Roger Burford Movies

A servant with no experience ends up teaching the master of the house a thing or two in this comedy. Molly Barry (Gracie Fields) is a struggling actress who is short on money and needs paying work. When she learns that John Graham (Monty Woolley), a wealthy and respected former politician, needs a housekeeper, Molly figures that being a maid can't be that much different than playing one, and she takes the job. However, the straight-laced and prickly Graham has a habit of rubbing people the wrong way, having driven away his wife and seriously alienated his son Jimmy (Roddy McDowell). Graham's butler Peabody (Reginald Gardiner) is one of the only people willing to stand by him. But Molly tolerates no nonsense from Graham and teaches him how to better get along with people, including his son. Meanwhile, as various members of the staff quit, Molly begins to replace them with old friends from her days in the theater, until Graham's estate is practically a refuge for out-of-work thespians (Molly also makes a surprise discovery about Peabody's work history). Molly and Me also features several songs sung by Gracie Fields, a major musical comedy star in Great Britain. This proved to be her last feature film, though she remained active in television and on the stage. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A minor effort from a major director, Bank Holiday is little more than a series of anecdotes involving middle-class Brightoners on holiday. Margaret Lockwood and Hugh Williams played the largest roles, as a couple who find love during their one-day respite from work. Comic relief (which in this film is superior to the straight plotting) is provided by several reliable character actors, notably Wilfred Lawson as an officious constable. The film's major purpose is to poke gentle fun at the foibles of the working class, and as such it doesn't amuse as much as it did back in 1938. Bank Holiday was released in the U.S. as Three on a Weekend. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sixty-nine-year-old George Arliss at first seems an unlikely casting choice for Dr. Syn, the 18th-century clergyman-cum-pirate created by novelist Roger Thorndyke. But Arliss never backed down from an acting challenge in all his 50 years of stage and screen work; if he wanted to play a pirate, he'd by gum play a pirate and have the audience firmly on his side all the way through (it turned out to be his final movie appearance). The film begins with the supposed death of the notorious Dr. Syn, then flashes forward to the coastal village of Dymchurch, where the kindly vicar (Arliss) is actually the allegedly deceased buccaneer, still operating his smuggling activities. Director Roy William Neill, better known for his American-made Sherlock Holmes films, keeps things moving at a fast clip. Dr. Syn was remade with Peter Cushing as Captain Clegg in the 1962 Night Creatures, then by Disney that same year as Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, with Patrick McGoohan as a considerably cleaned-up Syn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Music-hall comedian Arthur Riscoe is ideally cast as the title character in Public Nuisance No. 1. The plot and the title are one in the same, as Arthur Rawlings (Riscoe) plies his trade as a waiter, noisily making a mess of things but remaining impishly lovable withal. Heroine Frances Travers (Frances Day) is a shop girl whose wealthy uncle owns the hotel where Arthur works. Against all odds, Frances and Arthur join forces to save the hotel from bankruptcy. The musical numbers are catchy, but, like the film itself, nothing special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a king suddenly abdicates, his subjects are lead to believe that it is for the love of a foreigner in this romance. In reality, he is stepping down so avaricious businessmen can crown their own man king. The deposed monarch spends his exile on the Riviera, while the woman, filled with guilt because he stepped down for her, lives in Holland. Interestingly enough, Edward VIII the King of England abdicated for the love of American woman Wallis Simpson a few weeks after this British film was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This epic costume drama is set in turn-of-the-century Turkey and chronicles the ruthless reign of a paranoid ruler who begins killing everyone he suspects of treachery against him. The despot's loyal chief of police obediently enacts his master's bloody whims until he too stands accused of conspiracy and is sentenced to die. To save him, his lover, a Viennese actress, offers to join the despot's harem. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Movie star-turned-bandleader Buddy Rogers heads the cast of the British tunefest Dance Band. The star is appropriately cast as singing orchestra leader Buddy Morgan, whose great rival is female bandmaster -- or bandmistress -- Pat Shelley (June Clyde). That hero and heroine will forget their differences and fall in love is a "given," but there's many a complication along the way thanks in great part to crooked business-manager Lewes (Fred Duprez). The plot is merely a peg upon which to hang a variety of toe-tapping musical numbers, delivered with gusto by a gaggle of talented specialty artists. In addition to its entertainment obligations, Dance Band helped to introduce Austrian actor Steve Geray to English-speaking audiences; within the next few years, Geray would develop into one of Hollywood's most dependable character players. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

World-renowned operatic tenor Richard Tauber not only starred in Heart's Desire, but also wrote most of the songs. Tauber is cast as Joseph Steidler, a popular but relatively unknown Vienesse beer-garden singer. Discovered by a show-biz entrepreneur, Steidler is suddenly catapulted to fame and fortune. Alas, in the process he loses his sweetheart Anna (Kathleen Kelly) tossing her aside in favor of glamorous socialite Frances (Leona Wilson). By the time Steidler learns that he's out of his depth in High Society, it's almost too late. Filmed in 1935, Heart's Desire made it to American shores in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Freedom of the Seas is sometimes listed as French stage director Marcel Varnel's first film; it's actually his first British film, after a two-year stay in Hollywood. Clifford Mollison stars as a meek London clerk who surprises his colleagues by being among the first to sign up when World War I is declared. Though he hardly cuts a dashing figure, Mollison is a steadfast and courageous soldier. In his own mild-mannered fashion, Mollison becomes a hero by foiling a German sabotage plot. Based on a Walter Hackett play, Freedom of the Seas bears a slight resemblance to the 1944 Edward G. Robinson vehicle Mr. Winkle Goes to War. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical drama, an aspiring singer finally gets her big break when the star she understudies shows up too drunk to perform. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi