Kay Walsh Movies

Lease of Life was the next-to-last film in the relatively short cinema career of actor Robert Donat. Written for the screen by Eric Ambler, the story is set in a small rural community, where William Thorn (Donat) serves as parson. Upon learning that he has only a year to live, Thorn begins to see his parishioners, and his purpose on earth, in a whole new light. The plot is thickened when a dying villager puts his money into the parson's care; in dire need of cash to pay for his daughter's school tuition, Thorn is sorely tempted to dip into the funds himself. Exceptionally well cast, Lease of Life features Kay Walsh as Thorn's wife, Adrienne Corri as their daughter and Vida Hope as the wealthy villager's grasping missus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Meet Me Tonight was the American title for the British-filmed Tonight at 8:30, adapted from the Noel Coward stage production of the same name. Several rotating playlets were presented in the original Tonight at 8:30, most of them starring Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. The film version utilizes three of these short plays. "The Red Peppers" stars Kay Walsh and George Pepper as a brash music-hall team (their big number is "Has Anybody Seen our Ship") on the verge of splitting up. "Fumed Oak" stars Stanley Holloway as a man finagled into marriage by a domineering woman (Betty Ann Davies). And "Ways and Means" stars Valerie Hobson and Nigel Patrick as a pair of impoverished "professional guests" who have worn out the welcome of every wealthy host in Europe. Meet Me Tonight was given its American TV premiere on the ABC network in November of 1956, at which time its original title was restored. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Magic Box was the English film industry's contribution to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Its all-star cast generously forsook their usual salaries for the privilege of paying tribute to that unsung pioneer of cinema, William Friese-Greene, here played by Robert Donat. Adapted by Eric Ambler from the controversial biography by Ray Allister, Magic Box contends that Friese-Greene was the true father of motion pictures, and not such upstarts as W. K. L. Dickson and Thomas Edison. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappoints, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries. The huge cast includes such British film luminaries as Joyce Grenfell, Miles Malleson, Michael Redgrave, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Cecil Parker, Kay Walsh, and, best of all, Laurence Olivier as the confused bobby who witnesses Friese-Greene's first motion picture demonstration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This gentle Ealing Studios comedy features young William Fox as a mischievous English lad. A goodly portion of the film shows Fox and his companions at play, aimlessly but enjoyably wandering about their neighborhood in search of adventure. Eventually the boy finds a discarded magnet, believing it to be a good-luck token; it turns out to be just that, enabling the boy to become a hero of sorts. The Magnet scores with young and old viewers alike, principally because it is told from the boy's point of view. William Fox would later sprout up to become leading British actor James Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Informed that he has only a short time to live, salesman Alec Guinness decides to enjoy his last months to the fullest. He withdraws all his savings from the bank and heads to a posh hotel. Here he makes more contacts and opens more professional doors than he'd ever done before, thanks to his willingness--at long last--to take risks. He also spends every penny that he's earned in life. Then he discovers that the doctor's diagnosis was in error, and that he's in no danger of imminent death. An ironic ending caps this fast-paced black comedy. Last Holiday was co-written and co-produced by J. B. Priestly, author of many other "if I had to do it all over again" pieces, notably An Inspector Calls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Eric Ambler from his own novel, The October Man centers around Jim Ackland (played by John Mills), who has been involved in a terrible accident that killed a friend's daughter and has given Ackland a brain injury. Despondent after his release from the hospital, Ackland moves into a hotel, where he meets Molly Newman (Kay Walsh). Molly has a hard time making ends meet, and must fight off the advances of another man who is willing to pay her rent if she will sleep with him. She asks Ackland to loan her money for the rent; he does, but she is found murdered soon after. Ackland is suspected of committing the deed and, due to his mental problems, he doesn't know if he is innocent. With the help of the kindly Jenny (Joan Greenwood), who believes in him, he sets out to clear his name. The October Man was the directorial debut of Roy Ward Baker, who had been an assistant to Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Immediately grabbing the audience's attention with a heart-stopping opening scene in a dark graveyard, acclaimed British director David Lean realizes the cinematic potential of Charles Dickens' classic 1861 novel, and the result is considered by many to be one of the finest literary adaptations ever made as well as one of the greatest British films of all time. Crystallized into a tight 118-minute running time by Lean, Ronald Neame, and a corps of uncredited contributors, this is the story of young Pip, a lad of humble means whose training as a gentleman is bankrolled by a mysterious benefactor. Along the way, Pip falls in love with the fickle Estella, befriends the cheerfully insouciant Herbert Pocket, has memorable encounters with the escaped convict Magwitch and the lunatic dowager Miss Havisham, and almost (but not quite) forgets his modest origins as the foster son of kindhearted blacksmith Joe Gargery. The role of Pip is evenly divided between Anthony Wager as a child and John Mills as an adult; Alec Guinness makes his starring film debut as the jaunty Pocket; Jean Simmons and Valerie Hobson are costarred as the younger and older Estella; and Martita Hunt is unforgettable as the mad Miss Havisham ("It's a fine cake! A wedding cake! MINE!") Remade several times, Great Expectations resurfaced in 1989 as a TV miniseries, with Jean Simmons, originally the young Estella, tearing a passion to tatters as Miss Havisham; and in 1998 it was remade again, in a contemporary version, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert DeNiro, and Anne Bancroft in the Miss Havisham role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Few morale-boosting wartime films have retained their power and entertainment value as emphatically as Noël Coward's In Which We Serve. To witness Coward's sober, no-nonsense direction (in collaboration with his co-director/editor, David Lean) and to watch his straightforward portrayal of navy captain Kinross, one would never suspect that he'd built his theatrical reputation upon sophisticated drawing-room comedies and brittle, witty song lyrics. The real star of In Which We Serve is the British destroyer Torrin. Torpedoed in battle, the Torrin miraculously survives, and is brought back to English shores to be repaired. The paint is barely dry and the nuts and bolts barely in place before the Torrin is pressed into duty during the Dunkirk evacuation. The noble vessel is finally sunk after being dive-bombed in Crete, but many of the crew members survive. As they cling to the wreckage awaiting rescue, Coward and his men flash back to their homes and loved ones, and, in so doing, recall anew just why they're fighting and for whom they're fighting. Next to Coward, the single most important of the film's characters is Shorty Blake, played by John Mills. (Trivia note: Mills' infant daughter Juliet Mills appears as Shorty's baby.) Even so, the emphasis in the film is on teamwork; here as elsewhere, there can be no stars in wartime. For many years, the only prints available to television were from the bowdlerized American version, which crudely cut out all "hells" and "damns." Fortunately, this eviscerated American release has since been shelved in favor of the full, glorious 115-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this rather theatrical comedy, a millionaire and a starving author exchange places. The beleaguered millionaire does this so he can find a little peace and quiet. The ersatz millionaire goes to a boarding house where he finds moochers at every turn. Meanwhile the real millionaire's wife throws a monkey wrench in the scheme when she surprises her "husband" at the house. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is a remake of Chinese Bungalow, which came out in 1930. A Chinese banker gets revenge when his wife, an Englishwoman, has an affair with an English plantation manager. After he gets his revenge, he changes his mind and decides that the one he really desires is his wife's sister. Alas, his love is unrequited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a factory worker is sent off to deliver a message, he inadvertently gets enrolled in the navy. His bumblings take him far and wide in the service of the Royal Crown. ~ All Movie Guide

Long after the company went out of business in the US, Grand National Pictures thrived in England, turning out such bread-and-butter features as The Missing People. Scottish comedian Will Fyffe once again plays Mr. Reeder, the seemingly bucolic Scotland Yard detective who's a lot shrewder than he appears. In this one, Mr. Reeder tackles the case of 27 missing persons, all of whom had been receiving remittance checks from their wealthy families. With beefy, bushy-eyebrowed Lyn Harding in the cast, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out who's behind the disappearances. Future star Patricia Roc has a key supporting role in this easygoing who- and why-dunit. The Missing People was based on a story by Edgar Wallace, who despite the fact that he died in 1932 was well represented on the British screen for the next four decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Toothy, ukelele-plucking British comedian dominates the proceedings in I See Ice. The nonsensical story concerns the misadventures of a prop man (George Formby) for a travelling ice-skating troupe. Inventing a new sort of candid camera in his spare time, our hero gets into a passel of trouble when he photographs what he shouldn't. Though well directed and exceptionally well cast (Kay Walsh and Cyril Ritchard appear in support), I See Ice wouldn't amount to a hill of beans without the presence of the ebullient Formby, who halts the action every once in a while for one of his unsubtly risque comic songs. Not surprisingly, the film was infinitely more popular as a "regional" than as a big-city attraction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide