Geoffrey Kerr Movies

Anthony Hopkins stars in this glossy TV adaptation of Graham Greene's The Tenth Man. The scene is Paris, during the Nazi occupation. Hopkins plays a French lawyer who is sentenced to be executed as a reprisal for the activities of the Resistance. To escape the firing squad, Hopkins arranges for another man to take his place. That man, played by Timothy Wilson, is an embittered soul with no desire to go on living. As part of his bargain with Hopkins, Wilson wills Hopkins' estate to his own heirs. At war's end, Hopkins, travelling incognito, takes a gardener's job at the estate he once owned. He gradually falls in love with Wilson's sister Kristin Scott Thomas. And then total stranger Derek Jacobi shows up--claiming to be the long-lost Hopkins! Produced in Britain by veteran TV-movie maven David Rosemont, The Tenth Man was first offered December 4, 1988, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The leaves of the Calendar begin to fall rapidly when avaricious Wenda (Greta Gynt) jilts newly-impoverished horse owner Garry (John McCallum). Wenda then weds Willie (Raymond Lovell), the brother of Garry's former horse-trainer Molly (Sonia Holm). While drowning his sorrows in liquor, Garry joins in on a scheme to steal his own prize horse just before a big race, thereby increasing the odds in another big race. Successfully robbing himself, Garry recoups his fortune and marries Molly, leaving Wenda and Willie back at the starting gate. Calendar is based on a play by mystery specialist Edgar Wallace, which was previously filmed as Bachelor's Folly in 1932. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cottage to Let is a taut British wartime spy thriller, laced with moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. The "maguffin" in this instance is a revolutionary new bombsight, designed by inventor John Barrington (Leslie Banks). A group of Nazi spies intend to steal the blueprints for the invention (hence the film's alternate title Bombsight Stolen), and to that end dispatch one of their top agents (John Mills), who parachutes into the story posing as wounded RAF pilot Lt. Perry. Hailed as a war hero by the gullible locals, Perry rents a cottage from the unsuspecting Barrington and his wife (Jeanne de Casalis). The treacherous Nazi meets his match in the unlikely form of oafish Charles Dimble (Alastair Sim), who turns out to be a British undercover agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What a combination! Break the News boasted the talents of English stage star Jack Buchanan, French entertainer Maurice Chevalier, legendary director Rene Clair, and songwriter Cole Porter. But what should have made for dynamite entertainment, fizzled in the eyes of disappointed contemporary reviewers. Buchanan and Chevalier play a song and dance team that is getting nowhere fast. In an effort to jump-start their flagging careers, the two dream up an elaborate scheme that begins when Buchanan 'mysteriously' vanishes. Soon afterward Chevalier turns himself in, claiming that he killed his partner, fully aware that Buchanan is actually hiding out in a Balkan village and will magically reappear at the crucial moment. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the jailed Chevalier, poor Buchanan has been captured by revolutionaries who have mistaken him for an enemy general. Will he escape in time to save Chevalier from final justice? The film's source material, a novel by Loic de Gouriadic, has been re-filmed several times, most recently as The Art of Love (65) with James Garner and Dick Van Dyke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this happy musical, two business partners find themselves in all sorts of romantic trouble. One of them is planning to marry his secretary, and the other, who is engaged to an aristocrat, advises him to fire her before proposing. The fellow does, but unfortunately, the distraught secretary, not knowing why she was released, attempts to drown herself in a river. Fortunately the other partner rescues her and takes her back to his apartment to warm up. He begins pouring brandy down her and she gets uproariously drunk. He then takes her to a high-society party where the woman's behavior is so outrageous that her escort's fiancee walks out. In the end, the man ends up proposing to her and happiness somehow ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Mary Brian, who'd previously co-starred in several Hollywood silent pictures, were reteamed in the British comedy Once in a Million. The all-American Rogers is somewhat unconvincingly cast as Pierre, a Parisian clerk who is reluctantly entrusted with five million francs. To avoid attracting attention with so large a sum, he checks into a fancy hotel and places the money in the hotel safe. Dressmaker's assistant Suzanne (Brian) notices Pierre -- and his money -- in the lobby and assumes that he's a millionaire. Hoping to strike up an acquaintance, she pretends to be wealthy herself, whereupon the misunderstandings begin piling up like cord-wood. The cliched aspects of One in a Million can be forgiven in the light of its truly surprising finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a long-running play by Reginald Simpson and Frank Gregory, Living Dangerously stars Otto Kruger as Dr. Norton. Though a pillar of virtue and a highly respected member of the community, Norton has a few unfortunate skeletons in his closet and these are exploited by his blackmailing ex-partner Dr. Pryor (Francis Lister). Unable to persuade Pryor to leave him alone, Norton is left with no alternative but to kill the man. Since audience sympathy is firmly in Norton's corner, one half hopes that he'll get away with his entirely justifiable crime ---and for a while, it looks like he will! Living Dangerously was one of the last directorial efforts by former spectacle specialist Herbert Brenon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in an early Technicolor process, The Runaround tells the story of Broadway dancer Mary Brian, who refuses to play the gold-digging games indulged in by her fellow chorines. Though she's sorely tempted to accept a $1000 bracelet from an elderly admirer, Brian turns down the gift when she learns that her benefactor expects a few "favors" in return. By sticking to her principles, our heroine finally lands a pure-hearted husband, wealthy Geoffrey Kerr. Comedy relief was offered by two former silent-screen favorites, Marie Prevost and Johnny Hines. A box-office loser to the tune of $160,000, The Runaround didn't fare much better in Great Britain, where it was released as Waiting for the Bride (who knows why?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An aspiring artist leaves his wife and daughter when he gets a chance to spend a year studying in Paris in this melodrama. Although his wife supports the idea, a year later he returns a bohemian and decides to separate from his family. Later he reconsiders his new life style after his little girl is killed in an auto accident. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Not every film John S. Robertson directed could be Sentimental Tommy or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He also did his share of meat-and-potatoes films, and this comedy-drama starring some of Paramount's lesser lights was one of them. After the death of her mother (Sara Sample), artist Brian McCree (David Powell) adopts a little girl, Perpetua (Bunty Fosse). While visiting France, they hook up with a circus and travel with it until the girl is a teen. After that she is placed in a convent and when she returns to England as a young lady (played by Ann Forrest), McCree falls in love with her. But Perpetua weds a wealthy young man, Saville Mender (Geoffrey Kerr), hoping to save him from his addiction to alcohol. It turns out that her real father -- a nasty fellow by the name of Russell Fenton (John Miltern) -- is familiar with Mender. He poisons the young man and plans to let Perpetua take the blame. But his conscience gets the better of him and finally the truth is revealed. McCree has a revelation of his own -- he loves Perpetua as more than a daughter. Perpetua, as fate has it, returns his romantic feelings. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide