Sheila Manahan Movies
Irish actress Sheila Manahan worked on British stage, screen, television, and radio from the '40s through the early '60s. Born and raised in Dublin, she got her start in that city's Abbey Theatre. Following WWII, Manahan moved to London. In film, she frequently worked for Alexander Korda. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1962
Welsh librarian John Lewis (Peter Sellers), unhappily married to Jean Lewis (Virginia Maskell), falls in love with the glamorous Elizabeth Gruffydd Williams (Mai Zetterling). Zetterling is likewise saddled with a dull spouse, wealthy Vernon Gruffyd-Williams (Raymond Huntley). Finding themselves to be kindred spirits, Sellers and Zetterling plan an illicit affair. Alas, none of their carefully calculated schemes for a romantic tryst come to fruition thanks to a series of comic (but utterly credible) complications.
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John ultimately concludes that adultery simply isn't worth the bother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1957
Story of Esther Costello is the cinematic equivalent of eating a whole box of potato chips; you may hate yourself, but you'll relish every bite in the meantime. Joan Crawford plays a well-meaning woman who throws herself whole-hog into every charitable cause that comes down the pike. She is married to Rossano Brazzi, who is as greedy as Crawford is generous. Crawford rescues blind deaf-mute Heather Sears from her squalid surroundings, leading to her creation of a charity campaign on behalf of handicapped children, with Sears as "poster child." Brazzi, in league with crooked promoter Ron Randell, seizes upon this as a means to line his own pocket--and one night, he decides to assert his manhood with the helpless Sears. The shock of this assault causes the girl to instantly regain her sight and hearing! Crawford reacts to her husband's outrage by driving her car into a tree, snuffing out Brazzi's life as well as her own. Sears--or Esther Costello, for she is indeed the title character--finds happiness with an honest young reporter (Lee Patterson). Set in America and released by an American company (Columbia), Story of Esther Costello was nonetheless filmed in its entirety in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
- 1956
Though his Hollywood career had petered out, Tom Conway continued to star in British films throughout the 1950s. In Last Man to Hang, Conway heads the cast as Roderick, who at present is on trial for his life. Accused of poisoning his wife, Roderick's fate rests in the hands of the jury, who must decide whether or not the death was accidental. The most damning evidence is provided by Roderick's housekeeper Mrs. Tucker (Freda Jackson), who will do anything to see her ex-employer swinging from a gibbet. The title refers to the British Parliament's mid-1950s efforts to outlaw capital punishment; this legislation would in fact not come about until after the miscarriage of justice dramatized in 1972's Ten Rillington Place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Conway, Elizabeth Sellars, (more)
- 1955
Footsteps in the Fog is a cat-and-mouse Victorian melodrama in the grand tradition. Jean Simmons plays scheming servant girl Lily Watkins, who was hired by sinister nobleman Stephen Lowry (Stewart Granger) and his ailing wife. The wife dies of "natural causes," but Lily knows better, and uses this knowledge to her advantage. In exchange for her silence, she forces Lowry to cater to her every whim. He is forced to go along lest he face the gallows, but in a switch reminiscent of the "lost" ending of 1987's Fatal Attraction, he sees to it that Lily herself is carted away by the constabulary. Filmed in appropriately dank Technicolor, Footsteps in the Fog is an unusual foray into Gaslight territory for director Arthur Lubin, normally a comedy specialist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1950
Barry Jones stars as an idealistic British professor working on atomic research. Upset by the apocalyptic ramifications of his work, Jones constructs his own bomb and threatens to blow up London within one week. His terms: Stop the atomic research or suffer the consequences. As London is evacuated, the authorities close in on Jones, using a rather sophisticated form of psychological warfare to trap the unhinged scientist. Seven Days to Noon manages to sustain its suspense and realism the most part, but is slightly undermined by grainy stock footage of London's children being evacuated during World War II. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, (more)
- 1949
Saints and Sinners is set in a remote Irish village where "appearances" take precedence over everything else. Having served two years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Michael Kissane (Kieron Moore) returns to his home town of Kilwarra. While many of his old friends believe in Michael's innocence, he is obliged to prove that innocence before he will be fully accepted again. Christine Norden plays Blanche, the girl who promised to wait for Michael but who went back on that promise at the behest of her family. Drenched in atmosphere and local color, Saints and Sinners falters only in its depiction of a stereotypical American visitor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kieron Moore, Christine Norden, (more)
- 1948
In this British drama, an ingenious but impoverished young man is determined to live on a Tahitian island. To achieve his goal, he begins hanging out on a street corner in one of London's most dangerous sections in the hopes of getting the chance to save a wealthy person, who should then generously award him by paying his passage to the South Seas. His plans go somewhat awry when a gorgeous woman swings past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Beatty, Moira Lister, (more)
