Frank Harvey Jr. Movies

Considered a bit too sacrilegious for general consumption in 1963, the Boulting brothers' Heavens Above was simply ahead of its time, and has since accrued a loyal and vocal following. Peter Sellers plays an idealistic British reverend with a bad habit of telling the truth at all times. He also follows his conscience whenever possible, resulting in several cleric decisions that shock his wealthy, landed-gentry parishioners. By inviting such "undesirables" as gypsies and West Africans to worship freely in his church, Sellers rouses the ire of the rest of his white-bread flock. He does, however, compel the selfish owner (Isabel Jeans) of a laxative firm to "see the light" and to sell off all her holdings on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Unfortunately, by doing this the woman wrecks her business--which is the principal source of income for the community where Sellers works. Retreating from town with an angry mob on his heels, Sellers relocates on a tiny island in the Pacific. Since the island is the site of a missile base, and since the local astronauts have shown signs of agnosticism, where else is there for Sellers to go...but up? Heavens Above was inspired by a notion cooked up by iconoclastic British satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, the daughter of a British aristocrat is sent to Parisian finishing school where she falls in love with a charming American student, and discovers that his father is a business associate of her own. Paternal trouble ensues when her young man forgets to deliver an important letter to her father and he is forced to fly to New York to do the business himself. While gone, he sends his daughter to Scotland with his friend. Her boy friend follows and slyly begins suggesting that they elope. When her father learns the lad's identity, he offers his blessing. Unfortunately, the young daughter has fallen deeply in love with his best friend's handsome son and they elope. Both fathers are very pleased. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Set in the 1950s in Britain, this award-winning social comedy by director and co-writer John Boulting features Ian Carmichael as the inept Stanley Windrush, a hopeless twit with -- we are to believe -- an Oxford degree. Unlike others in his social circle, Stanley wants to work. When he tries out for jobs in industry with the full expectation of working his way into a management position, he sets off disasters and alienates his interviewers. So his uncle gives him a job in his munitions factory, knowing what an idiot he is, and relying on him to eventually cause a strike (the uncle needs this for his own reasons). Fred Kite (Peter Sellers in a performance that would launch him as an international star) takes Stanley under his wing yet that does not exactly turn out as expected either. Stanley screws up by accidentally being too efficient, and the entire British work force is affected. If one can accept a portrayal of factory workers as shiftless men unwilling to work, and managers as good 'ole boys whose jobs are gained only by networking, then this film will be all the more entertaining. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Set in an Italian P.O.W. camp during World War II, this conventional escape drama shines the most in the portrayals of the various prisoners. Richard Todd is Lt. Col. David Baird, intensely and single-mindedly set on escaping. Bernard Lee is Lt. Col. Huxley who is the careful senior British officer with a view of the entire situation. Michael Wilding plays the deceptively dashing Major Charles Marquand, and some comic relief is provided by Dennis Price, an actor-prisoner more devoted to his production of Hamlet than leaving before the curtain goes up. The hitch in the plans to escape is insidious -- there is a traitor among the prisoners and before they can succeed, they have to find him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Boulting Brothers enjoyed one of their biggest box-office successes of the 1950s with the wry service comedy Private's Progress. Though billed fourth, Ian Carmichael plays the central character, feckless British soldier Stanley Windrush. Interrupting his college education to serve his country, Windrush flunks out of officer's candidate school and is demoted to private. Much of the humor arises from the bookish hero's confrontation with the ruder and cruder side of army life, as represented by rough-hewn fellow private Cox (Richard Attenborough). As Major Hitchcock, Terry-Thomas offers a brilliant parody of the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" school of military service, while Dennis Price is equally amusing as a nonplussed commanding officer named Tracepurcel (!) Also worth watching is future "Dr. Who" star William Hartnell as a loudmouthed sergeant. Halfway through the film, the plot rears its ugly head as the protagonists become involved with the covert reclamation of art treasures confiscated by the Nazis during WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crest of the Wave is the original British title of Seagulls over Sorrento, filmed at MGM's Elstree facilities in 1953 and released stateside one year later. Based on a popular play by Hugh Hastings, the story concentrates on a group of British and American naval personnel, stationed on a Scottish island. The men are engaged on a top-secret project involving a revolutionary--and highly volatile--new torpedo. The British officers resent the intrusion of American scientist Bradville (Gene Kelly), while the Yank sailors can't seem to get along with their English counterparts. Tension mounts from the outset when the first test of the weapon fails, killing several men. After a second test likewise proves disastrous, the urgency to succeed the third time round becomes even more crucial. Can Bradville prove the efficacy of the torpedo without sparking another tragedy--and will he ever gain the full confidence of his most formidable foe, British lieutenant Wharton (John Justin)? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

High Treason is a British espionage thriller filmed in the style of such American "docudramas" as The House on 92nd Street. Enemy saboteurs infiltrate the industrial suburbs of London, intending to plant high-powered bombs at several factory sites. Their motivation is to cripple the British economy and enable subversive forces to insinuate themselves in the government. The saboteurs are thwarted not by the traditional counterintelligence agents but by workaday London police officers. Director Roy Boulting also cowrote the screenplay of High Treason, which moves swiftly enough for its plot inconsistencies to be ignored. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anticipating The Defiant Ones by nearly ten years, the British My Brother's Keeper concentrates on the exploits of two handcuffed-together escaped convicts. The protagonists are career criminal George Martin (Jack Warner) and terrified "first timer" Willie Stannard (George Cole). The film is one long chase, with a brief respite to establish the relationship between Martin and his girlfriend Nora Lawrence (Jane Hylton). Despite the fact that they're polar opposites, George and Willie develop a grudging friendship and dependence upon one another, broken only by the events in the final scenes. Director Alfred Roome's utilization of actual exterior locations adds a great deal of credibility to the story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An amiable poltergeist causes problems in a family's home by taking over the body of the youngest daughter in this comedy. It is a scientist and an insurance investigator who figure out what happened. Real mayhem ensues when the spirit jumps into the body of the insurance detective. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The inspiration for this British seriocomedy was Victor Skutezky's stage play She Met Him One Sunday. "She" is Moya Malone (Barbara White), an Irish maid living in Liverpool. "He" is Tom Stevens (Robert Beatty), a Canadian sailor. That "one Sunday" is a busy one, encompassing a few romantic strolls down the dock, Moya's renouncing of her servant status, and a run-in with crooks. Playwright Skutezky also served as producer of It Happened One Sunday. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Walter Forde, a past master at blending mystery, melodrama and comedy (vide The Ghost Train and Bulldog Jack), is at his best with Saloon Bar. Most of the action takes place during one busy evening in an English pub, with a rich variety of believable comic characters weaving in and out of the scene. A murder is committed, and everyone falls under suspicion. Hero and heroine Gordon Harker and Elizabeth Allen solve the mystery with becoming modesty (compare this to the wisecracking protagonists in similar American films). Saloon Bar was based on a long-running stage play by Frank Harvey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ken Hall was Australia's most commercially successful director of the 1940s and '50s, and his Dad and Dave films were his most popular features. All told, Hall made four such films. Dad Rudd, M.P. has survived the best, both in terms of its comedic value and in its commentary on Australian society. As Germany's shadow creeps across Europe, Dad Rudd enters politics against his will to oppose the shady Henry Webster. Webster wants to build a dam to help the small farmers of the area; Dad Rudd senses foul play but is unable to prevent the dam's construction. His position is vindicated, however, after a heavy rainfall breaks the dam apart. On the strength of this and with the revelation of Webster's dirty dealings, Dad Rudd carries the day and is elected to Parliament. Dad's triumph serves as a metaphor for the world's triumph over the "German menace." ~ Brian Whitener, Rovi

Cherubic Cecil Kellaway heads the cast of the Australian Mr. Chedworth Steps Out. The title character is a milquetoast clerk who decides to kick over the traces and have a good time when chances across an abandoned bag of money. Unbeknownst to Mr. Chedworth, the cash is counterfeit, and before long he finds himself pursued by cops and criminals alike. Meanwhile, a romantic subplot develops between Chedworth's daughter (Jean Hatton) and a handsome treasury agent (James Raglan). Halfway through the film, Mr. Chedworth Steps Out unexpectedly becomes a semi-musical, with ingenue Jean Hatton rendering a couple of tunes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi