Peggy Simpson Movies

This is one of the rare comedies by director Gerald Thomas that does not have the words "Carry On...." in the title, and that is the first indication that the wacky, hare-brained, ribald core of the "Carry On" series is missing here. The premise is that a young couple, David and Catherine Robinson (Leslie Phillips and Geraldine McEwan), have to turn their large country house into a money-making proposition. Their solution is to invite the kids of the rich and famous, since that is where the money lies, to spend a summer enjoying all the loving care and attention they miss at home. After the youngsters arrive, David quickly realizes what the offensive little punks need is some real discipline, and so the summer begins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama, a woman marries a rich aristocrat to insure that her blind sister will be properly cared for. Complications ensue when the woman's jilted fiance shows up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Will Hay plays Benjamin Stubbins, an unsuccessful and incompetent English lawyer with a tendency to tip the bottle and an inability to pay any of the considerable debts he has managed to accumulate. His wealthy family, of course, disapproves of him and has taken custody of his daughter so that she will receive a proper upbringing. Stubbins does not improve matters by visiting his brother-in-law and accidentally getting the butler drunk when he recommends alcohol as the cure for his toothache. He gets no more respect at the office, where lazy office boy Willie ignores his instructions in favor of reading the comics. Stubbins' life changes, however, when a gang of American crooks shows up. They know that the safe to a bank is located directly underneath his office and they employ the unsuspecting solicitor to track down a family tree, thus keeping him out of the office while they stage a robbery. Later, they show up at Stubbins' brother-in-law's house during a Christmas party, planning to fleece the host and his guests. Fortunately, Stubbins also shows up, disguised as Santa, and after the usual chase, the gang is captured. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

A stellar Hollywood cast gives an extra boost to the atmospheric British feature Everything is Thunder. The story involves a Canadian POW being hidden by a German citizen during World War I. The surprise herein is that the German is Constance Bennett, one hundred percent sympathetic and (eventually) apolitical. Douglass Montgomery is the prisoner, first discovered in Connie's bathroom while the police scramble through her apartment building. Despite the possibility of being liquidated as a traitor, Ms. Bennett, who has a remarkable propensity for disguise, helps the likeable Montgomery reach the allied lines. The pro-German sentiments in Everything is Thunder (and in the Jocelyn L. Hardy book on which it was based) were not all that uncommon in 1936 Britain; funny, though, how this film disappeared from circulation in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This classic British thriller was one of Alfred Hitchcock's first major international successes, and it introduced a number of the stylistic and thematic elements that became hallmarks of his later work. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), a Canadian rancher on vacation in England, attends a music hall performance by "Mr. Memory" (Wylie Watson); in the midst of the show, shots ring out and Richard flees the theater. Moments later, a terrified woman (Lucie Mannheim) begs Richard to help her; back at his room, she tells him that she's a British spy whose life has been threatened by international agents waiting outside. Richard is certain that she's mad until she reappears at his door in the morning, near death with a knife in her back, a map in her hand, and muttering something about "39 Steps." Discovering that a group of thugs are indeed waiting outside, Richard slips away and takes the first train to the Scottish town on the dead woman's map. Richard learns that he's now wanted by the police for murder, and he must find a way to clear his name. He begins trying to do so with the help of a woman he meets en route, Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), who serves as his unwitting assistant, even after she tries to turn him in. The 39 Steps was later remade in 1959 and 1978 -- both without Hitchcock's participation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Its title inspired by Albert Chevalier's world-famous music-hall ballad, My Old Dutch is a treacly tale of mother love. Marrying against her wealthy father's wishes, young Betty Balfour is left a widow when her husband is killed in WW I. Doing her best to raise her baby by herself, Balfour is challenged by her own father, who wishes to gain custody of the child and raise him in a "proper atmosphere." All sorts of misfortunes are heaped upon the hapless heroine before the tear-stained climax. The screenplay for My Old Dutch was put together by two "second generation" screenwriters, Leslie Arliss (son of George) and Bryan Wallace (son of Edgar). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romance, a wealthy woman is duped by a charming conductor. Later she ends up using him so she can remain in France. In the end, the sparring partners fall in love for real. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide