THE CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY (1940)

Dudley-Ward, Haye, Goring, Barr

THE CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY (aka The Frightened Lady/1940). Director: George King. Colorized. 

In this British version of an Edgar Wallace story, Inspector Tanner (George Merritt) investigates when the chauffeur, Studd (John Warwick), of the redoubtable Lady Lebanon (Helen Haye) is found strangled on the grounds. Suspects include the shady Dr. Amersham (Felix Aylmer of The Chalk Garden), who knew Studd in India; Architect Ferraby (Patrick Barr), who has taken a shine to Lady Lebanon's secretary, Isla (Penelope Dudley-Ward); the grounds man Tilling (an unrecognizable Torin Thatcher); and Lady Lebanon's son Willie (Marius Goring of The Barefoot Contessa), whom she wants Isla to marry. Then there's another murder ... 

Haye and Dudley-Ward

The Case of the Frightened Lady was filmed many times both theatrically and for television. West Germany came out with a version called The Indian Scarf in the sixties, which made quite a few changes to the story. The performances in this version, especially from Haye and Goring, are quite good, and there's a degree of suspense as well. The screenplay has a subtext of keeping up appearances -- and bloodlines -- at all costs, no matter how reprehensible this may be. George Blake also directed Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror.

Verdict: Edgar Wallace strikes again. ***. 

SERIOUS CHARGE

Andrew Ray, Sarah Churchill, Anthony Quayle

SERIOUS CHARGE (1959). Director: Terence Young. 

Reverend Howard Phillips (Anthony Quayle of Tarzan's Greatest Adventure) lives with his wise, feisty mother (Irene Browne) at the vicarage. Hester Peters (Sarah Churchill of Royal Wedding) is an aging spinster who is almost desperately in love with him. One of the parishioners, Mary (Leigh Madison of The Giant Behemoth), has been knocked up by juvenile delinquent Larry (Andrew Ray), who now wants nothing to do with her. Rejected by Howard, Hester has a bad reaction, especially when she sees Mary coming out of a back door of the vicarage. But just when you're thinking Howard will be accused of fathering Mary's child, the picture -- based on a play by Philip King -- pulls a neat twist: Larry accuses bachelor Howard of "interfering" with -- in other words, molesting -- him in the latter's study. Hester backs up Larry, and now Howard is subjected to a whole barrage of homophobic poison pen letters and more. But Mrs. Philips isn't going to take this lying down ... 

Quayle with Churchill

Thanks to a swift pace and some excellent performances, especially from Quayle, Serious Charge, despite some dated aspects, emerges a credible, entertaining and fairly frank British drama. The juvenile delinquents seem a little too much like the Hollywood version, and due to the casting of singer Cliff Richard, "introduced" in the movie, scenes of the kids dancing as if they were on a TV show look like very weird production numbers -- Richard even sings on more than one occasion. Fortunately, these scenes don't ruin the movie. Of all the things Larry -- played with marvelous sleaziness by Ray -- could have accused Howard of, what he chooses makes one wonder what put it into his mind in the first place. As for Howard's sexuality, this fifties film remains mum on that although Howard's mum seems convinced he only needs a good woman. Well ... This was an early film for director Young, most famous for Dr. No and Thunderball. Percy Herbert of Mysterious Island plays Larry's father. 

Verdict: Fine acting, a good script, makes this a worthwhile watch despite its flaws. ***.   

JIGSAW (1962)

JIGSAW (1962). Produced, directed, and written by Val Guest. 

A young woman (Moira Redmond) makes the mistake of telling her unseen lover that she is two months pregnant, and perhaps now would be a good time for him to break from his wife. Unfortunately, this gent has a different idea on his mind. Some time later part of the lady's corpse is found in the garage of a rented house. Detective Fellows (Jack Warner of Dear Murderer) and Detective Wilks (Ronald Lewis) are part of a team assigned to not only find out who killed the woman but who she was. Doing dogged police work (although it seems to take forever for them to bring in someone to work with an identikit) leads to mistaken identities and bum steers. Finally they discover the killer has been hiding in plain sight for quite some time. 

Jigsaw is a very absorbing British police procedural with Warner playing an amiable, highly professional detective. Lewis is also good, but he's always more interesting as a bad guy, such as in Stop Me Before I Kill! Yolande Donlan -- who was married to director Val Guest --  really makes an impression as another woman who dallies with the killer, and there's notable work from Redmond, Michael Goodliffe [The Gorgon], John Barron, John Le Mesurier [Jack the Ripper] and others. This is not another British copy of Psycho and focuses much more on the solving of the crime than it does on the crime itself. Guest also directed The Day the Earth Caught Fire. 

Verdict: Suspenseful British mystery. ***.  

THE LONG HAUL

Diana Dors and Victor Mature

THE LONG HAUL (1957). Director/co-screenplay: Ken Hughes. Colorized. 

American ex-GI Harry Miller (Victor Mature) lives in England with his wife, Connie (Gene Anderson) and little boy, Butch (Michael Wade). Desperate to find work he comes afoul of crooked trucker, Joe Easy (Patrick Allen of Night Creatures) and Easy's "easy" girlfriend, Lynn (Diana Dors), who transfers her affections to Harry after Joe is brutal with her. Naturally this doesn't sit well with either Connie or Joe. Still Joe, Harry and Lynn wind up driving a truck full of stolen furs to the river for an illicit rendezvous. They've been told they must get on the ship and sail to America with the furs to avoid prosecution, but Harry may not be able to leave his wife and child behind no matter what ...

Patrick Allen with Mature

The Long Haul is a very good example of British film noir with all of the usual elements. Of course these elements -- desperate man pulled into crime, a tug of war between wife and mistress, sexy femme fatale with redeemable features -- are all quite familiar to the viewer, but they are all blended together quite well and bolstered by some fine acting. In the right role, as this is, Mature can certainly deliver and his portrait of this weak, confused man is right on target. Dors proves that she isn't just big breasts and blond hair. Patrick Allen is also terrific as the slimy Joe, calculating the odds until the last. Liam Redmond and Peter Reynolds are also notable as two ill-fated gentlemen, Casey and Lynn's brother, Frank. Trevor Duncan has crafted an exciting score as well. Reynolds and Dors both appeared in Man Bait. Ken Hughes also wrote and directed Heatwave. 

Verdict: Absorbing, well-acted British crime thriller. ***. 

BLIND CORNER

Alexander Davion and Barbara Shelley

BLIND CORNER (aka Man in the Dark/1964). Director: Lance Comfort.  

Although he's been totally blind for a number of years, Paul (William Sylvester of The Unholy Four) has a successful career as a composer of popular songs and commercial jingles; he also hopes to complete a concerto. His wife, Anne (Barbara Shelley of The Gorgon), a former actress who wanted security, has grown tired of looking after Paul and leaves that to his secretary, Joan (Elizabeth Shepherd of Damian: Omen 2), who happens to be in love with him. Anne has taken up with a starving artist named Ricky (Alexander Davion of Paranoiac), who has no problems sleeping with Paul's wife, but draws the line at murder. Or does he? Anne needs money which she can get from her late husband's estate, but if Ricky won't help her ... Then Paul's manager, Mike (Mark Eden), whom Anne can't stand, tells Paul that her saw her having a romantic dinner with Ricky. 

Triangle: Shelley, Davion, Sylvester

Blind Corner is a minor but absorbing British suspense story that is well-acted by all, although it could be argued that lead Sylvester seems a little too in control when his world is falling apart; still he is good, and the picture works well even if it might come off like a television episode. There's an effective climax and a very good twist that took me by surprise. Singer Ronnie Carroll plays himself and gets to warble a couple of tunes. Neither Shelley nor Davion are photographed that flatteringly, although both are certainly attractive individuals. 

Verdict: Worthwhile British suspenser with good performances. ***. 

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948)

Denis Goacher and Siobhan McKenna

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948). Director: Lance Comfort. 

Emily (Siobhan McKenna) is a servant girl in a small-town parish in Ireland. When the ladies of the church object to how the men seem drawn to Emmie, they importune the priest to send her away. She winds up on an English farm run by the Tallent family: Julie (Honor Blackman) and her boyfriend Saul (Denis Goacher); Julie's sister, Bess (Anne Crawford of They Were Sisters) and her husband Bob (Barry Morse of Asylum); and their brother, Larry (Grant Tyler), among others. Julie remains friendly with Emily even after Saul makes a pass at her, but Bess simply can't warm up to the young woman. Things take a sinister turn when a man named Dan (Maxwell Reed of Daybreak), whom Emmie met at a fair in Ireland, turns up murdered ... 

Barry Morse and Anne Crawford

An unusual aspect of this unusual suspense film is the casting of Siobhan McKenna as the "femme fatale," Hardly possessed of great beauty -- in some shots she is positively homely -- her performance is so good that you sort of forget how she looks and appreciate the fact that some women can cast a spell over certain men even without possessing enormous pulchritude. If this had been remade for American audiences, it not only would have been more lurid and explicit, but Emily would have been played by a much sexier female. In any case, McKenna's innocent appearance works to the film's advantage.

David Greene and Siobhan McKenna

Daughter of Darkness never spells out exactly how various men are killed, adding to the film's obtuseness. The notion that she only kills men who try and have their way with her is jettisoned when one innocent youth is also found dead. Does Emily entice men and then react negatively when they give in to her enticement? Is she an evil, even sociopathic creature? We learn so little of her background -- and indeed all of the characters could have used more development -- that it's hard to figure out. In any case the film is moody and absorbing, and well-acted by all, making this a worthwhile watch despite its flaws. Others in the cast include David Greene as a man who disappears after meeting with Emily; Liam Redmond as the priest; and George Thorpe as the head of the Tallent family. Adding to the dark atmosphere is a dog, its owner dead, who wanders about howling and growling, and the bit with the church organ playing mysteriously in the middle of the night. Lance Comfort also directed Hatter's Castle. 

Verdict: Strange but compelling. ***.   

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

Maggie Smith as Mrs. Venable

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (1993  telefilm). Aired on Performance in the UK and Great Performances in the U.S. Director: Richard Eyre. The original text of the one-act play by Tennessee Williams. 

Violet Venable (Maggie Smith), a very wealthy New Orleans widow, asks to see a well-known neurosurgeon named Dr. Cukrowicz (Rob Lowe) or Dr. Sugar (the translation) in regards to her niece by marriage, Catherine Holly (Natasha Richardson). In exchange for a large grant, Violet hopes that Dr. Sugar will perform a lobotomy on whom she feels is the thoroughly crazy Catherine, who has been telling equally crazy stories about the death of her dear son, Sebastian in the Spanish village of Cabeza del Lobo (wolf's head). These stories also sully the moral character of the dear departed. Meanwhile Catherine's mother (Moira Redmond of Doctor in Love) and brother, George (Richard E. Grant of Can You Ever Forgive Me?) fear that Catherine's story will prevent them from getting $50,000 each in Sebastian's will. 

Mrs. Venable confronts her relatives

With no credited screenwriter I believe this simply uses Tennessee Williams' original text, and has the same combination of grotesqueness and poetry in its story of a highly dysfunctional family, to say the least. As I've already discussed the homoerotic aspects in my review of the 1959 film version, I will concentrate on the acting in this telefilm. Maggie Smith, a better actress than Katharine Hepburn, manages to get across the pain of her son's death and other vulnerable aspects of her character underneath the harsh and desperate exterior, something Hepburn fails to do. Rob Loew offers a professional and sensitive portrait of the doctor. Natasha Richardson is clearly a more gifted actress than Elizabeth Taylor, although she plays the role quite differently, without Taylor's almost hysterical urgency but with a more shattered resignation. The other cast members all acquit themselves quite nicely, but one has to wonder if this production was worth the time and effort when one considers the play itself. Smith, however, is alone worth the price of admission. 

Verdict: Decent, very well-acted version of a dated and half-baked play with some fascinating aspects. **1/2. 

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! **. 

FANNY BY GASLIGHT

Stewart Granger and Phyllis Calvert

FANNY BY GASLIGHT (aka Man of Evil/1944). Director: Anthony Asquith. 

In 19th century London young Fanny (Phyllis Calvert of Madonna of the Seven Moons) is unaware that her father, Hopwood (John Laurie), isn't her real father, and that he owns the brothel next door. When he is killed by a disgruntled patron, Lord Manderstroke (James Mason), the truth comes out and Fanny and her mother are ostracized. Fanny eventually reunites with her biological father, a cabinet minister named Clive Seymour (Stuart Lindsell) whose marriage to Fanny's mother was annulled by the family. After another tragedy, Fanny draws close to her father's business partner, Harry Somerford (Stewart Granger), but his hateful sister Kate (Cathleen Nesbitt) may destroy their plans for a union. Then there is Lord Manderstroke, who keeps popping up in Fanny's life when she least expects it ...

Margaretta Scott and James Mason

Fanny By Gaslight, is a good, old-fashioned, British "will our Fanny ever find happiness" rags to riches tale that is absorbing, entertaining, and very well-played. In addition to the actors already named, there is also good work from Margaretta Scott [Crescendo] as Seymour's unfaithful wife, Alicia, and Amy Veness as Mrs. Heaviside, the loving servant and former nanny to Clive, among others. If the convoluted plot weren't enough, there are also hookers doing the can can, a ballet sequence, and a duel with pistols outside Paris. Although sinister Mason doesn't have that much screen time, he nearly steals the show. Anthony Asquith also directed The Browning Version and many others. 

Verdict: Solid cast in an engaging melodrama. ***. 

MADELEINE

Did she or didn't she? Ann Todd as Madeleine

MADELEINE (1950). Director: David Lean. 

Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd of So Evil My Love) of Glascow is being courted by one William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), a perfectly pleasant if unexciting man whom her father (Leslie Banks) heartily approves of. Mr. Smith can't understand why his oldest daughter keeps putting Minnoch off, but he doesn't know that she has been keeping secret rendezvous with a sexy French shipping clerk named Emile (Ivan Desny), something that would cause a scandal in the Victorian era. Madeleine can't bring herself to tell her father the truth, so she decides to run away with Emile, but he is dismayed at the thought that they would have to live on his comparatively meagre income. When Madeleine gets engaged to Minnoch, Emile threatens to tell her father, ruining her chances for a successful union with the other man. But has Madeleine cooked up a scheme to make absolutely certain that Emile cannot interfere?

Ivan Desny as Emile

Madeleine is based on the famous Madeleine Smith murder case. Todd, who was married to David Lean at the time, had played the role on the stage and importuned her husband to direct her in a film also based on the case (but not on the play). She is quite good in the film, matched by Ivan Desney of Lola Montes and Anastasia -- who never quite reveals if Emile is a complete mountebank or just a man who genuinely loves Madeleine but also simply wishes a better life. In fact, the one major problem with the film is that the characters are not as dimensional as one might like. Wooland and Banks [The Most Dangerous Game] prove good support for Todd, and Andre Morrell offers his customary sharp performance as her lawyer. The same case also inspired the Joan Crawford film Letty Lynton. 

Verdict: Absorbing true crime story with some fine performances. ***. 

SPIN A DARK WEB

Sister and brother: Domergue and Benson 

SPIN A DARK WEB (1956). Director: Vernon Sewell. 

Jim Bankley (Lee Patterson) hopes to get a start in the fight game, but is willing to take anything. His friend, Buddy (Robert Arden), arranges for Jim to meet his boss, Rico Francesi (Martin Benson), but he particularly ignites the interest of Rico's sexy sister, Bella (Faith Domergue of Where Danger Lives). One of Rico's flunkies, McLeod (Bernard Fox), is told to pay a relatively benign call on a boxer, Bill (Peter Hammond), who refused to take a dive, but violence ensues, and Bill is killed. Jim is also involved with Bill's sister, Betty (Rona Anderson), who is appalled that he is now working for Rico. Things begin spiraling downward from there, with Jim regretting that he ever got involved with this mob, and Bella determined to hold on to him -- at any cost. 

Lee Patterson and Rona Anderson 

Spin a Dark Web is the kind of British thriller I would normally review on my brother blog B Movie Nightmare, but this picture is a little bit different. The main difference is a highly interesting cast. Lee Patterson was a Canadian actor who had quite a list of credits in British "B"s before landing a gig in the American private eye show Surfside Six and doing US TV work and soap operas thereafter. He gives a solid performance in this as a man a bit on the shady side who still has some principles. Faith Domergue [Dah-mure], a Howard Hughes discovery (and more) in her teens, became a cult figure due to appearances in such films as It Came from Beneath the Sea and This Island Earth. She gives a good performance in this although one might have wished she came on a lot stronger in certain sequences, but Joan Crawford she wasn't. Martin Benson was in everything from The Cosmic Monsters to Gorgo to Goldfinger and always fit the bill. Robert Arden was the leading man in Orson Welle's Mr Arkadin/Confidential Agent, and he scores in this supporting part as well. Pleasant and pretty, Rona Anderson appeared in numerous UK movies. 

Spin a Dark Web has a good (if familiar) story and is generally well-paced, although with better and tighter editing and more use of close-ups the climax could have been a real nail-biter. Domergue and Patterson play well together.

Verdict: Domergue is not so "dah mure" in this! ***.

WOMAN HATER

Stewart Granger

WOMAN HATER (1948). Director: Terence Young. 

Lord Terence Datchett (Stewart Granger of Footsteps in the Fog) is a confirmed, rather misogynous bachelor who at the opening helps a friend run away from his own wedding. When Terence learns that French film star Colette Marley (Edwige Feuillere) is bored with men and only wants to be "left alone" to write her memoirs, he offers her his estate, but pretends he is not Lord Datchett but only the estate agent. When Colette learns that the deceptive Terence plans to prove that she is definitely not bored with men, she decides to turn the tables on him. Bolstering one conspiracy after another are butler Jameson (Ronald Squire), Colette's maid. Clair (Jeanne De Casalis), the stableman, and Terence's lovely mother, Lady Datchett (Mary Jerrold). 

Woman Hater is a British version of a battle of the sexes (but hardly screwball) comedy that falls flat due to a lack of real laughs and occasional slapstick that backfires. Granger is adequate as Terence, although he lacks that certain skill at comedy a la Cary Grant. Edwige Feuillere was a well-known and celebrated French film and stage actress who tried her hand at an English-language film but soon went back to France. She is more than credible if not that amusing in a part that Claudette Colbert could have walked away with. The supporting cast, including Miles Malleson [The Thief of Bagdad] as the Vicar and Peter Bull [Dr. Strangelove] as Mr. Fletcher, are perfect, however. 

Verdict: Very, very predictable and not at all funny. **. 

LOOPHOLE

Albert Finney and Martin Sheen

LOOPHOLE (1981). Director: John Quested.                                                  

Stephen Booker (Martin Sheen), an American architect living in England with his wife (Susannah York) and children, discovers that a certain deal didn't go through and he has lost his job. He also discovers that potential employers find him over-qualified, and there are no openings anywhere. Meanwhile, his and his wife's debts are mounting, the kids are in expensive private schools, bank loans are being called in, and things look pretty dire. Mike Daniels (Albert Finney) does offer Booker a job doing work on a building that he owns, but it turns out that Daniels doesn't really own the building and the job actually has nothing to do with floor extensions and everything to do with robbing the safety deposit vault in a bank. Booker can use his expertise to get the men through the rat-infested sewers below the bank and up to where the booty waits. At first Booker is appalled by Daniel's proposal, but as his debts mount up he decides to join in ... 

Robert Morley

Loophole is one of those caper films in which the robbers seem like friendly, nice guys who would never think of shooting anyone or betraying one another, and even Booker -- who was pulled into this scheme in a very duplicitous way and should be furious -- seems to be enjoying their company. The possibility that Booker may have planned or even achieved revenge on all of them is only intimated, and many viewers felt cheated by the somewhat abrupt and ambiguous and even illogical ending. A climax in which the tunnels are flooded as the thieves try to escape is well-handled, but it's hard to believe there would be such raging torrents in the sewers after such a short period of heavy rain. The film holds the attention but the characters are not developed that well. The very American Sheen and very British Finney actually work together very well, and although her part is small Susannah York has some good moments as Mrs. Booker. Robert Morley has only two brief scenes as Booker's anxious banker, but his presence is always welcome. Jonathan Pryce also scores as one of the robbers. 

Verdict: Rats, sewers and floods are always fun. **1/2. 

NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee

NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT (1973). Director: Peter Sasdy.                                                            

A number of trustees of the Van Traylen Orphanage on the island of Bela are dying in suspicious accidents. Then a bus crash puts one of the orphans, Mary Valley (Gwyneth Strong), in the hospital, where she is ministered to by Dr. Haynes (Keith Barron) and a reporter named Joan (Georgia Brown), both of whom have to contend with the girl's abusive and crazy mother, Anna (Diana Dors). Eventually Colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) of the police and Sir Mark Ashley (Peter Cushing), a concerned doctor, head for Bela to find out exactly what is going on in the orphanage and check up on Mary. But the homicidal Anna is heading there as well, yet Mrs. Allison (Shelagh Fraser) and the other staff take it, strangely, in stride and even refuse special police guards. Bingham and Ashley discover that what's going on in the orphanage is even more horrible than they suspect ... 

Georgia Brown and Peter Cushing

With its two special stars, an adept supporting cast (especially Valley, Brown and Dors), an interesting premise, not to mention a skilled director in Peter Sasdy, Nothing But the Night -- which is not a Hammer production, unfortunately -- should be much better than it is. Unfortunately, the movie is lethargic -- there is no tension or suspense and you find yourself merely watching to see what happens instead of getting caught up in the events. There is a fairly exciting climax when all is revealed, but by then it's too late. Too bad. Georgia Brown, who is very good in this, first made her mark playing Nancy in the musical Oliver in both London and New York, but she wasn't in the film adaptation. Cushing and Lee were frequently teamed together, such as in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Curse of Frankenstein, and The Skull, among several others.

Verdict: An interesting failure. **. 

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

Highly punchable: David Niven

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (aka Happy Ever After/1954). Director: Mario Zampi.

"We could be very happy in an unhappy sort of way." -- Jasper.

Aged General O'Leary of Rathbonie Ireland is determined to make a dangerous jump on his horse as he does every year, but this time he has an accident and eventually dies. His estate goes to relative Jasper O'Leary (David Niven of Death on the Nile), who sets the entire town against himself by refusing  to honor his uncle's death bed bequests and the old man's forgiving of certain debts. Meanwhile the recently widowed Serena (Yvonne De Carlo), who had hoped to snare handsome former fiance Dr. Michael Flynn (Robert Urquhart of The Curse of Frankenstein) against her sister Kathy's (Noelle Middleton) wishes, deides that it might be better to set her cap for the obviously interested new Squire, Jasper. But now all of Jasper's many enemies decide the only thing to do is to assassinate Jasper ...

Barry Fitzgerald and David Niven

Black comedies can work --witness the wonderful The Wrong Box -- but Tonight's the Night is an appalling concoction and only has three solid laughs throughout its ninety minutes running time. For one thing the two lead characters, the  heartless priss Jasper and the gold-digging Serena, are too loathsome to be amusing. Character flaws can make people funny, but these two, Jasper in particular, are utterly worthless individuals. One feels sympathy for the wronged townspeople -- Jasper wants to evict one elderly man out of the home he's lived in for decades -- until they start indulging in IRA tactics including bombs and the like. One plan to kill Jasper has to do with tying a rope across the road in the hopes that Jasper will be beheaded when he drives by in his motorcar! Such lovely people!

Robert Urquhart and Yvonne De Carlo

Much of the second half of the film is taken up with the town folks' bumbling attempts at murder, which makes them resemble especially malevolent variations on the Bowery Boys but with even less laughs. Niven, although playing someone whose face you want to punch almost from the first, gives a good performance (nobody could be more obnoxious than Niven when playing a detestable prig); De Carlo is snappy and has an okay Irish brogue; the supporting cast does its best; and Barry Fitzgerald nearly steals the picture -- not that he would necessarily want it -- in his portrayal of Thady, the tippling butler. Niven and De Carlo don't have that much chemistry, and the characters of Kathy and the doctor are never sufficiently developed. A highlight of the film is when a talented Irish tenor sings the lovely ballad "My Heart is Irish." Mario Zampi also directed The Naked Truth, another dark comedy that was much, much better than this..

Verdict: Essentially unfunny and atrocious but for Fitzgerald and the tenor. *1/2. 

THE CHARMER Revisited

Nigel Havers

THE CHARMER (6 part mini-series/1987. Director: Alan Gibson.

"Why did you do it -- any of it?" -- Clarice 
"Because I wanted to be like you." -- Ralph
"But my God, I'm bloody awful." -- Clarice

The time is England in the 1930's just before WW 2. Ralph Gorse (Nigel Havers) is a charming, attractive young man who only wants what others have by birthright, and he's willing to resort to rather anti-social methods to achieve his goals. Staying in a friend's house in a small village, he becomes acquainted with the middle-aged Donald Stimpson (Barnard Hepton) and the widow Joan Plumleigh-Bruce (Rosemary Leach). Donald and Joan have an "understanding" which may or may not result in marriage. But when Ralph enters the scene, Joan realizes how conventional and comparatively dull the solid Donald is.

Rosemary Leach and Nigel Havers

Donald is suspicious -- and jealous -- of Ralph right from the start. To Rosemary, Ralph represents romance, passion and excitement, and she all too eagerly becomes his business "partner." After sex, Joan enthuses "I feel alive again!" Therefore when Ralph disappears with her money she is inclined to be gullible and forgiving whereas Donald is strictly out for blood. Ralph winds up selling cars for the father (George Baker of Curse of the Fly) of an old girlfriend, Pamela (Abigail McKern), and is soon trapped in a loveless marriage, a situation that our boy will not let stand for very long. In the final episodes of the series, Ralph impersonates a soldier, romances a lonely war widow (Judy Parfitt), and is still pursued by Donald and an ever-smitten Joan. All the while he carries on a torrid romance with the upper-crust Clarice (Fiona Fullerton), who can't marry him because he has no money of his own.

Loves not wisely but well: Rosemary Leach

The Chamer was based on a novel entitled "Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse" by Patrick Hamilton, also known for Rope, Gaslight, and Hangover Square. This mini-series, which I believe may have been broadcast on Masterpiece Theater, takes some liberties with the source material but is essentially faithful, if memory serves me, to the spirit of the novel. In the book Joan only appears in the early chapters but she is all through the mini-series, which -- considering how likable the character is and how excellent Rosemary Leach's performance -- is all for the better. Bernard Hepton is similarly marvelous as Donald. The series is full of fine character portrayals, as well as exemplary work by Fullerton, McKern, Baker, Parfitt, Gillian Raine as Pamela's mother, and others.

Bernard Hepton

And then there's Nigel Havers, who is simply outstanding. Ralph is not a person one should feel sympathy for, but Havers' emoting draws you into his world and psychology and almost makes you root for him. Havers is a busy British actor who appeared in Chariots of Fire and many other vehicles. Rosemary Leach was a similarly busy character actress, amassing over 130 credits, Bernard Hepton, who also mostly appeared on British television, had nearly as many. Fiona Fullerton was previously a Bond girl in A View to a Kill. The  Chamer beautifully illustrates how con artists give themselves enough rope to hang themselves, and also explores why people can be so forgiving of them -- because for a little while they bring some excitement and romance into their lives -- at least until the boom drops.

Verdict: Superb British mini-series with top-of-he-line performances. ****. 

A WEEKEND WITH LULU

Leslie Phillips

A WEEKEND WITH LULU (1961). Director: John Paddy Carstairs.

Timothy (Leslie Phillips of Doctor in Love) wants to go on Holiday with his fiancee, Deirdre (Shirley Eaton of Goldfinger). To that end his buddy Fred (Bob Monkhouse) lends him a caravan -- or trailer -- that he borrowed from someone else. They hitch the trailer -- which is called "Lulu" -- to an ice cream van, and all seems set until Tim discovers that Deirdre's rather horrid mother, Flo (Irene Handl), is going along with them, along with Fred. As they sleep the trailer somehow winds up being put on board a train as "freight" and they wind up over the border and in France. In a foreign country and not certain how to get back before the weekend is up, the foursome have various misadventures involving everything from the Tour de France to an amorous French count named de Grenoble (Alfred Marks) before finding their way back.

Eaton, Phillips, Monkhouse and Handl

You want to like the amiable Weekend because the players are more or less likable and there are some amusing situations in the movie, but aside from one solid laugh the movie never really erupts into hilarity. The script seems written on the go, throwing in sequences as the crew and our characters drive around the French countryside hoping to find chuckles. Phillips is fine as the genial Timothy, and Eaton is attractive and more-than-competent as his somewhat out-of-his-league fiancee. Monkhouse, a very popular British comedian, is fine as the more larcenous of the two men, although his schemes often backfire. Handl makes the most of her role as the mother, although through most of the movie she's too unpleasant to really take to. John Paddy Carstairs also directed Made in Heaven.

Verdict: For a classic British comedy watch The Belles of St. Trinian's instead. **. 

THE IDOL

Michael Parks as The Idol

THE IDOL (1966). Director: Daniel Petrie.

"To be idolized, a man must offer the unusual." -- ad copy.

Marco (Michael Parks) is an American studying art in London. He has a sort of girlfriend in Sarah (Jennifer Hilary) and a kind of best buddy in Timothy (John Leyton), and the three pal around a lot together. Marco is less impressed when he meets Timothy's mother, Carol (Jennifer Jones), also an American, who is divorcing her husband and about to remarry. Carol also seems to be slightly overbearing with Timothy. Marco seems to have a problem with parents and authority in general. When Marco is embarrassed by Carol at a house-warming party, he is furious, but Carol warms up to Marco when he comes to her son's rescue after two slobs try to beat him up. One New Year's Eve Marco goes to Carol's home to find Timothy, but he has already gone to a party with Sarah. At midnight Marco gives Carol a kiss and one thing leads to another -- with highly unfortunate repercussions ...

Jennifer Jones

There were many great British films made in the 1960's, but The Idol isn't one of them. Its screenplay is half-baked and its characters poorly developed   -- especially Marco, who has little reason for doing anything he does except that he's an asshole -- and the overlong film is also tedious. Made by an American studio, The Idol would still have been a poor movie, but at least it might have been more entertaining with the right trashy cast. Parks is better in this film than he is in Bus Riley's Back in Town, but Laurence Olivier might have had trouble with this character. Jennifer Jones has the good sense to look embarrassed through most of the movie, and her performance is one of her weakest. John Leyton, although he's way too old to convincingly play someone who's just nineteen, probably comes off best. Jennifer Hilary is adequate but she lacks the raw sex appeal of, say, an Ann-Margret -- or a Michael Parks -- so her love scenes with Parks aren't very exciting.

Parks, Leyton and Hilary

Some viewers claim that Carol has incestuous feelings for her son and/or vice versa, but if this was intended, it is not handled very well. Timothy seems to have a crush on Sarah, whom he pursues when he thinks Marco has broken off his relationship with her, but it may be just as likely that Marco is the true object of his sensual attentions. In the long run, none of this makes a difference, because it's impossible to care about any of these characters. One member of the large supporting cast who deserves kudos, however, is Rita Webb as the landlady at Marco's nifty apartment who repeatedly remarks about her tenants that "they're all a bit mental." One wonders what she would think of this motley crew?

Verdict: Lame attempts at pseudo-profundity don't help and neither does an ad campaign that promises more than it delivers. **.

SUBWAY IN THE SKY

Hildegard Knef and Van Johnson

SUBWAY IN THE SKY (1959). Director: Muriel Box.

Baxter Grant (Van Johnson of The Bottom of the Bottle) is a military doctor stationed in Germany. He has been accused of stealing drugs and even murdering a colleague who might have testified against him. Stupidly going on the lam, he arrives at his estranged wife's apartment only to find that she has sub-let it to a singer named Lilli (Hildegard Knef of Diplomatic Courier and Fedora). There is an instant chemistry between these two, and Lilli decides to trust Baxter and help him while he tries to find his wife, Anna (Katherine Kath). At the same time a military policeman named Captain Carson (Cec Linder) tries to find Baxter, interrogating Lilli as to the fugitive's whereabouts every chance he gets.

Neff and Cec Linder

Subway in the Sky makes a mistake in starting the story in the middle, leaving out the scenes wherein Grant is accused and never introducing the viewer to the man he allegedly murders. Knef and Johnson give good performances, although there is a scene late in the picture -- after the horrible death of one character -- that he and Cec Linder as the cop are surprisingly unemotional considering what has just happened. Knef sings a song in the nightclub where she works, and her voice is pretty awful. Two other characters include Carl (Albert Lieven of Beware of Pity), a lawyer who is in love with Lilli and has a chance with her until she meets Baxter; and Stefan (Vivian Matalon), Baxter's stepson. One interesting sequence makes no bones about the fact that Lilli and Baxter have just had sex.

Verdict: Good story that needed more dramatic treatment and perhaps different actors. **3/4. 

NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957)

NIGHT OF THE DEMON (aka Curse of the Demon/1957). Director: Jacques Tourneur. Screenplay by Charles Bennett and Hal Chester. Based on "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James.

Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham), who has challenged the abilities and veracity of a warlock named Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), finds himself under a deadly curse, and is found dead and mutilated the following morning. Another skeptic, psychologist John Holden (Dana Andrews), arrives in London and hooks up with Harrington's beautiful niece, Joanna (Peggy Cummins), who is convinced that her uncle's death was not a grotesque accident. Holden is a complete non-believer, but he admits he is baffled by some of the things that have happened since he has encountered Karswell, whose supernatural claims he has come to investigate. Holden discovers that Karswell has secretly passed him a parchment covered in runic symbols which mark Holden as the next victim of a legendary demon. Although Holden scoffs at first, Joanna's near-hysteria and certain occurrences make him wonder if he really has something to fear ...

Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins

Night of the Demon was released in the U.S. under the title Curse of the Demon with fifteen minutes cut from the running time. It is a superior horror film, with very good performances, a wonderfully creepy atmosphere, adroit direction from Tourneur, and sequences that stay in the memory. Clifton Parker's music adds just the right note, and Edward Scaife's [Tarzan's Three Challenges] cinematography is first-rate. At the time of the film's release and later, there were some who objected to the producers' insistence on including a demon during key sequences, suggesting that this ruined the ambiguity of the film -- is the supernatural real or is everyone over-reacting? -- but there are other sequences in the film (footprints suddenly appearing in the ground where no one is walking; a cat that turns into a much larger feline creature; those hands on the banister) that make it clear that the supernatural events are actually occurring. Besides, the monster looks great. Andrews' panicky run through the midnight woods with something after him is chilling, and despite the film's essential grimness, there is an amusing seance that features comic actor Reginald Beckwith, with Athene Seyler  [I Thank a Fool] as Karswell's conflicted mother. Brian Wilde makes an impression as the haunted prisoner, Rand Hobart, a member of Karswell's sect who has been driven insane. Tourneur also directed I Walked with a Zombie, among many others, but this is by far the better film.

Verdict: A highly effective, engrossing, well-made and scary horror film without a single severed limb and with a fine script by Charles Bennett and Hal Chester. ***1/2.