Ambrosine Phillpotts Movies

In this comedy, two men pursue four very valuable women who have tattooed the location of stolen bonds upon their rumps. The Mafia is also in pursuit of the marked women. The two fellows are lead to Rome where the lead character tries to sell the Sistine Chapel to American tourists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Life at the Top is a belated sequel to Room at the Top, John Blaine's "angry young man" British novel that was made into a film in 1959. Laurence Harvey is back as Joe Lampton, the man-on-the-rise protagonist who in Room had given up true love in favor of a career-boosting (and antiseptic) marriage to his boss' daughter. Ten years have passed: Lampton is a business success, but utterly bored by his dead-end marital setup. His wife feels the same, and it isn't long before Mr. and Mrs. Lampton begin conducting separate affairs. While the original Room was a fairly accurate evocation of its era, Life at the Top works too hard and too noisily to be "mod," in reflection of the ethereal Swinging London era. The inclusion of flashbacks from Room at the Top, in which Harvey is seen making love to Simone Signoret, only serves to emphasize the shortcomings of the sequel. The best moments in the later version can be found in the early establishing scenes set in Yorkshire. Life at the Top was followed by a TV series called Man at the Top, starring Kenneth Haigh as Lampton, which in turn was followed by a theatrical feature of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Aspiring artist Paul Roland (Peter Wyngarde) begins to wonder if he is truly talented when all of his portraits come out looking exactly the same. Even more vexing, the face on each portrait is that of a beautiful young girl whom he has never met. Rest assured, however, that Paul will one day confront the "mystery woman"--and it will be a paranormal event that will profoundly alter his life. This is one of several One Step Beyond episodes filmed in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the fourth in a series of "doctor" films that began in 1953 with Doctor in the House. Unlike its predecessors, the chief medico is now Dr. Richard Hare (Michael Craig) and he tends to share the spotlight with a few colleagues, making this more of an ensemble effort. Dr. Hare is in his own hospital as a patient when he falls for the nurse (Moira Redmond) assigned to his room. That romance does not linger for long because he eventually meets the charming Dr. Barrington (Virginia Maskell) and really gives his heart away, metaphorically speaking -- this is not a transplant movie. Interspersed throughout the story of Dr. Hare and his colleagues are several funny episodes that have the imminently respectable protagonists turning up by accident at the wrong place -- such as a strip joint instead of a medical conference, or else they encounter unexpected characters, such as ladies of the evening, or they are involved in incidents that just seem to go from awkward to hilarious -- all making this a light-hearted spoof that would entertain any audience ready for an amusing film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this witty music-business satire, Johnny Jackson (Laurence Harvey) is a talent agent down on his luck who thinks his tide may have turned when he spots a teenage rock & roll fan wailing away in a coffeehouse. Dubbing him "Bongo Herbert" (Cliff Richard, in a role the now knighted and born-again pop icon would probably prefer to forget), Johnny puts Herbert on the fast track to teenage stardom, using his record company and radio connections to make Herbert's first single a smash hit. Johnny then decides that a little image modification might make Herbert a bigger draw, so his follow-up is a treacly, inspirational tune, "The Shrine on the Second Floor," which hardly gibes with Herbert's newfound fondness for strippers and love-starved American actresses. But just when Johnny thinks he has a meal ticket for life, it's discovered that Herbert is really a minor, making his contract with Johnny null and void. Cliff Richard was at the height of his first wave of popularity as "The British Elvis" when Expresso Bongo was released, leading to a great deal of speculation about how closely it mirrored his own career (the answer probably is: not very much). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In comfortable dotage, baronet Humphery Tavistock (Laurence Harvey) recalls a lifetime of romantic entanglements to his wide-eyed son-in-law. Tavistock has come to the conclusion that women are a riddle wrapped in a mystery surrounded by an enigma, and his reminiscences bear this out. Among the baronet's many amours are a suffragette, a harem girl, the wife of a diplomat who "demands satisfaction", an American heiress, a bohemian artist and an army nurse. After all this, Tavistock finds lasting happiness with the first women he ever loved. The female cast of The Truth About Women features the illustrious likes of Julie Harris, Diane Cilento, Mai Zetterling and Eva Gabor, so it's little wonder that the hero has so many vivid memories to fall back on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Reluctant Debutante is a vintage example of the sort of elegant, witty "polite" comedy that Hollywood used to pull off so well. Real-life husband and wife Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall are cast as newly wed Jimmy and Sheila Broadbent, two of London's more attractive aristocrats. Jimmy has a daughter, Jane (Sandra Dee), from a previous marriage; though the girl is dead set against it, Jimmy insists that Jane make her society debut in London. Daddy wants his darling daughter to meet the "right" kind of husband, but she's more interested in handsome-but-shady American musician David Parkson (John Saxon). Little does anyone know that David, secretly a titled millionaire, is actually the prize catch of the season. The matchless Kay Kendall manages to walk away with the picture, though she's given a run for her money by fifth-billed Angela Lansbury. The Reluctant Debutante was based on the play by William Douglas Home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this bright British comedy, we meet Capt. Henry St. James (Alec Guinness) as he stands before a firing squad and then learn of the curious chain of events that brought him to his fate. Henry is a ship's captain ferrying a steamer between Gibraltar and North Africa on a regular basis, and he's taken the notion of "a girl in every port" to a whole new level; he has a wife on each side of the water. In Gibraltar, there's Maude (Celia Johnson), an even-tempered housewife who keeps the house tidy and has dinner ready when Henry likes it. In North Africa, mate number two is Nita (Yvonne DeCarlo), who is a sultry fun seeker who likes to hit the nightspots and dance 'till dawn. Between the two of them, Henry would seem to have the best of both worlds; Chief Officer Ricco (Charles Goldner) openly envies Henry's remarkable romantic situation. But things start to go sour when Maude suddenly decides she's a stick in the mud and wants to start living it up, while Nita becomes a homebody and begins learning to cook; Henry is none too happy about either development, and before long he finds he has no spouse on either shore. The Captain's Paradise was trimmed from 93 to 84 minutes for its initial United States release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Brilliant plastic surgeon Philip Ritter (Paul Henreid) loses the love of his life, concert pianist Alice Brent (Lizabeth Scott), to her manager, David (Andre Morell). As a balm to his wounded pride, Dr. Ritter Henreid makes over a hideously scarred female criminal into the spitting image of the woman who jilted him (the girl is played by Mary McKenzie "before," and, of course, by Lizabeth Scott "after"). Alas, he cannot make over her personality as well, and soon she's run off with her own crooked crowd. A not-bad precursor to Hitchcock's Vertigo, A Stolen Face was produced by Britain's Hammer Films, and distributed in the U.S. by Lippert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Anglo-American musicomedy Happy Go Lovely is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, during a major film festival. The gathered throngs are aghast when unknown dancer Janet Jones (Vera-Ellen) steps daintily from a limousine owned by a Scottish millionaire. A few miles earlier, the girl had thumbed a ride from the limo driver, but the public doesn't know this, and soon rumors are flying. Before she knows what has happened, Jones has become the festival's main attraction. She is also romanced by B.G. Bruno (David Niven), whom she assumes to be a reporter but who, of course, is the millionaire in disguise. Ostensibly a musical, Happy Go Lovely is limited to two songs, though both are performed con brio by the fabulous Vera-Ellen. The film was produced independently by N. P. Rathvon and released by Rathvon's former studio, RKO Radio. It was shot in black and white but is now reportedly only available in a colorized print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This holiday comedy is set during the Christmas of 1946 and centers upon a fellow who has returned to his native Canada to spend the Yule. When he receives a telegram from "the Fergusons," many memories of the Christmas they spent together come flooding back. The story jumps backward four years when the man was serving in the Canadian army and was stationed in England. This family took him in for the holiday. While there, the soldier finds himself pursued by the Fergusons' daughter and by their maid. The story then jumps to the present where the former maid--now in the military too--is seen preparing the soldier's Christmas dinner in their home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide