Sonnie Hale Movies

A pair of furloughed British sailors and a Wren go for a visit to Stonehenge, get caught in a violent storm and end up in ancient Rome. This comedy chronicles their exploits that begin when they try to curry the emperor's favor by predicting the future. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An Irish fellow is determined to become a singing radio star. Unfortunately, fate seems to be determined to thwart him at every turn in this comedy. The trouble begins when he leaves his Irish village to go to a British radio station where he believes he is going to get his big chance to sing. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that he is to be a contestant in a spelling bee. This enrages him and he winds up throwing a major fit on the air. The resulting publicity lands him a talent agent who believes that the recent press will make the Irishman a singing star. It is not to be, and the agent loses his job. He and the Irishman end up drowning their sorrows, commandeering a sports broadcast where their drunken comments and shenanigans inspire the station to hire them as comedians. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this musical, a plucky London newspaper journalist boards a transatlantic ocean liner in hopes of interviewing a prominent Hollywood starlet. She is followed by a Scotland Yard inspector who is looking for the jewel thief he knows is on board. Unfortunately, the inspector doesn't know the actual identity of the thief and his prime suspect becomes the hapless reporter who also finds herself pursued by a determined gangster who has made the same assumption. Before the boat docks in New York, the reporter is kidnapped and forced to work for the gangster's boss. Fortunately, the inspector finally discovers the thief's true identity and brings her to justice. The plot is based on a Dwight Taylor story. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Robert Young decides to create a "scoop" by fabricating the impending arrival of a female big-game hunter named Mrs. Smythe-Smythe. Jessie Matthews decides to pose as the fictitious woman, the better to embarrass Young. The comic complications are obliged to share screen time with Matthews' inevitable songs, the best of which is the title tune. Not all of Jessie Matthews' films played as well in America as they did in Britain: It's Love Again is a delightful exception. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a young man encounters opposition when he gets engaged. His jilted girlfriend's mother then has her daughter sue the fellow for breach of promise. Meanwhile the new fiancee hires another lawyer to catch the other girl in a unseemly act to ruin her chances in court. Unfortunately the scheme falls apart and her love is blamed for it all. Then his fiancee dumps him in favor of the lawyer. In the end, he decides to go back to his first girl, the one who was suing him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Imitation Masons make a mess when their ruses are discovered in this British comedy. For many years, Amos Bloodgood has told his wife that as a Mason he must regularly attend meetings. Actually, he knows nothing of the fraternal order; he uses the "meetings" as an excuse for going out on the town. His scheme is nearly derailed when his daughter and son-in-law Frank show up for a little visit. Believing that Frank is a real Mason, Amos tries to impress him with everything he knows about the group. He doesn't realize that Frank is also a phoney and is equally anxious to impress him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Wild Boy is a cute little puppy dog, sold at auction when its owner, a once-prominent military man, dies in poverty. The boyfriend of the dead man's daughter purchases Wild Boy and gives it to her as a present. She raises the dog into a champion, ultimately defeating her father's hated rival at an annual Dog Derby. Essentially a typically cozy British programmer, Wild Boy springs to life from time to time with a few fistfights and chases, apparently as a strategy to appeal to American filmgoers. At the time of its release, much was made of the fact that Wild Boy went 8 weeks and $200,000 over budget, as if this made it a better film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Definitely no relation to the horror-film series of the same name, the British Friday the 13th is a variation of the "Bridge on the San Luis Rey" theme, set in motion by a London bus accident. Two passengers are killed and two injured in the crash, but the screenplay (co-written by Hitchcock-contributor Sidney Gilliat) keeps the audience in suspense as to the identities of the victims. In a series of flashbacks, the viewer is introduced to the passengers and the various trials and tribulations they were dealing with before the accident. The characters include a chorus girl en route to a date with a man she doesn't love; a henpecked husband whose wife was cheating on him; a blackmailer who'd been bleeding an unfortunate young man dry; a wise-guy crook who was about to be caught by a nasty detective; and so on. Extraordinarily well cast for a mid-1930s British film, Friday the 13th affords excellent acting opportunities for the likes of Jessie Mathews, Ursula Jeans, Frank Lawton, Ralph Richardson, Max Miller, O.B. Clarence and Emlyn Williams, among many many others. While American critics were impressed by the film, British reviewers were less kind, commenting that the constant switch from one character to another only results in confusion (PS: It doesn't). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Polish opera star Jan Kiepura makes a rare film appearance in the British Be Mine Tonight. Kiepura plays an opera star who is besieged by his eager female fans. He heads to a tiny village where no one knows who he is. The peace and quiet rapidly drives him crazy, but at least he finds romance in the form of Magda Schneider. Be Mine Tonight was filmed simultaneously in English and German versions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi