Romney Brent Movies

Agatha Christie's popular novel And Then There Were None (which isn't the original title of the novel, but it's easy to understand why the change was made) is the murder mystery this made-for-TV adaption is based upon. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Obviously inspired by such service comedies as Mister Roberts and Operation Mad Ball, Don't Go Near the Water is a tribute to those "unsung heroes" of WW2: the men and women of the Navy's Public Relations Department. Thousands of miles away from the shooting war, Lt. Max Siegel (Glenn Ford) and the rest of the PR staff spend their time issuing colorful reports of Naval heroism and sucking up to visiting US dignitaries on a tiny South Sea island. Siegel and company also battle the anal-rententive pettiness of such superior officers as Lt. Cmdr. Clinton T. Nash (Fred Clark) and such potential foes as abrasive war correspondent Gordon Ripwell (Keenan Wynn). The feminine angle is provided by Gia Scala as Melora, a European-educated local girl, Anne Francis as by-the-book nurse Lt. Alice Tomlen, and Eva Gabor as women's magazine writer Deborah Aldrich. Particularly amusing is Mickey Shaughnessy as foul-mouthed seaman Farragut Jones, whose periodic barrages of profanity are invariably drowned out by the sound of a ratchet-horn (this was, after all, 1957). Don't Go Near the Water was based on the comic novel by ex-PR man William Brinkley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though Errol Flynn was well past his prime (and obviously well lubricated in certain scenes), he rises to the occasion of The Adventures of Don Juan with a spirited, athletic performance. As fabled Spanish swashbuckler/lover Don Juan, Flynn spends the early portions of the film romancing willing young ladies and dueling with jealous husbands. Spain's Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) assigns Don Juan to head the royal fencing academy to keep him out of trouble. When scheming Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas) plots to topple the monarchy, it is Don Juan's eager young fencing pupils who come to the rescue. Though a troubled production (filming was habitually halted due to Flynn's precarious physical condition and by constant changes and replacements in production personnel),The Adventures of Don Juan moves swiftly and enjoyably from start to finish, abetted by a rousing, semi-satirical Max Steiner musical score, which has since been heard in such 1980s films as Zorro, the Gay Blade and Goonies. Incidentally, Errol Flynn is doubled in the famous leap from the head of a long staircase by stunt expert Jock Mahoney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Let George Do It is one of the best and most successful of the George Formby vehicles. The toothy, guitar-strumming Formby plays a dimwitted entertainer who is mistaken for a notorious Nazi spy. The misunderstanding is played to the hilt, culminating with our hero battling the forces of the Axis on the fields of Norway. The film's highlight is a bakery routine which dates back to Charlie Chaplin's 1914 epic Dough and Dynamite. Let George Do It was distinguished by the leading-lady presence of Phyllis Calvert, just on the verge of bigger things. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a battleship captain has a large party to celebrate their next voyage and is dismayed to find that two glamorous women are still aboard after they set sail and cannot turn back. To protect them, and himself, he hides the unwilling stowaways in his quarters. Unfortunately, they are too soon discovered and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Dominant Sex is a doggedly faithful adaptation of a popular stage comedy by Michael Egan. Phillips Holmes, perhaps the frailest-looking leading man of all time, marries freethinking Diana Churchill. He tries to exercise his husband prerogative of ruling the household, but she stands her ground and demands to be treated as an independent individual. While hubby wins out towards the end, one feels that it's because wifey lets him; after all, she obviously could beat the tar out of him if she wanted. The Dominant Sex was directed by Herbert Brenon, who in his silent days yielded better results with his filmizations of James Barrie's plays Peter Pan (24) and A Kiss for Cinderella (25). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in Paris and along the French Riviera, Dinner at the Ritz afforded David Niven the chance to play his first starring role. As Paul de Brack, he is a government agent and playboy and is quite at home among the elite set, whether in England or France. This comes in handy when he falls in with Ranie Racine (Annabella), a gay Paris socialite and the daughter of a recently murdered financier. The father's death has been ruled a suicide, but Ranie refuses to accept this. As the man assigned to investigate the banker's death, Paul accompanies Ranie on a series of undercover investigations that take them to Monte Carlo and London. Along the way, they discover the truth about a serious banking scandal, as well as evidence that the man responsible for acine's death may be someone close to Ranie. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Based upon a hit German musical that had already been filmed in 1934, Who's Your Lady Friend? emerged as a British comedy-with-music in 1937. Dr. Mangold (played by Vic Oliver, a popular dance-band leader of the day) is a famous Viennese "beauty specialist" (i.e., plastic surgeon), saddled with a rather incompetent secretary named Fred (Romney Brent). Expecting an extremely important new client from France, Dr. Mangold makes the mistake of sending Fred to the station to pick her up. Due to a mix-up about identities, Fred instead returns with a vixenish cabaret singer named Lulu (Frances Day). To add to the complications and misunderstandings, Fred's fiancée Mimi (Margaret Lockwood) sees him out with the beautiful singer and leaps to the conclusion that he is being unfaithful to her. At the same time, Mrs. Mangold (Betty Stockfield) assumes that her husband, the doctor, has also succumbed to Lulu's wiles. Matters are not made any better when Fred goes on a bender and somehow ends up in the same bed as Mrs. Mangold. Eventually, everything is cleared up and the couples reunite happily. The score features the minor hit "Moonlight and Music", and the character of the maid is played by Sarah Churchill, daughter of Winston Churchill and wife of Vic Oliver. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Winding up his Hollywood film career in 1935, venerable British stage star George Arliss returned to his homeland for his last movie assignments. In East Meets West, the 68-year-old Arliss dons turban and monocle to portray an Eastern sultan who is inordinately proud of his son. The young man bids fair to break his father's heart by conducting an affair with the wife of a notorious criminal. Arliss exercises his usual third-act prerogative of tying up all loose plot ends and providing confusion unto his enemies. East Meets West was based on an old George Arliss stage vehicle, Edwin Greenwood's The Lake of Life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dreaming Lips was lovingly assembled by filmmaker Paul Czinner as an "ideal" vehicle for his popular actress wife Elizabeth Bergner. The star plays Gabrielle, the glamorous, spoiled wife of world-famous orchestra leader Peter (Romney Brent). Left alone by her constantly touring husband, she inaugurates a romance with brilliant but reclusive violinist Miguel de Vaye (Raymond Massey). Booked for an American tour, De Vaye insists that Gabrielle accompany him -- and that she tell her husband about their affair. But when Peter falls seriously ill, Gabrielle dutifully remains by his side, never telling him of her indiscretion. Torn between two lovers, Gabrielle eventually decides to kill herself -- leaving a nonplused Peter to wonder just why his wife was so distraught. Overlength is the only significant flaw of this luxuriously produced three-hanky picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi