Frederick [Fritz] Valk Movies

In this thriller, an American visits England and finds himself entangled with international spies after they kidnap a famous scientist and he ends up with a briefcase containing a secret formula. Rather than call the Yard, the fellow decides he will solve this by himself. But it is too much for him and eventually he teams up with the Yard inspectors and the case is solved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this desert adventure, a bandit chieftain roams the northwest deserts of India. Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of ruin and raped women. A British major is assigned to capture the bandit and his gang. He succeeds, but soon the bandit, with the assistance of a sadistic nomad, escapes. The raiders then head for a British garrison where more bloodshed ensues as they begin slaughtering the hapless soldiers. The nomad captures the colonel and begins torturing him. The bandit, who has grown to respect his British adversary, sacrifices his own life to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Julie Harris repeats her stage portrayal of the irrepressible Sally Bowles in John Van Druten's I Am a Camera. Set in pre-Hitler Berlin, the film details the curious, chaste relationship between Sally, an entertainer at a bawdy nightclub, and fledgling writer Christopher Isherwood (Lawrence Harvey). Shelley Winters co-stars as Natalia Landauer, whose impending marriage to a wealthy young Jewish man is imperiled by the anti-Semitism which envelops Berlin as the Nazis gain political power. If all this sounds familiar to you, it is because I Am a Camera is the non-musical precursor to the Broadway musical hit Cabaret. Both properties were based on Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories. Those familiar with the film version of Cabaret will notice that certain plot elements have been watered down in Camera. Examples: Isherwood's homosexuality is left unmentioned, save for Lawrence Harvey's opaque opening comment that he is "a confirmed bachelor;" and Sally Bowles' third-act abortion is changed into a false-alarm pregnancy. Also, Julie Harris' dynamic but rather overbaked interpretation of Sally is not nearly as memorable as Liza Minelli's Oscar-winning interpretation of the character in Cabaret. Still, I Am a Camera is well directed and deftly adapted for the screen (by John Collier); and even taking into consideration Ms. Harris' hamminess, she remains one of the most fascinating stage personalities of the mid-20th century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Who better than the estimable Barbara Payton to play the Bad Blonde in this Lippert release? Actually, the film was originally made in England by Hammer Productions, then released in Great Britain as The Flanagan Boy and This Woman is Trouble, but neither one of these titles had the box-office "sock" of Lippert's cognomen. The story finds the duplicitous Lorna Vecchi (Payton) wrapping boxer Johnny Flanagan (Tony Wright) around her little finger. It seems that Lorna is married to Johnny's manager, Giuseppe (Frederick Valk). But when her husband proves to be a nuisance, the "bad blonde" blackmails Johnny into murdering the man. Astonishingly, until the very, very end it looks like Lorna's going to get away with it! Bad Blonde was based on a novel by Max Catto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character of Albert, R.N is portrayed by-well, by no one. Albert is a papier-mache dummy, constructed by the British inmates of a German POW camp. The dummy is used as a diversion in a daring escape plan. Anthony Steel plays the mastermind of the getaway scheme, while Anton Diffring costars as the shrewd-and utterly despicable-Nazi commandant. Albert, R.N was released in the US under the unimaginative title Break to Freedom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Top Secret gets under way when George (George Cole), a janitor in a research plant, accidentally comes into possession of the plans for a revolutionary atomic weapon. As George embarks on his annual vacation, the research security team embarks on a nationwide search for the hapless broom-pusher. Meanwhile, the Russians get wind of the incident and intercept George, plying him with liquor and empty promises so that he'll hand over the plans to them. All the while, George never knows what the fuss is about: he thinks that the British and Soviet authorities are interested in his new plans for a modern sanitary system! No one takes Top Secret seriously--certainly not Oscar Homolka, who delivers a bravura performance as a Russian secret agent who wistfully yearns for the glories of the Czarist days. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lush 18th century period romance, based on historical fact, was the first color film from Britain's famed Ealing Studios, but it proved to be such a box office disappointment that Ealing never attempted such a lavish costume drama again. Sophie Dorothea (Joan Greenwood) is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull). George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark (Stewart Granger). The feeling is mutual, and an affair begins, the couple carefully plotting to flee England to begin a new life together. Disaster strikes when they are overheard by Countess Platen (Flora Robson), a jealous former lover of Konigsmark's who takes her information to the king. Adapted from the Helen Simpson novel, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) was an early film for writer Alexander Mackendrick, who would later direct the classic Sweet Smell of Success (1957). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Derrick de Marnay stars as a Parisian sculptor who enters into a deadly menage a trois. The girl in the case (Joan Greenwood) is a bit all right; alas, her husband is off his trolley. When he discovers the illicit affair, Hubby, a sculptor in his own right, bumps off his wife and conceals her body in a very clever and (for him) characteristic manner. DeMarnay must resort to the occult to determine the location of his lost love; had he but consulted the movie audience, his problem would have been solved. No relation to the later Hitchcock film of the same title, Frenzy was based on the play L'Angoisse by Pierre Mills and C. Vylars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Eric Ambler novel entitled "Epitaph for a Spy," this is the story of a medical student on the Riviera during the Summer before WWII begins. A refugee from Austria, he has been photographing wildlife. When the film he develops contains secret installations, he must prove that he is not a German spy or be deported. With the police and help from a romantic interest that pops up along the way, he has to try to flush out the real spy to clear himself. Critical reviews were mixed, though Mason did an admirable job on his character. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Robert Ardrey's theatrical semi-fantasy Thunder Rock was transformed in 1944 into one of the most successful British films of the year. Michael Redgrave stars as a disillusioned war correspondent, David Charleston, who shuts himself away from society by taking up residence in a Lake Michigan lighthouse. During one particularly stormy evening, Charleston's solitude is invaded by several strangers, all dressed in 19th century costume. It develops that these strangers are the ghosts of immigrants whose ship went down some 100 years earlier. Through their optimistic example, Charleston renews his own spirits and gives the world a second chance. When Thunder Rock threatens to get too ethereal for its own good, it is brought back to earth by the sardonic presence of James Mason, playing a live visitor to the lighthouse who spars both verbally and physically with the self-pitying Charleston. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dangerous Moonlight was the original British title for the wartime drama Suicide Squadron. Anton Walbrook plays a famed Polish composer who refuses to leave his homeland when the Nazis march in. His friends literally have to hoodwink him into leaving so that he will avoid extermination. Still anxious to avenge his countrymen, Walbrook joins a Polish air squadron headquartered in England. The film's romantic angle is personified by Sally Gray, an American newswoman whom Walbrook marries after a whirlwind courtship. The film itself is no better or worse than most others of its kind, but has remained etched in the collective memory of wartime filmgoers thanks to its omnipresent utilization of The Warsaw Concerto on the soundtrack. Financed by RKO Radio pictures, Dangerous Moonlight was distributed by Republic Pictures during the war years, though rights reverted to RKO in 1947. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this spy caper, a double agent swipes classified British plans for a new kind of patrol boat and tries to sell them to the Nazis. They end up beating him. Later his wife burns the plans just before the cops get there. They end up arresting the Germans while the house burns to the ground. The angry spy then shoots his wife and dies in the blaze. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Rex Harrison astonished his fans by donning a Nazi uniform in the British suspenser Night Train (originally titled Night Train to Munich). Actually he's a British agent, working undercover to rescue a Czech inventor from the Gestapo. The inventor's daughter (Margaret Lockwood) becomes the unwitting pawn of a genuine Nazi (Paul von Hernreid, just before he became Paul Henreid) during a long train ride from Germany to France and back again. Director Carol Reed never denied that his inspiration for Night Train was Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (both films were written by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat). The homage was solidified by the presence in Night Train of two carryovers from the Hitchcock film: those ardent British cricket fans Charters and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne). Night Train was liberally adapted from the Gordon Wellesley novel Report on a Fugitive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide