Edgar Norfolk Movies

Comparatively little known today, Republic's Laughing Anne was a Late Late Show perennial in the early 1960s. One of several Republic features lensed in England in collaboration with producer Herbert Wilcox, the film stars Margaret Lockwood in the title role. A well-known Parisian cabaret singer, Laughing Anne travels to the South Seas with her ex-prizefighter boyfriend Jem Farrell (Forrest Tucker). Here she falls in love with schooner captain Davidson (Wendell Corey), but she eventually breaks off the relationship, fearing reprisals from the brutish Jem. Years later, fate brings Davidson, Anne and Jem back together, and the results are disastrous for at least two of the three. Laughing Anne was loosely based on a story by Joseph Conrad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fans of British film star Anna Neagle had a field day with her bravura Technicolor vehicle Elizabeth of Ladymead--though not enough fans showed up back in 1948 to make the film a success. Neagle portrays four different characters from four different historical periods, each named Elizabeth. The first, Beth, lives in 1854 London, as the Crimean War rages thousands of miles away. The second, Elizabeth, lives in 1903, just after the Boer war. The third, Betty, is a girl of 1919, the year after World War I. And the fourth, Liz, is a contemporary lass of post-World War II London. We watch as each of the four Elizabeths emerges as a woman of independence while the menfolk are off to war. Whenever the film becomes too repetitious, Elizabeth of Ladymead scores on the charm of Anna Neagle and her attractive deportment while wearing period costumes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

London psychiatrist Burgess Meredith takes on the case of schizophrenic ex-POW Kieron Moore. So long as Meredith is diligent in his approach, Moore shows signs of improvement, and a lessening of his more violent tendencies. But the moment Meredith takes too much for granted, Moore goes off the deep end, murdering his wife and committing suicide. Brought up on malpractice charges, Meredith is saved by the testimony of his loyal physician-friend John Laurie, though for a time the psychiatrist's own mental condition is as fragile as that of his late patient. While Burgess Meredith was fond of noting that he had to leave Hollywood for England to find a worthwhile film role, Mine Own Executioner suffered from a bout of Hollywood-style interference in delineating the shady background of its protagonist, which might have clarified several confusing plot points. Still, the film has a lot of "guts," especially for a late-1940s effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lively detective drama, Sexton Blake, private eye, must find out who stole the bonds of a prominent financier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a detective looks into the death of a man involved in the occult. Although the obvious evidence points to the dead man's niece as the killer, the detective doesn't believe it. Sure enough he proves her innocence and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Produced for an economical (even in 1932) £4000, Hotel Splendide stars comedian Jerry Verno as Jerry Mason, an impecunious nobody who inherits the seaside resort of the title. He immediately quits his dead end job, tells his boss off, and travels to Speymouth -- where he finds that his vision of his inheritance does not quite match reality. Although initially disappointed, he decides he will try to make a go of it and sets about making plans on how to bolster the hotel's (and his) fortunes. Along the way he discovers a small package that, unbeknownst to him, contains the famous Dysart Pearls, stolen and buried there before the hotel was built. Eventually the packet falls into the possession of Gentleman Charlie, a former convict who is posing as a new guest at the Splendide. Several complications ensue involving a rival gangster, a detective, a series of mistaken identities and a safe (the combination of which Mason has forgotten) before all ends well and Mason finds himself richer by £10,000. The first of director Michael Powell's features for Gaumont-British, Splendide marked the first time Powell appeared as an actor in a movie which he also directed. In addition, it features one of the earliest cinematic uses of "Funeral March of the Marionettes," better known as the theme music for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

In this British drama, a woman squanders her husband's fortune and then boots him out. With no savings, she and a friend open a nightclub where illegal gambling is done and liquor is drunk. There she earns enough money to school her two daughters. One of the daughters winds up killing the father. The mother, wanting to forget it all, burns down her club and silently slips away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Sherlock Holmes mystery, the great detective and Dr. Watson help a young woman who has received a giant pearl from a mysterious man. The woman, to whom Watson is very attracted, is also searching for her father who has mysteriously disappeared. Holmes and the Dr. first go to the home of a flamboyant fellow in South London. This man too is being harassed by the mysterious stranger. This leads the sleuths to a one-legged criminal and his assistant, a dwarf. The story climaxes with a thrilling motor boat chase down the Thames. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide