John Salew Movies
British stage actor John Salew made the transition to films in 1939. The manpower shortage during WWII enabled the stout, balding Salew to play larger and more important roles than would have been his lot in other circumstances. He usually played suspicious-looking characters, often Germanic in origin. His screen assignments include such parts as William Shakespeare (yes, that William Shakespeare) in the comedy-fantasy Time Flies (1944), Grimstone in the Gothic meller Uncle Silas (1947), and the librarian in the psychological thriller Night of the Demon (1957). John Salew was active into the TV era, playing the sort of parts that John McGiver essayed in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1962
In this thriller, set at a British air base, an American airman stationed there becomes the prime suspect after a series of local women are murdered. The man tries to prove that they are wrong so he asks a schoolteacher out on a date. Unfortunately, another murder occurs and he remains accused. Later it is revealed that the true murderer is a female impersonator. Romance between the airman and the teacher ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this comedy, a young man stands to inherit a vast fortune, but first he must spend a small fortune in two months. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Watling, Carole Lesley, (more)
- 1961
Keel discovers that vital government secrets are being smuggled out of a seedy funhouse at Southend. Taking a job at the funhouse, Steed is captured and placed aboard The Ghost Train, the method of transportation used by the enemy. As Keel rushes to Steed's rescue, the latter calmly manages to hoodwink his captors by utilizing a bogus "secret weapon." First broadcast August 5, 1961, "Tunnel of Fear" was written by John Kruse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This is a routine tale about the vice squad versus pornographer and blackmailer Augie Cortona (Terence Morgan). After the petty criminal gets out of prison, he discovers his old partners in crime are not interested in him anymore, and the prostitution ring he once bossed is controlled by someone else. His solution is to set up a fake photographer's and model's studio during the day that becomes a place where porno photo men can do their work at night, as call girls engage in their trade with unsuspecting customers. The photographs bring in extra lucre through a blackmail scheme -- Cortona makes the hookers' clients pay to keep their activities quiet. As he is building up this racket, a gangland boss is out to get him -- and so is the vice squad. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Morgan, Hazel Court, (more)
With dialogue ranging from flat to offensive and acting in the same range, this low-brow erotic crime drama by director Terence Young stars Jayne Mansfield as Midnight Franklin, a star stripper in a Soho club that is in serious rivalry with another strip joint. A reporter gets involved in the strip scene while writing a story on the clubs, and in the end he has quite a lot to write about. The competition between the two clubs heats up, and after one of the owners is the unknowing instrument in the death of a young (illegally young) stripper, both rival clubs head for a crash. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Leo Genn, (more)
- 1959
This rollicking political satire stars Ian Carmichael as an impressionable British TV personality. His vanity is stroked by a group of political managers who talk him into running on the Conservative ticket during a political campaign. The managers hope that Carmichael's name value will draw voters, but don't intend to permit him anything like actual legislative power. Carmichael suddenly develops an abiding interest in politics when he meets his Labour Party opponent--lovely Patricia Breden. Left, Right and Center is blessed with an abundance of supporting character comedians, headed by Alistair Sim as Carmichael's avaricious uncle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Bredin, Eric Barker, (more)
- 1959
In this crime drama, two crooked brothers, an embezzler and a gambler, find themselves in deep trouble when the embezzler steals from a steel mill so he can buy his lover fancy clothes. During the theft, he kills a night guard. This spawns an investigation by the slain watchman's son who locates a sightless witness. The son then convinces the killer that the witness saw him and this causes him to confess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Dame Sybil Thorndike, Kathleen Harrison and Estelle Winwood, collectively representing some 200 years of British theatrical history, are top-billed in this feathery bit of whimsy. The starring trio plays three elderly residents of a nursing home, fed up with their monotonous existence. They engineer an escape from their drab surroundings and head for an impromptu holiday on an Irish island. Stanley Holloway plays a likeable old codger who becomes the ladies' partner in "crime." Alive and Kicking refuses to patronize its leading characters--or the mature audience to whom this charming comedy is aimed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sybil Thorndike, Kathleen Harrison, (more)
- 1958
In this film, American Professor Dana Andrews investigates a devil-worshipping cult active in England. The cult has apparently been responsible for more than one death in recent months. When Andrews comes too close to the cult for comfort, the devil-worshipping leader slips a cursed parchment into Andrews' research files. This 1958 American release is a re-edit of Tourneur's original 1957 British film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, (more)
- 1958
Greek actress Melina Mercouri made her English-language film debut in The Gypsy and the Gentleman. Mercouri plays tempestuous gypsy girl Belle, while the "gentleman" is Sir Paul Deverill (Keith Michell). Escaping an arranged marriage, Sir Paul weds the bewitching Belle,who intends to take him for every penny he's got, then move on to other lovers. Imagine her disappointment when she discovers that her prize catch is flat broke. All sorts of bizarre complications ensue, including the kidnapping of an heiress (June Laverick) by Belle's gypsy compadres. Gypsy and the Gentleman was directed by American expatriate Joseph Losey, whose British film career wouldn't truly get off the ground until his collaborations with Harold Pinter in the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melina Mercouri, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
Based on Montague R. James' classic shiver tale Casting the Runes, Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon) is an exercise in psychological terror. American Professor Dana Andrews investigates a devil-worshipping cult active in England. The cult has apparently been responsible for more than one death in recent months, and it's all the handiwork of the group's leader, an Aleister Crowley type played by Niall MacGinnis. When Andrews comes too close to MacGinnis for comfort, the devil worshipper slips a ancient parchment into Andrews' research files. The document carries a curse that will mean death for whoever possesses it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, (more)
- 1957
A tycoon is conned into believing a homeless man is in actuality the exiled prince of a Balkan nation. The tycoon agrees to bank roll the revolution that is needed to reinstall the prince onto his rightful throne. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1957
1957's The Good Companions was the second film version of the well-known J. B. Priestly play. The story revolves around the Dinky Doos, a provincial musical troupe living from hand to mouth. Eric Portman, Celia Johnson and John Fraser are three Britons from various classes and walks of life who become involved in the fortunes of the Dinky Doos. Pooling their resources, the diverse "good companions" save the troupe from disbanding. Good-natured and high-spirited, Good Companions might have even been better had the director adopted a more intimate and less showbizzy approach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Celia Johnson, (more)
- 1956
Wicked as They Come stars Arlene Dahl as Kathy Allen, whose sour attitude on life has been formed by a sexual assault in her childhood. Rising out of the shabbiness of the Lower East Side, Kathy ruthlessly climbs the social and financial ladder by using and then abandoning a series of gullible older men. When she finally gets what she wants out of life, it still isn't enough, and it is this insatiability that leads to her downfall. Extensive location filming in London and Paris adds an exotic touch to this predictable melodrama. Wicked as They Come is based on Portrait in Smoke, a novel by Bill Ballington. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arlene Dahl, Philip Carey, (more)
- 1956
It's Great to Be Young stars John Mills as Dingle an easygoing high school teacher. When autocratic new headmaster Frome (Cecil Parker) begins imposing all sorts of repressive rules, Dingle does his best to stand up for his students, only to be dismissed for his troubles. The kids conspire to not only reinstate their favorite teacher, but to circumvent Frome's refusal to purchase new instruments for an upcoming music festival. Among the fresh new faces in the supporting cast is young Carole Shelley, who later played one of the "coo-coo Pigeon sisters" in The Odd Couple (1968). It's Great to be Young was one of a package of Associated Pathe productions to be given fitful distribution in the US by Allied Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Cecil Parker, (more)
- 1956
In this crime drama, a detective refuses to believe that his client's wealthy, crippled wife died in a boating accident. As he looks deeper, the gumshoe proves that his employer and his mistress were behind it all along. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
The British omnibus thriller, Three Cases of Murder includes two supernatural tales and a straight whodunit. The first segment, "The Picture," was directed by Wendy Toye, based on a short story by Roderick Wilkinson. A museum tour guide, Jarvis (Hugh Pryse), is plagued by artworks going missing, and by the mysterious repeated breaking of the protective glass over a gloomy landscape painting. Jarvis is fascinated by the dark, foreboding house in the painting. One day while he's admiring it, he bumps into a stranger (Alan Badel, who appears in all three segments). Jarvis ends up following the stranger into the world of the painting with terrifying consequences. Eddie Byrne (General Willard in Star Wars) plays the demented taxidermist, Snyder. In the second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," written by Sidney Carroll (who co-wrote The Hustler), and directed by David Eady, lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman. George (Emrys Jones) has always stood in Edgar's (John Gregson) shadow. The two have a falling out when they realize they both love Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars), and when she later turns up dead, it affects the friendship in a surprising way. Badel plays the friendly bartender, Harry. The final story, "Lord Mountdrago," was based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by George More O'Ferrall, the segment stars Orson Welles as Lord Mountdrago, the officious secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mountdrago uses his oratory powers to destroy the career of a charismatic political opponent, Owen (Badel again). Mountdrago then finds himself tormented by the vengeful Owen, who seems to have found a way to enter his dreams. Andre Morrell (Bridge on the River Kwai) plays Mountdrago's baffled psychiatrist. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Badel, Hugh Pryse, (more)
