Lewis Gilbert Movies

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, Rovi

Michael Caine's first starring role was a foray into dramatic irony, scripted by Bill Naughton from his novel and play. Alfie (Caine) is a charming, rogueish Cockney who cannot get his fill of women. He uses them without shame or malice, jumping from one promiscuous female's bed to another without much thought or feeling. Of course, Alfie's not as carefree as he would have the audience -- to whom he often speaks directly -- think: he treats his pregnant, common-law wife, Gilda (Julia Foster), quite shabbily, and has an affair with a married woman (Vivien Merchant) that leaves her pregnant, for which Alfie arranges an abortion. In the end, Alfie never finds lasting meaning or pleasure but remains an unrepentant, if low-class, Don Juan. Caine was Oscar-nominated for his performance. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Escape from a German POW camp is the goal of the rescourceful Allied prisoners in this war film. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Dirk Bogarde digressed from his usual lightweight image to portray a smarmy murderer in Cast a Dark Shadow. He kills his first wife (Mona Washbourne), hoping to claim her inheritance. Surprise! The inheritance is a myth. Thus Bogarde sets his sights on barkeeper Margaret Lockwood, whom he knows to be heavily insured. But Lockwood is possessed of a naturally suspicious nature, making Bogarde's second murder plot a bit more delicate than his first. Cast a Dark Shadow is a too-literal adaptation of Janet Green's stage play Murder Mistaken. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Damn the Defiant! is an 18th-century seafaring drama from director Lewis Gilbert. Alec Guinness plays the stern but compassionate captain of a British warship, engaged in the Napoleonic wars. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be said for his new second-in-command Dirk Bogarde. When Guinness tries to modify Bogarde's sadistic adherence to discipline, Bogarde responds by mistreating Guinness' cabin-boy son, knowing that the captain cannot intervene under the edicts of British maritime law. During an incipient mutiny, Bogarde is accidently killed, and Guinness knows that the crewmen responsible must hang once they reach shore. But after these same men perform courageously in battle, Guinness suffers a crisis of conscience: How can he condemn these fearlessly patriotic men to death, as he knows he must? Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The exploits of 18th-century British highwayman Dick Turpin have been immortalized in scores of poems, ballads, novels, plays and films. This particular version was adapted from Rockwood, a novel by Harrison Ainsworth. Victor McLaglen stars as Turpin, and while he might be a bit thick of beam for the role, there's no denying that he delivers the goods in terms of action and virility. Naturally, the film's highlight is Dick Turpin's legendary ride to York, which is filmed with reasonable excitement and accuracy (save for a few quick glimpses of contemporary telephone poles). Featured in the cast of Dick Turpin is Scotch comedian James Finlayson, the perennial foil of Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in several British productions between 1933 and 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This curious African Queen derivation stars Curt Jurgens as Mark Conrad, an Austrian exile and Orson Welles as blustery ferry-boat captain Cecil Hart. Banned from both Hong Kong and Macao, Conrad is forced to spend his life on Hart's ferry, shuttling endlessly between the two countries and irritating everyone with whom he comes in contact. Conrad redeems himself when he rescues Hart and the passengers during a raging storm. Poor Welles is reduced to Gale Gordon-like bombast throughout the proceedings, while leading lady Sylvia Sims has practically no purpose in the film whatsoever. Ferry to Hong Kong was released in America through 20th Century-Fox along with several other like-vintage Rank Organisation films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from the novel by James Herbert, this subtle, melancholy British chiller owes a great deal to Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. The story opens with a chilling prologue in 1905 England, in which a young boy fails to prevent the accidental drowning of his sister. As a young man, David (Aidan Quinn) is still tormented by guilt and remorse. After several years in the United States, David returns to England to continue his work researching and debunking claims of the supernatural. His latest investigation into the alleged haunting of Edbrook Manor -- at the behest of the Marriell's family nanny, Tess (Anna Massey) -- introduces him to the eccentric company of the lovely Christina Mariell (Kate Beckinsale) and her brothers Robert and Simon (Anthony Andrews and Alex Lowe). Despite repeated warnings from Tess that mischievous spirits are at work, David refuses to concede that the house is haunted -- until the angelic vision of his drowned sister reveals the true nature of his strange hosts. The rich period setting lends a classy Merchant Ivory touch to the film, and the high production values indicate the guiding hand of executive producer Francis Ford Coppola, but the performances are a bit too cold and detached to provide any legitimate tension. Fans of the classic 1961 film The Innocents will not find the central mystery particularly challenging. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

In this children's movie, little orphan Johnny endeavors to fulfill his dream and return to Poland, his native land. Unfortunately, his attempts get him entangled with jewel thieves who use him to pull off several robberies. The innocent boy has no idea he is being used until it is almost too late. He then comes upon a village populated by people from all over the world who protect him from the wicked outlaws. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A young Susannah York had her first lead role in this drama about a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood. When her mother falls ill during a vacation in the French wine country, 16-year-old Joss Grey (York) is left to her own devices as she and her three younger siblings are left in the reluctant care of Madame Zisi (Danielle Darrieux), the proprietor of the hotel where they were staying. Eliot (Kenneth More), Zisi's strapping boyfriend, offers to show the youngsters some of the sights in the countryside, and Joss finds herself developing a strong infatuation with the older man. However, when she realizes that Eliot and Zisi are lovers, she becomes despondent and ends up getting drunk on wine with Paul (David Saire), a boy who works in the kitchen at Zisi's hotel. When Joss learns that Eliot is actually a jewel thief wanted by the law, she informs the police of his whereabouts. However, that same night, Paul's efforts to seduce Joss degenerate into a violent attempt at rape, but when Eliot hears her screams for help, he comes to Joss' rescue. Having spared her virtue and perhaps her life, Joss confesses to Eliot that she has turned him in to the police, and urges him to flee for his own safety. One of Joss' sisters is played by Jane Asher, a distinguished actress who was most famous in the United States not for her abilities as a performer, but for spending several years as Paul McCartney's girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Margery (Margarita Fisher) decides to form a partnership with her friend Franklyn Smith, a struggling attorney (Jack Mower). The company is called "Beauty to Let," with Margery as the sole worker: She leases herself out as a date for rich men who want a pretty girl to escort for the evening (this being the 1910s, she is accompanied by a chaperone -- the always amusing Kate Price). Business is booming, but finally two men take up most of Margery's time -- Henry Rockwell (J. Norris Foster) and "Diamond Tim" Moody (Wedgwood Nowell). Both want to marry her, yet -- predictably -- Margery has fallen in love with Franklyn. Franklyn has no clue, however, blithely giving her Rockwell's proposal while bragging to her about his own new bachelor quarters -- which of course will not do, and Margery spends the rest of the picture getting Franklyn to wake up and marry her. This mildly amusing story was originally a novel, Beauty to Let, by Fred Jackson.
~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Author E. Phillips Oppenheim proves here that a good novelist does not necessarily make a great screenwriter. He penned this shallow and uninteresting story specifically for the screen. Minor silent star Dave Powell both directed and starred in the British-made production. Although Gerald Dombey (Powell) is engaged to Lady Susan Farrington (Mary Glynne), he has an affair with Vera Lypasht (Ruby Miller), a girl from the village. Then, while driving to Nice, he and his friend, Christopher Went (Pardoe Woodman), see an unconscious girl by the road. She is Myrtle Sargot (Nadja Ostrovska), a peasant girl who has run away from her abusive family. Dombey decides to give the girl the riches she has always longed for, and convinces Susan to take her into her home. Susan is not thrilled with the idea, and also finds herself being more and more attracted to Went. Dombey encounters Vera once again and discovers that she is involved with Luigi (Percy Darrell Standing), who runs a gambling house. Dombey contemplates suicide, but realizes he loves Myrtle. Lady Susan, meanwhile, ends up with Went. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Impoverished British bank clerk John Ross (Jack Watling) is hopelessly in love with drop-dead gorgeous Irene James (Pat Kirkwood). Ross will do anything to win Irene's affections -- including embezzlement. She ends up marrying him, but she can't give up her true love, slimy counterfeiter Jimmy Smart (Sydney Tafler). By the time Ross realizes that his former fiancee Vera Lamb (Joy Shelton) was the right girl all along, it's a shade too late. The magnificent Thora Bird steals the show in Once a Sinner as the fickle Irene's slatternly mother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi