Maureen Swanson Movies
- 1956
A harrowing WWII drama that was a huge critical and commercial success in England, this British production was based on a novel by Nevil Shute. During the war, a group of prisoners, mostly women and children, are led by Japanese soldiers on a brutal march through Malaysia. Some die by the roadside and others are sadistically tortured. One of the women, Jean Paget (Virginia McKenna), is befriended by an Australian man who is also a prisoner of war, Joe Harman (Peter Finch). Joe tells Jean about his hometown of Alice Springs, an oasis in the Australian outback. When he steals a chicken to feed Jean and the others, Joe is caught and treated ruthlessly. The Japanese force Jean and the others to march on while Joe is put on a crucifix and left to die. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1956
Jacqueline, played by Jacqueline Ryan, is the daughter of a Belfast shipyard worker Mike McNeil, played by John Gregson. The worker's worth is compromised by his crippling fear of heights. Dismissed from his job, he finds solace in the bottle. All seems hopeless until Jacqueline breaks through Gregson's self-imposed gloom and helps him to regenerate. Jacqueline wouldn't be as effective as it is were it not for the lead actress's blessed avoidance of cloying cuteness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gregson, Kathleen Ryan, (more)
MGM's first CinemaScope production was the lavishly appointed Knights of the Round Table. Without overlapping into any copyrighted material (specifically T.H. White's The Once and Future King), the film spins a lucid account of the King Arthur legend. The good king is played by Mel Ferrer, while Queen Guenevere is essayed by Ava Gardner. Arthur's efforts to create a perfect society in Camelot are compromised when Guenevere falls in love with trusted knight Sir Lancelot (Robert Taylor). The ambitious Mordred (Stanley Baker) uses his knowledge of the Queen's indiscretion to destroy both Camelot and King Arthur's round table. Most of the story material in Knights of the Round Table is lifted from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, (more)
Archetypal British "angry young man" Jimmy Porter (Richard Burton) is a college-educated bloke who can't seem to get any better job than working in a candy store. Jimmy's relationship with his wife Alison (Mary Ure) alternates between hugs and kisses when he's feeling good and verbal abuse when he's down on himself, which is often. Alison's best friend Helena Charles (Claire Bloom) advises Alison to escape her injurious marriage. Left with no one for a punching bag, Jimmy romances Helena. Having suffered a miscarriage, Alison returns, and Helena walks out of Jimmy's life. In keeping with its depiction of the dead-end existence of most of England's working poor in the late 1950s, nothing is truly resolved in Look Back in Anger. Playwright John Osborne (at that time married to Mary Ure) uses Jimmy Porter as a spokesman for Osborne's own spleen-venting harangues against the British government and class system. Not only did Look Back in Anger spawn a new genre of British social-protest films, but it also inspired two remakes, both filmed for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1953
Handel's "Messiah" becomes a bone-of-contention in a tiny Welsh community in this comedy. The trouble begins when the choirmaster chooses a new contralto to sing the solo. Unfortunately, this leaves out the soloist who has sung the part for the past 15 years. This precipitates a family feud the women belong to the wealthiest family's in town. To reunite the warring factions, a young couple put off their elopement, but the real solution comes when the choirmaster turns the solo into a duet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Moulin Rouge is the story of 19th century French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, portrayed by José Ferrer. The film records his frustration over his physical handicap (the growth in his legs was stunted by a childhood accident), his efforts to "lose" himself in Paris' bawdy Montmartre district, and his career as a painter, which brought him money only when he turned out advertising posters--but what posters! Toulouse-Lautrec's drinking and debauchery lead to his early death, which in the hands of director John Huston is staged (brilliantly) in the manner of a musical comedy finale. This is the film in which Zsa Zsa Gabor actually acts, in the role of demimonde entertainer Jane Avril. As a bonus, the film's musical score (by Georges Auric) managed to hit the Top Ten charts in the U.S. When this immensely successful film was released to television in the late '50s, Moulin Rouge proved to be one of the strongest-ever incentives to purchase a color TV set. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Colette Marchand, (more)
- 1955
Alexander Knox is the One Just Man in this British crime melodrama. Knox plays a judge who takes the law in his own hands when obviously guilty miscreants get off scot-free. When Knox's tale is told, we are introduced to Peter Reynolds as a duplicitous playboy who attempts to defraud an insurance company. One Just Man looks suspiciously like two half-hour TV pilot films strung together. This 55-minute package was prepared by the brothers Danzinger, purveyors of many a pulse-pounding British programmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
In this comedy, the routines of two British army barracks are disrupted when they are invaded by a Hollywood film unit while their CO is away. Trouble ensues when he returns unannounced. Now the filmmakers must convince him to allow them to keep filming. To do so, they employ the charms of a full-bodied blonde starlet. Filming finally resumes, but then a larger military impresario decides to drop by for a snap inspection; the film crew is unable to offer an acceptable explanation for their presence in the camp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
One of several feature film versions of the late 19th century novel by Rolf Boldrewood, this frontier adventure is set not in the Wild West of the U.S., but in the equally untamed Australian Outback of the same era. Two brothers, Jim (David McCallum) and Dick Marsten (Ronald Lewis) follow in their father's footsteps by leaving home to seek adventure as gunfighters. They become outlaws in the roving band led by stylish Captain Starlight (Peter Finch), who leads them on a series of escapades robbing banks and rustling cattle. Though they find the excitement and romance they craved, the Marstens soon become disillusioned with a life on the run and begin to wish that they could resume the mantle of honest, hard-working citizens. Unfortunately, events transpire to put the entire Starlight gang out of operation before the brothers can recommence their formerly law-abiding ways. Produced by Britain's Rank Organization, Robbery Under Arms (1957) was followed by a television series remake in 1985 and a handful of other films set against the colorful backdrop of the Australian frontier, including The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Quigley Down Under (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, (more)
- 1955
The Deadly Game was originally released in England as Third Party Risk. Lloyd Bridges stars as an ex-GI living in Spain. Accused of murdering an army buddy and betraying his country to the Enemy, Bridges must work overtime to clear himself. Though the leading ladies are forgettable, some excellent work is turned in by the male cast contingent, including British reliables Finlay Currie and Ferdy Mayne. Director Daniel Birt adapted the screenplay of The Deadly Game from a novel by Nicholas Bentley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Based on an Edgar Wallace mystery, this puzzler centers on the attempts of a crook who goes to great lengths to steal another's fortune. It begins as an unjustly incarcerated heiress finishes a prison sentence. The crook wants to steal her father's money and so tries to convince the ailing tycoon that his own lover is really the rich man's daughter; the old fellow is not so easily gulled. In desperation, the crook kidnaps the real heiress in an attempt to force her to marry him. Fortunately for her, a Scotland Yard detective shows up to foil his plans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen Swanson, Allan Cuthbertson, (more)
- 1957
A story of family interaction, this is an adaptation of an A.J. Cronin novel, with Dirk Bogarde in the title role. More a character study, the movie depicts an insecure man who sees his son's close relationship with their Spanish gardener and is jealous of it. Torn by the jealousy, he contrives to frame the man and have him sent off to jail, but the gardener escapes. When the son discovers what his Father has done, he runs off to be with the gardener, with his Father hot in pursuit. A touching story of a Father/son relationship, it is also the story of the friendship between the young boy and the gardener. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, (more)
- 1954
Death is the subject of this dramatic trilogy. In the first vignette, an agonizing woman must decide whether she should give her single dose of antidote to her poisoned son or her equally ailing husband. The second story centers on a deadly love triangle between a stage producer, his fiancee, and a jealous dancer. In the last tale, a smitten young girl, determined to be with her beloved music teacher, hides herself in one of his trunks and nearly suffocates. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this British comedy, a luckless London window washer loses his job and ends up working in an enormous country estate that boasts more windows than any place in England. Things get worse when the self-centered heir of the manor forces the worker to accompany him to a local hotspot. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson, (more)
- 1953
Valley of Song perpetuates the British stereotype of Welshmen as pugnacious rubes. The story involves a Welsh valley men's choir, comprised of members with lovely voices and mercurial temperaments. When Handel's Messiah is chosen as the choir's showcase piece, the members squabble over who should be the soloist. Vocal remonstrations nearly lead to physical violence, until the entire Welsh village has been polarized for or against the concertmaster's decision. Valley of Song was based on an oft-produced radio play by Cliff Gordon. Its American title was, appropriately, Men are Children Twice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifford Evans, Hugh Pryse, (more)
