Frederic Worlock Movies

This Disney animated classic is based on the children's story by Dodie Smith. The story involves the canine pets of a struggling composer and his wife: Dalmatians Pongo (male) and Perdita (female). Perdita gives birth to fifteen spotted pups, cuing the entrance of the scheming Cruella De Vil. She demands that the dogs' owners sell her the pups, but she is shown the door instead. Under cover of night, Cruella arranges for the pups to be stolen. The human police are baffled, but the "dog network" is alerted by Pongo and sent to rescue the pups. It is discovered that Cruella has been rounding up every Dalmatian she can get her hands on, hoping to use their pelts to make one spectacular fur coat. The dogs rescue the 15 pups, plus 86 others stolen by Ms. DeVil. After an eventful escape, the 101 Dalmatians make their way home--whereupon the composer pens a hit tune, "Dalmatian Plantation". 101 Dalmatians represents the Disney animation staff at its very best, and as a bonus introduces the world to Cruella De Vil, one of the greatest movie villains--cartoon or "real"--of all time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Woman's Vengeance concerns a "likely" murderer, Henry Maurier, played by Charles Boyer. It is no secret that Maurier is enamored with young Doris (Ann Blyth), but is his love for the girl motive enough for Maurier to murder his invalid wife? Only family friend Dr. Libbard (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) believes in Maurier, and it is Libbard who eventually extracts a confession from the real killer -- just seconds before Maurier is to be executed. Without giving the game away, we'll note that the supporting cast includes Jessica Tandy, Mildred Natwick, and John Williams (Rachel Kempson couldn't have played the murderer, inasmuch as she's the victim). A Woman's Vengeance was adapted by Aldous Huxley (the same) from his own story The Gioconda Smile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in wartime (WW II), this film finds the fat guy, skinny guy comedy duo not much good at any attempted professions; they can't even enlist in the war effort. None of the services want them. But they do become air raid wardens, at least for a while, until their misadventures continue. They get all boozed up and are kicked off the air raid squad, too! But things get better when they thwart a spy ring and save the day. ~ All Movie Guide

The year is 1916; the place, a small English town. During the dedication ceremony for a new bridge, the townsfolk are shocked to see the body of a woman floating in the river. Well, technically speaking, not everyone is shocked. Henry Dow (Hume Cronyn), the mayor of the town, assumes that the body is that of an old acquaintance, Miss Wilkinson (Doris Lloyd). And Henry should know: he killed Miss Wilkinson himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shortly after murdering Arthur Chaundry (Arthur Gould-Porter), Jack Lyons (Denholm Elliott) marries Arthur's widow, Phyllis (Hazel Court). Although she is naturally distraught over her first husband's demise, Phyllis seems equally concerned with her missing crocodile-skin makeup case. To mollify Phyllis, Jack reports the loss of the case, providing the police with a thorough description of the missing item -- a description which, alas, turns out to be just a wee bit too thorough. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic musical, a Russian prince sees a lovely singer in a town cafe and falls head-over-heels. Realizing that he cannot be seen with her in royal garb, he masquerades as a worker. Later he secretly arranges for her to sing at the Imperial Opera. Unfortunately, his father the emperor is wounded that night by the wicked Reds. The girl's father is among the would-be assassins. Years pass. Just before the dawn of WWII, the girl and her family are exiled to Siberia while the former prince heads for Paris to become a famous nightcub singer. When revolution erupts in Russia, the girl is freed and the lovers are eventually reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Down in San Diego was previewed as Young Americans, which is why prints still exist bearing both titles. The film is essentially a gussied-up MGM version of an "East Side Kids" pictures, even unto casting Leo Gorcey in a major role. A gang of teenagers with too much time on their hands decide to pool their energies when the marine-cadet brother of pretty Betty Haines (Bonita Granville) gets into trouble. It all leads to the roundup and capture of a Nazi spy ring, bent on sabotaging San Diego harbor. Much of the film appears to be an audition for several of MGM's fresh young contractees, including singer-dancers Ray McDonald and Dan Dailey Jr. Down in San Diego was also a milestone of sorts, representing the 100th film made by supporting player Henry O'Neill within an eight-year period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the prolific Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries, Sherlock Holmes is on the job again. This time the inmate of a British prison has incorporated stolen Bank of England engraving plates into a series of music boxes he has made and multiple criminals are out to find them. Holmes must be first. It's a weak, thin plot for the final of the Holmes/Watson series but it is still a joy to see Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce working off one another. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

They said it couldn't be done, but they did it: Kathleen Winsor's "notorious", bestselling bodice-ripper Forever Amber actually made it to the screen in 1947 with full censorial approval. Of course, it was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor's novel, but the end result pleased fans of the book and bluenosed nonfans alike. A last-minute replacement for British import Peggy Cummins, Linda Darnell steps into the role of 17th century blonde bed-hopper Amber as though she'd been born to play it. Feeling suppressed by her Puritan upbringing, Amber heads to London, finding considerable success as a courtesan (that's the polite word for it). The first real love of her life is dashing soldier Bruce Carlton, who leaves her pregnant and penniless when he marches off to war. Subsequent amours include the sadistic Earl of Radcliffe (a superbly loathsome performance by comic actor Richard Haydn), handsome highwayman Black Jack Mallard (John Russell) and privateer Captain Rex Morgan (Glenn Langan). Surviving the Plague and the Great London Fire with nary a hair out of place, Amber ends up in the arms of no less than King Charles II (wittily portrayed by George Sanders), but true love, as personified by Bruce Carlton, will always elude her. Taking no chances, 20th Century-Fox sent out Forever Amber with a spoken prologue, heard over the opening credits, which explained that the film in no way endorsed its heroine's libertine behavior, and that she would be amply punished for her sins before fadeout time (that prologue has thankfully been removed from current prints). A model of restraint by today's standards, Forever Amber was sufficiently titillating in 1947 to post an enormous profit, far in excess of its $4 million budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in turn-of-the century London, this period thriller stars Laird Cregar as George Harvey Bone, a composer who suffers from a rather severe case of artistic temperament. Driven to distraction by the discordant sounds of the city, the usually sensitive Bone occasionally snaps when exposed to undue stress, and the results can be deadly; he sometimes blacks out and commits murders that he can't quite recall the next morning. Working on a major concerto, Bone is at his wit's end, and when an antique dealer tries to cheat him, the salesman turns up dead. Dr. Allen Middleton (George Sanders), a psychologist with Scotland Yard, questions Bone about the crime; he claims to know nothing about it, but the perceptive doctor suggests that Bone needs to relax more. Taking Middleton's advice, Bone visits a music hall that evening and sees Netta London (Linda Darnell), a singer with whom Bone immediately becomes entranced. This makes the composer even less patient with his sweetheart Barbara Chapman (Faye Marlowe), whose father, the wealthy Sir Henry Chapman (Alan Napier), has commissioned Bone's latest work. When Barbara tells Bone that his concerto is not up to snuff, she only narrowly escapes with her life, and while Bone believes that he's found true love with the beautiful Netta, the singer finds herself in danger when Bone suspects her of infidelity. Hangover Square gave character actor Laird Cregar his first starring role. Sadly, it was also his last film; Cregar, who struggled with weight problems all his life, tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds when he made this film. Eager for more starring roles, Cregar went on a dangerous crash diet, and while he soon lost 100 pounds, it put his health into serious disarray, and the actor died of a heart attack at the age of 28, shortly before the release of his first starring vehicle. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

MGM's Lassie series was declining in popularity by 1948, so the studio decided to release its latest adventure of the famous collie as Hills of Home, so that non-Lassie fans might be inveigled into entering the theatre. Actually, Hills is one of the best entries in the series, due in no small part to the engaging performance by Edmund Gwenn. Playing a Scottish doctor, Gwenn adopts Lassie, who in this film has an unnatural aversion to water; she'll drink it, but won't swim in it. Gwenn spends most of the film trying to cure Lassie of her fears, but she remains water-shy until Gwenn's life is put in danger and the dog is forced to dive into a raving river. The doctor dies as the result of the ordeal, but not before beneficently passing on Lassie's ownership to romantic leads Janet Leigh and Tom Drake. Lensed in restful Technicolor, Hills of Home was based on Ian McClaren's Doctor of the Old School, which had previously been filmed without Lassie in 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sweeping drama chronicles the foundation a Canadian institution: the Hudson's Bay Trading Company. Set in the 17th century when the fur trade was at its peak the story centers on Radisson, a far-sighted entrepreneurial fur trapper, and his sidekick who dream of establishing a major trading post on the title bay. Opportunity arises when they encounter an exiled British aristocrat and begin teaching him frontier ways. He in turn has them travel to England with him. There the determined Radisson, must first convince King Charles that the proposed post would be a lucrative venture. The king eventually agrees to fund the first post and Radisson, his partner and the aristocrat return to the Canadian frontier. The company gets off to a good start until the aristocrat's brother-in-law gets drunk and kills a native thereby nearly starting a war that Radisson averts by having the drunken killer killed. The nobleman is outraged and as soon as the three return to England to give a report to the King, he has the two trappers placed in prison. Fortunately, Radisson is able to appeal to the King's greed by telling him that the heretofore successful trading post will collapse without the two of them and they return to Canada to found a business empire that is still going strong today. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Robert Stevenson collaborated with novelist Aldous Huxley and theatrical-producer John Houseman on the screenplay for this 1944 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's gothic romance Jane Eyre. After several harrowing years in an orphanage, where she was placed by a supercilious relative for exhibiting the forbidden trait of "willfulness," Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) secures work as a governess. Her little charge, French-accented Adele (Margaret O'Brien), is pleasant enough. But Jane's employer, the brooding, tormented Edward Rochester (Orson Welles), terrifies the prim young governess. Under Jane's gentle influence, Rochester drops his forbidding veneer, going so far as to propose marriage to Jane. But they are forbidden connubial happiness when it is revealed that Rochester is still married to a gibbering lunatic whom he is forced to keep locked in his attic. Rochester reluctantly sends Jane away, but she returns, only to find that the insane wife has burned down the mansion and rendered Rochester sightless. In the tradition of Victorian romances, this purges Rochester of any previous sins, making him a worthy mate for the loving Jane. The presence of Orson Welles in the cast (he receives top billing), coupled with the dark, Germanic style of the direction and photography, has led some impressionable cineasts to conclude that Welles, and not Stevenson, was the director. To be sure, Welles contributed ideas throughout the filming; also, the script was heavily influenced by the Mercury Theater on the Air radio version of Jane Eyre, on which Welles, John Houseman and musical director Bernard Herrmann all collaborated. But Jane Eyre was made at 20th Century-Fox, a studio disinclined to promote the auteur theory; like most Fox productions, this is a work by committee rather than the product of one man. This in no way detracts from the overall excellence of the film; of all adaptations of Jane Eyre (it had previously been filmed in 1913, 1915 and 1921, and has been remade several times since), this 1943 version is one of the best. Keep an eye out for an uncredited Elizabeth Taylor as the consumptive orphanage friend of young Jane Eyre (played as child by Peggy Ann Gardner). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide