Henry Oscar Movies

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

Set in 1783, this romance chronicles the doomed relationship between a prince regent and a Catholic widow. The prince falls for her first, but as there is a great gulf in social class, she laughs at his advances. The poor prince is so distraught he attempts suicide. The widow then feels compassion and secretly marries him. Unfortunately, their secret becomes grist for the rumor mill and when it threatens the relationship between the prince and the king, the prince denies his marriage. The jilted woman runs away, and the prince marries the woman to whom he was originally betrothed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also known as The Avengers, the British The Day Will Dawn is set in Norway at the outbreak of WW2. British foreign correspondent Lockwood (Ralph Richardson), forced out of Norway by the Nazi invasion, returns to the occupied Scandanavian country at the request of the War Office. Lockwood's assignment is to guide the RAF to a heavily camouflaged German U-boat base for sabotage purposes. With the help of patriotic Norwegian seaman Alstad (Finlay Currie), Lockwood completes his mission, only to be arrested as a spy and sentenced to be shot. The final portions of the film detail our hero's attempt to escape back to England with Alstad's daughter Kari (Deborah Kerr), with whom he has fallen in love. The intricately crafted screenplay is attributed to three of Britain's finest scriveners, Terence Rattigan, Anatole de Grunewald and Patrick Kirwen-and one suspects that there were even more talented hands involved in this thrill-packed wartime adevnture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paramount Pictures' British division was responsible for this adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel Hatter's Castle. Robert Newton is appropriately mean-spirited as an 1890s hatter, James Brodie, who is anxious to claw his way up from poverty. Desperate to make himself socially acceptable as his income increases, Brodie proceeds to make life miserable for those closest to him: his wife (Beatrice Varley) and daughter (Deborah Kerr). For all his blinkered social climbing, Brodie can never truly escape his true station in life -- a moral better suited to the class-conscious British audiences than the equal-opportunity Americans. Hatter's Castle was well distributed in the U.S. through Paramount's intimidatingly efficient studio-owned theater circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in England, Flying Squad was the final effort of veteran silent-film director Herbert (Peter Pan) Brenon. The script was based on a popular play by suspense specialist Edgar Wallace, adapted by the late Wallace's son. Carol Goodner stars as the sister of a young man who was murdered by drug smugglers. Carol joins the gang, hoping to bring the criminals to justice. She learns that her brother was knocked off by a crooked cop, who is in deep with the gang and can't escape their clutches. Someone falls in love with someone else in The Flying Squad, and we'll wager you can guess who it is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British drawing room comedy, a wealthy socialite falls in love with the a young woman from the lower class. Her mother owns a boarding house and at first, the socialite turns up his blue-blooded nose at them. But then he begins learning more about their lives and gradually changes his mind. He then decides to take his girl to his family's country estate for a weekend. His snooty mother is appalled and tries to stop them. Eventually, with the butler's assistance, romance prevails. This is the third remake of the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1935, the British Hell's Cargo finally received a US release in 1939, capitalizing on the recent outbreak of war in Europe. Most of the story takes place on a cargo ship, slowly inching its way through treacherous waters with a cargo consisting of a top-secret poison gas. When the ship's intoxicated doctor reveals the nature of the cargo to a good-time girl in a foreign port, chaos ensues, culminating in the death of the treacherous doctor at the hands of the ship's three commanding officers: Englishman Falcon (Kim Peacock), Frenchman Lestallieur (Walter Rilla), and Russian Tomasov (Robert Newton). The question: if a murder is committed in to maintain the Peace of the World, can it truly be considered murder? Hell's Cargo was based on a story by French writer/director Leo Joannon, whose later seafaring efforts included Laurel & Hardy's Atoll K (1951). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A case of mistaken identity is the basis for this drama. The trouble begins when a rich entrepreneur is accused of being the notorious thief, Jean Pelletier, who performed his infamous robberies in the years preceding the war. A court battle ensues. The industrialist states that he suffered amnesia during the war. His fiance found him from a newspaper picture. Pelletier's ex-lover then testifies that the man is indeed Pelletier. Another man swears that he had witnessed the robber's death during the war. The accused is acquitted and goes home. The witness waylays him and tells the man that he lied, and that if he doesn't pay him a large ransom, he will tell the court. The poor businessman is truly confused. His amnesia was quite real so there is a definite possibility that he is the thief. He becomes fixated with discovering the truth. He goes to Pelletier's ex-love, and the thief's mother. They convince him. He really is Pelletier. The man decides to turn himself in, but his lawyer convinces him not to do it. In the meantime, the mistress learning that the blackmailer is planning to spill the beans anyway, takes matters into her own hand. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1928, the old Edgar Wallace novel The Terror was dusted off for another cinematic go-round ten years later. A spectacular crime spree, instigated by a mysterious miscreant known only as "The Terror", has galvanized Scotland Yard into action. The trail of clues leads to a ramshackle old castle, owned by retired Army doctor Col. Redmayne (Arthur Wontner). The detective on the scene is one Mr. Goodman (Wilfred Lawson), who has devoted 10 years of his life to bringing The Terror to justice. Among the suspects are such low-lifes as Ferdie Fane (Bernard Lee) and Soapy Marks (Alastair Sim), but the identity of The Terror comes as quite a surprise to all concerned (except for those dyed-in-the-wool mystery fans who pegged the villain's identity as the credits unreeled!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This was the first sound production of A.E.W. Mason's classic adventure novel, which was brought to the screen three times in the silent era. Harry Faversham (John Clements) is the son of a military man who expects his son to follow in his footsteps on the fields of battle. Gen. Burroughs (C. Aubrey Smith), the father of Faversham's sweetheart, Ethne (June Duprez), was also a hero in the Crimean War, and he often regales Harry with tales of his exploits under fire. However, Harry is not so sure he believes in the family's tradition of military service and resigns his commission in 1898, shortly before his company is scheduled to head into the Sudan. Three of Faversham's comrades in arms, Capt. John Durrance (Ralph Richardson), Lt. Peter Burroughs (Donald Gray), and Lt. Arthur Willoughby (Jack Allen), each present Harry with a white feather, symbolizing their belief that he is a coward; Ethne shares their belief, and gives him one as well. Disgusted with himself, Faversham disguises himself as a Sangali tribesman and travels to the Sudan so that he might be able to move behind enemy lines and serve the British forces as a scout and reconnaissance agent. When his former regiment is attacked, Faversham is able to lead Burroughs and Willoughby to safety, with the wounded Durrance not realizing that the Arab who saved his life was in fact the man that he accused of cowardice. The Four Feathers was a great critical and commercial success and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A once-popular stage melodrama by Gordon Sherry was the source for the 1938 British film Black Limelight. Raymond Massey plays Peter Charrington, who early in the proceedings is charged with murder. Escaping from the authorities, Peter desperately tries to keep in touch with his distraught wife Mary (Joan Marion), who believes in his innocence. Meanwhile, an overly unctuous fellow named Lawrence Crawford (Walter Hudd) watches from the sidelines as Peter eludes the police. Crawford has a vested interest in the outcome of the chase; he is, after all, the real murderer. Reviewers in 1938 enjoyed Black Limelight, but carped over the fact that neither Raymond Massey nor Joan Marion seemed inclined to scale down their stage characterizations for the more intimate demands of the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The unorthodox teaming of Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt is but one of the many pleasures of the 1937 spy yarn Dark Journey. Leigh plays a Stockholm dress-shop owner during World War I, who, being a neutral, is permitted to travel unmolested to and from France. Veidt plays a supposedly disgraced German officer who is actually head of his country's secret service. The two fall in love, despite the fact that Leigh has a secret as well: she is a double agent, sympathetic towards the Allied cause. During one of Leigh's voyages to France, her ship is captured by a German U-boat. Veidt swaggers on board, threatening to sink the ship if Leigh is not turned over to him. But the circumstances reverse themselves, and Veidt finds himself Leigh's prisoner--a circumstance that is not altogether unpleasant for him. When originally released in England, Dark Journey bore the title The Anxious Years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide