Jon Pertwee Movies
Though he regularly worked on screen, stage, and television, veteran British actor Jon Pertwee may best be remembered for playing the third Dr. Who in the long-running British sci-fi television series of the same name from 1970 to 1974. The son of actor Roland Pertwee, he started out on-stage and then made his feature film debut in A Yank at Oxford (1937). A string of popular films followed, but Pertwee temporarily abandoned movies to serve with the British Navy during WWII. Upon his return, he reestablished his film career and subsequently proved himself a gifted and multi-talented artist; while appearing in a series of Carry On films, he was compared to Danny Kaye. After leaving the Dr. Who series, Pertwee appeared in several London West End musicals and also returned to feature films such as One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing and The House That Dripped Blood (1971). In 1978, Pertwee became the homeless but lovable bum Worzel Gummedge on the children's show Worzel Gummedge. Up until the time of his death on May 20, 1996, Pertwee enjoyed making guest appearances at Dr. Who conventions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1960
The title of this British farce, one assumes, does not refer to the producers' assessement of its box office success. Richard Murdoch, Sandra Dorne and Jon Pertwee star as, respectively, an American secret agent, a pretty British customs official, and a vain TV star. This less-than-dynamic trio sets about to foil a gang of smugglers. They do, but not before a lot of furniture is smashed and a lot of clothes torn asunder. Yes, it's funny, but for a whole 77 minutes? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Joe is played by Leslie Randall in this lean British programmer. Working at a detergent company, Joe is ignored by his bosses and co-workers alike. But when the opportunity arises for Joe to become a hero, well, watch out! Motivating the plot is a bit of industrial espionage involving the theft of a secret detergent formula. Of interest in Just Joe is the supporting-cast presence of veteran film star Anna May Wong and future Doctor Who Jon Pertwee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this comedy, a common chemist lives up to his lineage (he's a direct descendant of Dr. Jekyll), and creates a concoction which changes him into a suave jewel thief. After pulling off a caper, the thief becomes his original self and then helps bring in a gang of robbers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
In this comedy, an American learns that he is an English earl. He travels to Great Britain to run his estate. Mayhem ensues when he falls in love with a girl there. His girl friend back home is not amused until she finds a new love of her own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A dog's best friend is not always his man, as is seen in this comedy set against the backdrop of professional dog racing. The story centers around a man and his supposedly beloved greyhound. The man spends most of his time caring for the speedy canine. But when the man hears of a dog that could actually beat his, he actually goes out and bets against his own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfred Pickles, Petula Clark, (more)
- 1952
Based on the stage farce by Vernon Sylvanie, Will Any Gentleman? stars George Cole as milquetoast bank clerk Henry Sterling. While attending a music hall show, Sterling accidentally falls under the spell of stage hypnotist Mendoza (Alan Badel). Undergoing a complete change of character, Sterling becomes an unregenerate womanizer, much to the amazement and dismay of his wife (Veronica Hurst). Anxiously, Mendoza tries to track the latter-day Lothario down and snap him out of his spell. The plot of Will Any Gentleman? certainly wasn't new in 1953, but it was still good for a full supply of belly laughs. Featured in the cast are pair of future "Doctor Who" stars, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Cole, Veronica Hurst, (more)
- 1951
This early nuclear satire offers a twisted retelling of the old fairy tale "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg." The story begins as two American newlyweds move to live on an English farm recently inherited by the husband. Unaccustomed to the ways of British country auctions, the husband accidentally buys five dozen ducks. One of those ducks lays radioactive eggs, and eventually the entire farm must be quarantined by the military. Branches of the military then begin fighting over possession of the little quacker. In the end, they all grab the wrong one. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
In the Anglo-American The Body Said No!, actor Michael Rennie plays his most challenging role: "himself." The scene is a British TV studio, where Rennie is performing in a live dramatic broadcast. On another set, singer Yolande Donlan mistakes a director's hand signals as "secret code" in a murder plot. Future Dr. Who star Jon Pertwee pops up as a studio watchman. Believe it or not, commercial television had been a reality in Great Britain for 14 years at the time of The Body Said No!'s 1950 release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
The tantalizingly titled Mystery at the Burlesque was originally released in England as Murder at the Windmill. It must be explained that, for many years, London's Windmill Theatre was famous for its scantily clad chorus girls and potty-mouthed comedians. Filmed on location at the Windmill, the story gets under way when a corpse is found in the last row of the theater. To reconstruct the crime, the detective inspector (Garry Marsh) insists that the Windmill troupe repeat the same show they'd performed on the night of the murder. The film's high or low point (depending on one's own tastes) occurs when one of the seedy Windmill comedians performs his magnificently unfunny monologue before an audience of one. Featured in the cast as Marsh's assistant is future "Dr. Who" Jon Pertwee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garry Marsh, Jon Pertwee, (more)
- 1950
Miss Laramie Pilgrim (Yolande Donlan) is an American factory girl. Anxious to see what life is like outside her own backyard, Miss Pilgrim trades places with a British lass. After reels and reels of culture-clash comedy, the heroine comes to the rescue of her new friends and neighbors, who are being exploited by a local land developer. On the verge of his American stardom, Michael Rennie plays Miss Pilgrim's English love interest. Miss Pilgrim's Progress was another of those minor British films that were played to death on American TV in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yolande Donlan, Michael Rennie, (more)
- 1949
Cecil Parker is the whole show in Dear Mr. Prohack, just as he'd been in the stage version by Edward Knoblock. The eponymous Prohack is a Royal Treasury official who is an expert at managing other people's money. Alas, when he himself inherits a fortune, Prohack is as financially naïve as a kid with a piggy bank. Denholm Elliot makes his film debut in the role of Ozzie Morfrey; others in the high-powered cast include Glynis Johns, Dirk Bogarde, Hermione Baddely, Ian Carmichael, future director Bryan Forbes, and Jon "Dr. Who" Pertwee. Both the play and film versions of Dear Mr. Prohack were based on a novel by Arnold Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Sim
- 1949
A persistent case of hiccups causes all sorts of problems for a pretty young socialite in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
The popular "William" novels of British author Richmal Crompton were brought to the screen several times in 1930s and 1940s. William Goes to Town one of the better efforts in this off-and-on series. Young William Graham plays the eponymous wise-mouthed little schoolboy who causes all sorts of havoc during a trip to London. He even tries to crash the Prime Minister's headquarters to offer him financial advice! A subplot involving a circus keeps the film on an amiable kiddie-matinee level. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garry Marsh, Jane Welsh, (more)
- 1948
Like such later American programmers as Rock Around the Clock, the British Trouble in the Air is essentially an excuse to parade popular radio entertainers before the cameras. The plot is but a sliver: When a team of small-town bellringers is picked to perform over the BBC, their village is beseiged by oppotunists, including a gang of toughs. Radio announcer Jimmy Edwards gets wind of the villain's schemes and uses the airwaves to alert the authorities. Trouble in the Air is so dependent upon built-in audience familiarity with its stars that it leaves American audiences at a complete loss. As a time capsule for British radio fans, however, the film is invaluable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
The eponymous Four Just Men of this film are British World War I comrades, who reunite in peacetime to bring disaster to their country's enemies. The quartet is not above murder and sabotage to achieve their ends, but their patriotism is never in question. The goal of the heroes is to thwart a megalomaniac who plans to destroy the Suez Canal, then devastate the British empire in order to create his own world dictatorship. Francis L. Sullivan, Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones and Frank Lawton play the Four Just Men, though Lawton's early death reduces the ranks to three. The villainy is in the hands of Basil Sydney, who is every bit as ruthless and resourceful as the heroes. Four Just Men is based on a series of adventure novels by British "writing machine" Edgar Wallace--which also formed the basis of a 1959 TV series of the same name, starring Dan Dailey, Richard Conte, Jack Hawkins and Vittorio De Sica. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, (more)
- 1938
A Yank at Oxford was filmed in England at MGM's "sister studio", Elstree. Robert Taylor plays Lee Sheridan, an arrogant young American scholar/athlete who intends to show the "Brits" a thing or two while attending Oxford University. His abrasive attitude grates against the Oxonian students, who retaliate by subjecting Sheridan to a rather humiliating hazing. Romance enters the picture in the form of Molly Beaumont (Maureen O'Sullivan), the sister of Sheridan's chief academic rival Paul Beaumont (Griffith Jones). When Paul faces disgrace over a breach of student ethics, Sheridan nobly shoulders the blame, simultaneously endangering his own future at Oxford and proving that he's really a "right guy" underneath. All is forgiven during the annual rowing competition against Cambridge, with Sheridan coming through in jolly good fashion. Cast as campus vamp Elsa Craddock is the stunningly beautiful Vivien Leigh, still two years away from Gone With the Wind. A Yank at Oxford was remade in 1984 as Oxford Blues, and mercilessly lampooned by Laurel & Hardy in 1940's A Chump at Oxford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
