Renee Ray Movies

At a laboratory outside of a small village in the south of England, physicist Dr. Laird (Alec Mango), assisted by American scientist Gilbert Graham (Forrest Tucker), is performing a series of advanced experiments with magnetic fields -- dangerous experiments, using massive amounts of power in equipment which isn't designed to carry the load. An accident injures one of his assistants, and a request for a replacement to the Ministry of Defense brings Brigadier Cartwright (Windham Goldie) down to investigate, accompanied by a replacement for the injured man -- a woman computer expert, Michele Dupont (Gaby Andre), who helps to solve Laird's power problem, but not the larger risks inherent in his experiments. Cartwright is impressed when an interrupted experiment transforms several pieces of steel not in the test chamber into useless lumps of powder -- his report convinced the Deputy Defense Minister (Geoffrey Chater) to make Laird's project a top priority, and he sends a full security team, led by counter-espionage expert Jimmy Murray (Hugh Latimer), down to cover the laboratory. But it soon becomes clear that enemy agents are the least of the dangers manifesting themselves around Laird's project -- the hyper-magnetic fields that he has generated have been affecting the ionosphere, causing unnatural weather patterns, threatening ships at sea hundreds of miles away, and also weakening the magnetic layer that shields the surface of the earth from cosmic rays. The sudden burst of radiation from deep space causes brain damage in one man that turns him into into a homicidal maniac -- but it has also affected the insect life in the area, causing it to mutate. In the midst of this growing threat to the safety of the world, a mysterious Mr. Smith (Martin Benson) arrives in the village -- he's a well-spoken man with amazingly little knowledge of ordinary life, but a lot of awareness about magnetic fields and the work that Dr. Laird is doing. Murray is positive that he's a spy, but Gil and Michele decide that there's a lot less danger from him than from Dr. Laird, who has vowed to continue regardless of the risks. And even with Smith's warning, and Gil's and Michele's best efforts to alert the authorities and stop Laird, the forest adjacent to the town is soon swarming with gigantic beetles and other monsters. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In its television version, The Strange World of Planet X was a seven-part serial (or, as we might call it today, a mini-series) shown on Britain's ITV network as part of its Saturday Serial anthology series. The script was authored by actress-turned-writer Rene Ray, based on her own book of the same name, and the program was co-directed by Arthur Lane and Quentin Lawrence. The story involved a group of scientists performing visionary and dangerous experiments involving time travel and its consequences. The program had a distinguished cast headed by theater and screen veteran Helen Cherry (aka Mrs. Trevor Howard) and William Lucas (X The Unknown), and presented a fairly cerebral concept in an engrossing, even exciting way that held audience attention for nearly two months on the tiny fledgling network, this at a time when there were only a relatively small number of television sets in England. That success led to a subsequent film adaptation, made two years later, which utilized a very different plot by another screenwriter, Paul Ryder -- he also drew his story from elements of Ray's original novel, but went for more accessible visual chills in the denouement, involving giant mutated insects. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Black-market babies in a British boardinghouse provide the basis of this brutal crime drama. Though the landlady is outwardly upstanding and self-righteous, she is really the brains behind the operation. Her newest tenant is the pregnant lover of a convicted killer who has come there to avoid publicity. There the hapless girl is horribly mistreated as are all of the "guests." But despite the abuse, the young woman refuses to report it. Another boarder, who lost her baby due to the landlady's refusal to call a doctor, becomes the young woman's friend. Eventually things become so bad that a houseworker phones the police. Just before they arrive, the evil landlady shoves the pregnant woman down a flight of stairs and leaves her there to die. The wicked woman is then arrested and goes on to get her just desserts. This film received the very first British "X" rating. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Another Chance was originally released in Great Britain as Twilight Women. The film is a noirish exposé of London's "black market baby" racket. Freda Jackson plays the misleadingly kindly landlady of a boarding house for "wayward girls." In fact, Jackson is in charge of the whole sordid racket, selling illegitimate babies to desperate couples and bullying the unwed mothers into silence. The wicked woman is finally exposed by boarders Lois Maxwell and Rene Ray, who put their own lives and limbs on the line to do so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, set in England, an honorable textbook writer in a village becomes friends with a pregnant girl. The friendship costs him his marriage. Later, the girl dies, and the authorities wonder if it is murder. A coroner's inquest is held, and for a while the writer's social and professional standing sets on the brink of ruin. In the end, he is finally cleared and is therefore free to court his true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfeather's woebegone WW1 British soldier Old Bill was revived for WW2 in Old Bill and Son. When his son Young Bill (John Mills) signs up for military duty against the Nazis, Old Bill (Morland Graham) tries to re-enlist as well. Turned down for the obvious reasons, Old Bill has trouble convincing anyone that he's of any use in the present conflict. The plot is, surprisingly, never resolved, suggesting that the producers couldn't come up with a logical ending and just gave up after 96 minutes. On the plus side, the film features the comic talents of Renee Houston, Nicholas Phipps and Gus McNaughton, who like stars John Mills and Morland Graham are heaps better than their material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Irish romance, two farmers fall in love, but must part when their high falutin' landlord evicts them. The man then goes to London where he ends up falling for a wealthy young woman while the woman farmer ends up working as a hostess in a London restaurant. Eventually the two former lovers meet and the romantic sparks fly. They eventually return to their land where they discover the landlord has left the fellow an inheritance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A minor effort from a major director, Bank Holiday is little more than a series of anecdotes involving middle-class Brightoners on holiday. Margaret Lockwood and Hugh Williams played the largest roles, as a couple who find love during their one-day respite from work. Comic relief (which in this film is superior to the straight plotting) is provided by several reliable character actors, notably Wilfred Lawson as an officious constable. The film's major purpose is to poke gentle fun at the foibles of the working class, and as such it doesn't amuse as much as it did back in 1938. Bank Holiday was released in the U.S. as Three on a Weekend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this silly comedy, a jobless fellow is nursing a hangover after a wild night at a Turkish bath when he is handed a telegram informing him that his aunt has died and he has inherited her fortune which is stashed within a bust of Napoleon in the house he will also inherit. He wastes no time getting to the residence, but is appalled to discover that the house has become a girl's school and no men can enter. He then poses as a brother to one of the students and begins roaming about in search of the appropriate bust. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, "The Rat" is the moniker for a notorious jewel thief whose life suddenly changes when a friend facing life imprisonment asks him to take care of his daughter. She does a good job of helping in the thief's home, but then a woman falls for him and throws her own boy friend out. The jilted lover decides to get revenge, goes to the Rat's home, and attempts to kidnap the young girl, who fights back so hard she kills him. The kindly thief then takes the rap for the murder, but at the last moment in court, the other woman appears and provides him with a real alibi causing the girl to go to prison. Fortunately, in lieu of the circumstances, she is given a light sentence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dave Connor (Robert Newton) is a fixer for the London mob, who goes against his boss Terrell (Charles Oliver) for a big payoff at the dog track. Now he's a hunted man with a huge bankroll, and tries to share it with his song-and-dance-man brother Jim (John Mills), who works out of a seedy dive called The Green Cockatoo. Jim wants no part of Dave's money, but he does want to protect his brother, which gets him targeted by Terrell and his mob. They go after Dave, who manages to live just long enough to cross paths with Eileen (Rene Ray), a girl from a small village who has come to London looking for work. Eileen now finds herself accused of killing Dave, and goes to find his brother, to pass on a message the dying man gave her. She and Jim manage to cross paths without either ever realizing who the other is -- all Eileen knows is that Jim and Terrell want to kill each other, and all Jim knows is that he's got this wide-eyed innocent girl to look after (and hide from the police) while seeking vengeance and keeping himself alive. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The Passing of the Third Floor Back, Jerome K. Jerome's mystical 1908 stage play, was given perfunctory treatment in this 1935 film version. Conrad Veidt assumes the old J. Forbes Robertson role as the Mysterious Stranger who moves into a cheap boarding house run by despicable landlord Wright (Frank Cellier). The other tenants are selfish, lecherous, mercenary, envious and overall not very good company. One by one, the tenants are rechanneled into more positive pursuits by the Stranger -- but being mere mortals, they soon forget the lessons learned and revert to their old ways. That the Stranger is meant to be Jesus Christ is rather obvious from the outset, but such were the censorial restrictions of the era that the character's true identity is effectively clouded. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also released as A Man of Affairs, His Lordship was adapted from The Nelson Touch, a play by Neil Grant. George Arliss essays the dual role of British foreign secretary Lord Dunchester and his lordship's twin brother Richard, a private detective. Hoping to solve the murder of a foreign Emir, which may have long-ranging diplomatic consequences, Richard kidnaps his brother and assumes his identity. He saves Britain from all-out war, but generously allows Lord Dunchester to take the credit. Bereft of lavish production values or a stellar supporting cast, His Lordship is George Arliss' show all the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide