy who battles the pirate Long John Silver (Robert Newton) for a treasure. Disney changes the ending of the book, yet the film is so entertaining--particularly Newton's scene-stealing performance--that the difference is forgivable. In the '70s, Treasure Island was re-issued with "objectionable" violence cut out of the print; the original version was restored in the 1992 home video re-release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, (more)
- 1949
Peter Ustinov co-produced, wrote and co-directed the quietly effective Private Angelo. Set during
WW II, the film stars Ustinov as a tremulous Italian army private who does his best to avoid getting shot at. Trouble is, the more he tries to run away from danger, the more dangerous his life becomes. Private Angelo's cowardice provides an endless source of embarrassment for his nobleman father (Conway Tearle); it also offers his fiancee Lucrezia (Maria Denis) an excuse to be unfaithful. Like most of Ustinov's written works, Private Angelo aims at quiet chuckles rather than belly laughs; also, there are no real heroes and villains, just ordinary folks in extraordinary circumstances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
WW II, the film stars Ustinov as a tremulous Italian army private who does his best to avoid getting shot at. Trouble is, the more he tries to run away from danger, the more dangerous his life becomes. Private Angelo's cowardice provides an endless source of embarrassment for his nobleman father (Conway Tearle); it also offers his fiancee Lucrezia (Maria Denis) an excuse to be unfaithful. Like most of Ustinov's written works, Private Angelo aims at quiet chuckles rather than belly laughs; also, there are no real heroes and villains, just ordinary folks in extraordinary circumstances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Godfrey Tearle, Peter Ustinov, (more)
- 1949
Passport to Pimlico is one of the most charmingly whimsical Ealing Studios comedies of the late 1940s-early 1950s. As a result of wartime bombing, an ancient parchment is uncovered, proving that the Pimlico section of London belongs to Burgundy, France. Long taken for granted by other Londoners, the tiny Pimlico populace decides to take advantage of its "foreign" status. Affable oaf Stanley Holloway is made head of the new government, whereupon he merrily begins erecting borders and imposing customs duties. The sweetly satirical script of Passport to Pimlico was written by director Henry Cornelius and Ealing stalwart T.E.B. Clarke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, (more)
- 1948
Based on the play by Joan Temple, No Room at the Inn takes place in the early stages of WW2, when the children of London were evacuated to the Country. A group of these youthful refugees are taken in by Mrs. Voray (Freda Jackson), who already has several orphans in her charge. Outwardly the soul of Christian charity, Mrs. Voray is actually a drunken harridan who treats the children like her own personal slaves. It is said that when the villainess received her comeuppance, movie audiences were known to stand up and cheer. The most intriguing aspect of this melodramatic exercise is that the screenplay was written by legendary Welsh poet Dylan Thomas! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freda Jackson, Joy Shelton, (more)
- 1948
Anna Neagle plays a patriotic young British girl who joins the WRENS when war breaks out. She marries Michael Wilding, the son of an nobleman. Neagle is shipped off to Singapore and is presumed killed in action. Wilding's grief is assuaged when he meets American WAVE Frances Mercer. He remarries, and the couple have a child. But Neagle is not dead, merely marooned on a desert island. Upon returning to civilization, Neagle glimpses her husband and his new family, tearfully realizes that there's no place for her in his new life, and is promptly blown to bits in an air raid. A weeper deluxe, Piccadilly Incident was an unusually morose effort for Anna Neagle and her producer-husband Herbert Wilcox. Casting notes: Michael Wilding was third choice for the leading man after Rex Harrison and John Mills, while Frances Mercer was a last-minute replacement for Marsha Hunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1920
This picture, in three parts, was promoted as being true-to-life, but judging from the reviews, it's obviously just melodramatic fodder -- except for the last story. The first part, entitled, "Out of the Night," involves a suburban wife (Estelle Taylor) whose husband (William Locke) is away for the night. Her ex-husband, who she assumed to be dead (Marc MacDermott), shows up at her door. But before things get too complicated a burglar (Harry Sothern) enters the house and kills him. The wife tells the burglar she'll keep his secret if he keeps hers. The next part, "The Gay White Way," involves a vamp (Taylor again) playing the badger game until she is caught by a detective who had been pretending innocence. The last and most interesting story is "A Tragedy of the East Side," which takes places in the slums. A paralyzed man (MacDermott again) watches helplessly as his son (Sothern) woos and weds a girl of little character (Taylor once again). The girl takes in a fugitive from the law (Earl Metcalfe) and hides him at their home. A romance develops between the two, and the son only figures this out by his father's facial expressions. He finds the couple together and the gangster kills him. When the police come around to investigate, the father's facial expressions, once again, reveal the killer's whereabouts. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
