Elizabeth Vaughan Movies
- 1984
Gloriana was an original opera written by Benjamin Britten on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. The libretto celebrates the fabled romance of the Queen's mother Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex. The story had been previously dramatized by Maxwell Anderson's play Elizabeth the Queen, upon which this opera is heavily reliant. Sarah Walker and Anthony Rolfe Johnson sing the leading roles with a robustness that virtually bursts through the camera lens. This 1984 staging of Gloriana was produced for British television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
On the verge of starvation in 1930s Paris, erstwhile entertainer Victoria (Julie Andrews) is rescued by gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston). What she needs to succeed, opines Toddy, is a gimmick. What if she becomes a male impersonator? Better still: what if she becomes a male impersonator, pretending to be a female impersonator? As "Victor/Victoria," s/he becomes the toast of Paree, and an object of fascination for big-time Chicago gangster King Marchan (James Garner), who can't quite understand the teasing sensations he experiences whenever watching her in action-especially since he, like everyone else, assumes that she is a he. Enjoyable though the stars of Blake Edwards' comedy may be, the film is stolen by Lesley Ann Warren, who won an Oscar nomination as King's screechy-voiced moll, and Alex Karras as King's chief henchman, who, assuming that his boss is "that way," literally comes out of the closet. Victor/Victoria was a remake of the 1931 German film Viktor und Viktoria, which had previously be reworked in 1937 as the Jessie Mathews vehicle First a Girl. In 1996, Victor/Victoria was transformed into a Broadway musical, again directed by Edwards and starring Andrews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, James Garner, (more)
- 1934
David Gordon runs a bookshop that draws its customers primarily from the nearby college. One of these patrons is the attractive Marian, who has caught David's eye and married him. Bob, David's best friend, has never met Marian, but while talking to her on the phone one day confides that he is lonely and that he, too, wants to fall in love and get married. Unfortunately, there isn't a girl in his life and he doesn't know how to go about getting one. Marian responds that the best way is simply to pick out the first girl in a crowd that attracts him, follow her and convince her to marry him. Bob takes this advice to heart; unfortunately, the girl that he picks coincidentally turns out to be Marian. Misunderstandings ensue, with Bob eventually landing in jail -- and soon finding he's not alone. Seventeen-year-old Googie Withers was picked from the crowd of extras to play a featured part after the original actress quit, thereby beginning a film career that lasted six decades. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Too expensive for a "quota quickie" but not quite costly enough to qualify as an "A" picture, Happy is a shapeless but generally satisfying vehicle for several of England's top music-hall attractions. Stanley Lupino (Ida's dad) and Laddie Cliff star as Frank and George, a pair of nightclub musicians living in an attic owned by irascible Scotsman Simmy (Will Fyffe). Hoping to get rich quick, Frank invents a device that, when attached to an automobile, will immediately alert the police if the car is stolen. A millionaire car manufacturer is interested in the device, but agrees to purchase it only after his pretty daughter falls in love with Frank. Balking at the idea of marrying the girl for her money and influence, Frank nearly throws away his chance for true happiness, but it's all smiles and happy songs at the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Lupino, Laddie Cliff, (more)
- 1933
Fuller goes against butcher Marriott for a position on the local council in this comedy. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Fuller, Amy Veness, (more)
- 1932
This first talkie version of Conan Doyle's classic thriller The Hound of the Baskervilles stars Robert Rendel as master detective Sherlock Holmes. Though the story has been modernized, the basic sequence of events remains. After being apprised of the curse of the Baskervilles by Dr. Mortimer (Wilfrid Shure), Holmes makes the acquaintance of Sir Henry Baskerville (John Stuart), who is quite concerned over a stolen boot. And well he should be: That boot has been pilfered by a master criminal, who hopes to lead Sir Henry to his doom on the Grimpen Mire near Baskerville Hall. It is said that the stately country manor is haunted by the ghost of a gigantic hound, but Holmes suspects that the vicious animal is very much alive, and very much the part of a scheme to murder Sir Henry so that his assailant can lay claim to the Baskerville millions. Complicating Holmes's efforts to shield Sir Henry from harm is the curious behavior of the film's two heroines, Beryl Stapleton (Heather Angel) and Laura Lyons (Elizabeth Vaughan). Though Edgar Wallace's screenplay for Hound of the Baskervilles exists, the film itself has all but vanished; only fragments of the picture negative are known to survive, while the soundtrack has apparently been lost forever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Vaughan
