IT STARTED IN PARADISE

Martita Hunt and Jane Hylton

IT STARTED IN PARADISE (1952). Director: Compton Bennett. 

In the years leading up to WW2, Martha Watkins (Jane Hylton of The Manster) is frustrated that her employer, fashion designer Mme. Alice (Martita Hunt), thinks her designs are far too modern. Martha takes advantage of the situation after she importunes Alice to go off for a rest cure, and makes major changes to the line and even the studio itself. With the backing of her boyfriend, Arthur (Ian Hunter), Martha rises in the world of fashion, but makes the mistake of falling for a supposedly French bounder named Edouard (Terence Morgan). Meanwhile a younger designer, Alison (Muriel Pavlow of Murder She Said) and her boyfriend, Michael (Brian Worth), may prove formidable competition to Martha. Will ruthless Martha come undone?

Paging RuPaul!

If this film had been made in the United States ten years later it might have starred Susan Hayward at her bitchiest and been a lot of fun, but this comparatively dull British flick never really catches fire. Jane Hylton is a more than competent actress but she lacks that intense and fiery presence that might have made her performance more compelling. The others in the cast are all good enough, and Kay Kendall sparkles a bit as a superficial creature who makes an arrangement with Martha to bring in customers in exchange for clothing. The movie has an absolutely hilarious climax in which Alison shows up Martha with her own showing, featuring designs based on Elizabethan clothing. While these outfits might work for a costume party -- or for some drag queens -- the ordinary 20th century female would hardly be caught dead in most of them! Compton Bennett directed much better pictures, such as Daybreak. Malcolm Arnold's score helps just a bit. 

Verdict: Dig those crazy gowns! **. 

THE FLYING SCOT

Kay Callard and Lee Patterson

THE FLYING SCOT (aka The Mailbag Robbery/1957). Director: Compton Bennett.

Ronnie (Lee Patterson), Jackie (Kay Callard of The Unholy Four), and Phil (Alan Gifford) plan to rob a train called the Flying Scotsman which runs from Glasgow to London. The booty is many bags of bank notes that are destined to be burned. In a prologue that reminds one of the later film Gambit, the robbery goes off silently and without a hitch, the trio celebrating in South America. But that's just the run through and the way Ronnie hopes the robbery will go -- the real robbery is somewhat more difficult. Ronnie and Jackie pretend to be a couple on their honeymoon. Things are complicated by the fact that Phil has a perforated ulcer, postponing a trip to hospital to participate in the caper, and is in terrible pain. The wall between the room on the train and the compartment with the money next door has a barrier they didn't anticipate. There's a drunk who keeps hoping to get some liquor, and a cute little boy who wanders around getting into mischief ... The Flying Scot is a fast-paced, suspenseful crime drama with good performances. Lee Patterson later played a private detective on Surfside 6. Compton Bennett also directed such fine films as Daybreak and The Seventh Veil.

Verdict: Nifty little British "B." ***.

DAYBREAK

Eric Portman and Ann Todd

DAYBREAK (1948). Director: Compton Bennett.

"That's what I feel like with you. Like a river that's stopped winding and found the sea."

Eddie (Eric Portman) works in a barber shop with his friend, Ron (Bill Owen), when he discovers he's got a small inheritance, including a barge on the river. Adding to his contentment is a lovely young lady named "Frankie" (Ann Todd), who agrees to become his wife and live with him on the barge. Eddie makes extra money in an unusual occupation that he keeps from his wife, and while he's away she grows closer to an unconventionally attractive hired worker named Olaf (Maxwell Reed), which leads to a major misunderstanding and a highly dramatic resolution that ties in with Eddie's secret occupation. The movie is told as a flashback leading up to these dramatic events. Todd [So Evil, My Love], Portman and Reed give wonderful performances, the film is moody and absorbing, and there's an evocative and memorable score by Benjamin Frankel [The End of the Affair]. Bill Owen [The Comeback] is also notable as Ron.

Verdict: Unusual, compelling, and beautifully acted. ***.