Noel Purcell Movies

Don't be misled by the title, and by the presence of Glynis Johns in the cast. The "Venus" in Appointment with Venus is a prized cow. The time is World War II: special operatives David Niven and Glynis Johns are dispatched to a Nazi-held island to rescue Venus, who for some reason or other is vital for British morale. Naturally, this isn't easy and leads to all sorts of complications. Released in the US as Island Rescue, Appointment with Venus was based on a novel by Jerrard Tickell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set sometime during the 19th century, Blarney deals with the exploits of Irish prizefighter James Carabine (Ralph Graves). Aspiring to become the greatest bare-knuckle boxer in the world, Carabine stows away on a boat bound for America. On the verge of being discovered, our hero is rescued by another immigrant, Peggy Nolan (Rene Adoree), who pays for his fare. Instead of displaying gratitude, Carabine gives Peggy the heave-ho at the first opportunity, the better to dally with vixenish concert singer Marcalina (Paulette Duval). But when Carabine is defeated in his first bout by champion Blanco Johnson (Malcolm Waite), the fickle Marcalina shifts her loyalties to the champ. With the help and support of the still-loyal Peggy, Carabine gets back on his professional feet and defeats Johnson in a return match, whereupon he realizes that Peggy was the right girl for him from the outset. Based on a true story, Blarney more than lives up to its title by playing fast and loose with the facts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Hugo Fregonese and writer George Oppenheimer do the unthinkable: they manage to transform Giovanni Boccaccio's bawdy -- and downright raunchy -- medieval tales of martial discontent and infidelity into harmless white-bread treacle. Louis Jourdan plays Boccaccio in a framing story set in a villa in the Florentine hills. With a widowed woman and her sex-starved female wards hungrily hunched over listening to his every word, Boccaccio spins three tales of illicit romance involving a trio of medieval husbands and wives. All three tales feature Jourdan as the romantic male lead and Joan Fontaine -- spruced up in a collection of bright costumes -- as the misunderstood and mistreated women of the tales. The first story concerns the bored housewife, of a middle-aged husband, who willingly jumps into the arms of a roustabout. The second tale tells the story of a husband who is highly suspicious of his wife's fidelity and the wife's circumspect way of proving her virtue to her husband. The third story is an ineffectual lark about a wife who fools her indifferent husband into demonstrating his proper marital role. Boccaccio had to wait for Pier Pasolini in order to get the spirit of his Decameron right. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This second entry in the British "Doctor" series once more stars Dirk Bogarde as young medico Simon Sparrow. Securing his first job as ship's doctor on a freighter, Simon again runs afoul of James Robertson Justice, here cast not as the irascible Sir Lancelot Sprat but as ship's captain Hogg. Unexpectedly, the freighter is obliged to take on passengers--specifically, the man-hungry daughter (Brenda DeBanzie) of the shipping magnate who owns the vessel, and toothsome French chanteuse Helene Colbert (Brigitte Bardot, in her first English-language film). As the older woman makes a play for the crusty captain, Helene sets her sights on the nonplussed Dr. Sparrow. Often funnier than its predecessor, Doctor at Sea proved the viability of the "Doctor" series, prompting several chucklesome sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A battered houseboat on the Thames provides the setting for this romantic British comedy. Two newlyweds rent the leaky floating home. The trouble begins when the husband decides to move the scow to a better location. The rickety barge disrupts river traffic. Next the two get lost in a fog bank. When it finally lifts, they find themselves in France. Fortunately, their landlord's yacht is moored nearby and they are able to borrow some petrol. The landlord bets that he can beat them across the Channel with his yacht. The race begins. The yachtsman gets terribly drunk and his cannot stay on course. The newlyweds win the race. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The producers of Quartet and Trio concluded their cycle with this omnibus film, which features three stories based, as in the previous film, on tales by W. Somerset Maugham. "The Ant and the Grasshopper" concerns Tom Ramsey (Nigel Patrick), a fiscally unstable young man who is constantly borrowing money from his brother George (Roland Culver). Eventually, George falls on hard times and is forced to sell the family estate, just as Tom marries a wealthy woman and is in a position to purchase it. In "Winter Cruise," Miss Reid (Kay Walsh) is an aging spinster taking a voyage aboard a cargo ship. She has little to do but engage the others on board in conversation, which the passengers find so annoying that they arrange a ship-board romance for her with Pierre (Jacques Francois), a porter, in the hopes that it will keep her quiet. And "Gigolo and Gigolette" features Glynis Johns as Stella Cotman, whose husband Syd (Terence Morgan) earns his living as a performer in a high-wire act. Stella is terribly worried that Syd's risky profession will lead to his death, so she takes their life's savings to a casino in hopes of winning enough that he can retire. However, her plan hardly goes as she hoped. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This curious African Queen derivation stars Curt Jurgens as Mark Conrad, an Austrian exile and Orson Welles as blustery ferry-boat captain Cecil Hart. Banned from both Hong Kong and Macao, Conrad is forced to spend his life on Hart's ferry, shuttling endlessly between the two countries and irritating everyone with whom he comes in contact. Conrad redeems himself when he rescues Hart and the passengers during a raging storm. Poor Welles is reduced to Gale Gordon-like bombast throughout the proceedings, while leading lady Sylvia Sims has practically no purpose in the film whatsoever. Ferry to Hong Kong was released in America through 20th Century-Fox along with several other like-vintage Rank Organisation films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grand National Night began life as a stage play, which was promptly adapted as a popular British radio serial. The film combines the best elements of both previous incarnations. Racehorse owner Gerald Coates (Nigel Patrick) accidentally kills his spiteful wife Babs (Moira Lister) during a quarrel. Terror-stricken, Coates stashes the body in the boot (or trunk) of a stranger's car. Methodical police inspector Ayling (Michael Hordern) suspects there's more to this than meets the eye. The script carefully builds up sympathy for the frenzied Coates, then manages to find a way to wrap up the story to everyone's satisfaction (Here's a clue, provided by Leonard Maltin: while watching the film, examine the character names). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jacqueline, played by Jacqueline Ryan, is the daughter of a Belfast shipyard worker Mike McNeil, played by John Gregson. The worker's worth is compromised by his crippling fear of heights. Dismissed from his job, he finds solace in the bottle. All seems hopeless until Jacqueline breaks through Gregson's self-imposed gloom and helps him to regenerate. Jacqueline wouldn't be as effective as it is were it not for the lead actress's blessed avoidance of cloying cuteness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Father Carey (Nigel Patrick) is a priest who must decide whether or not an amnesia victim (Aldo Ray) is responsible for the murder of the alcoholic Irish writer Mulcahy (William Bendix) in this routine thriller. The question posed to Carey is whether or not the murderer acted on the word of God when the writer asked the Almighty to strike him dead. Father Carey comes to believe the killing was masterminded by Johnny's sweetheart Miss Floyd (Yvonne Mitchell). The small Irish village is put under public microscope with the murder and the sensational trial. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Joseph Conrad's cerebral, philosophical novel Lord Jim is streamlined and simplified by producer/director/writer Richard Brooks for the action-and-adventure crowd. Peter O'Toole plays the first officer of a tramp steamer, who, during a hurricane, cravenly abandons ship, leaving the passengers to drown. Disgraced, O'Toole seeks out ways to redeem himself--not only in the eyes of the British maritime commission, but in his own eyes. He signs on to deliver a shipment of dynamite to a tribe of natives somewhere in the uncharted Orient. He also joins the natives' fight against feudal warlord Eli Wallach, hoping perhaps to die in their service, thus purging himself from shame (and, in true Messianic fashion, becoming a martyr in the process). Despite the impressive star lineup of O'Toole, Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Curt Jurgens and Paul Lukas, most press coverage went to leggy leading lady Daliah Lavi--including the 1964 Saturday Evening Post article about the making of Lord Jim, written by Richard Brooks himself. Filmed in Cambodia and Hong Kong, Lord Jim isn't precisely the Conrad novel, but fans weaned on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia will be satisfied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mad About Men is the delightful sequel to the saucy British comedy-fantasy Miranda. Glynis Johns returns in the dual role of amorous mermaid Miranda and her somewhat more reserved "human" lookalike Caroline. Having inherited a house in Cornwall, Caroline goes on an extended holiday, whereupon Miranda takes her place as mistress of the estate. The dialogue is rather silly and obvious, but there's much fun to be had as Miranda casts out her net for every eligible male in the vicinity. Though not a big hit in the US, Mad About Men became a "Late Show" mainstay on TV, especially when color television came into common usage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Terry-Thomas plays the military-officer head of an amiable gang of amateur British thieves. He is recruited for this task by wealthy dowager Athene Seyler, who merely wants to retrieve stolen minks from genuine crooks. Any profits accrued by this undertaking are to be turned over to charity. Once we're aware that everyone's heart is in the right place, we can laugh freely at the film's collection of would-be reprobates, and vicariously hold out hopes for their success. Best bit: Terry-Thomas, backed by Anton Karas' "Third Man" theme, skulking into what appears to be a waterfront dive to make contact with a "fence," only to discover that he's stumbled into a Salvation Army mission. Make Mine Mink was based on Breath of Spring, a play by Peter Coke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide