Anthony Marlowe Movies

In this comedy, a widow tries living with each of her three sons. She becomes quite upset when her favorite son heads for America. In the end, the young men rally together and buy her a cottage of her own in the village. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The first of the popular British "Doctor" comedy series, Doctor in the House stars Dirk Bogarde as callow young medical student Simon Sparrow. Beginning his five-year internship at St. Swithin's Teaching Hospital, Sparrow continually runs afoul of head doctor Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson-Justice). His social life is spiced up when Sparrow is taken under the wings of three student repeaters, who've flunked their prelims and are seeking a second chance. Most of the humor is very basic and not a little vulgar, ranging from the character name "Sir Lancelot Sprat" (say it really fast) to the now famous "What's the bleeding time?" routine. The film spawned several theatrical follow-ups, as well as a 1970s TV series; all were based on the semi-satirical novels by Dr. Richard Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Firmly in the fantasy groove previously plowed by such films as The Canterville Ghost and The Time of Their Lives is the 1947 British comedy The Ghosts of Berkeley Square. Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer play a pair of fatuous Colonel Blimp military types, whose efforts to shorten the war results only in getting the both of them killed. Summoned to a Heavenly court, Morley and Aylmer incur the wrath of Queen Anne. She orders them to haunt a mansion until they can prove themselves worthy of entering the Pearly Gates. For a film that practically no one has ever heard of, Ghosts of Berkeley Square is an embarrassment of riches in the casting department: among the British favorites appearing in the film are Martita Hunt, A.E. Mathews, James Hayter, Ernst Thesiger, and Wilfred Hyde-White. The film was based on the novel No Nightingales by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Technicolor retelling of the Gaston Leroux "grand guignol" classic The Phantom of the Opera has a little more opera than phantom, but that's because the stars are soprano Susannah Foster and tenor Nelson Eddy. Claude Rains carries the acting honors on his shoulders, playing a pathetic orchestra violinist who worships aspiring opera-singer Foster from afar. The girl is unaware that Rains has secretly been financing her music lessons with instructor Leo Carrillo. When he runs out of money, Rains attempts to sell the concerto that he's been working on all his life. Mistakenly believing that his precious concerto has been stolen from him, Rains attacks and kills the music publisher he holds responsible. Terrified, the publisher's mistress throws a pan full of acid into Rains' face. Rains runs screaming into the night, and is not heard from for the next reel or so. Soon afterward, the Paris Opera house is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents. The managers are informed via letter that the "accidents" will continue if Foster is not immediately promoted to leading roles. Only after reigning diva Jane Farrar is drugged into incapacitation is Foster given her big break. Farrar accuses Foster's boyfriend, police inspector Nelson Eddy, of doping her in order to advance Foster's career. Farrar is later strangled, and Eddy is accused of the crime. The culprit is, of course, Rains, who now poses as the masked-and-caped "phantom". Maniacally determined that no one will impede Foster's success, Rains causes a huge chandelier to crash down on the opera audience when Foster fails to appear onstage (she'd been kept from performing by police-chief Edgar Barrier, who hoped in this manner to flush The Phantom out of hiding). A chase through the catacombs below the opera house ensues, with Rains holding Foster prisoner. When Rains briefly lets down his guard, the tremulous Foster removes his mask. It's "yecccch," all right, but nowhere near as frightening as the unmasking scene in the silent Lon Chaney version of Phantom of the Opera. The same can be said for the rest of this 1943 remake, though in fairness it appears as though the film wasn't really designed to scare anyone, but instead to serve as a suspense yarn with musical interludes. Hume Cronyn makes his second film appearance in Phantom in a microscopic role. The huge sets designed for this picture were hastily reused for the 1944 Universal melodrama The Climax, starring Boris Karloff and (again) Susannah Foster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed French filmmaker Rene Clair made his American debut with this period comedy/drama. Claire Ledeux (Marlene Dietrich) leaves her native France and arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1841, with one goal in mind: marrying a wealthy man. Posing as a pillar of society and a woman of means, Claire sets her sights on Charles Giraud (Roland Young), who is good looking and rich, but she soon discovers that ship captain Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot) is also vying for her hand. However, when Zoltov (Mischa Auer), who knew Claire from the old country, starts dropping heavy hints about her scandalous reputation in Europe, Claire tries to convince everyone that he's really talking about her cousin, even going so far as to disguise herself as the phantom cousin to add weight to her ruse. Three Stooges fans should keep an eye peeled for a brief appearance by Shemp Howard, who plays a waiter; Andy Devine, Franklin Pangborn, and Clarence Muse also appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide