Patrick Campbell Movies

Three losing crooks are featured as Stooge-like misfits (sans slapstick) in this conventional comedy by director Michael Truman. Bernard (Dave King) is the ringleader, while Harry and Alfie (Daniel Massey and Norman Rossington) do their best to contribute to the trio's success -- and fail each time. First the group screw up their escape after a robbery because they are stuck in traffic by a fire engine. That gives them the idea of getting a fire engine to pull off a heist, and that goes wrong because they are detoured to a real fire. Next, they recruit an ex-fireman with a record for setting blazes himself (Robert Morley) in the hopes that a decoy fire can take attention away from the bank they want to rob. With their batting average, the bank seems fairly safe. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A father discovers that being a good role model for your son isn't always easy -- especially when you're a criminal -- in this bright British comedy. Percy Brand (Michael Redgrave) is an all-purpose con artist and small-time crook who makes a good living on the wrong side of the law but often finds himself behind bars as a result. Not wanting to present too bad an example to his son and needing an explanation for his frequent time away, he tells young Colin (Jeremy Burnham) that he's a missionary working with a religious group, and his good deeds take him all over the world on sudden missions of mercy. Colin accepts his father's word to the letter, and he grows up to be a law-abiding citizen who works as a barrister for Judge Crichton (Robert Morley), who has had to deal with Percy a number of times over the years. By this time, Percy has retired to a village by the ocean and is living nicely off his ill-gotten gains, but he gets roped into a scheme smuggling brandy and soon finds himself in trouble with the law again. Rather than go back to the pokey (and embarrass Colin), Percy and his mates concoct a bizarre plan by which they'll implicate Judge Crichton in the smuggling and send him to jail in their place. Director Charles Crichton directed a number of fine British comedies, right up to his final picture, A Fish Called Wanda, which he completed at the age of 78. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jacqueline, played by Jacqueline Ryan, is the daughter of a Belfast shipyard worker Mike McNeil, played by John Gregson. The worker's worth is compromised by his crippling fear of heights. Dismissed from his job, he finds solace in the bottle. All seems hopeless until Jacqueline breaks through Gregson's self-imposed gloom and helps him to regenerate. Jacqueline wouldn't be as effective as it is were it not for the lead actress's blessed avoidance of cloying cuteness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this whimsical fantasy, a mild-mannered writer of wild adventure novels for young girls finds himself presented with an intriguing proposition from an elderly fan. She suggests that they conspire together to steal the whiskey formula from the distillers who took it from her family many years ago. They do so, and with the recipe find themselves receiving many partnership offers from distillery's. The writer's partner then insures that he has plenty of young fans to inspire him to keep on writing. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi