Joan Sims Movies

Based on the stage farce by Vernon Sylvanie, Will Any Gentleman? stars George Cole as milquetoast bank clerk Henry Sterling. While attending a music hall show, Sterling accidentally falls under the spell of stage hypnotist Mendoza (Alan Badel). Undergoing a complete change of character, Sterling becomes an unregenerate womanizer, much to the amazement and dismay of his wife (Veronica Hurst). Anxiously, Mendoza tries to track the latter-day Lothario down and snap him out of his spell. The plot of Will Any Gentleman? certainly wasn't new in 1953, but it was still good for a full supply of belly laughs. Featured in the cast are pair of future "Doctor Who" stars, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though Meet Mr. Lucifer reads rather better than it plays, the film is still good for a few healthy laughs. Stanley Holloway plays Hollingsworth, an actor who is playing Lucifer in a stage production. While being hoisted through a trap door, Hollingsworth is knocked cold. While unconscious, he is replaced by the real Lucifer. Seeking about for a new form of deviltry to inflict upon the public, Lucifer comes up with the most hellish device of all: Television! The rest of the film details the effects that the boob tube has on otherwise normal, rational British citizens (there's even time for a swipe at 3D movies). Based on a play by Arnold Ridley, Meet Mr. Lucifer is enhanced by an all-star cast, including Peggy Cummins, Kay Kendall and Ernst Thesiger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Belles of St. Trinian's was the first of several British comedies inspired by the fear-inspiring girl's school created by cartoonist Ronald Searle. The girls of St. Trinian's aim their deviltry at a gang of crooks who plan to steal a famous race horse. Alastair Sim wraps up the proceedings with his dual portrayal of the school's severe headmistress (!) and her bookmaking twin brother. Also worth watching is veteran supporting player George Cole, who makes a tidy profit on the alcoholic beverages produced in the girls' science lab, and toothy Joyce Grenfell as a diligent lady constable. Like most of the subsequent "St. Trinian's" farces, Belles of St. Trinian's was a joint effort of the producer/director/writer team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What Every Woman Wants!, at least according to this British comedy-drama, is a roof over her head. Elsy Albin and Patric Doonan play Jane and Mark, a newlywed couple with no home of their own. Forced to live with Jane's parents, the young marrieds are never permitted a moment's privacy. Complicating matters is the arrival of returning soldier Jim Barnes (William Sylvester), whom Mark thick-headedly regards as a romantic rival. Also gumming up the works is a local labor dispute which results in several heated family arguments. What Every Woman Wants! is based on Edwin Lewis' short story Relations are Best Apart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not quite a full-fledged musical, As Long as They're Happy can be described as a romantic comedy with song-and-dance interludes. Adapted from the London stage hit of the same name, the film stars Jack Buchanan as stockbroker John Bentley, whose household is thrown into a tizzy when popular singing star Bobby Denver (Jerry Wayne) visits his home. Bentley's three daughters Gwen (Janette Scott), Pat (Jeannie Carson) and Corinne (Susan Stephen) are immediately smitten by Bobby, though each reacts to his presence in a different manner. Mrs. Bentley (Brenda de Banzie), hoping to loosen up her staid hubby, pretends to be likewise enamored with the singer. The film did the most amount of good for recording artist Jeannie Carson, who landed her own American TV sitcom as a result of her appearance herein. Also well cast in As Long as They're Happy are sex-symbol Diana Dors in an extended cameo role, and "Carry On" regular Joan Sims as a comic maid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second entry in the British "Doctor" series once more stars Dirk Bogarde as young medico Simon Sparrow. Securing his first job as ship's doctor on a freighter, Simon again runs afoul of James Robertson Justice, here cast not as the irascible Sir Lancelot Sprat but as ship's captain Hogg. Unexpectedly, the freighter is obliged to take on passengers--specifically, the man-hungry daughter (Brenda DeBanzie) of the shipping magnate who owns the vessel, and toothsome French chanteuse Helene Colbert (Brigitte Bardot, in her first English-language film). As the older woman makes a play for the crusty captain, Helene sets her sights on the nonplussed Dr. Sparrow. Often funnier than its predecessor, Doctor at Sea proved the viability of the "Doctor" series, prompting several chucklesome sequels. ~ 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

Directed by Roy Kellino, this British comedy stars David Niven as Roger Tweakham, an accountant for a silk manufacturer who finds himself digging deeper and deeper into trouble. Not only is he suddenly smitten by a French model (Geneviève Page) despite his marriage to his wife (Dorothy Alison), Roger has also devised an ambitious plan to fix the financial books to make his company appear more successful than a rivalrous nylon maker. The final film for director Kellino, who suffered a fatal heart attack before it was released, The Silken Affair was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Robert Lewis Taylor. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Norman Wisdom, Britain's much-funnier answer to Jerry Lewis, stars in Just My Luck. Wisdom plays a humble jewelry-store clerk who begins playing the horses, the better to raise enough money to buy a fancy gift for girlfriend Anne (Jill Dixon). Much to his surprise, Wisdom wins a fortune at the track: collecting the money, however, may not be as simple as he thinks. The funniest scene finds our hapless hero being trundled off to the hospital for a wholly unecessary operation; also good for laughs is a movie-house routine dominated by Carry On regular Joan Sims. Curiously, Just My Luck was bypassed by American distributors in favor of lesser Norman Wisdom vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anna Neagle steps down from her expensive musical extravaganzas to play a recognizable human being in No Time for Tears. She plays the dedicated director of a busy children's hospital, battling red tape, family hassles and public indifference. A large and stellar cast appears in this episodic tale, dramatizing the triumphs and tragedies of pediatrics. An unfortunately predictable happy ending sends the filmgoers home without trauma. No Time for Tears came close to the end of Anna Neagle's starring career; she would appear in two more films, and produce two additional features, before returning to the stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Before Eddie Constantine became a French pop icon as the slapdash "Lemmy Caution," he played Johnny, a straightforward London taxi driver. When his new taxi is smashed and he needs a big loan, he agrees to a five-minute marriage to Malou, a naive French girl, so she can become a British citizen. As planned, the two part after the nuptials, not realizing that this has all been rigged as a recruiting scheme by Nick (Herbert Lom), the boss of a Soho prostitution ring. Malou learns of Nick's plans for her future and tries to escape but is drugged and locked up. With help from the head "girl," Vicki (Diana Dors), Johnny learns of Malou's peril, and hatches a plan to free her. This dark action thriller has a few clever twists, and Dors is gorgeous, but her fans may be disappointed at the smallness of her role. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide

This third entry in the "Carry On" sweepstakes concerns William Wakefield (Ted Ray), the much-loved headmaster at a British school, who applies for a new job at a recently built country school. When Felicity Wheeler (Rosalind Knight) and Alistair Grigg (Leslie Phillips) from the Ministry of Education come to the school to check out Wakefield's qualifications, the students, not wanting their headmaster to leave, disrupt the school procedures to sabotage Wakefield's job application. Their subversive behavior comes to a head during a school production of Romeo and Juliet which degenerates into a free-for-all where it becomes every educator and student for him or her self. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide