Henry Oscar Movies
This sci-fi fantasy film was supposedly inspired by a line from an Edgar Allen Poe poem. It is also the last film made by distinguished director Jacques Tourneur. The adventure begins when the widowed ruler of a sub-oceanic kingdom spies a woman on the land who closely resembles his late wife. Believing that she is the reincarnation of his beloved spouse, the mer-king orders his gill men to kidnap her. Fortunately two courageous divers and their pet rooster brave the mysterious depths and the deadly gillmen to rescue her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1964
The last of Margaret Rutherford's "Miss Marple" films, Murder Ahoy is the only one of the series not based on an Agatha Christie original. The setting this time is a boat that has been purchased by a trusteeship to serve as a home for wayward kids. One of the trustees, Cecil Ffolly-Hardwicke (Henry Longhurst), dies while attending a meeting held aboard the boat. The police write the death off as "natural causes," but another trustee, our Miss Marple (Rutherford), suspects otherwise. Doing a little sleuthing on her own, she discovers that outwardly respectable Lionel Jeffries is using the boat as a "training school" for aspiring criminals, a la Fagin. This would seem to explain why Hardwicke was murdered, but Jeffries is much too obvious a suspect--as Miss Marple discovers nearly too late. Margaret Rutherford's husband Stringer Davis is back again as Miss Marple's platonic middle-aged friend Mr. Stringer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Rutherford, Lionel Jeffries, (more)
- 1960
Robert Morley is ideally cast as the legendary playwright, poet, and wit Oscar Wilde in this biographical look at the author's tumultuous life. While he was married to a woman named Constance (Phyllis Calvert), Wilde was primarily attracted to men, and at the height of his fame, he became involved with Lord Alfred Douglas (John Neville), the estranged son of the Marquis of Queensberry (Edward Chapman). The Marquis, who disliked Wilde, publicly referred to him as a "sodomite," and Wilde sued for libel. However, in the midst of the resultant trial, Sir Edward Carson (Ralph Richardson) badgered Wilde into admitting his homosexuality under oath; Wilde lost his libel suit, and was then successfully prosecuted for indecency, for which he served two years at hard labor. Wilde died a poor and emotionally shattered man in Paris a few years later. Oscar Wilde was produced at roughly the same time as The Trials of Oscar Wilde, in which Peter Finch played the title role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morley, Phyllis Calvert, (more)
- 1960
Hammer Films and director Terence Fisher followed the excellent Horror of Dracula with this well-made, richly-colored sequel which suffers only from the conspicuous lack of Dracula himself -- since Horror's Christopher Lee had declined participation in further Dracula sequels for the time being. In his stead, we have young, blond Baron Meinster (David Peel) providing the requisite vampiric threat. Though imprisoned in the family estate by his mother, Meinster is released from his silver chains by an unsuspecting French teacher (Yvonne Monlaur), through which he gains access to a veritable smorgasbord of nubile wenches at a girls' school. Fortunately, master vampire killer Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is on the case. Besides featuring some of the best acting, photography and period detail of the Hammer Dracula series, this is also one of the first to delve into the more sexual aspects of vampirism, with implicit suggestions of incest, sadomasochism and homosexuality. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, (more)
- 1960
Albert Lieven plays German general Erwin Rommel in this British war drama set in Libya and Egypt. A spy working on behalf of Rommel slips behind British lines and swipes "valuable" battle plans. Actually the information is false, planted by counterintelligence in hopes of misleading the "desert fox". Based on a true story, Foxhole in Cairo is an instructive if not overly suspenseful history lesson. Keep an eye peeled for Michael Caine, billed 16th in the published cast list (but uncredited in many prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, (more)
- 1959
Beyond This Place is a tame murder mystery based on a novel by A. J. Cronin. Van Johnson is cast as an American citizen whose British father has supposedly been dead for years. On a visit to London, Johnson discovers that his father is very much alive, serving a life sentence for murder. Johnson inaugurates his own investigation, retraces the trail of circumstantial evidence, and unearths the real culprit. Director Jack Cardiff was not happy with his work on Beyond This Place, possibly because he was obliged for box office purposes to use an American star in an essentially British story. The film was released in the US as Web of Evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1958
In this crime drama, a Yankee rocket scientist stationed in Great Britain becomes an undercover investigator when he suspects that his laboratory base has been infiltrated by an enemy spy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The eponymous Spaniard--actually a Britisher of Spanish heritage--is Basil Dignam, falsely convicted of murder. As he is led away, Dignam places a curse on the heads of his judge (Michael Hordern) and jury. Two of the jurors die mysteriously. The notion that Dignam may be orchestrating these deaths from behind bars is squelched when the prisoner himself kicks off. Hordern and his daughter Susan Beaumont play detective to solve the mystery. The Spaniard's Curse is adapted from a novel by Edith Pargiter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
The Boulting Brothers enjoyed one of their biggest box-office successes of the 1950s with the wry service comedy Private's Progress. Though billed fourth, Ian Carmichael plays the central character, feckless British soldier Stanley Windrush. Interrupting his college education to serve his country, Windrush flunks out of officer's candidate school and is demoted to private. Much of the humor arises from the bookish hero's confrontation with the ruder and cruder side of army life, as represented by rough-hewn fellow private Cox (Richard Attenborough). As Major Hitchcock, Terry-Thomas offers a brilliant parody of the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" school of military service, while Dennis Price is equally amusing as a nonplussed commanding officer named Tracepurcel (!) Also worth watching is future "Dr. Who" star William Hartnell as a loudmouthed sergeant. Halfway through the film, the plot rears its ugly head as the protagonists become involved with the covert reclamation of art treasures confiscated by the Nazis during WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, (more)
- 1956
Adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from Andre Roussin's risque stage farce that has become a staple of community theatres, The Little Hut is totally reliant upon the charms of stars Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger and David Niven. Granger is a businessman who is too busy to pay attention to wife Gardner (is he blind?) David Niven is the couple's best friend, who harbors a secret longing for Gardner. All three are stranded on a desert island; you take it from there. Despite the much-touted scenes of Ava Gardner in a skimpy negligee, the film version of The Little Hut is about as racy as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1956
In this drama, a construction contractor gets into trouble when he inadvertently receives some stolen property. This makes it even more difficult for him to frantically finish a housing estate designed to harbor a visiting princess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Postmark for Danger was filmed in England, where it was released as Portrait of Alison. Terry Moore stars as an American actress who becomes the unwitting dupe in a diamond-smuggling schemes. Ingredients essential to the action are a beautiful strangulation victim (Josephine Green), an unusual charm bracelet, a curiously labelled bottle of chianti, and a hastily sketched drawing on the back of a postcard. The screenplay, by cinematographer Guy Green (who also directed), was adapted from a popular British TV serial. Released stateside by RKO Radio, Postmark for Danger was produced by Tony Owen, the husband of actress Donna Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry Moore, Robert Beatty, (more)
- 1954
As an actor, British film star Stewart Granger was very handsome, but this is all that is required of him in Beau Brummell. Granger plays the famed 18th-century dandy and social arbiter who rises from poverty to become the adviser and severest critic of the Prince of Wales (marvelously portrayed as a self-involved neurotic by Peter Ustinov). Secure in his station in life, Brummell goes one step too far when he jokes about the Prince's obesity. The future King George IV will forget the whole thing if Brummell will apologize, but the haughty trendsetter refuses to do so. Brummell is banished from court, losing everything -- including his chance at finding happiness with the aristocratic Elizabeth Taylor -- in the process. Filmed on location in England, Beau Brummell was based on the same war-horse play by Clyde Fitch that had served as the inspiration for the 1924 Brummell starring John Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1954
Hollywood actress Marsha Hunt, blacklisted during the "Red Scare" of the early 1950s, was able to find occasional work in England. Ms. Hunt is top-billed in Diplomatic Passport, but hers is a secondary role to hero Paul Carpenter. The latter plays an American diplomat who is being used as an unwitting courier by diamond smugglers.Honor Blackman, twixt and tween her "English Rose" period and her leather-clad Avengers days, is the femme fatale. Diplomatic Passport was co-produced by Burt Balaban, of American theatre-chain fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Guy Rolfe is top-billed in the British Prelude to Fame, but the critics' attention was directed at young newcomer Jeremy Spencer. This is the story of a poverty-stricken boy named Guido (Spencer) who turns out to be a musical prodigy. Prodded into fame by a wealthy, childless patroness of the arts (Kathleen Ryan), Guido rises to the uppermost rungs of the musical world -- and loses his childhood in the process. Star Rolfe is cast as John Morrell, the philosophy professor who discovers Guido's genius, only to regret what happens to the boy afterward. Best scene: Jeremy Spencer leading the London Philharmonic without adult assistance. Released in America by Universal-International, Prelude to Fame is based on a story by Aldous Huxley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron, (more)
Partly conceived as a follow-up to Prince of Foxes, 20th Century-Fox's The Black Rose, reunites the earlier film's two stars, Tyrone Power and Orson Welles. Filmed on location in England and Morocco, the story concerns 13th-century Saxon nobleman Walter of Gurnie (Tyrone Power), who, after sparking an unsuccessful rebellion against the Norman conquerors of his homeland, sets out to seek his fortune in the Far East. In the company of his friend Tristam (Jack Hawkins), Walter makes the acquaintance of megalomanic North African warlord Bayan (Orson Welles). Journeying farther, Walter and Tristam arrive in China, where they are treated with deference--so long as they never try to leave. Eventually escaping his Chinese hosts, Walter returns to his native country. Previously renounced by King Edward (Michael Rennie) because of his role in the a Saxon rebellion, Walter is welcomed back with open arms because of all the cultural and scientific wonders he's brought back from China (including gunpowder). The "Black Rose" of the title is the beauteous Maryam (Cecile Aubrey), with whom Walter fell in love while both were the prisoners of Bayan. A bit lacking in terms of spectacular adventure sequences, Black Rose scores points on its star power and splendid Technicolor photography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, (more)
- 1949
Written by John Gilling, The Man From Yesterday is an other-worldly melodrama in the same vein as J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls. The lion's share of the footage goes to Henry Oscar, playing an Indian mystic. Oscar arrives at the home of Marie Burke, who wants to contact the spirit of her dead fiance. When Marie subsequently dies herself, Oscar accuses jealous John Stuart of arranging both deaths, whereupon Stuart kills Oscar. That's when we find out the whole film has been a dream, and everyone in the household is still alive--but Oscar has died while en route to the house. Future film star Laurence Harvey shows up in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
George Gordon, aka Lord Byron, the clubfooted 19th-century poet with the uncontrollable libido, is played by Dennis Price in this lavish British chocolate-box epic. From the vantage point of his deathbed, Byron recalls his life and many loves, imagining that he's pleading his case before a celestial court. Joan Greenwood looks like she's just stepped out of a portrait frame as Lady Caroline Lamb (whose own sordid story would also be filmed in due time). Her performance is far more persuasive than that of Dennis Price, who seems less libertine than precocious as Byron. Roundly ridiculed by British film critics in 1949, The Bad Lord Byron has stood the test of time -- not really a classic, but an acceptable rainy-day wallow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1948
In one of his rare visits to his home turf, British actor David Niven essayed the title role in Bonnie Prince Charlie. The film's principal challenge was to transform 18th-century Scottish Prince Charles into a sympathetic character, which, patriotism aside, he most decidedly was not in real life. The court-intrigue scenes are the weakest aspect of the film; the strongest moments take place on the battlefield, where Charles "the pretender" and his followers face down the battalions of King George II (Martin Miller). Even in defeat, Charles is the victor, successfully eluding his British pursuers and escaping to France. Filmed in Technicolor at a cost of $4 million, Bonnie Prince Charlie fell with a thud when it premiered at a kidney-busting 140 minutes. Subsequent reissues were cut by as many as 40 minutes, and some were economically reprocessed in black-and-white. Thanks to constant exposure on American television, this notorious flop finally posted a profit in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Margaret Leighton, (more)
- 1948
The "Soho" invoked in the title is not the New York City artistic colony but a seedy section of London. What happened was a series of murders, committed by a modern Jack-the-Ripper type. Reporter Richard Murdoch turns detective in hopes of getting a swell story. Meanwhile, Murdoch's girlfriend Patricia Raine nearly becomes a strangling victim herself (gee, really?) It Happened in Solo transpires in a busy 55 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1948
In this psychological thriller, an avaricious man covets his stepbrother's home. The greedy fellow knows that his stepbrother has a heart condition and so sets off a fatal attack by smashing a beloved violin. He then throws his wife and his other step-brother out of the house. But his actions do not come without a terrible price, and soon he begins to go mad. Thinking that he hears the plaintive songs of the broken violin, he runs to the piano and begins to loudly play hoping drown out the hellish sounds. A wild fear overtakes the man as the violin plays on and on until at last he crumples, face down upon the keyboard, a victim of a massive, fatal heart attack. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This early film treatment of the tale of Burke and Hare stars the notoriously flamboyant Tod Slaughter as the title grave-robber who, with accomplice Mr. Moore (Henry Oscar), purloins corpses from the mortuaries and graveyards of Edinburgh (and other questionable locations) for sale to the medical academy. When demand begins to exceed supply, Hart and Moore turn to the living, murdering drunks, transients and prostitutes to obtain fresh cadavers. Their plan is ultimately undone when their next victim, whom they mistake for a feeble-minded drunkard, turns out to be a well-known member of the community. Although originally filmed as a fairly loyal account of Burke and Hare's legendary exploits (titled The Crimes of Burke and Hare), the film's release was blocked by British censors, who insisted the producers remove all references to the actual grave-robbing duo. The film underwent a title change and all dialogue was re-looped to feature the alternate character names of Hart and Moore. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1948
The Idol of Paris is based on Paiva, Queen of Love, a novel by Alfred Schirokauer. Set in the mid-19th century, the film traces the rags-to-riches story of a girl named Theresa (Beryl Baxter). Sleeping her way to the top, she becomes a highly sought-after Parisian courtesan, one worthy of the attentions of the Emperor Napoleon (Kenneth Kent). But Theresa has no time for the Emperor, not with such virile lovers as Hertz (Michael Rennie) around and about. Despite inherent censorship problems, The Idol of Paris was picked up for American distribution by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sybilla Binder, Campbell Cotts, (more)
- 1947
James Mason stars in The Upturned Glass as a prosperous British brain surgeon. Mason saves Rosamund John's daughter from blindness, whereupon the married John falls in love with the doctor. The illicit lovers conduct a passionate affair while John's husband is out of the country. When John dies mysteriously, Mason suspects that the culprit is his own jealous sister-in-law Pamela Kellino (Mason's real-life wife at the time). Acting on his suspicions, Mason murders Kellino, stuffs her body in the trunk of his car, and drives to parts unknown to dispose of the corpse. Before he is able to do this, Mason is called to the home of a dying child. Despite the risk of being exposed as a murderer, Mason leaves his car unattended to rush to the side of the stricken child. The film doesn't end very happily for Mason, but he is mildly comforted by the fact that he has remained loyal to the Hippocratic oath. Upturned Glass is a virtual compendium of late-1940s British melodramatic devices: tortured hero, well-planned crime, moonlight-drenched photography, lengthy flashbacks, quasi-classical music score, and the rest of the repertoire. The film was coproduced by James Mason, and cowritten by Mason's wife and costar Pamela Kellino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Rosamund John, (more)
