MrDrakesDuck

The Magic Christian.

Particularly enjoyable when you consider rubbish like The Bobo that Sellers was appearing in around that time.

Somehow I misread Laurence Harvey on the credits as Laurence Olivier and was looking for him popping up during the whole film.

"I thought I had to shoot Germans, not chew 'em"

smudge

OH MR PORTER !

Another in Mrs. Smudge's selections of Will Hay to relax to late at night.

A classic. Enough said.

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

DB7

What Became of Jack and Jill

A somewhat distasteful Amicus tale of Paul Nicholas' attempts to bump off his dear old granny and collect her home and money, but, obviously there's a twist in the tale. One of the bizarre scenes is a dream sequence in which Nicholas, in full Nazi regalia, lines a group of OAP's up against a wall before gunning them down. It might have worked as a black-comedy but as a straight horror/thriller it doesn't.

DB7

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Thankfully Wallace and Gromit have been kept quintessentially English and there's no cameo American roosters making an appearance. Wallace as usual has been inventing, and as usual with a sense of foreboding from Gromit. What transpires is something of a spoof of '30's and '40s monster films, notably King Kong and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, all played out in a small Lancashire town. Terrific fun tho perhaps just falling short of The Wrong Trousers.

The_Late_Peter_Cook

YOUNG BESS 1953

I'm not sure how "British" this is, as this has a largely British cast but suffers from the usual MGM transatlantic blandness (and the odd American accent!)

A good cast (Simmons, Granger, Kerr, Laughton, Kay Walsh) is largely wasted (Deborah Kerr in particular has really nothing to do) and the film doesn't really go anywhere.

smudge

BALHAM - Gateway to the south (just as a filler.)

Micky Dolenz' 1980 take on the classic Muir/Norden sketch, starring a very young ROBBIE COLTRANE doing a KIND HEARTS type multiple role job.

It still makes me chortle even now, and in the bit where Coltrane is making the holes in toothbrushes I will swear that it's a Roy Kinnear homage. UNCANNILY like the man !

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

DB7

The Constant Gardener
John Le Carrre adaptation staring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. A British diplomat visits Africa with his activist wife. Whilst investigating the role of drugs companies in the Third World she is found dead and the supposed perpetrator also turns up dead days later. Fiennes is told to leave the matter in the hands of the authorities but like a man possessed he digs deeper and discovers malpractice, murder and corruption. An accomplished political thriller immersed in realism that starts slowly but gathers pace as the story develops. Maybe a tad too long at 2hrs+ and the stylish cinematography doesn't feel suited to a Le Carre work but the acting is excellent and may be worthy of an Oscar nod.

Shadwell

The Last Emperor. One of the weekend newspapers DVD giveaways - a practice which I highly approve of! I remember going to see it at the cinema so it was good to be reaquainted with it. Perhaps slightly overlong but a worthy winner of all those Oscars and for what I can gather, reasonably historically accurate as well.

Time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man...

Rob Compton

"The Lion Has Wings" (1939) which I hadn't seen before - certainly looks as though it was put together hastily (it was). The acting part is negligible, but the first part of the film, and the cutting between Gaumont-British newsreels and Nazi rallies, is very effective.

rgds
Rob

Steve Crook

Classic propaganda. The capabilities and readiness of the RAF are much exagerrated and when Merle Oberon does her moving, patriotic speech, it puts Ralph Richardson to sleep

Did you spot Bernard Miles as one of the Observer Corps?

Steve

Rob Compton

Actually, yes I did Steve - though if you blink you'd miss him - but his voice is very distinctive! He's a favourite of mine.

rgds
Rob

DB7

Something of a mixed bag this week, Noose on BBC4 (tragic that Carole Landis committed suicide soon after), Wendy Toye's On the Twelfth Day (getting in that Xmas mood early) and The Magic Toyshop.

samkydd

She was very good looking and to commit suicide is just dreadful, but at the tender age of 29, incomprehensible!

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

smudge

Last night was a British Television night :

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE, an episode of THRILLER, starring the ever dependable Freddie Jones and the sylph-like Joanna Pettet in an outfit that's back in fashion today. Some of the THRILLERs have been a little disappointing on re-visiting, but not this one.

Single episodes of LE - TWO'S COMPANY with Sinden and Stritch ; still very entertaining even now. Ep 1 of MAY TO DECEMBER, solely because of the goregeous Eve Matheson....

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

DB7

Think her career had gone into a nosedive despite obvious talent (hence coming to the UK for work) and wasn't their an acrimonios relationship breakup with Rex Harrison?