John Boulting Movies
The twin brother of British producer Roy Boulting, John Boulting joined his sibling at Toronto's McGill University. In the late 1930s, the Boultings formed a partnership to produce second-echelon feature films, with Roy and John alternating as producer and director; John's first feature-length directorial assignment was 1939's Trunk Crime. After attaining critical prestige via Thunder Rock (1942), the Boultings made training films and documentaries for the RAF. The brothers shared directing credit for two films: Crest of the Wave (1954) and Suspect (1960). In the 1950s, John and Roy cleaned up on the international box-office scene with a series of satirical social comedies like Brothers in Law (1958) I'm All Right Jack (1959) and Heavens Above (1963); during this period the producer/directors were instrumental in the rise to stardom of Peter Sellers. After 1965, John Boulting worked solely as producer, while brother Roy continued directing until 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1985
In this Stephen Cannell-produced pilot for a potential TV detective series, Mac Davis plays an ex-highway patrolman and Joseph Cortese an ex-trucker, related by marriage. Their wives were twin sisters--were, because in addition to all the other "ex" qualifications in their lives, Davis and Cortese are ex-husbands. Still pals after their group divorce, the boys become private eyes. Their first case is to get the goods on a shady tycoon (Robert Culp), who happens to be their former father-in-law. Brothers-in-Law was the first Steven J. Cannell independent production which failed to sell as a series, but it wouldn't be the last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
Peter Sellers stays busy in this comedy playing Hitler, Prince Kyoto, and four others in this tale of an anti-Nazi French whorehouse which supports the Allied war effort by exterminating the most dangerous of its patrons in the bedroom. Highlights include Lila Kedrova as the madame who becomes a general in the resistance, and Curt Jurgens as Gen. Von. Grotjahn, Sellers' nemesis. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lila Kedrova, Curd Jürgens, (more)
The television host of a popular cooking show, Robert Danvers (Peter Sellers) has a real penchant for women. After one episode, he finds Marion (Goldie Hawn) changing from a wedding dress to street clothes. Instantly deciding to get to her and "take over" before the groom, Jimmy (Nicky Henson) has another opportunity, Robert invites her to his bachelor pad, a specially designed command center for his romantic adventures. He turns on the English gentleman's charm, only to have Marion laugh and suggest forthright that they sleep together. She moves in the following day and the two vacation in France on the Riviera and tour the wine country before returning to London. Upon their return, Robert proposes to %Marion; she rejects him in favor of Jimmy, however, who has sworn faithfulness to her and given up cheating forever. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn, (more)
- 1968
In a disturbing movie about psychosis, Hayley Mills plays Susan Harper, a young student who tries to help a rich, emotionally ill and sinister young man, Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett). Martin is a schizophrenic who assumes the personality of a six-year-old boy when he is in his "nice" phase. Susan talks a store manager out of pressing charges against Martin after he steals a toy duck. Martin wants to take the toy to his mongoloid brother, who is in an institution. Martin's stepfather, Henry (Frank Finlay), enraged by his shoplifting, evicts Martin despite the pleas of his mother, Enid (Phyllis Calvert). Martin, again acting like a young child, is taken in by Susan's mother, Joan Harper (Billie Whitelaw), who runs a boarding house. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, (more)
This gently farcical British comedy stars Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett as Jenny and Arthur, a young couple who have just gotten married. However, while both of them are filled with anticipation for their honeymoon, a practical joke played by their "friends" causes their bed to collapse just as they're about to consummate their relationship. Through a variety of misfortunes, they end up spending the night at the home of Arthur's parents, where nervousness and a certain lack of privacy make it difficult for them to enjoy their first night together as they'd wish. While a bit of frank language and some fleeting nudity by former child star Hayley Mills generated a certain amount of controversy upon first release, by today's standards The Family Way is more easily seen as the compassionate relationship comedy its creators intended. The Family Way is also of note to Beatles fans as the first film scored by Paul McCartney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, (more)
- 1965
England's famed comedy brothers John Boulting and Roy Boulting created this caper about a trio of crooks plotting to retrieve their ill-gotten booty. Jelly Knight (Dudley Sutton), Lenny the Dip (Kenneth Griffith), and Scapa Flood (James Beckett) are released from the stir upon finishing their sentence for pulling off a heist. They immediately go in search of their one-time leader, The Duke (Anton Rodgers), who was supposed to safeguard their share of the money. When they find the Duke's girlfriend Sara (Charlotte Rampling), she tells them that the Duke is dead, and the money is long gone. It's not long before the gang discovers that she's lying, however, and that the Duke is masquerading as the head of a spa, the Hope Springs Nature Clinic, where he is planning a felony with some criminal cronies. Jelly, Lenny, and Scapa get in on the scam, while Sara dallies with Lieutenant Vine (Ian Bannen), an officer from a nearby army camp. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Rodgers, Eric Sykes, (more)
Considered a bit too sacrilegious for general consumption in 1963, the Boulting brothers' Heavens Above was simply ahead of its time, and has since accrued a loyal and vocal following. Peter Sellers plays an idealistic British reverend with a bad habit of telling the truth at all times. He also follows his conscience whenever possible, resulting in several cleric decisions that shock his wealthy, landed-gentry parishioners. By inviting such "undesirables" as gypsies and West Africans to worship freely in his church, Sellers rouses the ire of the rest of his white-bread flock. He does, however, compel the selfish owner (Isabel Jeans) of a laxative firm to "see the light" and to sell off all her holdings on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Unfortunately, by doing this the woman wrecks her business--which is the principal source of income for the community where Sellers works. Retreating from town with an angry mob on his heels, Sellers relocates on a tiny island in the Pacific. Since the island is the site of a missile base, and since the local astronauts have shown signs of agnosticism, where else is there for Sellers to go...but up? Heavens Above was inspired by a notion cooked up by iconoclastic British satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, (more)
- 1961
The Risk is a mild melodrama concerning the political aspects of germ warfare. A group of British scientists led by Peter Cushing develop a means of wiping out the bubonic plague and typhus. Unfortunately the method is variable enough to run the risk of spreading the very diseases it is designed to destroy. When the British government refuses to allow the results of the experiments to be published, the scientists seek out support from a big-time publisher (Raymond Huntley) who has his own diabolical agenda. The Risk has moments of genuine tension, though not enough to fully realize the storyline's potential. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Britton, Virginia Maskell, (more)
- 1960
Flush on the heels of their success with the comedy I'm All Right Jack, the twin Boulting brothers (Roy, director and John producer) released this standard comedic fare with a dash of spice. Set in the traditional British boys' school, the farce deals with the reactions of the young lads and their profs when Mlle. Madeleine Lafarge (Agnes Laurent), a gorgeous new French language teacher, shows up to start work. Along with the incidents that evolve out of countless crushes on the charming, sexy woman is a school full of great characters -- from the cook to the posturing school master, and the young lover to the insufferable colonel who heads up the board of governors, all adding interest and zest to the goings-on. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecil Parker, Ian Bannen, (more)
Set in the 1950s in Britain, this award-winning social comedy by director and co-writer John Boulting features Ian Carmichael as the inept Stanley Windrush, a hopeless twit with -- we are to believe -- an Oxford degree. Unlike others in his social circle, Stanley wants to work. When he tries out for jobs in industry with the full expectation of working his way into a management position, he sets off disasters and alienates his interviewers. So his uncle gives him a job in his munitions factory, knowing what an idiot he is, and relying on him to eventually cause a strike (the uncle needs this for his own reasons). Fred Kite (Peter Sellers in a performance that would launch him as an international star) takes Stanley under his wing yet that does not exactly turn out as expected either. Stanley screws up by accidentally being too efficient, and the entire British work force is affected. If one can accept a portrayal of factory workers as shiftless men unwilling to work, and managers as good 'ole boys whose jobs are gained only by networking, then this film will be all the more entertaining. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, (more)
- 1959
This is an uneven though occasionally hilarious comedy about a remote British colony and diplomatic blunders. Terry-Thomas as a British diplomat and Peter Sellers as a nasty, vile Prime Minister on the island, tend to overshadow the roles they are playing. Carlton-Browne (Terry-Thomas) is sent to the remote island of Gaillardia to prevent any other powers from tapping into its potentially rich mineral deposits. The fact that the Brits have ignored Gaillardia for the last fifty years or that Carlton-Browne is a walking disaster does not stop the Foreign Office. Circumstances quickly spin out of control as the island colony heads toward revolution with a new, young king (Ian Bannen) on the throne. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, (more)
- 1957
Lucky Jim is based on the same-named satirical novel by Kingsley Amis. The hero, Jim Dixon (Ian Carmichael), is a well-intentioned junior history professor in an unnamed British university. Hoping to impress the new chancellor, Jim succeeds only in bollixing up everything he touches. When he's not stuck in the middle of a slapstick car chase, Jim is trying to think up an excuse for that slightly inebriated blonde with whom he is innocently sharing a boudoir. Blunder piles upon blunder, until it looks as though Jim's chances at survival in the university are slim to none. But Fortune smiles upon fools and Kingsley Amis heroes, thus there's a happy ending. Lucky Jim delivers the laughs in full measure, though it's hardly the best of the Boulting Brothers productions of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, (more)
- 1957
The British Brothers in Law is a characteristically enjoyable Boulting-brother farce, again extracting humor out of the commonplace. Ian Carmichael stars as a novice attorney, full of notions but coming-on a bit too strong for his fellow lawyers. Thanks to the intervention of irascible judge Miles Malleson, Carmichael is forced to jump in and starts swimming with a particularly prickly case. The experience teaches Carmichael how to bend and shape law to his advantage--and also how to curry favor with the public. Brothers in Law was based on a novel by Henry Cecil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, (more)
- 1956
The Boulting Brothers enjoyed one of their biggest box-office successes of the 1950s with the wry service comedy Private's Progress. Though billed fourth, Ian Carmichael plays the central character, feckless British soldier Stanley Windrush. Interrupting his college education to serve his country, Windrush flunks out of officer's candidate school and is demoted to private. Much of the humor arises from the bookish hero's confrontation with the ruder and cruder side of army life, as represented by rough-hewn fellow private Cox (Richard Attenborough). As Major Hitchcock, Terry-Thomas offers a brilliant parody of the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" school of military service, while Dennis Price is equally amusing as a nonplussed commanding officer named Tracepurcel (!) Also worth watching is future "Dr. Who" star William Hartnell as a loudmouthed sergeant. Halfway through the film, the plot rears its ugly head as the protagonists become involved with the covert reclamation of art treasures confiscated by the Nazis during WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, (more)
- 1955
In this romantic comedy, a womanizing uncle tells the story of his good-hearted but fickle niece, whose tendency to always champion the underdog causes her endless romantic woes. It all begins when she breaks up with her fiance on the eve of their wedding so she can marry and help out a half-starved aspiring playwright. With her moral support and his talent, the playwright makes it big. Unfortunately, her old fiance shows up. He has lost his fortune and must flee the police. The tender-hearted lass, unable to resist a hard-luck story, then falls for her former love until he is proven innocent. It is at that point that the niece chooses her man once and for all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, (more)
- 1954
Crest of the Wave is the original British title of Seagulls over Sorrento, filmed at MGM's Elstree facilities in 1953 and released stateside one year later. Based on a popular play by Hugh Hastings, the story concentrates on a group of British and American naval personnel, stationed on a Scottish island. The men are engaged on a top-secret project involving a revolutionary--and highly volatile--new torpedo. The British officers resent the intrusion of American scientist Bradville (Gene Kelly), while the Yank sailors can't seem to get along with their English counterparts. Tension mounts from the outset when the first test of the weapon fails, killing several men. After a second test likewise proves disastrous, the urgency to succeed the third time round becomes even more crucial. Can Bradville prove the efficacy of the torpedo without sparking another tragedy--and will he ever gain the full confidence of his most formidable foe, British lieutenant Wharton (John Justin)? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Jeff Richards, (more)
- 1951
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
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Margaret Johnston, (more)
- 1950
Barry Jones stars as an idealistic British professor working on atomic research. Upset by the apocalyptic ramifications of his work, Jones constructs his own bomb and threatens to blow up London within one week. His terms: Stop the atomic research or suffer the consequences. As London is evacuated, the authorities close in on Jones, using a rather sophisticated form of psychological warfare to trap the unhinged scientist. Seven Days to Noon manages to sustain its suspense and realism the most part, but is slightly undermined by grainy stock footage of London's children being evacuated during World War II. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, (more)
- 1948
Not a film about scientific research, The Guinea Pig (US title: The Outsider) is the story of an incipient "affirmative action" program. An impoverished young British boy wins a scholarship. As part of a sociological experiment, he becomes the first product of his "class" to be accepted in a snooty upper-crust public school. Most of the film concentrates on the effect this experiment has on the school staff. Written by actor Bernard Miles, who also plays a supporting role, The Guinea Pig stirred up controversy at the time of its release because of the presence of an alleged profanity in its dialogue. If you must know, it's the same "filthy word" Audrey Hepburn shouts at the Ascot races in My Fair Lady (64). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Sheila Sim, (more)
- 1947
This unsparing, brutal look at the British criminal underbelly stars Richard Attenborough as Pinkie Brown, a pock-marked gang leader. While leading his men in a racetrack robbery, Pinkie kills a man. He convinces pretty waitress Rose (Carol Marsh) to provide him with an alibi, promising to marry her in exchange. After the wedding, the sociopathic Pinkie conducts a slow and careful campaign to drive his young wife to suicide. A moody, well-acted film with a stunning performance by the 24-year-old Attenborough, Brighton Rock is notable for bringing a new vicious realism to British crime cinema. Adapted by Terrance Rattigan and Graham Greene, from Greene's novel, the screenplay is superlative. The grim realism and sordid subject matter of the film is striking, handled by twin filmmakers Roy and John Boulting, who use mood and dark, stark photography to convey an almost palpable sense of dread. The American distributor of Brighton Rock, smelling disaster with that ambivalent title, renamed the film Young Scarface, and while it was quite controversial in its day, the film can't quite recapture the impact it had upon its initial release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, (more)
- 1947
When a young man from an economically depressed area of England (played by Michael Redgrave) decides that his calling is to help the beleaguered workers in his area, he takes as his symbol a sword passed down to him by an ancestor who picked it up at the Battle of Peterloo in 1819, where it had been used against workers. Beginning as an idealistic defender of the oppressed workers, he rises to power in the Parliament, where he discovers that power corrupts and he becomes the very type of politician he had originally set out to displace. Sometimes slow-moving, this is an interesting look into the reasons why the Labor and the Conservative factions are at loggerheads with each other in Great Britain. Very loosely based on labor leader Ramsay MacDonald's climb to power, the story was adapted by Howard Spring and is a combination of both fact and fiction. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, (more)
- 1946
Filmed in 1945 and released in the US the following year, the Anglo-American Journey Together is a tribute to the Royal Air Force, with several members of the RAF (and the acting profession) in prominent roles. The story follows the progress of two aspiring RAF pilots, cockney David Wilton (Sgt. Richard Attenborough) and college graduate John Aynesworth (Aircraftsman Jack Watling), from basic training to bombing mission. David and John are briefly sent off to America, where they are trained for aerial combat by no-nonsense Dean MacWilliams (Edward G. Robinson). The two flyboys then separate, with David going to Canadian Navigational School while John earns his wings and is shipped back to England. It's a tougher road to hoe for the combative, fiercely independent David than it is for the calmly resilient John, by by film's end the two comrades in arms are together again, flying their first hazardous mission over Berlin. Bessie Love, an American actress then living in London, plays Edward G. Robinson's wife; other roles are filled by members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the US Army Air Corps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1942
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
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Barbara Mullen, (more)
- 1940
In this suspense film, a tormented young man plots his revenge against his abuser. He decides that he will murder the fellow student. First he will drug the cruel lad. Then he will dump the body in a trunk and drive into the countryside where he will dump it in a deep hole. Things go as planned until the victim wakes up. The disturbed student is subsequently captured. He confesses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Manning Whiley, Barbara Everest, (more)
- 1940
In this patriotic drama, the courage of a German pastor is presented as he makes a public stand against Nazi philosophies and actions. Unfortunately, the outspoken fellow is sent to a concentration camp where he is beaten and tortured. Still he manages to escape and give one final sermon to his congregation before he is gunned down. The story is based on an actual event. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfred Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, (more)
