76% (2) Genevieve 86 min, Approved, [Comedy] [Henry Cornelius] [15 Feb 1954]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 80%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors: Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Kenneth More
Writer: William Rose (story and screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: UK
Plot: It's time for the annual London to Brighton antique car rally, and Alan McKim and Ambrose Claverhouse are not going to let their friendship stop them from trying to humiliate each other. Along the way, some old jealousies are kindled to the point where the two men decide to have a "friendly" wager on who will be the first back to London. Once the competitive juices get all fired up, however, it quickly becomes a nasty, hotly-contested affair. Ambrose's companion must suffer through her "maiden voyage" on the rally, while Mrs. McKim, on the other hand, is a long-time sufferer of her husband's obsession.
Rotten Tomatoes: The plot of the thoroughly captivating British comedy Genevieve can be summed up in a sentence: Two young couples participate in the Vintage Car Rally, a yearly race from London to Brighton. The title "character" is the 1904 Darracq auto owned by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan. The couple's friendly rivals are Kenneth More and Kay Kendall, the latter graduating to stardom on the basis of this film. At first treating the race as a lark, the two couples become increasingly--and hilariously--competitive as they near the finishing line. Among the film's plethora of small pleasures are Joyce Grenfell as a wry hotel proprietress and Arthur Wontner as an elderly car fancier. Despite the many technical gaffes and continuity errors overlooked by director Henry Cornelius, Genevieve is a uniquely British delight from beginning to end, its charm enhanced by the uncredited harmonica score of American expatriate Larry Adler. The film was a moneymaker in every country that it played, and a multi-award winner in England and abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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71% (1) The Titfield Thunderbolt 84 min, [Comedy] [Charles Crichton] [20 Oct 1953]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 71%, External Reviews
Actors: George Relph, John Gregson, Naunton Wayne, Stanley Holloway
Writer: T.E.B. Clarke (original screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: The residents of a small English village are about to lose their ancient railroad. They decide to rescue it by running it themselves, in competition with the local bus company.
Rotten Tomatoes: This comedy takes place in a tiny British village serviced by a branch railway line. When the government plans to close the line down, the locals are in a panic -- except for a group intending to set up an expensive bus service.
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70% (1) The Captain's Table 90 min, [Comedy] [Jack Lee] [20 Mar 1959]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 70%, External Reviews
Actors: Donald Sinden, John Gregson, Nadia Gray, Peggy Cummins
Writer: Bryan Forbes (screenplay), Richard Gordon (novel), Nicholas Phipps (screenplay), John Whiting (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: UK
Plot: A ship's captain is promoted by his company from tramp steamers to their flagship passenger liner. Although he is a thoroughly competent sailor ready to take charge of such a ship, he is less prepared for the social duties the new position involves, not least the way he becomes the target for all the comely unattached women on board.
Rotten Tomatoes: When the South Star liner Queen Adelaide sails from Tilbury bound for Australia, Captain Albert Ebbs is a happy man. After years in cargo vessels, he has finally been given command of a luxury liner. Unfortunately, for him, he has a First Officer more concerned with women than running the ship, and his Chief Purser is doing a roaring trade in smuggling the ship s supplies.
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67% (1) Above Us the Waves 92 min, Approved, [Drama, War] [Ralph Thomas] [26 Oct 1956]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 67%, External Reviews
Actors: Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, John Gregson, John Mills
Writer: Charles Esme Thornton Warren (book), James D. Benson (book), Robin Estridge (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English, German, Swedish Country: UK
Plot: In World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. Being anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack it with any chance of success. But the navy trains a special commando to attack it, using little submarines to plant underwater explosives under it.
Rotten Tomatoes: Judging by the number of times it has shown up on TV, Above Us the Waves may be American viewers' favorite British war film. Most of the film is set in a British midget submarine, commandeered by John Mills. The sub's mission (together with its "fellow" vessels) is to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. This will be accomplished by the midget sub fleet sneaking into Norwegian waters, floating beneath the Tirpitz, then planting explosives. Only Mills' sub manages to complete the mission. Based on a true-life 1943 incident, Above Us the Waves takes a revisionist approach by showing the German officers and seamen to be human beings rather than faceless minions of Hitler.
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63% (1) SOS Pacific 92 min, [Drama, Thriller] [Guy Green] [14 Oct 1959]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, External Reviews
Actors: Eva Bartok, John Gregson, Pier Angeli, Richard Attenborough
Writer: Robert Westerby (screenplay), Gilbert Thomas (based on a story by), Bryan Forbes (additional scenes and dialogue)
External Links: Wikipedia IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: A flying boat has to ditch off an island in the Pacific. Along with the injured owner-pilot the passengers include a policeman and his smuggler prisoner, a slimey limey witness against him, a physicist, and a globe-hopping good-time girl. On the island they find a fleet of derelict ships, farm animals tethered, and cameras in a lead-lined bunker and a stark realisation soon dawns.
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62% (1) The Frightened City 97 min, [Crime, Drama] [John Lemont] [20 Jul 1962]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 62%, External Reviews
Actors: Alfred Marks, Herbert Lom, John Gregson, Sean Connery
Writer: Leigh Vance (original story), John Lemont (original story), Leigh Vance (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: A small time thief is recruited by a mobster to help with the racketeering. He doesn't like the job, but with the mob on his back, a femme fatale in his bed and a sick friend to care for, he will have to keep all his wits about him.
Rotten Tomatoes: Sean Connery plays one of his early roughneck types in the British gangster picture Frightened City. The story takes place in a rundown section of London, where the citizens are held in the grip of extortionists. After several months of gang warfare, the six major "protection" rings agree to bury the hatchet and combine their efforts under the leadership of a mob boss (Herbert Lom). One of the gangsters opposes the mobster's rule, and is promptly rubbed out. Paddy Damion (Sean Connery), the dead man's best friend, swears revenge. After a bloody confrontation, Damion agrees to provide information to the police -- after plea-bargaining himself into a light sentence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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59% (1) Fright 87 min, PG, [Thriller] [Peter Collinson] [30 May 1972]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 59%, External Reviews
Actors: Honor Blackman, Ian Bannen, John Gregson, Susan George
Writer: Tudor Gates
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this violent, grim thriller, a baby-sitter's routine job turns out to be anything but when she and her young charge are terrorized by an escaped mental patient who bursts in and holds them hostage. He claims to be the three-year-old boy's father and has come to murder his ex-wife. Meanwhile to stall for time until the cops can save them, the baby-sitter seduces the fugitive father. A deadly stand-off ensues when the cops finally surround the place and he begins threatening to slice the throats of the girl and his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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