Paul Soskin Movies

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

A remake of the 1937 British comedy Where There's a Will, Top of the Form top-bills perennial comic relief Ronald Shiner as a Bilko-like bookmaker. Circumstances dictate that Shiner find himself in charge of a boys' school, where all the students show a natural affinity for gambling. Taking the boys on a tour of the European gaming tables, Shiner gets entangled in a plot to steal a Mona Lisa (not so far-fetched; such a theft actually took place in 1913). With the help of his young charges, Shiner rescues the Da Vinci classic from artnappers. Among Shiner's students are such future luminaries as Anthony Newley and Ronnie Corbett. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A decidedly pre-Around the World in 80 Days Michael Anderson was the director of the British melodrama Waterfront. Robert Newton pulls out all the stops as an embittered, alcoholic sailor who deserts his family, only to return 14 years later. If he was expecting a warm reunion, he was sadly mistaken. Going off on another bender, the sailor pushes the envelope too far, eventually killing an old friend. Richard Burton shows up in a featured role. Based on a novel by John Brophy, Waterfront was released in the U.S. as Waterfront Women. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Two's Company was based on Sydney Horler's stage comedy Romeo and Julia. The film's storyline is developed in parallel fashion, with the antics of American businessman B. G. Madison (Henry Holman) and his family and associates mirrored and sometimes anticipated by the behavior of Madison's British counterpart, The Earle of Warke (Morton Seiten), and his entourage. The ongoing rivalry between Madison and the Earle wreaks havoc on the romance between Madison's daughter Julia (Mary Brian) and Warke's son Jerry (Patric Knowles). Both families behave in stereotypical fashion, skewering both American and British manners and mores with fine impartiality. Two's Company was very much designed for a dual market, right down to the comedy relief: Ned Sparks for the American fans, Gordon Harker for the British patrons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This ingenious crime drama demonstrates how to commit the perfect murder. The trouble begins when a playboy convinces a woman to leave her fiance and travel to Paris with him to get married. When the jilted lover learns that the playboy is really a heartless gigolo, he rushes to Paris and kills the villain. Then using a trick watch, he convinces the cops that he arrived after the murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi