NEW DVD releases in the BEST OF BRITISH series

[julian_craster]

Some excellent forthcoming R2 DVD releases in the BEST OF BRITISH series from Odeon Entertainment .......

Four in the Morning [1965]
Amazon.co.uk: Four in the Morning: Ann Lynn and Judy Dench,Anthony Simmons: DVD
Is this the first cert 'X' film (over 16s in 1965) to be re-classified as 'U' for DVD release ?
What a ridiculous decision !
- there is nothing in this film [including a gay sub-text (Rodway/Melia), and graphic scenes in a mortuary] that would be of the slightest interest to children...but a wonderful early film role for Dame Judi Dench.

Writer-director Anthony Simmons shows two couples in crisis, tying them in with a gimmick, which works. There's an
unidentified girl found in a river. Simmons gives the scene of the discovery and study of the drowned girl a metallic, sombre
documentary flavor. A seemingly rootless young man picks up a singer he knows after her work. At four in the morning they
romp around the Thames' shores, steal a boat, leave it, almost touch each other emotionally but part still uncommitted. Hints
of the instability of both are carefully and intelligently suggested. The other couple is shown as a woman waiting for her
husband, out on the town with a bachelor crony. The baby cries and exasperates her. The growing incompatibility of the couple
is deftly outlined in bold, dramatic strokes. Judi Dench has the right checked hysteria for her role of the wife with a
disposition towards love that makes her poignant. Ann Lynn and Brian Phelan are also effective as the other couple with Joe
Melia a pointed counterpoint to the married couple with his personal problems.

Tread Softly Stranger [1958]
Amazon.co.uk: Tread Softly Stranger [1958]: Diana Dors,George Baker,Gordon Parry: DVD
Crime drama with Diana Dors and George Baker. Set in the North of England this atmospheric crime thriller stars Diana Dors as
the sexy vamp Calico, who is the girlfriend of Dave (Terence Morgan). When Dave s better looking brother Johnny (George
Baker) arrives from London to escape his gambling debts, the heat soon rises when Johnny and Calico are attracted to each
other. She persuades the brothers to rob the wages safe where Dave works, but as they break in, a night watchman discovers
them...


They Made Me A Fugitive [1948]
Amazon.co.uk: They Made Me A Fugitive: Trevor Howard,Alberto Cavalcanti: DVD
A superb gritty film noir in which a bored and cynical ex-RAF flyer Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard) joins a criminal gang led by
Narcy (Griffith Jones). On his first job, the getaway car crashes after killing a policeman and Morgan is knocked unconscious
and framed as the driver. He is sent to jail but escapes and heads to London seeking revenge on the gang. In the midst of a
massive police hunt he is sheltered by Sally (Sally Gray) who is an associate of Narcy. As the police close in, Morgan must
prove his innocence as he confronts the gang in an abandoned warehouse.


Time Without Pity [1957]
Amazon.co.uk: Time Without Pity [1957]: Michael Redgrave and Leo McKern,Joseph Losey: DVD
In TIME WITHOUT PITY, director Joseph Losey delivers yet another multi-layered, atmospheric thriller. The film follows an
alcoholic father (Michael Redgrave) who struggles to save his innocent son from the gallows, even as a cruel rival (Leo
McKern) continues to keep him on the defensive. This was Losey's first film under his own name after his McCarthy-era
blacklisting, and it retains the director's striking blend of drama and social commentary. Photographed by the legendary
Freddie Francis (ELEPHANT MAN, THE STRAIGHT STORY).


The Scamp [1957]
Amazon.co.uk: The Scamp [1957]: Richard Attinborough and Dorothy Allison,Rolf Willa: DVD
Stephen Leigh (Richard Attenborough) befriends a rebel child, Tod (Colin Petersen) who is accused of shoplifting. When
Stephen discovers that Tod is living a nomadic, un-schooled existence with his father, he is keen for Tod to start going to
school he teaches at and enjoy a normal upbringing. After Tod s father announces that he is leaving to work in America,
Stephen offers to look after the boy whilst his father is away. As Stephen and his wife Barbara (Dorothy Alison) are unable
to have children, the arrival of Tod is a welcome blessing. But when the young tearaway struggles to adapt to respectable
family life, they begin to question their decision. Tod and Stephen s shared love for music, however, helps build a bond, and
family life becomes happy once again...until Tod s father returns with a new wife and demands his son back.


Strictly Confidential [1959]
Amazon.co.uk: Strictly Confidential [1959]: Richard Murdoch and William Kendall,Charles Saunders: DVD
Strictly Confidential is a comedy romp in which two conmen are released from prison and decide to ply their old trade by
resuming their military disguises. Commander Bissham-Riley (Richard Murdoch) and Major Rory McQuarry (William Kendall) bump
into each other when they play the same confidence trick in a restaurant. After being thrown out by the enraged proprietor,
the two comic heels have a chance meeting with a beautiful young widow, Maxine Millard (Maya Koumani). Millard is the
chairman of Grannies Globules Ltd, which manufactures The Perfect Pills for Stomach Ills! Maxine asks the two incompetent
buffoons to be joint Managing Directors of her company, but there is an ulterior motive behind her choice. When the Commander
and Major take over the running of the company they come up against the plant s manager, Mr Grimshaw (William Hartnell). As
the comedy duo inane schemes bring the family firm to near collapse, Mr Grimshaw has to pick up the pieces, and in the midst
of all this chaos, Inspector Shearing (Bruce Seton) is keen to see if the two conmen are up to their old tricks again!

[Everett Sloane]

Thanks for that, Julian - an excellent line-up. Can't wait to see Four in the Morning again (for the first time in about twenty years).

[batman]

They Made Me A Fugitive .... this is the one I have been waiting for. Apart from Blackout of course.

[smudge]

FOUR IN THE MORNING is a cracking film - it'll be so nice to get a decent copy at last...

Smudge

[wideboy]

Thanks Julian - by coincidence I was about to start a post to see if anyone had Four in the Morning, having read Judi Dench's interview in this week's Radio Times.

She says that it was shot in Deodar Road, Putney, where I lived many years later - looking forward to seeing it in the 60s!

[julian_craster]

Judi Dench won a BAFTA award as 'Best Newcomer' for her role in the film FOUR IN THE MORNING.....

[Joe Fraguela]

Odeon Entertainment's Best of British series is the best thing to happen in a very long time. It's about time the lesser known british films from the 40's, 50's and 60's were released. Largely ignored by the TV companies and Sky Channels they are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

3 Cheers for Odeon Entertainment!

[batman]

Originally Posted by Joe Fraguela Odeon Entertainment's Best of British series is the best thing to happen in a very long time. It's about time the lesser known british films from the 40's, 50's and 60's were released. Largely ignored by the TV companies and Sky Channels they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. 3 Cheers for Odeon Entertainment!

Well said Joe.

[dpgmel]

Originally Posted by Joe Fraguela Odeon Entertainment's Best of British series is the best thing to happen in a very long time. It's about time the lesser known british films from the 40's, 50's and 60's were released. Largely ignored by the TV companies and Sky Channels they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. 3 Cheers for Odeon Entertainment!

Third that !

Really looking forward to this lot, especially Time Without Pity