Cyril Smith Movies

In this lively British sex farce, a coquette gets pregnant and her mother, desperately trying to protect the family's honor, blames it on her boarder. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Able-bodied seaman Albert Tufnell (John Meillon) plans to marry Shirley Hornett (Vera Day), and the ceremony is about to take place -- when a telegram arrives from an officer aboard his ship, advising that marriage is impossible for Tufnell at that moment. Shirley's battle-ax of a mother (Marjorie Rhodes) doesn't know the facts behind the telegram but assumes the worst, and won't even discuss what to do about the wedding, even as she tries to live down the humiliation of a ceremony stopped midway through. Albert and his best friend, Carnoustie Bligh (Graham Stark), try to sort it all out, but even the arrival of an officer from their ship (Dennis Price) with an explanation only makes matters more complicated. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Director Lewis Gilbert is best known for his other cinematic efforts, such as Educating Rita or in films in a wartime genre, Sink the Bismarck. This unexceptional comedy is about a bumbling searchlight unit during World War II. Ensemble acting creates a series of intertwining stories that involve the various soldiers assigned to this post. Lt. Ogleby (Ian Carmichael) is the cheerful, inept officer in charge, then there is the womanizer whose concept of birth control is limited, the lovesick soldier unhappy over a misunderstanding with his girlfriend, the Cockney cook, the father-figure, and several others. Their trials and tribulations provide the bulk of the comedy, such as it is. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This popular 1950s British TV series featured the adventures of Sir Lancelot du Lac, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

John Gregson stars as Chayley Broadbent, a young Yorkshire businessman leading a dull, perfunctory life. He inherits a sizeable fortune, plus a prosperous textile factory, from his wealthy father. Soon after, he has a fight with his straight-laced girlfriend, Ethel (Susan Stephen) and leaves her, taking off for London. Once there, he plunges into the nightclub circuit, falling in love with showgirl Diana Dors. But she mistakes him for an impoverished chap and thus rejects his marriage proposal. When she finally figures out the truth, she makes a beeline for him, but by then he's onto her golddigging motives and instead opts to return to Ethel. Adapted from a novel by Derick Boothroyd, Value for Money shows no shame in trotting out all the cliches and obvious comic set-ups indigenous to this sort of film farce. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The British quickie Burnt Evidence began life as a short story by Percy Hoskins. Duncan Lamont plays the jealous husband of Jane Hylton. Confronting Hylton's lover, Lamont accidentally shoots the man. Convinced that he is a murderer, he heads for the hills. Ah, but don't forget that title: there is evidence that there's more to this than meets the eye. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Anglo-American melodrama The Big Frame was released in Britain as Count the Hours. Mark Stevens stars as a Texas-born test pilot who heads to England to marry his wartime sweetheart Jean Kent. At a reunion party with his air force chums, Stevens gets into a boozy brawl with one of the celebrants. When the man turns up dead, Stevens is Suspect Number One. While scurrying about London to clear himself, Our Hero unearths a smuggling ring. The moral of The Big Frame seems to be "auld acquaintances should be forgot." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Background is a tearful flashback drama centering around a dysfunctional family. Valerie Hobson and Philip Friend play a long-married couple on the verge of divorce. As they ponder the question of who will receive custody of their children (Janette Scott, Mandy Miller and Jeremy Spencer), the couple has second thoughts about their upcoming litigation. It is the children who eventually bring Hobson and Friend back together, though the reunion seems strangely without passion. Background was released in the US as Edge of Divorce. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A mad international criminal, Von Housen (Bela Lugosi) -- who fancies himself a vampire (and sleeps in a coffin), and has plans to take over the world -- arrives in England. Over the next six weeks a dozen young women disappear without a trace, and Scotland Yard is certain that Von Housen, whatever else he may be planning, is behind these crimes. The scientist proceeds to put his plan to rule the world into operation, having a very dangerous robot shipped to his secret laboratory -- but thanks to a comic mix-up in shipping labels, the robot is delivered instead to the nearly bankrupt shop owned by Mrs. Riley (Arthur Lucan), a conniving old Irish char woman. Von Housen retrieves the robot by remote control, but Mrs. Riley is brought along for the ride, and she proceeds to disrupt his plans for world domination. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Jenny, a pretty, independent, factory worker takes a holiday in Blackpool with her friend Mary. She has a week-long affair with Alan, the mill-owner's son, and attempts to conceal it with the collusion of her roommate. This stratagem backfires when Mary is killed. When both sets of parents learn of the liaison and decide that the two must be married, Jenny gives them all a surprise. This third remake of the classic British screenplay Hindle Wakes, gives a more realistic and touching portrayal of life in working-class England than its 1931 predecessor, one of the earliest "talking pictures" from Britain (two silent versions preceded.) It is gritty and rather sad, but presents a frank and compassionate female perspective on the "traps" of sex and marriage. Lisa Daniely is affecting as the thoughtful heroine, and Sandra Dorne delightful as her racy, carefree, girlfriend. ~ Michael P. Rogers, Rovi

In this drama, a reporter helps prove the innocence of a man wrongfully incarcerated for dealing drugs. The reporter learns of the situation when the convict's vagabond pals, with his influence and support, justice soon prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Though Green Grow the Rushes has the look and feel of an Ealing comedy, the film was actually produced through the auspices of British Lion. The story takes place on the southern coast of England, where through a bureaucratic oversight a small patch of land in Kent is protected from outside legal intervention by an ancient charter. It is here that a group of liquor smugglers, headed by Captain Biddie (Roger Livesey), carries on its activities with impunity and with full cooperation of the regional politicians. The fun begins when a cargo of precious potables ends up in a duck pond owned by a local farmer, sparking an onslaught of governmental foolishness. Two future stars carry the slim romantic subplot in Green Grow the Rushes: Honor Blackman plays a well-meaning newspaper columnist, while Richard Burton shows up as a slovenly smuggler (this was Burton's final British film before his move to Hollywood). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Dark Man is a killer who opens the film by committing double murder. This is witnessed by young aspiring actress Molly Lester (Natasha Parry). The rest of the picture concerns Dark Man's efforts to put Molly out of the way. The plot is nothing new, though the settings--a provincial repertory theatre, a military rifle range--are rather novel. It is giving nothing away to reveal that the title character is portrayed by Maxwell Reed; Edward Underdown co-stars as the obligatory Scotland Yard representative, while future "Dr. Who" William Hartnell plays Underdown's superior. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi