Philip Stainton Movies

One of the many inspirational true stories told about WWII, this is the story of Douglas Bader, an undauntable character who was involved in an accident which cost him both of his legs. Despite this, he became a WWII squadron commander and was a hero during the Battle of Britain. Shot down over France and held prisoner by the Germans, he still survived and returned to England leading 3,000 planes over London in a victory flight. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Previous film versions of Moby Dick insisted upon including such imbecilities as romantic subplots and happy endings. John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick remains admirably faithful to its source. "Call me Ishmael" declares itinerant whaler Richard Basehart as the opening credits fade. Though slightly intimidated by the sermon delivered by Father Mapple (Orson Welles in a brilliant one-take cameo), who warns that those who challenge the sea are in danger of losing their souls, Ishmael nonetheless signs on to the Pequod, a whaling ship captained by the brooding, one-legged Ahab (Gregory Peck). For lo these many years, Ahab has been engaged in an obsessive pursuit of Moby Dick, the great white whale to whom he lost his leg. Ahab's dementia spreads throughout the crew members, who maniacally join their captain in his final, fatal attack upon the elusive, enigmatic Moby Dick. Screenwriter Ray Bradbury masterfully captures the allegorical elements in the Herman Melville original without sacrificing any of the film's entertainment value (Bradbury suffered his own "great white whale" in the form of director Huston, who sadistically ran roughshod over the sensitive author throughout the film).Cinematographer Oswald Morris' washed-out color scheme brilliantly underlines the foredoomed bleakness of the story. Moby Dick's one major shortcoming is its obviously artificial whale-but try telling a real whale to stay within camera range and hit its marks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comparatively little known, the British A Woman for Joe is an excellent showcase for leading lady Diane Cilento (later better known as Mrs. Sean Connery). The actress is cast as Mary, a carnival performer hired by fairground impresario Joe Harrap (George Baker). Mary was employed at the behest of midget George Wilson (Jimmy Haroubi), the real brains behind Harrap's sideshow. Mary is instantly attracted to Joe, which does not rest well with the jealous, manipulative George. The plot is resolved by a sudden death during one of George's performances. What could have been an exercise in tawdriness is redeemed by the colorful camerawork of Georges Perinal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in India, this romantic drama tells the melodramatic tale of a young couple who travel to a remote jungle village to announce their betrothal to the bride's parents. Unfortunately, while there, the groom becomes attracted to his love's free-spirited sister who lives in the jungle causing the fiancee to try to kill herself. Seeing that she has inadvertently harmed her sister, the jungle girl returns to the forest and the shamed groom returns to his fiancee. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A "Hobson's Choice," as any slang expert will tell you, is no choice at all. In this 1953 filmization of Harold Brighouse's 1915 play Hobson's Choice, hero John Mills finds after several reels of evidence to the contrary that he does have a choice over how he'll conduct his life after all. Mills is the assistant to domineering boot-shop owner Charles Laughton, who lords it over his employees and three daughters by day, then tumbles through the streets on many a drunken evening. Laughton's "old-maid" daughter Brenda DeBanzie breaks free of her father's tyranny, marries Mills, and together with her new husband sets up a rival boot shop when Laughton refuses her a dowry. Father rants and raves, but finally agrees to a merger with his daughter that will assure Mills a large measure of freedom over managing things. The winner of the British Film Institute "Best Film" award of 1954, Hobson's Choice chalked up another international success for director David Lean. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1924 D. W. Griffith film of the same name, Isn't Life Wonderful! is a bucolic British comedy which goes for quiet chuckles rather than bellylaughs. Set in a sleepy rural village in the early 1900s, the film centers around the efforts to transform sorry old sot Uncle Willie (Donald Wolfit) into a gentleman of prestige and property. It is all for the benefit of young Virginia (Dianne Foster), the American fiancee of Willie's prim-and-proper nephew Frank (Robert Urquardt). Set up by friends and relatives in the bicycle business, Uncle Willie continues his wastrelly ways, but somehow manages to make a success of his little shop. Somehow all this leads to a hectic finale at a health spa, replete with an amusing car chase. As a novelty, Isn't Life Wonderful! is told from the point of view of the film's youngest character, played by 6-year-old Peter Asher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made in Heaven is predicated on one of Britain's most curious annual traditions. During the yearly Dunmow Flitch, a side of bacon is awarded to any married couple who can prove at a public trial that their union has been happy and argument-free for a full year. Among the contestants depicted herein are the members of the Topham family: husband (Charles Victor), wife (Sophie Stewart), son (David Tomlinson), daughter-in-law (Petula Clark) and grandfather (A. E. Mathews). Into this household arrives a saucy Hungarian maidservant (Sonja Ziemann), sending the menfolk into a tizzy. No surprises here, just plenty of laughs--and in Technicolor, to boot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

White Corridors was based on Yeoman Hospital, a novel by Helen Ashton. Told episodically, the story concentrates on the day-to-day activities in a busy hospital, where research pathologist Neil Marriner (James Donald) conducts experiments in the hopes of curing diseases impervious to penicillin. Marriner is aided in this endeavor by lady surgeon Dr. Sophie Dean (Googie Withers), who happens to be in love with him. After a tragedy occurs for which Marriner holds himself responsible, the film builds steadily to an exciting climax involving a untested -- and potentially dangerous -- serum. The top-rank British supporting cast includes Barry Jones, Moira Lister, Petula Clark, Basil Radford, Dagmar (later Dana) Wynter, Bernard Lee, and, in a minor role, future "Dr. Who" Patrick Troughton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British novelist Erik Linklater was well-represented in 1949, with adaptations of two of his best novels hitting the screen almost simultaneously. In Linklater's Poet's Pub, a rhyme-spinner named Saturday Keith (Derek Bond) assumes control of a rustic inn. All Keith wants is a little peace and quiet so that he can write his poems without interruption. Alas, his little Pub becomes a veritable Grand Central Station for a wide variety of eccentrics, ranging from absent-minded professors to bumbling crooks. Stealing the show is the peerless Joyce Grenfell as a toothy patroness of the arts. Poet's Pub has no real plot to speak of, just a series of vignettes unified by a central locale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henry Devere Stacpoole's lyrical novel The Blue Lagoon was rather chastely filmed in 1921. The 1949 remake is a tad more explicit, though it's hardly as racy as the 1980 Brooke Shields version. Two British children, Emmeline (Susan Stranks) and Michael (Peter Jones), are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the company of kindly old salt Paddy Button (Noel Purcell). Eventually, Paddy dies, leaving Emmeline and Michael, now attractively grown up and played by Jean Simmons and Donald Houston, all alone. Their relationship, more along the lines of brother and sister in their youth, blossoms into love, and then passion. Emmeline has a baby, and the two live as common-law husband and wife, content in their solitude..until.. Filmed in lush Technicolor, The Blue Lagoon was considered fairly exotic and somewhat risque back in 1949, though by current standards the film is a model of decorum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Passport to Pimlico is one of the most charmingly whimsical Ealing Studios comedies of the late 1940s-early 1950s. As a result of wartime bombing, an ancient parchment is uncovered, proving that the Pimlico section of London belongs to Burgundy, France. Long taken for granted by other Londoners, the tiny Pimlico populace decides to take advantage of its "foreign" status. Affable oaf Stanley Holloway is made head of the new government, whereupon he merrily begins erecting borders and imposing customs duties. The sweetly satirical script of Passport to Pimlico was written by director Henry Cornelius and Ealing stalwart T.E.B. Clarke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The oft-used title Night Beat was applied to the 1948 British melodrama. After serving as commandoes in WW2, Felix (Maxwell Reed) and Andy (Ronald Howard) follow widely divergent paths in peacetime. Andy joins the London police, while Felix falls in with the Black Market. As a result, their friendship and fidelity is sorely tested. The women in the case include Andy's fretting wife Julie (Anne Crawford) and sultry nightclub chanteuse Jackie (Christine Norden). Though its starts out strong, Night Beat metamorphoses into standard melodramatics towards the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide