Aubrey Mallalieu Movies

Based on the infamous Archer-Shee case of 1912, The Winslow Boy features Neil North as the 14-year-old title character. Accused of a petty theft, North is expelled from Naval College. His father, retired bank official Sir Cedric Hardwycke, is prevented by existing British law to clear his son's name. He engages attorney Robert Donat, who successfully petitions for the right to sue the Admiralty and make this august organization prove its charges in court. Public opinion, however, is strongly against Hardwycke and his family: particularly effected is Hardwycke's daughter Margaret Leighton, whose fiance breaks off their engagement. For dramatic purposes, Margaret finds solace in a romantic relationship with barrister Donat. Terrence Rattigan worked on the cinemadaptation of his own play, which was later restaged on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nazi war criminal Bruckner (Mervyn Johns) manages to escape capture at the end of WW II. Bruckner sets up shop in England, where he continues his diabolical germ-warfare experiments. Murdering an Australian physician, the regenerate Nazi assumes the dead man's identity to escape detection. His downfall comes when he falls in love with pretty lab assistant Tracy Shaw (Nova Pilbeam), and he refuses to murder her when ordered to do so by his superiors. The ending is right of the "hoist on his own petard" school of dramatics. Devil's Plot was released in the U.S. in mid-1953, and within a few months was making the TV Late-Show rounds. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This lush 18th century period romance, based on historical fact, was the first color film from Britain's famed Ealing Studios, but it proved to be such a box office disappointment that Ealing never attempted such a lavish costume drama again. Sophie Dorothea (Joan Greenwood) is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull). George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark (Stewart Granger). The feeling is mutual, and an affair begins, the couple carefully plotting to flee England to begin a new life together. Disaster strikes when they are overheard by Countess Platen (Flora Robson), a jealous former lover of Konigsmark's who takes her information to the king. Adapted from the Helen Simpson novel, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) was an early film for writer Alexander Mackendrick, who would later direct the classic Sweet Smell of Success (1957). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The problem of "enemy" war brides was eloquently addressed in the British drama Frieda. In her English-language film debut, Mai Zetterling plays the title character, the German wife of RAF officer Robert (David Farrar). Though an avowed anti-Nazi, Frieda faces acrimony and prejudice when introduced to Robert's friends and family. The problem is exacerbated by the arrival of her brother Ricky (Albert Levien), ostensibly a conscript in the Polish army but actually an unregenerate disciple of Hitler. A satisfactory ending is reached only when everyone-Ricky included-learns to stop hating and to bury the past. Based on a play by Ronald Miller, Frieda was released in the US by Universal, shorn of but one minute of its original running time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in Yorkshire in the 19th century, this period drama centers upon a family of mill owners. The story shifts from the well-to-do surroundings of the Crowther family to the less desirable conditions in the mill. While there are the usual crises, disasters, and labor clashes, the film manages to include a few humorous moments, mostly providing by top-billed comic actor Tom Walls. The production couldn't really hope for a profitable American run, but it did well in the provincial British cinemas. Master of Bankdam was based on the novel The Crowthers of Bankdam by Thomas Armstrong. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Future Doctor Who star William Hartnell plays the leading role in the British second feature Murder in Reverse. Hartnell portrays a man who has spent 15 years in prison on a murder charge. Not only is he innocent, but the murder never took place. Once released, Hartnell tracks down his "victim" and kills him in full view of a crowded courtroom. He then laughingly dares the authorities to convict him again for a murder he's supposed to have already committed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced, directed and scripted by Peter Ustinov (who did not star), Secret Flight was released in Great Britain in 1946, but not distributed in the U.S. until 1951 -- at which time it was panned as being out-of-date! The fact-based screenplay details the efforts of five dedicated British scientists to develop Radar and other preventative measures on the eve of WW II. The five "boffins" are played by Ralph Richardson, Raymond Huntley, John Laurie, Ernest Jay and David Tomlinson. Some excitement is engendered when a test pilot (Richard Attenborough) cooperates with the scientists' remote-control airflight experiments. Given the film's sober treatment of certain British wartime military maneuvers, it is surprising that Peter Ustinov frequently chooses to depict the scientists as Dr. Watson-style comic figures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feminists beware! This blatantly sexist comedy may definitely raise a few hackles as it tells the story of a recently divorced inventor who becomes a scientist for the War Office to escape women, especially overtalkative, nagging ones like his ex-wife. Unfortunately, his female-free peace is disturbed when an American colonel and his mute daughter, who stopped speaking after a terrifying torpedo attack during a visit to Blighty, comes to work there. The inventor finds the quiet lassie utterly charming and so marries her. Unfortunately, soon afterward, the girl suffers another shock and begins talking again. Now it seems as if she is trying to make up for lost time and this drives the insensitive inventor crazy. They have a big fight and she ends up running away. Unfortunately, she is pregnant and so later agrees to return and never speak when he is around. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, set during the reign of King Charles II, the aristocratic Lady Skelton (Margaret Lockwood) attempts to relieve the tedium of her day-to-day life by secretly acting as a highway robber. Meeting up with the rogue Captain Jerry Jackson (James Mason), the two begin a relationship. When her private and public lives begin to interfere with one another, however, Lady Skelton finds herself caught up in a tangled web of romance, danger, and jealousy. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

I Live in Grosvenor Square is better known by its American release title, A Yank in London. Anna Neagle, whose husband Herbert Wilcox produced and directed the film, stars as Lady Patricia Fairfax, who enters into a brief wartime romance with American air force sergeant John Patterson (Dean Jagger). The plot proper is based on a true WW II incident, wherein an Air Corps crew deliberately sacrificed their lives to save an English village of no strategic importance. The multinational supporting cast includes Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Jane Darwell, and real-life American PFC Elliot Arluck. At the time of its release, I Live in Grosvenor Square was praised for the authenticity of its settings and characterizations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Champagne Charlie is a luxuriously produced tale of the 19th Century British music halls. Tommy Trinder stars as 1860s singer George Leybourne, better known as "Champagne Charlie" thanks to his most popular song and his highrolling lifestyle. The dramatic tension of the film is stoked by Leybourne's rivalry with fellow entertainer The Great Vance, played by Stanley Holloway. Future British leading ladies Kay Kendall and Hazel Court can be spotted amongst the bit players in Champagne Charlie. PS: the 1989 2-part TV movie of the same name is not a remake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Yellow Canary was one of several wartime collaborations between British producer-director Herbert Wilcox and Hollywood's RKO Radio Pictures. The film stars Wilcox's wife Anna Neagle as pretty aristocrat Sally Maitland. Having alienated many of her friends with her prewar Nazi sympathies, Sally continues hobnobbing with the Third Reich once war has been declared. Actually, her pro-German activities are a sham; she's actually working hand and glove with the British government to smash an Axis spy ring in Canada. Along for the ride is British intelligence officer Jim Garrick (Richard Greene), who ultimately falls in love with Sally. There's a "mystery" angle to the plotline of The Yellow Canary, but it is largely ignored when the story takes a melodramatic turn in the last few reels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi