Jeanne Shepherd Movies
- 1952
Released in Britain as Crash of Silence, Mandy is a straightforward story about a handicapped child's efforts to adapt to a normal world. Born deaf, Mandy is mute for most of her childhood. Her desperate parents enroll her in special education classes. It's a slow, uphill climb, but by film's end Mandy is talking and playing happily with non-impaired children. A well-intentioned effort, Mandy unfortunately falls prey to corniness, save for the thoroughly convincing performance by child actress Mandy Miller (who was not deaf). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, (more)
- 1950
The title is a reference to the mental state of leading lady Phyllis Calvert. Ms. Calvert plays an amnesiac, a victim of the wartime air raids, whose past is literally closed off to her. She doesn't know why, but everyone at every turn seems to want something from her--and some of these strangers have a homicidal glint in their eyes. Among the supporting players is Richard Burton, making his fourth screen appearance. Retitled as Her Panelled Door for U.S. theatrical release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Edward Underdown, (more)
- 1950
Jennifer (Janette Scott) is the 12-year-old daughter of divorcing couple William (Leo Genn) and Paula (Beatrice Campbell). Though both parents profess their love for Jennifer, both mentally abuse the poor girl during the custody tug-of-war. Unable to withstand the pressure, Jennifer runs away from home. She ultimately finds happiness with another family, where game-playing is not part of the agenda. Based on No Difference to Me, a novel by Phyllis Hambleton, No Place for Jennifer concentrates more on the sentimental aspects of the story than its does on the psychological effect a divorce has on an innocent child. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Genn, Rosamund John, (more)
Though Errol Flynn was well past his prime (and obviously well lubricated in certain scenes), he rises to the occasion of The Adventures of Don Juan with a spirited, athletic performance. As fabled Spanish swashbuckler/lover Don Juan, Flynn spends the early portions of the film romancing willing young ladies and dueling with jealous husbands. Spain's Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) assigns Don Juan to head the royal fencing academy to keep him out of trouble. When scheming Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas) plots to topple the monarchy, it is Don Juan's eager young fencing pupils who come to the rescue. Though a troubled production (filming was habitually halted due to Flynn's precarious physical condition and by constant changes and replacements in production personnel),The Adventures of Don Juan moves swiftly and enjoyably from start to finish, abetted by a rousing, semi-satirical Max Steiner musical score, which has since been heard in such 1980s films as Zorro, the Gay Blade and Goonies. Incidentally, Errol Flynn is doubled in the famous leap from the head of a long staircase by stunt expert Jock Mahoney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1947
When a young man from an economically depressed area of England (played by Michael Redgrave) decides that his calling is to help the beleaguered workers in his area, he takes as his symbol a sword passed down to him by an ancestor who picked it up at the Battle of Peterloo in 1819, where it had been used against workers. Beginning as an idealistic defender of the oppressed workers, he rises to power in the Parliament, where he discovers that power corrupts and he becomes the very type of politician he had originally set out to displace. Sometimes slow-moving, this is an interesting look into the reasons why the Labor and the Conservative factions are at loggerheads with each other in Great Britain. Very loosely based on labor leader Ramsay MacDonald's climb to power, the story was adapted by Howard Spring and is a combination of both fact and fiction. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, (more)
- 1947
The hard lives of those living on the rugged Hebrides are chronicled in this drama that is partially comprised of footage from a documentary. The story centers on a farmer's wife who becomes miserable when her husband loses his livelihood and is forced to become a herring fisherman on those barren isles. The woman loathes life near the sea, and after her husband is forcibly inducted into the Navy, she moves in with her aunt. In the new village, she meets the handsome captain of a herring boat and they fall in love. Unfortunately, a cholera outbreak erupts. She must also cope with her son's desire to become a fisherman. Storms also wreak havoc in her life, but fortunately, she weathers it all and at last is able to be with the man she truly loves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Bernard, Clifford Evans, (more)
- 1946
American first lady Eleanor Roosevelt's impending visit to a tiny English country village is the motivation of the Anglo-American coproduction Great Day. As the villagers prepare for their prestigious guest, all sorts of internal squabbles and personal foibles rise to the surface. The story concentrates on embittered WW1 veteran Captain Ellis (Eric Portman), whose insecessant drinking and sponging is a source of embarrassment for his long-suffering family. The Captain's daughter Margaret (Sheila Sim) is on the verge of entering into a wealthy but loveless marriage so that she can rescue her mother (Flora Robson) from her father's excesses. In the Lesley Storm stage play on which this film was based, Captain Ellis comes to a bad but not entirely undeserved end; the film allows him a last-minute reprieve, as well as a chance to change his ways before Mrs. R. shows up. A moderate hit in England, Great Day sank like a stone when released in the US by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Flora Robson, (more)
Set not in the 14th century milieu of Geoffrey Chaucer but in wartime Britain, A Canterbury Tale begins with rural justice of the peace Eric Portman adopting a "lock up your daughters" policy when the American soldiers are stationed nearby. To escape the arbitrary edicts of Portman, British tank sergeant Dennis Price, American GI John Sweet and shopkeeper Sheila Sim head down the road to Canterbury. Each of the principals finds their lives changed by the journey. In particular, Sweet (a real-life American sergeant, rather than the usual stereotyped "yank" common to British war films) encounters genuine romance. A product of the always adventuresome "Archers" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), A Canterbury Tale contains some extremely creative cinematic moments, though it is the quieter scenes which work best. Esmond Knight narrates the film and shows up in a couple of amusing cameos. A ubiquitous presence on American TV, Canterbury Tale is available in two versions; the American release version, cut from 124 to 95 minutes and including several arbitrary scenes with Kim Hunter, is the lesser of the two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, (more)
- 1942
Robert Ardrey's theatrical semi-fantasy Thunder Rock was transformed in 1944 into one of the most successful British films of the year. Michael Redgrave stars as a disillusioned war correspondent, David Charleston, who shuts himself away from society by taking up residence in a Lake Michigan lighthouse. During one particularly stormy evening, Charleston's solitude is invaded by several strangers, all dressed in 19th century costume. It develops that these strangers are the ghosts of immigrants whose ship went down some 100 years earlier. Through their optimistic example, Charleston renews his own spirits and gives the world a second chance. When Thunder Rock threatens to get too ethereal for its own good, it is brought back to earth by the sardonic presence of James Mason, playing a live visitor to the lighthouse who spars both verbally and physically with the self-pitying Charleston. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Barbara Mullen, (more)
- 1939
In this courtroom drama, a remake of a 1931 film, a woman is suspected of killing her husband after a revolver is found in her attic. A coroner is determined to prove that she did it, but thanks to the assistance of a quick-witted lawyer she is eventually found innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
