Ronald Shiner Movies

A typical British slapstick farce, this comedy by Darcy Conyers based on Basil Thomas' play The Love Birds, involves reincarnation, huckstering, and jealousy. Cecil Gibson (Ronald Shiner) led a shady professional life as an antique furniture restorer, and after he dies his widow Julie (Dora Bryan) and her new husband Bertie (Brian Rix) pay the consequences. A gangster is after them because of a bogus antique bed that the late Cecil pawned off for a quick buck. Aside from this constant threat, Cecil has reincarnated as a talky parrot whose main ambition is to make life difficult for his wife and Bertie. Several hilarious slapstick scenes involving chases or sexual encounters, as well as the more reserved wit found in caricatures like an inept magistrate, are all hallmarks of a typically British sense of humor here (shared by many non-Brits). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director Gordon Parry's last two films were the 1959 Friends and Neighbors and this so-so, slapstick comedy about a zany naval base on an island just off the southern coast of Britain. Not having a whole lot to do, the klutzy commander (Cecil Parker), a womanizing second officer (Leslie Phillips) and just about everyone else are making money by smuggling and other sub rosa, shady activities. When this motley crew gets word that the powers-that-be want to shut down the base and transfer them to other posts, they start to invent all the reasons they can for remaining where they are. They get deeper and deeper into their deceptions until they are ready to stage a fake revolution with the collusion of the civilian islanders. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

After years of faithful supporting service, British comic actor Ronald Shiner was finally rewarded with a few leading roles in the 1950s. In Not Wanted on Voyage, Shiner plays cockney ship's steward Higgins, who tends to the needs of the various passengers on a Tangiers-bound luxury liner. When a valuable necklace is stolen from one of the vacationing dowagers, Higgins and his buddy Hollebone (Brian Rix) decide to play detective, hoping for a huge reward upon recovering the missing item. Along the way, Higgins and Hollebone find it necessary to disguise themselves as Arabs, leading to a wacky slapstick chase. Even those filmgoers who'd seen and heard the wheezy gags in Not Wanted on Voyage in earlier films were amused by the breezy ridiculousness of the project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy three bookies attempt to win back their recent losses by kidnapping the favored horse and substituting it with a heavily drugged nag. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an ad man attempts to promote his brother-in-law's new cleaning machine. He is backed by a member of the Purity League. It isn't easy, but he eventually helps the product go public. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this remake of Jack Ahoy! (1934) a sailor is left alone on a South Sea island to guard supplies by the British Royal Navy. Unfortunately, they forget about him. A decade later he has become one of the native islanders. The trouble begins when the navy suddenly remembers and sends a ship to save him. Unfortunately, the man is happy and doesn't want to go back. He ends up staying and training navy jungle commandos for an assignment to recover a stolen submarine. The hapless sailor ends up captured himself. Fortunately, his native lover saves him and helps bring back the purloined submarine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A prim and pious old woman suddenly has her hands full when her devilishly free-spirited uncle dies and bequeaths her his five greyhounds, a ramshackle tavern and a popular cathouse in this British comedy that features a number of guest appearances by some of the country's most popular comedians. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A remake of the 1937 British comedy Where There's a Will, Top of the Form top-bills perennial comic relief Ronald Shiner as a Bilko-like bookmaker. Circumstances dictate that Shiner find himself in charge of a boys' school, where all the students show a natural affinity for gambling. Taking the boys on a tour of the European gaming tables, Shiner gets entangled in a plot to steal a Mona Lisa (not so far-fetched; such a theft actually took place in 1913). With the help of his young charges, Shiner rescues the Da Vinci classic from artnappers. Among Shiner's students are such future luminaries as Anthony Newley and Ronnie Corbett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Magic Box was the English film industry's contribution to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Its all-star cast generously forsook their usual salaries for the privilege of paying tribute to that unsung pioneer of cinema, William Friese-Greene, here played by Robert Donat. Adapted by Eric Ambler from the controversial biography by Ray Allister, Magic Box contends that Friese-Greene was the true father of motion pictures, and not such upstarts as W. K. L. Dickson and Thomas Edison. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappoints, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries. The huge cast includes such British film luminaries as Joyce Grenfell, Miles Malleson, Michael Redgrave, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Cecil Parker, Kay Walsh, and, best of all, Laurence Olivier as the confused bobby who witnesses Friese-Greene's first motion picture demonstration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Army boot camp provides the setting for this British comedy that centers upon a drill sergeant who must somehow turn an inept group of recruits into real soldiers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lensed in lavish Technicolor, The Man Within is a rousing tale of smugglers, betrayal and redemption. The story is told from the point of view of seaman Andrews (Richard Attenborough), the ward of 19th century smuggler chieftan Carylyton (Michael Redgrave). Feeling persecuted by his stern disciplinarian guardian, Andrews jumps ship and turns Carylyton over to the customs officials. A deadly fight ensues, during which both Andrews and Carylyton escape and head their separate ways. Upon befriending the stepson of a customs agent who was killed by Carylyton, Andrews agrees to testify against his onetime friend and protector in court. To bind the bargain, Lucy (Jean Kent), mistress of the Crown's Attoney, makes love to the impressionable, misguided Andrews. Finally realizing that the forces of justice are no more ethical than his fellow smugglers, Andrews refuses to testify against Carylyton, and is himself thrown into prison. Incredible though it may seem, a happy ending results from all this intrigue. In America, The Man Within was released in a slightly shorter version, retitled The Smugglers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George Bernard Shaw adapted his own play for the screen in this blithe film version of the romance between Caesar (Claude Rains) and Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh). Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra are merely Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle cast back into ancient times with Caesar doting with admiration and burgeoning love upon Cleopatra and expostulating, "You have been growing up since the Sphinx introduced us the other night." The story is a simple one concerning Caesar instructing Cleopatra on how to act like a queen. But Cleopatra is left cold by Caesar and his blatherings. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Four pilots are forced to bail out, and they end up stuck upon a remote tropical island filled with beautiful women. This musical comedy chronicles their adventures. Things go well for the flying Sea Bees as the women fawn upon them and cater to their every whim. Soon they find themselves four wives, and it is not until it is nearly too late that they discover why there are no men on the island--- all husbands are expected to commit suicide following their honeymoons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide