John Cresswell Movies

Spare the Rod is a British juvenile-delinquent picture set in a tough East End school. Comedian Max Bygraves plays straight as a new teacher, faced with a classroom full of hostile, defiant punks. It would be simple enough to use force on the kids, as their parents have, but Bygraves wants to win their hearts and minds. He manages to establish communications with the students; the next step is to bypass the outmoded educational bureaucracy. Spare the Rod falls somewhere between the gutsiness of Blackboard Jungle (55) and the lyricism of To Sir With Love (68). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mary Hilton (Diana Dors) is a young salesgirl in the cosmetics department of a major London store, who chances to meet -- and fall hopelessly in love with -- Jim Lancaster (Michael Craig), a young would-be professional musician. She is attracted to him sufficiently to leave her own, neglectful husband (Harry Locke). But Jim's interest in her, although also sincere, is deflected by his attraction to Lucy Carpenter (Mercia Shaw), a much wealthier and older woman, who seems to be able to offer him the security that he's always lacked. That's difficult enough for Mary to take, but when Jim's relationship with Lucy takes a tragic turn, she snaps -- her love for Jim is transformed into a murderous hatred for her rival, resulting in murder, and a death sentence. Mary's story is told entirely in flashbacks, as she awaits her final sentencing or possible reprieve, and attempts to tie up the loose ends in her life involving her mother, brother, and husband. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Reginald Arkell's backstage novel Charley Moon made a successful transition to the screen in 1956. Comic actor Max Bygraves stars as Moon, a small-time music-hall performer with an eye for the ladies. A string of lucky breaks, and a little bit of ruthlessness on Charley's part, allows him a chance at the Big Time in London. His West End engagement is successful, but before long the bloom is off the rose and Charley Moon is back where he started. The impressive supporting cast includes fabled impressionist Florence Desmond and American character actor Lou Jacobi. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Popular British juvenile star Mandy Miller carries the dramatic weight of Adventure in the Hopfields on her firm little shoulders. After breaking one of her mother's prize pieces of bric-a-brac, Miller must scrimp and save to pay for a replacement. A group of tough kids steal her money, tie her up and leave her in a decrepit old mill. The junior-grade crooks turn heroes when they rescue her during a violent electrical storm. Surprisingly tense for a kiddie-matinee feature, Adventure in the Hopfields was based on The Hop Dog, a book by Nora Lavin and Molly Thorp. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

So Little Time takes so much time to tell its thinnish story. The scene is Nazi-occupied Belgium. Maria Schell plays a proud Belgian aristocrat; Marius Goring is a ruthless but innately decent German colonel who is billeted in Schell's mansion. At first hostile toward each other, the conqueror male and conquered female fall in love. This alliance may be foredoomed, but is fun while it lasts. So Little Time was produced during a period in which German officers were occasionally cast in a sympathetic light (e.g. Erwin Rommel in Desert Fox), but had to die for the sins of Hitler anyway. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi