Roland Pertwee Movies

In this drama, a construction contractor gets into trouble when he inadvertently receives some stolen property. This makes it even more difficult for him to frantically finish a housing estate designed to harbor a visiting princess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Roland Pertwee and his son Michael Pertwee penned the stage play The Paragon, and then Michael adapted the play for film. Curiously, the central characters in the story are father and son: a baronet, and his deceased war-hero offspring. The grief-stricken baronet builds a memorial to his son's honor--whereupon sonny boy turns up very much alive, and very much of a jerk. The drama (or rather, melodrama), arises from the father's efforts to preserve the honor of the family name. This is another of director Lance Comfort's compact, compelling film noir-ish programmers of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The dazzlingly handsome Stewart Granger is at least physically well cast as the charismatic 18th century violinist Paganini. The fact that the illusion explodes whenever he opens his mouth mattered not at all to Granger's legions of British female fans. Luckily for the screenwriters, Paganini was as celebrated for his many love affairs as for his musical accomplishments, so it wasn't necessary to cook up a romantic plotline from whole cloth. The actual Paganini solos are performed by Yehudi Menuhin, and in this respect (and this respect only) the film is worthwhile. Magic Bow was another guilty pleasure from Gainsborough Productions, England's principal purveyor of bodice-ripping romances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A classic in gothic-romantic excess, Madonna of Seven Moons was one of the most successful British films of its genre. Though she doesn't know it at first, young convent-bred Rosalinda (Phyllis Calvert) has been born under a curse: before her life comes to a close, she will be wife, mother and mistress all in one. As a child, Rosalinda is raped by a gypsy, an experience that renders her a schizophrenic. Years later, she is the seemingly contented wife of prosperous Italian businessman Giuseppe (John Stuart) and the mother of attractive teenager Angela (Patricia Roc). From time to time, however, Rosalinda disappears from her home and retreats to the slums of Florence, where she assumes the identity of lustful gypsy girl Maddelina, the mistress of criminal leader Nino (Stewart Granger). Then she returns to her husband and daughter, completely unaware of her "other" self or even that she's been absent. Understandably curious about her mother's long absences, Angela follows Rosalinda during one of her sojourns into the Florentine underworld. Far from home and hearth, poor Angela is targetted for seduction by Sandro (Peter Glenville)--the very gypsy who'd assaulted the younger Rosalinda! And just when it seems that things can't get any more unbelievable?..well, this one is definitely better seen than described. Originally released at 100 minutes, Madonna of Seven Moons was expertly cut to 88 minutes for US consumption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title is whimsical, but the storyline isn't. Googie Withers plays the frustrated wife of a 1880s Brighton tavern keeper, looking for an easy way out of the relationship. Withers entices a chemist's son to act as accomplice in a tricky murder scheme. She is certain that no one will suspect that her husband has been poisoned by a undetectable chemical. Guess again, Googie. Pink String and Sealing Wax was based on a play by Roland Pertwee, the father of Jon "Dr. Who" Pertwee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever one sees a title like The Gentle Sex, one braces oneself for an ironic switcharound. The supposedly gentle girls of the title--seven in all--are actually determined young British moderns who go into military service during World War II. In true "Army bomber crew" fashion, the film explores the widely varied backgrounds of the ladies involved, showing the events which led them to their patriotic commitment. As propaganda, Gentle Sex served its wartime purpose; as entertainment, it holds up reasonably well after five decades. The film was coproduced and codirected by actor Leslie Howard, who functions as narrator and (according to one source) can be glimpsed from behind in a couple of scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Monica Dickens' novel One Pair of Feet was the source of the sociological drama The Lamp Still Burns. Like the original novel, the film is a plea for better conditions in English hospitals-and, more specifically, for better treatment of England's selfless nurses. Rosamund John is a tower of strength as Hilary Clarke, a young woman who sacrifices all in pursuit of a nursing career. The many trials and tribulations facing Hilary in her daily work are amplified in wartime, when she and her colleagues are forced to work under appalling conditions in air raid shelters, subway cars and amidst the rubble of bombed-out buildings. The Lamp Still Burns was produced by actor Leslie Howard, who was killed in the service of his country not long after the film was released. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as The Avengers, the British The Day Will Dawn is set in Norway at the outbreak of WW2. British foreign correspondent Lockwood (Ralph Richardson), forced out of Norway by the Nazi invasion, returns to the occupied Scandanavian country at the request of the War Office. Lockwood's assignment is to guide the RAF to a heavily camouflaged German U-boat base for sabotage purposes. With the help of patriotic Norwegian seaman Alstad (Finlay Currie), Lockwood completes his mission, only to be arrested as a spy and sentenced to be shot. The final portions of the film detail our hero's attempt to escape back to England with Alstad's daughter Kari (Deborah Kerr), with whom he has fallen in love. The intricately crafted screenplay is attributed to three of Britain's finest scriveners, Terence Rattigan, Anatole de Grunewald and Patrick Kirwen-and one suspects that there were even more talented hands involved in this thrill-packed wartime adevnture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in 1941 as Breach of Promise, this British romantic drama stars Clive Brook as playwright Peter Conroy and Judy Campbell as actress Pamela Lawrence. Something of a rake, Conroy is accustomed to proposing to pretty young women and then abandoning them. But Pamela doesn't see things this way, and takes Conroy to court. Rather than submit to the humiliation of a trial, Conroy grudgingly agrees to marry the girl, and, much to his surprise (but not the audience's), he falls in love with her. Incidentally, leading lady Judy Campbell is the mother of actress Jane Birkin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II propaganda film, a German doctor, highly praised by his Nazi employers, finds it increasingly difficult to support the oppressive, increasingly brutal movement. At first he does nothing as his friends are persecuted and his wife becomes increasingly enamored with the party's misguided philosophies. Eventually he enlists the aide of an engineer and creates a secret radio station where he broadcasts condemnations of Hitler and prays for a "better" Germany to arise out of the ashes of his ruined country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a play by Barre Lyndon, They Came by Night stars beloved Scottish actor Will Fyffe as jeweler James Fothergill. When a valuable ruby is stolen right from under his nose, Fothergill offers to help Scotland Yard capture the crooks. To do this, he pretends to go crooked himself, the better to join the gang. For a while, it seems as though Fothergill really has gone over to the "other side", but this illusion is dispelled in the pulse-pounding bank-robbery finale. They Came by Night was released in the US by 20th Century-Fox, and directed by one of that studio's most talented contractees, Harry Lachman. ~ 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