- 1954
Alec Guinness stars as Father Brown, full-time priest and part-time sleuth, in this comic mystery based on the character created by novelist G.K. Chesterton. When Father Brown is entrusted with transporting a valuable religious artifact from London to Rome, he's understandably upset when it's stolen from him. Brown has reason to believe that a notorious international thief lifted the cross he was carrying, and the good Father finds himself on a dual-purpose mission: to recover the stolen goods and to compel the thief to repent before God. The supporting cast includes Peter Finch, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker as the Bishop. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1954
This disappointing thriller from horror legend Terence Fisher (The Curse of Frankenstein) stars Alex Nicol as James Bradley, an America trumpet-player visiting London. Falsely accused of murdering a Spanish singer, Bradley can only prevent his own execution by finding the real killer. Not one of Fisher's more rousing films, this modestly-budgeted programmer co-stars Geoffrey Keen and Arthur Lane. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1954
This film offers a trio suspenseful dramas. In the first, an unhappy wife refuses to mourn the death of her husband, a miner who was trapped in a mining accident. Instead, she gets herself a new lover. Unfortunately, the husband survived. In the second episode, one sister saves the other, who has been betrothed by locking the groom away. Unfortunately, she has locked away the wrong man. In the final vignette, a saboteur plants a bomb in a factory and must escape before it goes off. Unfortunately, just as he thinks he is home free, a helpful coworker returns the lunchbox he left behind in his haste to leave. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Lease of Life was the next-to-last film in the relatively short cinema career of actor Robert Donat. Written for the screen by Eric Ambler, the story is set in a small rural community, where William Thorn (Donat) serves as parson. Upon learning that he has only a year to live, Thorn begins to see his parishioners, and his purpose on earth, in a whole new light. The plot is thickened when a dying villager puts his money into the parson's care; in dire need of cash to pay for his daughter's school tuition, Thorn is sorely tempted to dip into the funds himself. Exceptionally well cast, Lease of Life features Kay Walsh as Thorn's wife, Adrienne Corri as their daughter and Vida Hope as the wealthy villager's grasping missus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1954
In this thriller, shot on location in Rhodesia, an American insurance investigator looks into the strange death of a diamond broker who drowned while diving for diamonds off the African coast. The broker had been insured for over $1 million. The sleuth's prime suspect is the broker's fiancee. He trails her as she goes on a dangerous safari. He quickly finds out that the broker isn't dead at all. The two had designed the scam to raise money for the dive. The agent and the crook engage in a canoe chase that culminates in the crook's capture. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, (more)
- 1952
In this British drama a veteran laborer rises above the turmoil of unionization to become the governor of Artista, an industrial island that finds itself further embroiled in a terrible fight over low pay and terrible working conditions. A strike ensues, but the new governor remembers what it feels like to be an abused working stiff and so refuses to call out troops to break the strike. He tries to use his experiences on both sides of the fence to mediate between the angry laborers, but it's to no avail and the governor must make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Cecil Parker, (more)
- 1952
Mr. Henry Lord (Stanley Holloway) and his wife Lilian (Kathleen Byron) have been asked to move from their home to make room for the 1950 Festival of Britain. But Mr. Lord, as the title makes clear, has no intention of doing so. The government tries all sorts of persuasion and coercion, but ends up stumbling over its own feet. What starts out as a minor legal skirmish snowballs into a nationwide cause celebre, as often happens in whimsical British comedies like Mr. Lord Says No. Based on Michale Clayton Hutton's The Happy Family, the film also features such delightful British supporting players as Naunton Wayne, Dandy Nichols, George Cole, Miles Malleson and the ubiquitous Laurence Naismith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Holloway, Kathleen Harrison, (more)
- 1951
This British psychological melodrama stars Michael Gough as a man who is lost in the Brazilian jungles and presumed dead. He returns to civilization, only to discover that his wife (Elizabeth Sellars) has remarried. When it becomes obvious that Gough's mind has been unhinged by the ordeal, his former wife does what she can to help and comfort him. Instead of being grateful, the addled Gough commits suicide, arranging the evidence so that his wife will be accused of murder. The Night Was Our Friend was the sort of second feature on which director Michael Anderson cut his teeth before being entrusted with such loftier projects as Around the World in 80 Days (56). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
