Peter Hammond Movies
- 1956
It's Never Too Late stars Phyllis Calvert as a sedate and settled British wife and mother. Deciding that her family has taken her for granted far too long, the bored Ms. Calvert types up a movie script. Her work becomes a hit film and Phyllis suddenly finds herself a celebrity. Now she must choose between being a highly paid author and a middle-class housewife; since this film is conformist all down the line, her decision holds few surprises. It's Never Too Late was based on a play by Felicity Douglas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Alf Donkin (Jerry Desmonde) and his two nitwitted brothers (C. Dernier Warren and Mark Daly) adopt an orphaned baby girl. She grows up to be the delectable Pauline Stroud, whose beauty and vulnerability prompts the good-hearted Alf to be all the more protective of her. When Pauline falls in love with a crook (Peter Hammond), Alf and his siblings try to prevent their foster child from making the mistake of her life. Alf's Baby was based on It Won't Be a Stylish Marriage, a play by A.P. Dearsley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this comedy, an off-center widow and her eccentric daughters must deal with a series of comic mishaps while they wait for one of the daughters to have a baby. The nervous father-to-be complicates matters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Director Charles Saunders based his screenplay for Come Back Peter on a play by A.P. Dearsley. The story concerns an elderly British couple (Humphrey Lestocq, Kathleen Boutall) who move from their old home to smaller but comfortable newer digs. The couple is then invaded by their grown children, who insist upon moving in with them. Some laughs, some tears, some pretzels, some beers. Come Back Peter went down easily in a brisk 80 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
A foundering British submarine provides the basis for this gripping drama. The trouble begins when the sub strikes a mine. The sub cannot surface, and only twelve on board survived the blast. Now rescuers must save them, but more trouble ensues when the trapped men below are informed that due to the complexity of the operation, only eight can be saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
The Reluctant Widow in this muted British comedy is young 19th-century governess Elinor, played by Jean Kent. Inadvertently inheriting a vast estate, Elinor is bedeviled by both British turncoats and French espionage agents, who hide out in the mansion while preparing to steal Lord Wellington's battle plans for Waterloo. One of the British traitors is played by Julian Dallas, who as "Scott Forbes" would later star on TV's Jim Bowie. For reasons unknown, the film was heavily re-edited and restructured before its general release, making certain portions of the storyline incomprehensible. Through it all, however, Jean Kent maintains her dignity and charm as she quietly outwits the many villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
The Adventurers is set in South Africa at the end of the Boer war. Commando Pieter Brandt (Jack Hawkins) comes across the dead body of a diamond courier. Brandt buries both the courier and his valuable cache of diamonds then heads back to his regiment. After the cessation of hostilities, Brandt raises money for an expedition back into the mountainous regions where the diamonds are hidden. There's no love lost among Brandt and his three treasure-hunting companions; particularly prickly is the relationship between Brandt and Clive Hunter (Dennis Price), whose wife is Brandt's former fiancé. Sort of an African variation of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Adventurers is buoyed by an unusually vicious performance by Jack Hawkins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Peter Hammond, (more)
Morning Departure isn't about a commuter train but instead the story of an imperiled submarine. On a routine postwar mission, the sub strikes a forgotten mine and sinks to the bottom. The twelve-man crew comes face to face with the probability of permanent entombment and eventual suffocation; the tension is sharpened when it is learned that eight of the men will be able to escape, but four will have to stay behind. The film concentrates on the wildly varying reactions of the officers and crew, from stiff-lipped stoicism to raving lunacy. Based on a play by Kenneth Wooland, Morning Departure was released in America as Operation Disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Helen Cherry, (more)
- 1949
The Huggets Abroad is the last and most contrived of Britain's "Huggetts" film series. The titular family members, first introduced in the 1947 film Holiday Camp, are played by Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark (the same). Mr. Huggett feels he's in a rut, so he quits his jobs and packs himself and his family off to Africa. In quick order, the innocents abroad (a) become involved with diamond smugglers and (b) wind up in jail. When his job becomes available again, the chastened Mr. Huggett returns to his own back yard. Four writers were required to concoct this tired British Ma and Pa Kettle equivalent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Rising British star Sally Ann Howes was given a worthwhile screen vehicle with Fools Rush In. Howes plays Pamela Dickson, an impulsive young bride-to-be, while Guy Rolfe portrays her long-lost father Paul. Ostensibly a cad and bounder, Paul turns out to be just the opposite when he arrives for Pamela's wedding. The girl immediately drops her own wedding plans to arrange a reconciliation between her father and mother (Nora Swinburne). Screenwriter Geoffrey Kerr adapted the script from a play by Kenneth Horne. Fools Rush In is as light as a feather, but it pleases the crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Ann Howes, Guy Rolfe, (more)
- 1949
A persistent case of hiccups causes all sorts of problems for a pretty young socialite in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
In this comedy, the Huggett family patriarch decides to run for public office. His entire platform is built upon a promise to construct a war memorial. Unfortunately, he wants to build it on a parcel of his wife's land. She doesn't want anything there so her niece fakes her signature and the land gets donated. Fortunately, the candidate's daughter finds out about her conniving cousin and is able to save her father's name and his election. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
Mother Bouthall urges her youngest daughter to leave home after realizing that by working to keep her children at home with her she is harming them. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1948
The fictional Hugget Family makes the first of three film appearances in this domestic comedy from Great Britain. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, (more)
- 1947
Holiday Camp was a British comedy that served the same purpose as Hollywood's The Egg and I--to act as the launching pad for a successful B-movie series. The film takes place at a British summer resort, where various character types interact. A murderer on the loose invades the camp, but the damage he does is slight--and in some instances, his presence is beneficial. Among the secondary characters are the members of the suburban Huggett family, headed by Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. They proved popular enough to be spun off into a "Hardy Family" style series of their own, with such titles as Here Come the Huggetts, Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Blythe, Esma Cannon, (more)
- 1945
In this drama, an average man of average income finds his life abruptly changed when the securities he purchased from a speculator pan out and he is rich. Unfortunately, the turn out to be securities are worthless and the newly rich man and the speculator lose everything. Unfortunately, by this time, he has developed a taste for the high life and this leads to his making a foolish decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nora Swinburne, Joyce Howard, (more)
