Hartley Power Movies

Political intrigue and romantic gamesmanship send an already torrid Caribbean community to the boiling point in this drama. Maxwell Fleury (James Mason) and David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte) are two men running for political office in a British-controlled island in the West Indies. Maxwell is the son of a wealthy and socially prominent white family, while David is a black labor leader with a groundswell of popular support but little money. A scandal erupts in the press alleging that Maxwell is of mixed racial ancestry, but Maxwell is actually pleased about the news, thinking that it may endear him to black voters. Maxwell is not pleased, however, when he hears that his wife Sylvia (Patricia Owens) has been having an affair with the urbane but rootless Carson (Michael Rennie), taking the matter seriously enough to murder Carson himself. Maxwell's younger sister Jocelyn (Joan Collins) is also in hot water, romantically speaking; she has set her sights on Eun Templeton (Stephen Boyd), the son of the Island's governor, and she hopes to snare him into marriage by allowing him to get her pregnant. Elsewhere on the island, David is secretly having an affair with a white woman, Mavis Norman (Joan Fontaine), while David's former girlfriend, Margot Seaton (Dorothy Dandridge), has become involved with a white man, Denis Archer (John Justin). Based on the novel by Alex Waugh, Island in the Sun also features songs from Harry Belafonte, including "Lead Man Holler" and the title tune. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Released in the US as Man With a Million, The Million Pound Note is a satisfying adaptation of a satirical short story by Mark Twain. Gregory Peck plays Henry Adams, an impecunious American living by his wits in London. Henry becomes the object of a wager between millionaire brothers Oliver and Roderick Montpelier (Ronald Squire and Wilfred Hyde-White), who want to find out if a man with a million pound note in his bank account could live comfortably for one month on the strength of that note--without ever spending a penny of it. When Henry is given the note and lets it be known that he has it, every courtesy imaginable is extended to him by hoteliers, restauranteurs, etc. Trouble brews when Henry uses the note's reputation to speculate on the stock market. When his creditors demand that he produce the note as an act of faith, Henry is unable to do so, whereupon pandemonium reigns--and the audience's laughter cascades. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Project M7 is the American title for the British The Net. Based on a novel by John Pudney, the film is set in an aviation research station. At the moment, the researchers are working on a revolutionary new aircraft, and competition to be first with the results is fierce. There's little love lost amongst the scientists, but no one expect the personal animosities to result in murder. The killing in question was committed by an enemy spy...but which one of the scientists is the guilty party? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feminists beware! This blatantly sexist comedy may definitely raise a few hackles as it tells the story of a recently divorced inventor who becomes a scientist for the War Office to escape women, especially overtalkative, nagging ones like his ex-wife. Unfortunately, his female-free peace is disturbed when an American colonel and his mute daughter, who stopped speaking after a terrifying torpedo attack during a visit to Blighty, comes to work there. The inventor finds the quiet lassie utterly charming and so marries her. Unfortunately, soon afterward, the girl suffers another shock and begins talking again. Now it seems as if she is trying to make up for lost time and this drives the insensitive inventor crazy. They have a big fight and she ends up running away. Unfortunately, she is pregnant and so later agrees to return and never speak when he is around. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally released in England as The Way to the Stars, Johnny in the Clouds is the story of how the Battle of Britain affected the lives of combatants and civilians alike. Terence Rattigan's screenplay concentrates on three groups of people: an American pilot and his wife, a doomed British officer with a wife and child, and a young couple who plan to marry despite the precariousness of wartime romances. Most of the action takes place at an air base and the neighboring village, where the private citizens react to rationing and other restrictions with various degrees of nobility and selfishness. The American title of this film is derived from the poem "Johnny in the Clouds," recited in tribute to the decease British airman; the U.S. version, which was released after the war, includes a prologue set in the deserted air base, with the bulk of the film offered as a flashback. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The British Alibi is based on the warhorse story by Marcel Archard, previously filmed in France in 1931. Raymond Lovell steps into the old Erich Von Stroheim role as Professor Winkler, a phony mystic playing to capacity crowds in Paris. Confronting a man who'd previously exposed him as a fraud in the US, Winkler kills the man. He then establishes an alibi by paying nightclub hostess Helene (Margaret Lockwood) to tell the police that she was in his company at the time of the murder. The upshot of this is that Helene herself is accused of the crime. Hoping to get to the truth of the matter, Inspector Calas (Hugh Sinclair) asks his deputy Andre Laurent (James Mason) to pretend to be in love with Helene. The plot thickens when Laurent genuinely falls for the distressed damsel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A delightful film that begs to be rediscovered, Return to Yesterday was adapted from Goodness, How Sad, a play by Robert Morley. Clive Brook is ideally cast as Robert Maine, a famous movie star who longs for the simpler days before he became the idol of millions-and before he was trapped into a loveless marriage with his present wife. Maine takes a sentimental journey to the provincial repertory theatre where he got his first break, only to discover that the little troupe is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Without revealing his true identity, he joins the actors and helps to get them over their financial hump. He also happens to fall in love with ingenue Carol Sande (Anna Lee, the wife of director Robert Stevenson), but realizes eventually that she will be better off without him. Dame May Whitty heads the hand-picked supporting cast as Mrs. Truscott, the troupe's garrulous character woman, who is wise enough not to say anything when she overhears Maine letting Carol down gently by replaying a scene from one of his earlier stage triumphs. Long ignored by movie historians, Return to Yesterday was given an honored spot in William K. Everson's affectionate volume Love in the Film (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Following a string of mysterious robberies, Scotland Yard assigns its best detective, Inspector Elk, to bring the crooks to justice. The only clue the villains leave at the crime scene is a rendering of a frog. Still that is enough for intrepid Elk to solve the case, but not after considerable danger, excitement and comedy. This is the sequel to 1937's The Frog. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this comedy, a blustery sailor loves to tell whoppers about his abilities and adventures. All the wind leaves his sails when he is asked to show off those talents. The trouble begins when a wealthy yachtsman hires him to take charge of his boat. Unbeknownst to the sailor, the boat is slated to be sabotaged so the owner can collect the insurance. Fortunately, the sailor proves his mettle and saves the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Adapted from a long-running play by Reginald Simpson and Frank Gregory, Living Dangerously stars Otto Kruger as Dr. Norton. Though a pillar of virtue and a highly respected member of the community, Norton has a few unfortunate skeletons in his closet and these are exploited by his blackmailing ex-partner Dr. Pryor (Francis Lister). Unable to persuade Pryor to leave him alone, Norton is left with no alternative but to kill the man. Since audience sympathy is firmly in Norton's corner, one half hopes that he'll get away with his entirely justifiable crime ---and for a while, it looks like he will! Living Dangerously was one of the last directorial efforts by former spectacle specialist Herbert Brenon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The old Ben W. Levy war-horse play Evergreen proved to be an excellent film vehicle from British music-comedy star Jessie Matthews. Our heroine plays a popular music hall thrush of the early 1900s, whose impending marriage into nobility is destroyed by the arrival of her long-thought-dead lover. When the latter demands "hush money," Matthews disappears from public view, but not before leaving her infant daughter in the care of her maid. Flash-forward to 1924: the daughter, also played by Matthews, is seeking work as a chorus dancer. An old associate of Matthews' mother, amazed at the resemblance between the two women, decides to pass her off as her long-lost parent, making a big publicity fuss over her "ageless" beauty. The younger Matthews confesses the ruse when she falls in love with a man who claims to be the older Matthews' son. Are you following all this, or do you need a road map? Anyway, if you catch a complete print of Evergreen, you'll be able to enjoy five songs performed by Jessie Matthews, one of them by no less than Rodgers and Hart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally titled Aunt Sally, Along Came Sally is one of many cheerful musical vehicles for the delightful British film fave Cicely Courtneidge. Courtneidge plays a dual role here: an aspiring nightclub singer and a famous French stage star. In the latter guise, she foils a gang of American racketeers who intend to take over the cabaret where she works. Director Tim Whelan cowrote the script for Along Came Sally with, among others, noted stage lyricist/librettist Guy Bolton. The film was released in Great Britain in 1933, then was unleashed in America one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi