Dallas Bower Movies
Dallas Bower was one of the earliest trailblazers in television and film for his native England. One of the first bits of professional film work he was assigned was sound recording for Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 movie, Blackmail, which then led him to do the same, also in 1929, for the very first talkie in British cinema, Under the Greenwood Tree. These early experiences paved the way for his work on British television, where he became the first director of opera and drama for the British Broadcasting Corporation. When WW II broke out, he produced a number of films for the British government's Department of Information. He later left the BBC, when he began working on Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), and he continued to work in film and in the theater for a great many years afterwards. He died in 1999, at the age of 92. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide- 1952
In this drama, a woman with a sordid past desires to marry. Her intended is so in love that he disregards the many warnings he receives about her and goes through with the ceremony. Soon he loses every friend, and even his daughter begins to pull away. It does not help that his new wife is abusive to the girl. It is then learned that the step-mother is abusive because the girl's fiancé is one of the wicked woman's many lovers. In the end, the mother is so humiliated and ashamed that she kills herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Alice in Wonderland is a misfire attempt to retell the Lewis Carroll story in the style of the famous John Tenniel illustrations. The film is an uncomfortable blend of live actors in ill-fitting costumes, ugly life-sized puppets, and ragged stop-motion animation. Carol Marsh, as Alice, is the only non-grotesque in the bunch, but that doesn't make her any more appealing. The brainchild of American puppeteer Louis Bunin, this project is relentlessly weird and unattractive, helped not at all by the poor dubbing in the English-language version. American audiences might never have been subjected to Alice in Wonderland had it not been distributed in the U.S. to cash in on the concurrently released (and far superior) Disney animated cartoon feature of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Murray, Pamela Brown, (more)
Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Henry V is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made, full of rousing action, beautiful colors and passionate performances. Henry V is the story of the newly crowned king of England who fights the French for possession of Normandy. Olivier's direction is inventive, beginning the film as if it were a performance at the Globe Theatre, and having it slowly expand so the final battle scenes take place in realistic settings. Released in 1944 during the height of World War II, Henry V didn't receive an American release until 1946, upon which Olivier won a special Academy Award for "his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, (more)
This film version of the famed Shakespearean comedy features Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. As the story goes, Rosalind, smitten by Orlando and not able to get his attention, disguises herself as a boy to more easily remain in Orlando's vicinity. Eventually Orlando grows to like his new friend and Rosalind is stuck playing a boy with a boy with whom she'd rather be a girl. Confusing? Maybe only Shakespeare could come up with the idea, but director Paul Czinner does a fine job executing the concept. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer, (more)
- 1934
In this satire, two mythical countries decide to bolster their flagging economies by declaring war on each other. The trouble is, neither side wants to win. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1929
In this drama set in the English countryside, a town squire causes quite a ruckus when he decides to buck tradition and replace the ancient church organ so he can cozy up to the lovely young newcomer (who just happens to play the organ) in town. As soon as the woman figures out his plan, she quickly sets things to right and normalcy returns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marguerite Allan, John Batten, (more)
Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film utilized the new sound technology in a rather creative way off-camera. Hitchcock's lead actress, Anny Ondra, had a strong Eastern European accent that was difficult for English audiences to understand, so Hitchcock's solution was to have British actress Joan Barry speak Ondra's lines of dialogue off-camera. The film concerns a woman who kills a man who tries to assault her. Ondra plays Alice White who, while having dinner in a fancy English nightspot with her husband-to-be Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber (John Longden), begins to flirt with an artist (Cyril Richard) seated at the next table. The artist invites her up to see his studio, and she goes but balks when the artist asks her to pose in the nude. When the request becomes a demand, Alice stabs him to death. She rejoins her fiance and tries to forget the murder, but her conscience keeps bothering her. To make matters worse, sniveling rat Tracy (Donald Calthrop) materializes to blackmail Alice for the crime. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anny Ondra, Sara Allgood, (more)
