Joan Maude Movies

In this drama, a woman blames herself for her husband's murder. To help overcome her grief and guilt, she becomes a nurse. When a patient dies under her care, the woman has a breakdown and begins rebelling against all authority. She finally regains her humanity after she helps doctors perform a caesarian section. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Film noir about a physician who sets aside his altruistic quest for a cure for polio when a femme fatale coerces him into murder and blackmail. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Also known as Stairway to Heaven, A Matter of Life and Death is the remarkable British fantasy film that became the surprise hit of 1946. David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a World War II RAF pilot who is forced to bail out of his crippled plane without a parachute. He wakes up to find he has landed on Earth utterly unharmed...which wasn't supposed to happen according to the rules of Heaven. A celestial court argues over whether or not to claim Carter's life or to let him survive to wed his American sweetheart (Kim Hunter). During an operation, in which Carter hovers between life and death, he dreams that his spirit is on trial, with God (Abraham Sofaer) as judge and Carter's recently deceased best friend (Roger Livesey) as defense counsel. The film tries to have it both ways by suggesting that the heavenly scenes are all a product of Carter's imagination, but the audience knows better. Among the curious but effective artistic choices in A Matter of Life and Death was the decision to film the earthbound scenes in Technicolor and the Heaven sequences in black-and-white. The film was a product of the adventuresome team known as "The Archers": Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

If nothing else, the British melodrama Night Boat to Dublin had topicality going for it. As Captain David Grant, Robert Newton heads the cast of this spy-hunt caper. The plot concerns the efforts to rescue a Swedish scientist from the clutches of Nazi ringleader Keitel (Herbert Lom) and his minions. The scientist is of course of the "atomic" variety, meaning that it's crucial to smuggle him to safety before the Germans can learn his secrets. The authentic Dublin dialects heard throughout the film add charm and authenticity to the proceedings, though they are a bit hard to understand at times. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rex Harrison stars in this stylish British drama that caused problems with U.S. censors, who forced the film to be trimmed due to what was considered graphically amoral and sexual content for its time. Harrison is Vivian Kenway, an unrepentant cad who embarks on a campaign of irresponsible behavior after being ejected from Oxford. Among his many sins are seducing Jill Duncan (Jean Kent), the wife of his best friend Sandy (Griffith Jones), marrying a rich Austrian Jew, Rikki Krausner (Lilli Palmer), for her money, and dallying with the secretary (Margaret Johnson) of his father, Colonel Kenway (Godfrey Tearle). The feckless Vivian's actions cause no small amount of collateral damage to his loved ones, including the drunken death of his father and the attempted suicide of Rikki. Vivian ends up serving in World War II, however, where his non-heroic ultimate sacrifice may (or may not) redeem him. The Rake's Progress (1945 was released in the U.S. under the title Notorious Gentleman. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Monica Dickens' novel One Pair of Feet was the source of the sociological drama The Lamp Still Burns. Like the original novel, the film is a plea for better conditions in English hospitals-and, more specifically, for better treatment of England's selfless nurses. Rosamund John is a tower of strength as Hilary Clarke, a young woman who sacrifices all in pursuit of a nursing career. The many trials and tribulations facing Hilary in her daily work are amplified in wartime, when she and her colleagues are forced to work under appalling conditions in air raid shelters, subway cars and amidst the rubble of bombed-out buildings. The Lamp Still Burns was produced by actor Leslie Howard, who was killed in the service of his country not long after the film was released. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For 400 years, the Fosdyck family were the only fishermen in a tiny British coastal village. Now, the Fosdyck's predominance is threatened by the arrival of a new clan, the Lunns. Patriarch Uncle Isaac Fosdyck (J. Fisher White) regards the Lunns as invaders, declaring them persona non grata in his household. Now comes the BIG SURPRISE: Ruth Fosdyck (Geraldine Fitzgerald) falls in love with Marney Lynn (John Garrick). After a minimum of muss-and-fuss, the two families bury the hatchet and elect to share their piscatorial plunder. Perhaps the original Leo Walmsey novel Three Fevers was more innovative than this by-the-numbers film version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jew Suss was a well-worn stage drama based on an old novel by Lionel Feuchtwanger. The story involves an enterprising Jewish businessman (Conrad Veidt) who gains power and influence in the European community of Wurttemburg. He does this to help his people, who have suffered persecution under the Gentile burgomeisters. To his horror, Suss discovers that he is actually not Jewish at all. The question: Was his own suffering on behalf of the community's genuine Jews worth it, and will he continue to act in their best interest? Filmed as a protest against the rising tide of Anti-Semitism in Germany, Jew Suss (released in the U.S. as Power) was far from subtle, but its heart was in the right place. There would be a reprehensible 1940 German remake of Jew Suss, this time filmed under the aegis of Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels, wherein the story was perverted into an anti-Jewish tract and Suss was portrayed as a drooling rapist! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The tumultuous relationship between a self-made man and his no-account son is chronicled in this drama. The father is proud that he has worked his way into wealth and power. He is deeply disappointed that his playboy son did not follow in his footsteps. When he learns that the boy jumps a ship bound for Australia so he can see his lover, a married woman, the father goes berserk and almost beats his son to death with a horsewhip. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Filmed in the Yiddish language, The Wandering Jew features Jacob Ben-Ami as a young Jewish artist living in Germany in the early 1930s. As the Nazis gain in influence, the artist's life and livelihood are slowly eroded: his non-Jewish fiancee leaves him and his paintings are rejected by the Academy of Art. Growing to despise his heritage, the artist prepares to destroy his latest painting, a portrait of his father titled The Eternal Jew. Suddenly the figure in the portrait comes to life, and as the astonished artist listens in rapt attention, the figure relates the history of Jewish perseverance in the face of such horrors as the Spanish Inquisition and the Russian pogroms. Inspired, the artist vows to devote his life to the anti-Nazi cause. The Wandering Jew is a remarkable film for its era, so far and yet so near to the "Final Solution." In retrospect, the film's most poignant moments occur when the hero's father describes the comparatively benign treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. The filmmakers weren't in possession of all the facts in 1933--nor was the rest of the world, for that matter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this children's fantasy set in the scenic British empire, a young boy dreams that he is on a guided tour of Buckingham Palace, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Northern Ireland, and India. The scenes of the royal residence were the first ever shot in the palace. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi