Josef Somlo Movies
- 1967
Miklos Jancso has said, "To show things in bright colors is devastating." In Csillagosok, Katonak, he examines Hungarians fighting in the Red Army in 1918 during the bloody civil war in Russia. Utilizing horizontal compositions of vast landscapes and lateral tracking shots in a widescreen frame to depict the spaces between two great armies massed against each other, he makes no value judgments for a war in which guilt is shared by both sides in the conflict. The film details a Hungarian unit supporting the Red Army against the counter-revolutionary White army on the banks of the Volga. Jancso adds distinct touches like a White army officer casually tweaking his nose before ordering a mass execution and a doomed romance between a Magyar and a Polish nurse. Through all the confused violence and conflicting emotions, a stoical head nurse must tend to both Red and White army wounded. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andras Kozak, Krystyna Mikolajewska, (more)
- 1966
The English-language title of this Hungarian drama refers to a true incident of 1848. Following the famous Kossuth Rebellion, the Hungarian police "round up" the likely suspects. They then subject the peasant prisoners to a sophisticated, ritualized form of psychological torture. Any resemblance between the authorities of 1848 and the communist rulers of Hungary in 1965 is purely intentional. Filmed in the manner of a modern documentary, The Round-Up (originally Szegenylegenyek) created a sensation when shown at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, making the international reputation of its brilliant young director, Miklos Jancso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janos Gorbe, Tibor Molnar, (more)
- 1958
Distinguished British actress Vanessa Redgrave makes her feature film debut in this hospital-set drama that chronicles the deadly rivalry between two head surgeons. She is one of the surgeons. She and her competitor have radically different ideas about how the hospital should be run. The film features one of the first scenes of actual open-heart surgery being shown upon a closed-circuit TV screen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Tony Britton, (more)
- 1955
Framed in flashback form, The Man Who Loved Redheads is an anecdotal comedy about a man (John Justin) whose life is defined by his first romantic experience. That liaison occurred in Justin's youth with the luscious Moira Shearer (for her alone, this film must be seen in its original Technicolor). When the young man matures and enters the diplomatic world, he spends the rest of his career searching for his first love. Along the way, he romances two redheaded damsels who look exactly like Ms. Shearer--as well they may, since Shearer plays all the women in Justin's life. Terence Rattigan adapted The Man Who Loved Redheads from his own stage play Who Is Sylvia? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moira Shearer, John Justin, (more)
- 1955
In this detective drama, a biographer researches the death of a heroic pilot who died during a failed test and ends up in love with the deceased's sister. He then learns that the pilot's strange disappearance may not have been accidental and mayhem ensues. Soon other people associated with the case begin to die and the writer becomes nervous until two Scotland Yard inspectors get on the case and solve the mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Leighton, John Justin, (more)
- 1948
In this musical, a renowned tenor meets a lovely woman at a British railway station. When the woman's dog gets in a fight, he saves it. Unfortunately this causes them to miss their train. Later, the tenor discovers that his suitcases by been stolen. The thief, a tramp, is then mistaken for the singer and taken to a Roman studio. Meanwhile, the tenor and the woman must somehow earn enough money to eat supper before the next train arrives. They do it by singing. Later they are arrested for passing a counterfeit bank note. Fortunately they are released in time to make it to Rome and find the tramp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Martini, Patricia Roc, (more)
- 1947
An evil guardian plots the murder of his young heiress niece in this Victorian melodrama, also known as Uncle Silas. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Bond, Frederick Burtwell, (more)
- 1943
The British Alibi is based on the warhorse story by Marcel Archard, previously filmed in France in 1931. Raymond Lovell steps into the old Erich Von Stroheim role as Professor Winkler, a phony mystic playing to capacity crowds in Paris. Confronting a man who'd previously exposed him as a fraud in the US, Winkler kills the man. He then establishes an alibi by paying nightclub hostess Helene (Margaret Lockwood) to tell the police that she was in his company at the time of the murder. The upshot of this is that Helene herself is accused of the crime. Hoping to get to the truth of the matter, Inspector Calas (Hugh Sinclair) asks his deputy Andre Laurent (James Mason) to pretend to be in love with Helene. The plot thickens when Laurent genuinely falls for the distressed damsel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Sinclair, (more)
- 1940
Cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfeather's woebegone WW1 British soldier Old Bill was revived for WW2 in Old Bill and Son. When his son Young Bill (John Mills) signs up for military duty against the Nazis, Old Bill (Morland Graham) tries to re-enlist as well. Turned down for the obvious reasons, Old Bill has trouble convincing anyone that he's of any use in the present conflict. The plot is, surprisingly, never resolved, suggesting that the producers couldn't come up with a logical ending and just gave up after 96 minutes. On the plus side, the film features the comic talents of Renee Houston, Nicholas Phipps and Gus McNaughton, who like stars John Mills and Morland Graham are heaps better than their material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morland Graham, John Mills, (more)
- 1939
In this British thriller, a barber must steal to fund his wife's addiction to spending money. She uses the cash he took to pay off a drape maker. The stolen bills are traced back to him. The unscrupulous seamster then begins blackmailing the couple and the barber kills him. He then has his wife leave town until the trouble blows over. Just as he hears that his wife was killed in a collision, police surround him and shoot him down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Diana Wynyard, (more)
- 1939
The game of football figures prominently in The Arsenal Stadium Mystery -- not the American gridiron version, but the soccer-style competition played in England. The focus is on Anthony Bushell, playing a champion British football player. Bushell is poisoned to death during a game, in full view of a capacity crowd. Police inspector Leslie Banks enters the scene to determine who, why, and how. Like many British programmers of the 1930s, Arsenal Stadium Mystery was an early arrival on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
Filmed in 1939 but not put into general release until 1942, Lady in Distress stars Michael Redgrave as an innocent bystander who thinks he's witnessed a murder. In fact, what he's seen is the rehearsal of an illusion conjured up by stage magician Paul Lukas. Sally Gray, Lukas' wife and assistant, eventually finds herself the victim of her husband's jealousy. This time around, Lukas is certain that Redgrave's suspicions will be laughed off by the police in light of the young man's earlier misapprehensions. Incredibly enough, the central situation of the British Lady in Distress served as the basis for a Columbia 2-reel comedy, Hiss and Yell (1946). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Sally Gray, (more)
Though it boasts an American director and star, this Technicolor cinemadaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado is a faithful record of what it must have been like to attend a performance of Britain's D'Oyly Carte opera company. Less annoying than in his other film appearances, radio tenor Kenny Baker stars as Nanki-Poo, the wand'ring minstrel who wanders into a curious set of situations in the Japanese village of Titi-Pu. D'Oyly Carte perennial Martyn Green plays the leading role of Ko-Ko, the timorous Lord High Executioner who must perform one execution per day or he'll lose his job-and his own head. Ko-Ko finds a likely candidate for decapitation in the form of Nanki-Poo, who feels mighty suicidal when it seems as though his sweetheart Yum-Yum (Jean Cola) is out of his reach. Unbeknownst to Ko-Ko, Nanki-Poo is the son of none other than The Mikado, played with a combination of pomp, circumstance and Noel Cowardlike waspishness by Sydney Granville. Most of the delightfully satiric Gilbert & Sullivan songs have been retained, including "The Lord High Executioner", "Three Little Maids from School are We", "Tit Willow", "Here's a How-de-Do", and "The Object Most Sublime". The grandiose musical accompaniment is provided by the London Symphony Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Baker, Martyn Green, (more)
- 1933
Polish opera star Jan Kiepura makes a rare film appearance in the British Be Mine Tonight. Kiepura plays an opera star who is besieged by his eager female fans. He heads to a tiny village where no one knows who he is. The peace and quiet rapidly drives him crazy, but at least he finds romance in the form of Magda Schneider. Be Mine Tonight was filmed simultaneously in English and German versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Kiepura, Sonnie Hale, (more)
- 1927
Just before launching the American phase of his career, filmmaker Alexander Korda directed his actress-wife Maria Corda in the German production A Modern DuBarry. Corda plays Toinette, a saucy, somewhat amoral scullery maid. Bouncing from bed to bed, Toinette becomes the mistress of Count Martel (Alfred Gerasch) and, ultimately, the King of Andalia (Jean Bradin). This final liaison very nearly topples the Andalian government, but Toinette manages to survive this ordeal with nary a hair out of place, though she does cry and cry a lot when things don't go her way. It was Modern DuBarry, completed in 1926, that landed Korda his Hollywood contract -- and the rest, as they say, is history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
