Newton Blick Movies

Joseph Conrad's cerebral, philosophical novel Lord Jim is streamlined and simplified by producer/director/writer Richard Brooks for the action-and-adventure crowd. Peter O'Toole plays the first officer of a tramp steamer, who, during a hurricane, cravenly abandons ship, leaving the passengers to drown. Disgraced, O'Toole seeks out ways to redeem himself--not only in the eyes of the British maritime commission, but in his own eyes. He signs on to deliver a shipment of dynamite to a tribe of natives somewhere in the uncharted Orient. He also joins the natives' fight against feudal warlord Eli Wallach, hoping perhaps to die in their service, thus purging himself from shame (and, in true Messianic fashion, becoming a martyr in the process). Despite the impressive star lineup of O'Toole, Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Curt Jurgens and Paul Lukas, most press coverage went to leggy leading lady Daliah Lavi--including the 1964 Saturday Evening Post article about the making of Lord Jim, written by Richard Brooks himself. Filmed in Cambodia and Hong Kong, Lord Jim isn't precisely the Conrad novel, but fans weaned on O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia will be satisfied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bernard Lee plays an irresponsible British warrant officer who loses his post in Warsaw. Lee is reassigned to a navy underwater weapons establishment in Portland. Humiliated, he falls for the entreaties of enemy spy William Sylvester, who recruits him to steal secret papers. Lee convinces a female coworker (Margaret Tyzack) that Sylvester is a NATO agent; thus, the woman is unwittingly sucked into the spy ring. The British turncoat outsmarts himself when he begins spending more money than he makes, arousing the suspicions of the government. Ring of Spies was based on the real-life Portland espionage scandal which dominated British headlines throughout the very early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on James Barlow's novel The Burden of Proof, this is a thoughtful drama revolving around the relationship between a schoolteacher and his students, in particular a fifteen year old girl (played by the debuting Sarah Miles, although she was in fact 21 at the time), who has become infatuated with him. But when he rejects her advances during a school trip to France, out of spite she accuses him of rape. The resulting court-case dominates the latter stages of the film.
In its depiction of school life there does seem to be a ring of truth, even if the situations are somewhat exaggerated and for its time this was very strong stuff with its controversial scenario. But the early 60s was an era when film-makers were challenging social taboos, and subjects that had until then remained off-limits were being explored. Victim (1961) is another good example of this trend. As the movie also examines the precarious state of the man's marriage, this also gives more poignancy to his predicament. A fine cast is employed here, including a young Terence Stamp who went on to become a major star of the late 60s. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

Kenneth More was beginning to segue into comedy roles when he took on the character of William in this standard sci-fi parody by director Basil Dearden. William is an unsuccessful guinea pig for a medical group interested in researching the common cold when he is soon fired and offered a job by the nearby National Atomic Research Center. They figure anyone who could fail at being a guinea pig is just what they need. They con William into thinking he will continue his guinea pig career by testing out some equipment for them before they send a group of astronauts to the moon. What they neglect to tell him is that the testing will be done by actually sending him to the moon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Bachelor of Hearts stars Hardy Kruger as Wolf, a German exchange student attending Cambridge University. Initially arousing the distrust and disdain of his classmates (WWII was, after all, only thirteen years in the past), the affable Wolf slowly wins them over. He also finds romance in the lovely form of an English miss named Ann (Sylvia Sims)-but only after he has gotten himself in quite a pickle by lining up several dates simultaneously (hence the film's title). Filmed on location at Cambridge, Bachelor of Hearts affords ample screen time to the music of the university's highly regarded Jazz Club. The script was cowritten by Leslie Bricusse, later the composer/lyricist/librettist of such filmusicals as Dr. Dolittle and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Town on Trial! begins with the murder of a good-time girl in a small suburb of London. Scotland Yard inspector John Mills is called on the scene, immediately launching his investigation by bullying everyone in sight. Mills is particularly aggravated by the prejudicial, hypocritical attitude of most of the suspects. He is so determined to blame the whole town for the poor girl's death that he nearly lets the actual killer slip through his fingers. Town on Trial! was based on a series of magazine articles by Francis Durbridge, published under the umbrella title The Nylon Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Hawkins is starred as a gruff, intensely dedicated Scotland Yard superintendent. Working as much by instinct as through scientific methods, Hawkins and rookie sergeant John Stratton tackle the case of a string of unsolved safecrackings, committed by the elusive Richard Leech. This Dragnet approach gives way to suspense as robbery leads to murder. A neat surprise twist caps this finely honed example of British moviemaking know-how. The Long Arm was released in the U.S. as The Third Key. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This hour-long episode of the ITV network's anthology series Television Playhouse (which ran from 1955 through 1964 in the UK) originally aired December 10, 1955. It constitutes an adaptation of Howard Clewes's play Quay South, about a seafarer, Captain Daniel Thwaite (here played by Roger Livesey), who struggles to retain control over his blockship "The Ebb Tide" despite the authorities' persistent attempts to take it away. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide