Guy Rolfe Movies

This romantic comedy is set in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. It tells the story of a professional duelist who is hired by politicians to insult and challenge an important senator. He does this by pretending to have a tiff over a young woman whose father runs the local newspaper. Having no idea that it his daughter who is the bone-of-contention in the duel, he dubs the woman "Madame X. " In the end, the duelist and the girl fall in love, but now he must duel with her father, whom he accidentally insulted. To save his honor, and his life, the hero allows the father to nick him during the contest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The misery caused by a long-term feud between two Irish families provides the framework in this drama based on a book by Daphne du Maurier. The saga begins in 1840 as the father of the Donovan clan rebels against the Brodrick family, the owners of the copper mine located on what was formerly Donovan land. In the ensuing conflict, the mine is destroyed and the eldest Brodrick son is killed. His younger brother then becomes the clan leader. He cares not a fig for mining; instead he would rather spend his time wooing a beautiful local girl whom he marries. They have four children and when the brother dies, his eldest son succeeds him. The new patriarch and his mother are terribly greedy and eager to take control of the mine. His mother is distraught when her son suddenly rejects her. The unwanted woman goes to London where she soon gets involved with gambling and drugs to ease her broken heart. One day, her son travels to the city and runs into her. To ease his aching conscience he asks her to return home. Just as she gets there, the eldest son is killed by another Donovan during a labor dispute. She then has one Donovan arrested. An aging servant manages to talk the bereaved mother into dropping the charges so that the feud may finally end. She does. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This lush 18th century period romance, based on historical fact, was the first color film from Britain's famed Ealing Studios, but it proved to be such a box office disappointment that Ealing never attempted such a lavish costume drama again. Sophie Dorothea (Joan Greenwood) is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull). George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark (Stewart Granger). The feeling is mutual, and an affair begins, the couple carefully plotting to flee England to begin a new life together. Disaster strikes when they are overheard by Countess Platen (Flora Robson), a jealous former lover of Konigsmark's who takes her information to the king. Adapted from the Helen Simpson novel, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) was an early film for writer Alexander Mackendrick, who would later direct the classic Sweet Smell of Success (1957). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Easy Money is a satire of that most venerated of all middle-class British traditions, the football pool. The film is divided into four separate episodes, illustrating the effects of the football pool on the "average chap." Among those who participate in the pool in hopes of winning the 50,000-pound jackpot are the Stafford family: husband Phillip (Jack Warner), wife Ruth (Marjorie Fielding), son Dennis (Jack Watling), and daughter Jackie (Petula Clark). Other interested parties are the Atkins clan -- Herbert ($Mervyn Johns) and Agnes ($Joan Young) -- and lovers Pat (Greta Gynt) and Joe (Dennis Price). Among the huge cast of supporting players, Edward Rigby stands out as the hapless Teddy Ball. Critics of the time noted that Easy Money was faintly reminiscent of the all-star 1932 Hollywood film If I Had a Million. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rising British star Sally Ann Howes was given a worthwhile screen vehicle with Fools Rush In. Howes plays Pamela Dickson, an impulsive young bride-to-be, while Guy Rolfe portrays her long-lost father Paul. Ostensibly a cad and bounder, Paul turns out to be just the opposite when he arrives for Pamela's wedding. The girl immediately drops her own wedding plans to arrange a reconciliation between her father and mother (Nora Swinburne). Screenwriter Geoffrey Kerr adapted the script from a play by Kenneth Horne. Fools Rush In is as light as a feather, but it pleases the crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Reluctant Widow in this muted British comedy is young 19th-century governess Elinor, played by Jean Kent. Inadvertently inheriting a vast estate, Elinor is bedeviled by both British turncoats and French espionage agents, who hide out in the mansion while preparing to steal Lord Wellington's battle plans for Waterloo. One of the British traitors is played by Julian Dallas, who as "Scott Forbes" would later star on TV's Jim Bowie. For reasons unknown, the film was heavily re-edited and restructured before its general release, making certain portions of the storyline incomprehensible. Through it all, however, Jean Kent maintains her dignity and charm as she quietly outwits the many villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced by MGM's British facilities, the Technicolor Ivanhoe starred Robert Taylor in the title role. Returning to England from the Third Crusades, Ivanhoe is given a cool but cordial reception by his estranged father Cedric (Finlay Currie), a Saxon who despises the Norman king Richard the Lionhearted. Cedric introduces Ivanhoe's fellow knights De Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders) and Sir Hugh de Bracy (Robert Douglas) to Cedric's lovely ward Rowena (Joan Fontaine), who was in love with Ivanhoe until he cast his lot with Richard. Leaving his father's castle, Ivanhoe rescues Isaac (Felix Aylmer), a wealthy Jew, from a band of anti-Semitic Normans. In gratitude, Isaac's beautiful daughter Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor) finances Ivanhoe's entry into an upcoming tournament; he'd been denied backing by his father because he'd planned to use the prize money to ransom the captured King Richard. At the tournament, the disguised Ivanhoe vanquishes all comers, dedicating his victory to Rebecca, which causes a gust of bigoted gossip from the crowd. Behind the scenes, Richard's wicked brother Prince John (Guy Rolfe) plots to discredit Ivanhoe so that the ransom can never be paid. Joining John in this conspiracy is De Bois-Guilbert, who covets Rebecca, and Sir Hugh, who wants to make Rowena his own. After several thrilling adventures and villainous double-crosses, Rebecca is kidnapped and tried as a witch, the better to bring Ivanhoe out in the open and dispose of him once and for all. But the deux-ex-machina appearance by King Richard (Norman Wooland) and the assistance of loyal "outlaw" Robin Hood (Harold Warrender) brings the bad guys to heel and clears the path for a happy ending. Lensed on an epic scale, this adaptation of the Sir Walter Scott classic remains one of MGM's most solid swashbucklers. The property was remade for television in 1982, with Anthony Andrews in the title role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a physician operates on a man he knows nothing about. The whole thing is terribly fishy, and trouble ensues when his personal secretary is murdered for revealing the patient's identity. Later, with the help of the police, the mystery is solved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It's a toss-up as to who looks better unclothed in Universal's Veils of Bagdad: Hero Victor Mature or heroine Mari Blanchard. Mature plays a Robin-Hood type named Antar, who travels with a troupe of jugglers and wrestlers, all of whom double as thieves, pickpockets and second-story men. When the evil Pasha of Bagdad (Leon Askin) conspires with the equally evil Vizier (Guy Rolfe) to steal tax money to finance a private war, Antar and his gang swings into action. Blanchard plays Selima, the toothsome daughter of a murdered tribal chieftain who works as a cabaret dancer while searching for her dad's murderer. TV fans are advised to keep an eye out for future Baretta star Robert Blake, who shows up in a bit as a youthful beggar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a murderous writer kills his blackmailer and his ex-lover and then tries to convince his fiancee to help him hide the bodies. She does until she learns that he is planning to frame innocent people for his crimes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a woman finds herself addicted to auctions and begins bringing the strangest things back to her home. Her husband, ignorant of her passion, begins suspecting her of kleptomania and hires a detective to spy on her. He next sends her to a psychiatrist. After the woman gets wise to the schemes, she reveals the identity of the real thief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The scene is Burma during World War II. A small British brigade led by Stanley Baker comes upon a Burmese village controlled by the Japanese. The brigade wipes out the enemy, whereupon Baker discovers that the late Japanese commandant has a coded map secreted on his person. When a Burmese prisoner who can decode the map refuses to talk, Baker orders that two peaceful villagers be executed. Baker's actions seem cruel and extreme until it becomes apparent that the enemy is twice as ruthless as he. Based on a TV play by Peter R. Newman, Yesterday's Enemy is a brutal but insightful look at the blurred line between good and evil in wartime conditions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide