Leslie Norman Movies

In this British crime drama, a Yankee crook uses a garage owner's son as his alibi after he robs a bank and shoots a cop. A Scotland Yard investigator is behind him. He is just about to catch the crook, when the crook shoots him. The police then close in on the killer, but then his girl friend threatens to kill a policeman and the murderer escapes. In the end, just desserts are served when his girl runs him over with her car. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hay Petrie ingests the scenery as the demonic, hunchbacked Mr. Quilp in this 1935 British adaptation of Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop. Quilp is the wicked landlord who dominates and later ruins the lives of shopkeeper Trent (Ben Webster) and his resourceful granddaughter Little Nell (Elaine Benson). The death of the heroine, which created quite a brouhaha when the book was first published, is here handled with discretion and taste. Scenarists Margaret Kennedy and Ralph Neale successfully tackle the challenge of whittling Dickens' massive novel into a playable 90 minutes. The Old Curiosity Shop would be remade three times, once as a musical with Anthony Newley as Quilp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mimi is based on Murger's La Vie de Boheme, with operatic snatches from Puccini's La Boheme occasionally thrown in. The very healthy-looking Gertrude Lawrence seems an odd casting choice for the consumptive Mimi, whose tragic romance with starving artist Rodolfe (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) in Paris' Latin Quarter provides the film's dramatic thrust. Director Paul Stein has spared nothing to make the film as historically accurate as possible; unfortunately, Stein has also robbed the story of much of its vitality in the process. Fans of Gertrude Lawrence couldn't have been happy that her singing was confined to only one tune, and a forgettable one at that. Originally released at 98 minutes, Mimi is currently available only in its 62-minute American release version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It took two directors to bring this modest British thriller to the screen. The story concerns a gang of international jewel thieves, headed by a "mystery man" who is never seen and who communicates with his minions through a microphone. Rival criminal Jacques LeClerq (Sebastian Shaw) gains the gang's confidence, joining them on their biggest caper. Only when it's too late to back out does LeClerq reveal that he's actually a member of the French police. Without revealing the identity of the criminal mastermind, it's worth noting that one of the actors plays a dual role, a fact spelled out in the opening credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though it pales in comparison to the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic staging of the original novel in the early 1980s, this compact adaptation of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby is most entertaining on its own terms. Derek Bond plays the title character, a resourceful young Britisher forced to protect his family against the demonic machinations of his wicked Uncle Ralph (Cedric Hardwicke at his most odious). Cast out into the cold cruel world, Nicholas Nickleby deals adroitly with friend and foe alike, eventually coming full circle to mete out just desserts to his unspeakable uncle. With only 108 minutes' running time at his disposal, screenwriter John Dighton (later a mainstay of the Ealing Comedies) was forced to eliminate several of the novel's 52 highly distinctive characters and intricate subplots. There is evidence that there was even more cutting after the film was completed; for example, the tatty touring theatrical troupe managed by the delightfully pompous Vincent Crummles (Stanley Holloway) appears only in a series of abrupt vignettes, while Crummles himself is confined to a mere handful of lines and gestures. Still, many of Dickens' colorful characters are vividly realized, especially the unfortunate, mentally challenged Smike (Aubrey Woods). When released in America, Nicholas Nickleby was pared down to 95 minutes, with surprisingly little damage to the continuity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The problem of "enemy" war brides was eloquently addressed in the British drama Frieda. In her English-language film debut, Mai Zetterling plays the title character, the German wife of RAF officer Robert (David Farrar). Though an avowed anti-Nazi, Frieda faces acrimony and prejudice when introduced to Robert's friends and family. The problem is exacerbated by the arrival of her brother Ricky (Albert Levien), ostensibly a conscript in the Polish army but actually an unregenerate disciple of Hitler. A satisfactory ending is reached only when everyone-Ricky included-learns to stop hating and to bury the past. Based on a play by Ronald Miller, Frieda was released in the US by Universal, shorn of but one minute of its original running time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released in the U.S. as Massacre Hill, the Australian Eureka Stockade was one of that country's biggest and most expensive postwar productions (it was nearly two years in the making!) Set during the 19th-century Australian gold rush, the film top-bills Chips Rafferty as boisterous prospector Peter Lallor. The gold bonanza is threatened by the arrival of claim-jumpers, usurpers and government bean-counters. At first, the prospectors intend to use random mob violence to ward off the invaders, but Lallor organizes the group into a strong, united front, as willing to mediate as to bust heads. Future star Peter Finch is eighth-billed as "Humffray." Eureka Stockade was remade years later as a TV miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this seagoing military drama set in World War II, Lt. Comdr. Ericson (Jack Hawkins) is made captain of a British corvette, a small escort vessel used to guide and protect convoys traveling through the Atlantic. Ericson had his confidence severely shaken during his last command, in which he lost his ship and most of its men following an attack by a German U-boat. As he leads a new and largely inexperienced crew aboard the H.M.S. Compass Rose, Ericson is once again thrown into a life-and-death dilemma that forces him to choose between destroying an enemy ship and sparing the lives of his own men. The Cruel Sea featured breakthrough early performances from Denholm Elliott and Virginia McKenna, and it was based on a best-selling novel by Nicholas Monsarrat, who stipulated that the film rights could be sold only to a British company. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Night My Number Came Up was based on an actual incident in the life of Britain's Sir Victor Goddard. Michael Redgrave stars as an RAF pilot who is tormented by the premonition that his plane will crash. After much trepidation, he agrees to take a routine flight. As Redgrave prepares to take off, he notes that several of the small details in his premonition are occurring all around him. The audience sweats out the rest flight with Redgrave, fully expecting the worst at any second. A steady level of suspense permeates The Night My Number Came Up from beginning to end; that level might even have been heightened had not the film been constructed in the form of a flashback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a best-selling Australian novel by D'Arcy Niland, The Shiralee stars Peter Finch as an Aussie "swagman," or poacher, saddled with a faithless wife (Elizabeth Sellars). Concerned over the well-being of his young daughter (Dana Wilson), Finch takes her out of her hostile environment and hits the road. Against the breathtaking landscapes and panoramas of the Outback, Father and Daughter grow to love and understand one another on a deeper and more profound level than ever before. The storyline rambles more than does Peter Finch, but the relationship between the two main characters holds the film together. The Shiralee was remade as an Australian TV miniseries in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Poignant and pointed, as well as funny, this love story by director Leslie Norman has a simple message: act your age. Since they were older teens, two buddies Barney (John Mills) and Roo (Ernest Borgnine) have gone to a summer rendezvous with the same two women, for fun in the sun in Sydney. They work on sugar-cane farms and after the harvest spend the summer with their women. In this 17th such summer, they arrive only to discover that Barney's girlfriend has married and Pearl (Angela Lansbury), a rather straight-laced widow, has taken her place. Roo's girlfriend Olive (Anne Baxter) does not get her annual gift of a special doll because Roo is broke -- he has had a bad year. As these adults mix and mingle, various circumstances arise that force them to rethink their behavior. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this confusing drama, the IRA, intrigue, psychiatric analysis, and a young man framed for murder are thrown together in a series of events that were perhaps originally intended to highlight the psychological aspects of the case under study. One night, eighteen-year-old Harry Jukes (British rock 'n roller Adam Faith in his first dramatic role) is driving down a deserted country road when he gets a flat tire. A policeman stops to help him out when a truck drives by, and the next thing Harry knows, the policeman is lying dead on the road and Harry is literally holding a smoking gun in his hand. From there to his arrest and trial is a brief hop, skip, and then a jump into prison to await his execution. His lawyer thinks he did it, but his psychiatrist (Anne Baxter) disagrees -- and sets out to prove she is right. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide