H.F. Maltby Movies

The protagonists of Over the Edge are the teen-aged offspring of the residents of a planned suburban community. This bland little town has been designed with conformity in mind, and with no thought of making the kids' lives worth living. Even worse, there is very little opportunity for any of the teens to grow "out" of the community and live elsewhere. Consequently, the kids rebel by drinking themselves sick, dealing in drugs, and indulging in deadly violence. Inasmuch as the local cops are predisposed to beat the teens into submission, the kids retaliate by directing their frustrations at the Law; the results are tragic, to be sure, but in no way predictable. Over the Edge struck as sensitive a nerve with young 1970s moviegoers as Rebel Without a Cause did with their 1950s forebears. Matt Dillon made his screen debut in Over the Edge, distinguishing himself in an ensemble cast that also includes Vincent Spano, Andy Romano and Ellen Geer. The screenplay was written by Charles Haas and Tim Hunter; the soundtrack songs feature the Ramones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Randle tones down the impurities of his music hall routines in the British service comedy It's a Grand Life. Randle plays a put-upon private, while zaftig Diana Dors co-stars as a female corporal. Surprise: Randle's not in love with Dors, but his friend Dan Young is head over heels. In time-honored Cyrano tradition, Randle gets Dors' attention by rescuing her from the unwanted advances of sergeant-major Michael Brennan, then points her in Young's direction. As was his custom, Frank Randle collaborated on the screenplay of It's A Grand Life, reserving for himself as many smirky one-liners as the footage would allow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Pamela Hansford Johnson, Trojan Brothers offers the unlikely screen team of music hall funster Bobby Howes and up-and-coming leading man David Farrar. The stars are cast as Benny and Sid, two-bit vaudevillians who tour the provinces with a "horse" act. Sid plays the front end of the horse, while Benny brings up the rear (type-casting, as it turns out). The harmony between the two troupers is disrupted when Sid falls in love with fickle socialite Betty Todd (Patricia Burke). Meanwhile, Benny finds happiness -- or at least security -- with plain-looking Maggie (Barbara Mullen). In case all this sounds like a lighthearted comedy, it isn't, especially when the maddened Sid exacts revenge upon the faithless Betty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set not in the 14th century milieu of Geoffrey Chaucer but in wartime Britain, A Canterbury Tale begins with rural justice of the peace Eric Portman adopting a "lock up your daughters" policy when the American soldiers are stationed nearby. To escape the arbitrary edicts of Portman, British tank sergeant Dennis Price, American GI John Sweet and shopkeeper Sheila Sim head down the road to Canterbury. Each of the principals finds their lives changed by the journey. In particular, Sweet (a real-life American sergeant, rather than the usual stereotyped "yank" common to British war films) encounters genuine romance. A product of the always adventuresome "Archers" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), A Canterbury Tale contains some extremely creative cinematic moments, though it is the quieter scenes which work best. Esmond Knight narrates the film and shows up in a couple of amusing cameos. A ubiquitous presence on American TV, Canterbury Tale is available in two versions; the American release version, cut from 124 to 95 minutes and including several arbitrary scenes with Kim Hunter, is the lesser of the two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again comedian Arthur Lucan dons an old woman's togs to become the tart-tongued Irish washerwoman. This time Mother Riley ends up mixed up with gangsters and busts up a ring of smugglers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an Irish singer heads for the US to make it big. He leaves his wife and child in Britain. In the States he earns plenty of money, but upon his return home, he finds that his family has disappeared because of the newly erupted WWII. The singer then joins the Royal Air Force; eventually he and his family are reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The tumultuous life of 18th-century composer Handel is chronicled in this dramatic biography. The story begins when the self-exiled German composer adopts England as his new homeland. While there, he and the bishop of the Anglican Church get into a heated argument while they rehearse a choir for the upcoming royal coronation. The fight is over who is the better Englishman, the bishop, a native, or the ex-patriate Handel, who deliberately chose his nationality. The argumentative composer also has a row with the Prince of Wales, but he makes it up to him by writing the "Messiah." Much of the musical score is comprised of Handel's work. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

There's no one named Bob in the British comedy Bob's Your Uncle; the title is a bit of cockney slang, which we won't attempt to interpret here. Albert Modley stars as a Royal Guardsman who pines for Jean Colin, the daughter of commanding officer H. B. Maltby. To prove his worth, Modley spearheads a pass-the-plate movement to finance a tank for his little village. One can gauge the subtlety of Bob's Your Uncle by its character names: Dolly Diehard, Sgt. Brownfoot etc. The film was based on the rollicking stage play by Vera Allinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Never mind that first name; Bunny Doyle is the male protagonist of the British Facing the Music. Doyle plays a clumsy munitions worker, who is incredibly put in charge of a major war plant. Well, maybe it's not so incredible at that; Doyle's plant is actually a decoy, set up to confuse potential enemy saboteurs. Though obviously regarded as expendable by his employers, Doyle emerges as a hero when the Nazis come calling. Future Hollywood starlet Chili Bouchier, billed under her real name of Dorothy, appears as an alluring secret agent in Facing the Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A delightful film that begs to be rediscovered, Return to Yesterday was adapted from Goodness, How Sad, a play by Robert Morley. Clive Brook is ideally cast as Robert Maine, a famous movie star who longs for the simpler days before he became the idol of millions-and before he was trapped into a loveless marriage with his present wife. Maine takes a sentimental journey to the provincial repertory theatre where he got his first break, only to discover that the little troupe is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Without revealing his true identity, he joins the actors and helps to get them over their financial hump. He also happens to fall in love with ingenue Carol Sande (Anna Lee, the wife of director Robert Stevenson), but realizes eventually that she will be better off without him. Dame May Whitty heads the hand-picked supporting cast as Mrs. Truscott, the troupe's garrulous character woman, who is wise enough not to say anything when she overhears Maine letting Carol down gently by replaying a scene from one of his earlier stage triumphs. Long ignored by movie historians, Return to Yesterday was given an honored spot in William K. Everson's affectionate volume Love in the Film (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running British comedy series, the boisterous Mother Riley plays a nurse who was forced to volunteer for the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Mayhem ensues until she is able to prevent German spies from acquiring important documents. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this British comedy, set in London during the 1840s, an acting troupe aspires to high-society, but despite their best efforts are consistently rebuffed and consider little more than lowly beggars. As they endeavor to entertain people, they are arrested and put into prison. Later the performers are redeemed when they save a nobleman's son who was abducted by gypsies. The grateful aristocrat finally helps the actors out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

There's no folly like a Blind Folly, as scripters H.F. Maltby and John Hunter strive to prove in this British comedy. Gus McNaughton plays the head of a criminal gang who heads to the spot where they had long before hidden their stolen loot. Alas, the cache of cash is now sequestered somewhere in a roadhouse that has been built on the site of the hiding place. Now the criminals are forced to steal what they've already stolen--and to keep Clifford Mollison, the inn's current owner, in the dark. Lilli Palmer provides decoration as Mollison's girlfriend. Blind Folly was distributed in the United Kingdom by RKO British. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide