Francis Searle Movies
- 1964
The British town of Warlock is scandalized by Hazell's cottage-turned-tearoom with the local inspector found in a compromising situation and the marriage of Hazell to the mayor. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1963
An ex-con turned truck driver is able to find out that the kidnapper's vehicle had counterfeit plates giving the police their only lead in a child's kidnapping case. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1962
Freedom to Die has the look of a half-hour TV drama inflated to feature-film length. Paul Maxwell plays Craig Owen, an incarcerated criminal whose cellmate holds the secret to the valuable contents within a safe deposit box. When the cellmate dies, Owen breaks out of jail in search of the stash. Unable to open the box, the fugitive abducts Linda (Felicity Young), the dead man's daughter. Tension mounts as the girl plays for time to prevent her own demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this British thriller, an avaricious, ambitious fellow, desiring to hold the reins for a major auto company, must frame someone for murder before he can get what he wants. He chooses a reformed embezzler who works for the company. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Conrad Phillips stars as a British secret agent not named James Bond in Dead Man's Evidence. The story is set in motion by the discovery of a dead frogman, washed up on the coast of Ireland. The body is identified as that of a double agent who has sold out to the Russians. In fact, the dead man is innocent. The real culprit is still alive-and murderously protective of his identity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this drama, a sick little girl with a rare blood type desperately needs a blood transfusion to live. The search begins for one of three people in the country who have the same type: a soccer player, a fugitive killer, and a traitor. Meanwhile, the girl's parents begin putting their marriage back together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Ticket to Paradise is an innocuous romantic comedy predicated on a plot device that's probably older than dirt. Travel agent Emrys Jones and tourist Patricia Dainton fall in love in sunny Italy. Jones has led Dainton to believe that he's fabulously wealthy, and she has likewise deceived him. When the truth inevitably outs, it hardly matters, since hero and heroine now love each other for themselves rather than their bank accounts. At 61 minutes, Ticket to Paradise is just long enough to avoid boredom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
"Site Three" is a top-secret missile base in this British meller. Geoffrey Toone stars as Sexton Blake, the Sherlock Holmes clone created by committee for the "pulps" and comic books. With his faithful young assistant Tinker (Richard Burrell), the all-knowing, all-seeing Blake try to ferret out an espionage ring operating within Britain's space program. A key ingredient to the proceedings is the truth serum developed and utilized by Blake. Murder at Site Three was based on Crime is My Business, a novel by W. Howard Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The Diplomatic Corpse has been rendered lifeless by a couple of foreign diplomats. London reporter Robin Phillips suspects much, but can prove little. Going beyond the law, Phillips unearths a sinister conspiracy (there's a nice conspiracy?) He also rescues girlfriend Susan Shaw from the villains. Montgomery Tully could direct a film like Diplomatic Corpse in his sleep, which may well have been the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this sad drama, a boozy reporter must cope with a series of personal disasters begin with the death of his wife in a car crash. Next he loses his job. Finally he learns that his son must have a $5,000 eye operation in Switzerland. In desperation he decides to ask his old boss for his job back. Upon arriving to his office, he finds the man dead. He is then offered money by the killer, a diamond smuggler to take the murder rap. What else can the desperate man do? Later he confesses all to Scotland Yard. Unfortunately, they do not believe him. The smuggler hears of the attempt, and thinking the police believe the reporter, attempts to prevent the boy's plane from taking off. The late editor's niece gets involved and makes sure the plane does take off. She then captures the smuggler and his gang. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Kay Callard plays Joan Foster, the title role, in the British quickie Undercover Girl. She works in a nightclub that serves as the front for a dope ring. When a reporter is murdered, Joan agrees to help the reporter's brother (Paul Carter) bust up the criminal gang. Naturally, this means putting her own life on the line, but you knew that when you saw the title. If nothing else, Undercover Girl affords ample opportunities to show off attractively undressed chorus girls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
In this crime drama, a policeman sacrifices his career keep his daughter from being implicated in a bank job. Her actions caused his carefully constructed case against a crime boss to crumble. Still, even as a civilian, he continues to chase after the crook. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
His career as a western star having recently come to an end in the US, Wayne Morris is the star of the British The Dynamiters. Morris plays an American insurance investigator, trying to get the goods on an elusive gang of London thieves. The crooks invariably wipe out all evidence by dynamiting the places they've plundered. While snooping around, Morris takes a break in a nightclub, where a musical number called "Soho Mambo" is thrust upon us. One nice side effect of The Dynamiters was that, by working in London, Wayne Morris was available to co-star in Stanley Kubrick's prestigious antiwar drama Paths of Glory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Sandra Dorne, (more)
- 1955
In this light-hearted crime drama, a rivalrous pair of reporters team up to solve the murder of a prominent artist's wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
A newspaper journalist and his irritating assistant team up with the cops to solve a perplexing murder in this comical thriller. Each of the victims was a war veteran. Each one was killed on a July 10th. Soon the amateur sleuths discover that the victims had other common threads and these clues lead to the killer's capture. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Some good performances and a fun chase scene, but there is little else to commend this movie. It's a pretty hackneyed plot wherein the editor of a magazine falls in love with the boss' daughter but the relationship is complicated by the boss' wife, who is also putting the moves on the hapless editor. Then, to make things even worse, he's accused of embezzlement. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1953
In this murder mystery, a police detective begins suspecting that his sister's newest beau is a murderer. Unfortunately, he is dead wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Two step-brothers who co-own a garage have a violent falling out when the wild one's girl falls for the more responsible sibling. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
