Lilli Palmer Movies

Based on a stage play by C. Stafford Dickens, Command Performance is also beholden to The Prisoner of Zenda and other Ruritanian romances of that ilk. Neil Hamilton stars as Peter Fedor, a stage actor who bears a striking resemblance to Prince Alexis of Kordovia (also Neil Hamilton). Getting into a fight with the hotheaded Alexis, Peter gives the prince a royal shiner. Impressed by his courage, the Queen Mother (Vera Lewis) orders Peter to impersonate Alexis, who has announced that he will give up his throne if he is forced to marry the contentious Princess Katerina (Una Merkel). Peter and the Princess fall in love, whereupon the petulant Alexis is told to take a hike. Command Performance was one of several interesting if not altogether successful films produced by James Cruze for low-budget Tiffany Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The popularity of musical-comedy favorite Jack Hulbert sometimes obscured the fact that his brother Claude was a talented farceur in his own right. In Wolf's Clothing, Claude Hulbert plays Ambrose Girling, an upper-class twit who happens to be the exact double of a notorious international assassin. Forced to pose as his look-alike, Ambrose gets mixed up in a sinister espionage plot, with such fringe benefits as fancy clothes and gorgeous girls. Lili Palmer, who'd only been in England for a year or so, makes one of her earliest appearances as the ingenue (a role curiously overlooked in most official resumes of Palmer's career). Based on a stage comedy by Evadne Price and Brock Williams, Wolf's Clothing represents the second British directorial effort of Hungarian-born Andrew Marton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the novels of W. Somerset Maugham, The Secret Agent is the second in a trilogy of Alfred Hitchcock spy movies (along with The 39 Steps and Sabotage). Set during WWI, John Gielgud plays British novelist Edgar Brodie who discovers that a government agency has faked his own death. He is then given orders to go to Switzerland to kill a German agent. He goes by the name of Richard Ashenden and travels with secret agent Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll), who poses as his wife. Richard joins professional killer the General (Peter Lorre) to look for clues, which leads them to suspect the tourist Caypor (Percy Marmont). Elsa occupies Caypor's wife, Florence Kahn, while Richard and the General attempt to complete their mission during a climbing trip in the Alps. It turns out he was the wrong man, so the spies reluctantly start another search for clues that leads them to the American charmer Robert Marvin (Robert Young). Unfortunately, he has just boarded a train to Greece with Elsa, so they have to get onboard and warn her. The situation is complicated with an air attack, where several key players meet their fate. The Secret Agent marked a rare instance where Hitchcock was pressured into changing the ending from the more grim original. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In this French crime comedy, the headmaster of a school located near a prison is inadvertently involved in stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. The trouble begins with one of his students who is, unbeknownst to the headmaster, the son of a famous art thief. The father has been planning the robbery for a long time and this is why the boy is enrolled in the school. When the father innocently asks the headmaster if he can stay for a while at the school, the headmaster is happy to oblige him and even ends up helping him pull off the heist. Later, the school boys rally together to help their poor teacher return the painting. In the end the schoolmaster is considered a national hero. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic drama, a renowned stage singer leaves the theater to become a gypsy after his voice weakens. The break down of his voice is caused by nerves. In the gypsy camp he continues to sing on the street. In camp, he falls for a beautiful, naive gypsy girl who doesn't know that he is famous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Crackerjack tells the story of Jack Drake (Tom Walls), who is seemingly an ordinary, foppish member of England's idle rich, a true ne'er-do-well. He has a secret, however (actually, several) -- the first being a heart of gold and a social conscience, which motivate him to help the less fortunate; the second is an array of special, stealthy skills that permit him to be a master thief, so masterful that he can even steal from other thieves without their knowledge. His exploits, attributed to a master thief known as "Crackerjack," are even chronicled in an anonymously authored bestseller entitled Crackerjack (which even the Scotland Yard superintendent is reading). Its royalties are all directed to a charity. As he explains to his valet/social secretary, Burdge (Charles Heslop -- the only person who knows his secret), he never steals from anyone who would actually miss the money in any material way, and he does it because they're "too mean to give it away themselves." He is also in love with the Baroness Von Haltz (Lilli Palmer) and the two interests converge at a costume party thrown by Mrs. Humbold (Muriel George) -- he plans to court the baroness and steal the Humbold pearls. But all plans of romance are swept aside when the quartet of American entertainers at the party turn out to be armed robbers who kill one of the guests. Now a cat-and-mouse game ensues: Crackerjack on the one side trying to steer Scotland Yard to the American gang, the gang trying to get a line on Crackerjack to get the Humboldt pearls, and Scotland Yard caught between them, and on top of that, baroness is in jeopardy. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A Girl Must Live is the philosophy of gold-digging chorus girls Gloria Lind (Renee Houston) and Clytie Devine (Lilli Palmer). Both feel that they could live most comfortably off the money inherited by the Earl of Pangborough (Hugh Sinclair) a handsome but unworldly nobleman. Despite the most strenuous efforts by Gloria and Clytie, it is sweet and demure chorine Leslie James (Margaret Lockwood) who claims the Earl as her husband. Robust comedy relief is provided by the venerable George Robey as a bibulous "sugar daddy". A Girl Must Live was one of three 1939 films directed by Carol Reed, still some distance removed from Odd Man Out, The Third Man and Oliver!. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Ardrey's theatrical semi-fantasy Thunder Rock was transformed in 1944 into one of the most successful British films of the year. Michael Redgrave stars as a disillusioned war correspondent, David Charleston, who shuts himself away from society by taking up residence in a Lake Michigan lighthouse. During one particularly stormy evening, Charleston's solitude is invaded by several strangers, all dressed in 19th century costume. It develops that these strangers are the ghosts of immigrants whose ship went down some 100 years earlier. Through their optimistic example, Charleston renews his own spirits and gives the world a second chance. When Thunder Rock threatens to get too ethereal for its own good, it is brought back to earth by the sardonic presence of James Mason, playing a live visitor to the lighthouse who spars both verbally and physically with the self-pitying Charleston. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

English without Tears is a gentle satire of the temporary relaxation of class barriers in wartime England. Michael Wilding portrays the faithful family butler to a fabulously wealthy household. Each member of the family greets the news of upcoming world conflict with a different reaction, the most altruistic of which is that of the daughter (Penelope Dudley Ward), who joins the home service. When the butler rises to the army rank of lieutenant, the daughter sees him in a whole new light and falls in love with her onetime employee. There's little in this frivolous film that hasn't been done elsewhere, except perhaps for the opening-scene romantic complications in Geneva, which set the stage for the film's finale. English without Tears was released in the US in 1948 as Her Man Gilbey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by actual events, Cloak and Dagger was first major "atomic power" melodrama of the postwar era. Gary Cooper stars as bookish physics professor Alvah Jesper, a character obviously based on A-bomb codeveloper J. Robert Oppenheimer. Pressed into service by the OSS in the last months of WW2, Jasper is sent to Europe in search of Dr. Polda (Vladimir Sokoloff), an atomic scientist held captive by the Nazis. In Switzerland, Jesper quickly runs afoul of enemy spies who murder the only person to know Polda's whereabouts. Moving on to Italy, he links up with the partisans, falling in love with gorgeous resistance fighter Gina (Lilli Palmer). Adopting a disguise, Jesper finally locates Polda and spends the last few reels in a desperate dash to freedom. Screenwriters Albert Maltz and Ring Lardner Jr. had originally intended Cloak and Dagger as a warning to a complacent America. Director Fritz Lang recalled in later years that, as conceived and filmed, the ending was to have occured after Jesper and a group of Allied soldiers stumbled upon the ruins of a secret Nazi A-bomb factory, as well as evidence that the German scientists had fled to parts unknown with their atomic secrets intact. "It's day one of the Atomic Age", Jesper was to have noted ruefully, "And God help us if we think we can keep it a secret much longer." This lengthy coda was removed from the final release print, transforming a thought-provoking drama into a mere romantic thriller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This riveting 1947 drama, regarded by many as the greatest boxing movie of all time, centers on a former pugilist who looks back on his life in and out of the ring and realizes that self-respect is a more important prize than winning. John Garfield is Charlie Davis, a former boxing champion who began fighting in order to save himself and his mother from poverty after his father was killed in a mob-related bombing. William Conrad plays Quinn, a veteran boxer-turned-trainer who discovers that Davis has the potential to be a professional fighter. Eager to take on all contenders, Davis eventually defeats the world champion, but winning has cost him more than he bargained for. He falls in with the mob and takes to a life of easy women and plentiful booze, winning easy bouts with second-rate opponents. In the end, Davis realizes the error of his ways -- but is it too late? With all the odds against him, and knowing that the fight has already been fixed, Davis is forced to make the choice between what's expected of him and what he expects of himself. The fight sequences were filmed on roller skates with a hand-held camera, adding a realism that strengthens the film's verisimilitude. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Allen Boretz from Lucille S. Plumbs and Sara B. Smith's stage play Ever the Beginning, My Girl Tisa is set in New York at the turn of the century. Tisa Kepes (Lilli Palmer) is a newly arrived immigrant girl who hopes to bring her father to America. She is fleeced by travel-agent Hugo Haas, browbeaten by sweatshop-owner Akim Tamiroff, and offered sagacious but ineffectual legal advice by Sam Wanamaker. It takes a "deus ex machina" appearance by Theodore Roosevelt (Sidney Blackmer) to solve Tisa's dilemma. When asked about My Girl Tisa, director Elliot Nugent was proudest of his ability to cut down on the budget by filming several of his street scenes from an overhead vantage point, thereby economizing on sets and extras. The film was produced independently by Milton Sperling's United States Pictures, and released by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide