Ian Dalrymple Movies

In this confusing drama, the IRA, intrigue, psychiatric analysis, and a young man framed for murder are thrown together in a series of events that were perhaps originally intended to highlight the psychological aspects of the case under study. One night, eighteen-year-old Harry Jukes (British rock 'n roller Adam Faith in his first dramatic role) is driving down a deserted country road when he gets a flat tire. A policeman stops to help him out when a truck drives by, and the next thing Harry knows, the policeman is lying dead on the road and Harry is literally holding a smoking gun in his hand. From there to his arrest and trial is a brief hop, skip, and then a jump into prison to await his execution. His lawyer thinks he did it, but his psychiatrist (Anne Baxter) disagrees -- and sets out to prove she is right. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Max Bygraves, a popular British comedian who once in a while entertained thoughts of a dramatic career, is costarred with Barbara Murray in A Cry from the Streets. The two play a pair of ingenuous social workers, assigned to one of the grubbiest neighborhoods in London. They join forces to help a group of castoff orphan children. The episodic structure of Cry from the Streets gave the film a semi-documentary feel, even though every incident herein was carefully written and rehearsed beforehand. Based on the novel The Friend in Need by Elizabeth Coxhead, the film was filmed in 1957, released in 1958, and reissued in some markets as Cry from the Street (singular) in 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Surrey, England, Hell in Korea was shipped out to more conservative movie houses as A Hill in Korea. The title essentially tells all in this no-nonsense account of a group of UN soldiers during the Korean "police action" of the early 1950s. This "skeleton" patrol maintains its tenuous hold over a strategic hill, while determining the best method of sneaking into a communist-held village. While Korean veterans tended to dismiss the film as Hollywood-style hokum, Hell in Korea has stood the test of time far better than many other more elaborate "realistic" wartime dramas. The film, based on a novel by Max Catto, served as the movie debut of Michael Caine, who does not receive screen credit in the original prints--an oversight rectified in TV prints issued after Caine's rise to stardom. In his second film, Robert Shaw is securely ensconced in a good supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British omnibus thriller, Three Cases of Murder includes two supernatural tales and a straight whodunit. The first segment, "The Picture," was directed by Wendy Toye, based on a short story by Roderick Wilkinson. A museum tour guide, Jarvis (Hugh Pryse), is plagued by artworks going missing, and by the mysterious repeated breaking of the protective glass over a gloomy landscape painting. Jarvis is fascinated by the dark, foreboding house in the painting. One day while he's admiring it, he bumps into a stranger (Alan Badel, who appears in all three segments). Jarvis ends up following the stranger into the world of the painting with terrifying consequences. Eddie Byrne (General Willard in Star Wars) plays the demented taxidermist, Snyder. In the second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," written by Sidney Carroll (who co-wrote The Hustler), and directed by David Eady, lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman. George (Emrys Jones) has always stood in Edgar's (John Gregson) shadow. The two have a falling out when they realize they both love Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars), and when she later turns up dead, it affects the friendship in a surprising way. Badel plays the friendly bartender, Harry. The final story, "Lord Mountdrago," was based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by George More O'Ferrall, the segment stars Orson Welles as Lord Mountdrago, the officious secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mountdrago uses his oratory powers to destroy the career of a charismatic political opponent, Owen (Badel again). Mountdrago then finds himself tormented by the vengeful Owen, who seems to have found a way to enter his dreams. Andre Morrell (Bridge on the River Kwai) plays Mountdrago's baffled psychiatrist. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a young British factory worker living in the 1930s chucks his job in favor of motorcycle racing. He is quite successful, becomes an egomaniac, loses his wife, and learns his lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Norman Wooland, who in 1948 made an excellent impression as Horatio in Olivier's Hamlet, is awarded top billing in the 1949 British comedy All Over the Town. A gentle satire of provincial politics, the film stars Wooland as ex-soldier Nat Hearn, who returns to his newspaper job after the war. Upset that the paper compromises its journalistic integrity to satisfy local businessmen, Nat takes over the publication and radically alters its editorial policy. This brings him into conflict with the regional political bigwigs, and also puts a strain on his romance with Sally Thorpe (Dinah Churchill). Director Michael S. Gordon co-adapted the screenplay from a stage comedy by R. F. Delderfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A mother provides a lousy example for her daughter in this gritty, realistic drama. The mother is a mistress of manipulating the sympathies of others for her own gain. Rather than working, she solicits the sympathy of others. Like her mother, the daughter is equally manipulative and ends up with a rich husband. Her mother decides to go straight and get a real job, but it may be too late for the daughter who forges a check and gets caught. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Once a Jolly Swagman is the story of Bill Fox (Dirk Bogarde), a factory worker who dreams of fame and fortune as motorbike racer. After the standard romantic complications with "right" and "wrong" girl, the film arrives at its central crisis: Fox's attempts to organize a driver's union, and the repercussions he suffers because of this activity. The dedicated-but-dour Dirk Bogarde is complemented by Bonar Colleano, essaying another of his "wise guy Yank" characterizations as driver Tommy Possey. The speedway sequences are excellent. Though only his second film, Once a Jolly Swagman was Dirk Bogarde's first starring assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "Scarlet Pimpernel" legend is updated to WW2 in the breathless actioner Pimpernel Smith. Leslie Howard (who also directed) plays bespectacled and seemingly mild-mannered Professor Smith, who under cover of darkness transforms into a tireless defender of democracy. With the help of several loyal companions, Smith makes several forays into Nazi-occupied territories to rescue the oppressed victims of the Third Reich, using a phony archeological expedition to throw the villains off the track. The picture really roars into life during the cat-and-mouse exchanges between the Professor and his Gestapo antagonist Von Graum, phlegmatically enacted by the corpulent Francis L. Sullivan. In some markets, Pimpernel Smith was retitled Mister V. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The semidocumentary war film The Lion Has Wings states its case in broad strokes, juxtaposing images of rampaging German-dictator Adolf Hitler and appeasing British prime minister Neville Chamberlain with stock shots of bleating sheep. The film then depicts Great Britain as a great lion, willing and able to sprout "wings" in the form of waves of planes to hurl back the Luftwaffe. The dramatic portion of the film, lensed in ten days to assure timeliness (and, incidentally, a low budget) features an all-star British cast reflecting their native country's many reactions to the inevitability of war. All the on-camera talent involved (including Merle Oberon, Ralph Richardson and June Duprez) donated their salaries to the war effort. Produced by Alexander Korda (who also directed a few bridging sequences, sans credit), The Lion Has Wings was distributed in the US by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Anglo-American coproduction was based on the popular West End stage comedy by Terrence Rattigan. It all begins when Diana (Ellen Drew), the sister of a British boy studying in France, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates. Alan (Ray Milland), one of the students, successfully resists Diana's charms-meaning of course that Alan and Diana will be in each other's arms by fadeout time. Much of the wit and zest of the original stage production has been blunted for the screen, moving one critic to describe French Without Tears as "Comedy Without Laughs". In all fairness, however, the film does boast a hilarious drunk scene in a musty old French wine cellar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cheer Boys Cheer is a provincial British comedy with slight Romeo and Juliet undertones. Edmund Gwenn and Moore Marriott play rival brewery owners who detest the sight of one another. Not so their children--the son of one man, the daughter of the other--who fall in love. One glance at the film's title, and the viewer knows that boy and girl will not take poison in the end. For so modest an endeavor, Cheer Boys Cheer has a remarkable talent lineup: Edmund Gwenn, Moore Marriott, Jimmy O'Dea, Nova Pilbeam and Alexander Knox in front of the cameras, and Walter Forde and Ronald Neame on the production end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide