Michael Rennie Movies
Michael Rennie always claimed that he "turned actor" to escape becoming an executive for his family's wool business. The Cambridge-educated Rennie haunted the casting offices until he was hired by Alfred Hitchcock for his first film, The Secret Agent (1936). Handsome but hollow, Rennie decided that if he was to be a film star, he'd better learn to act, thus he spent several seasons with the York Repertory. Serving in World War II as a flying officer in the RAF, Rennie came to the United States for the first time to be a training instructor in Georgia. Small roles in postwar British films led to a 20th Century Fox contract. It was during his stay at Fox that Rennie truly began to blossom with major roles in 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still (as Klaatu), 1952's Les Miserables (as Jean Valjean), 1953's The Robe, and many other films. On television, Michael Rennie spent two years and 76 episodes portraying suave soldier of fortune Harry Lime on the syndicated series The Third Man. Rennie died of emphysema on June 10, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1939
This Man in Paris was the followup to the successful British comedy-mystery This Man is News. Barry K. Barnes and Valerie Hobson return as Simon and Pat Drake, London's answer to Nick and Nora Charles. The plot gets under way when Simon, star reporter for a London tabloid, is dispatched to Paris to gets the goods on a counterfeiting gang. Despite warnings from editor Macgregor (Alistair Sim) to stay out of the way of the police authorities, Simon and Pat insist upon doing a lot of sleuthing themselves. Inevitably, hero and heroine find themselves at the mercy of the villains, but one is certain that they'll wriggle out of their predicament none the worse for wear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Barnes, Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1938
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
- Starring:
- John Lodge, Margaret Lockwood, (more)
- 1936
This interesting early docu-drama offers a complete chronicle of the history of aviation from prehistoric times through the mid 1930s. Though the film was finished by 1935, it was not released until much later. H.G. Wells assisted on the first drafts of the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
