PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Calendar Girl 1947

Calendar Girl 1947 Story by Lee Loeb, screenplay by Mary Loos, Richard Sale and Lee Loeb, directed by Allan Dwan. It was re-issued in the US under the title Star Dust And Sweet Music.

It's a romantic musical comedy set in Greenwich Village in 1900. Two friends move there, one to paint and the other to compose music. The composer falls for a lady but she's more interested in the painter. The guys both get a shot at fame and fortune with some help from the locals in the artists boarding house they move into. There are a lot of musical numbers but the singing style is of little interest to me so I fast forwarded through some of the numbers. There's some fun jokes and situations, there are some that are less so. The cast is good and the direction better. It's not a big production, Republic Pictures wasn't that big a studio, a splash of cash could have beefed up the production and would have made it stand out a bit more. You can check it out in the link in the title. You might like it well enough. I wouldn't need to see it again, not sorry I saw it.

Unforgotten Crime 1942

 

Unforgotten Crime 1942 Based on the play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong Jr, screenplay by Olive Cooper and Robert Taster, directed by Bernard Vorhaus. Unforgotten Crime is the American TV title of The Affairs Of Jimmy Valentine. The original film ran 73 mins but it was cut to 53 for showing as a B movie and on TV. There are plenty of copies of the cut down version on YouTube but not the longer version.

Dennis O'Keefe has a murder mystery radio show host who's convinced his sponsors to offer a reward to find the retired safe cracker Jimmy Valentine. George Stone plays small time crook who's father was framed by Valentine and went to the chair. He really wants to find Valentine to get some revenge.

There's a rumor that he retired to a small town in Illinois and Dennis takes his co-worker Gloria Dickson and Mousey along. They can't seem to find anyone who knows Valentine except one guy and he's clammed up. He winds up dead soon after and Dennis thinks he might have been killed by Valentine. The story gets a bit more complicated and a couple of others die along the way. Eventually it gets sorted out.

It's a fairly good but kind of predictable crime story that's heavy on the melodrama. It's jumps about a bit and I wish that the whole thing was there. It's got a sense of humor and I got a few laughs. You can see it on YouTube, link above.

Friday Night Movies 834

The Case Of The Frightened Lady 1940 British film based on the Edgar Wallace play, screenplay by Edward Dryhurst and an uncredited Robert Stevenson, directed by George King. The play was also the source of the 1932 film Criminal At Large.

Life at Mark's Priory is hard, there's an old lady in charge, the son is a bit of a layabout, the old ladies secretary is her niece. The secretary is afraid of the creepy male servants, they're always skulking around, she's also annoyed at being locked into her room at night. The secretary wants to leave but the old lady insists she stay and for added horror she wants the secretary to marry her son. The old lady insists that the family line must continue.

When the chauffeur gets murdered the police arrive. The family doctor is next on the list of dead people. Other strange things happen and we eventually find out the ID of the killer. It's brisk and entertaining to me. The cast had a fairly good script and most of them did alright. The secretary was a bit hysterical but that might be the director's fault. I'd watch it again. You can test drive it on YouTube. Link above.

The College Girl Murders 1967 A German film originally titled Der Mönch mit der Peitsche or The Monk with the Whip. It's another story based on a mix of Edgar Wallace works. Screenplay is by Herbert Reinecker, the director is Alfred Vohrer.

A criminal mastermind arranges to get a man out of prison so he can send the prisoner to kill a young woman from a boarding school. He's spotted but he's still in prison so it couldn't be him. Joachim Fuchsberger is Inspector Higgins, Siegfried Schürenberg is Sir John, his boss at Scotland Yard. What they don't know is that the killer is that whip cracking red robed monk guy in the poster. They also don't know that the red robed monk isn't the only criminal at work here.

The criminal mastermind's big plan takes some punches when the police get to detecting. There's more murdering, some screaming and running about, and a bit of humor. I enjoyed it, I liked the actors and the story was fairly complex. Rialto Films do a good job on their Edgar Wallace adaptations. I find them online but they often disappear soon after. Rialto did 32 films in the series and they were released in Germany on 8 DVD sets. It's been re-packaged into one box but it's nearly $200 on Amazon. Sadly, not all the films come with English Subtitles. I'll stick with the internet.

Der Hexer 1964 Based on the novel The Ringer by Edgar Wallace, screenplay by Herbert Reinecker and Harald G Petersson, directed by Alfred Vohrer. I'd already watched the British version of this film, it was part of the large Edgar Wallace Mysteries series from Merton Park Studios.  

Joachim Fuchsberger and Siegfried Schürenberg return as Inspector Higgins and Sir John, his boss at Scotland Yard. Some criminals are worried, it turns out that the woman they murdered is the sister of a notorious criminal called The Ringer. He sends word he's coming to see them. Sir John gets word of it and he assigns Higgins to the case.

The Ringer is always one step ahead of the police and he manages to get rid of his sisters murders. It's a nice run about with murder, romance, comedy and a clever criminal. I'm happy to have seen it. I'd watch it again.

The Arthur Askey Collection

   

The Arthur Askey Collection has 6 Arthur Askey films from the early 1940s. Band Waggon is Arthur's second film, it was followed by 7 more films released through the war years. The last of the 8, Bees In Paradise, came out in 1944 and there was a 10 year gap before Arthur's next film. Some speculate that Arthur was too associated with the war by the time it ended and people were tired of the war.

Arthur made 4 films in the last half of the 1950s and a couple in the 1970s, Arthur also worked in TV in the 1950s and 1960s. The six films in this set came from the 8 made in the 1940s. This was the period when Arthur was at the height of his popularity. The two films released after Band Waggon aren't included, Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt from 1940 and The Ghost Train from 1941. TGT is one of my favorite of Arthur's films. It has no musical numbers.

 

Band Waggon 1940 Written by John Wyatt, Harry S Pepper, Gordon Crier, Vernon Harris, JOC Orton, Val Guest, Marriott Edgar and Robert Edmunds, directed by Marcel Varnel.

Arthur and his pal are squatting in an empty room in the attic of the BBC's Broadcasting House. They had applied for a job there, were told to wait, and never left. When they're rumbled they're kicked out. Arthur schemes up a £3 rental in a haunted castle where they find a full TV studio hidden in the dungeons. They use the equipment to broadcast a show. It attracts the attention of the Nazis who set the studio up. Lucky for Arthur and his pals Scotland Yard arrives to save the day.

Pretty silly and filled with activity, there's a bit more singing and dancing than I care for but the gags are fast and furious.

I Thank You 1941 Original story by Howard Irving Young, screenplay by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, directed by Marcel Varnel.

Arthur and his pal are out of work. They want to raise money for a show. They're plan is to sneak into a rich show backer's house as servants and get some backing. Arthur dresses as a woman cook even though he can't cook. Because it's a movie it actually works out for the guys in the end.

There's plenty of gags but not a much singing as the last film. It's was nice to see Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt again. They made a few films with Will Hays. Kathleen Harris plays the poor cook next door, Arthur keeps stealing stuff from her.

 

Back-Room Boy 1942 Story by JOC Orton, screenplay by Edgar Marriott, Val Guest and JOC Orton, directed by Herbert Mason. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be much by way of posters for these movies available on the internet. Even the DVDs use screen captures and promo photos for their covers.

Arthur is the guy who makes the pips on BBC radio. He has to do it every hour on the hour and his girlfriend doesn't like the constant interruptions to their love life. After she dumps him, Arthur tells his bosses he wants a position where he won't seen any women. They plonk him down in a lighthouse on an island way out in the sea north of Scotland.

Of course Arthur gets visited by many women, first a young girl who's headed to the next island to visit her uncle. Vera Frances plays the young girl, it was her first film, she made 5 more for Gainsborough Pictures. She's drolly sarcastic and a good foil for Arthur, she would appear in another of Arthur's films. I wish she'd gone onto make films as an adult.

Googie Withers arrives next, followed by a boat filled with theater gals. Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt are a couple of sailors that were crew on the ship that sank. Things are noisy until the Nazis turn up. They've got a secret hideout in a cave in the cliff below the lighthouse. Arthur and pals battle the Nazis and protect the shipping lane the sub was worrying.

I found it quite entertaining even after I've seen it a couple of times already.

King Arthur Was A Gentleman 1942 Written by Edgar Marriott and Val Guest, directed by Marcel Varnel. One of many films made at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush West London. The BBC later bought the studio and used it for making TV shows. Many episodes of Doctor Who were shot there. The commentaries for the episodes of DW have many complaints about having to work in such a tiny and hot studio.

Arthur wants to go fight the Nazis but he's a bit on the scrawny side. Arthur's got a big thing for King Arthur and the round table. His pals find a sword in a field and trick Arthur into thinking it's King Arthur's sword. A change comes over to him and he becomes quite the man. He demands to be sent to the front and the top brass send him to Germany. He has some adventures, gets a bit of romance, and causes a a helluva lot of property damage.

There's more music than I care for but the basic story is fun enough and there's all that destruction.

 

Miss London Ltd 1943 Written by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, directed by Val Guest.

Arthur inherits half an escort agency from his mother, Evelyn Dall inherited the other half. Most of the movie is everyone singing and dancing. The agency tries to make some cash so they can donate some to the war effort. There's a good number of gags and plenty of pretty girls.

Bees In Paradise 1944 Written by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, directed by Val Guest.

One of the weirdest of Arthur's films. He's part of a bomber crew who have to bail out, four of them wash up on the beach of an island in the Atlantic. Paradise Island is a matriarchy run like a bee hive. The Queen is worried about the lack of births of late, part of the problem is their rules on marriage, especially the one where they execute the groom two months after the marriage date.

Arthur and the guys can't believe their luck, an island filled with women who want to marry them. Wow! They'll soon find out what's up and try to survive. There's a good number of jokes and it's a bit risqué.

A nice collection and one I'll try to watch again. It's a UK region 2 DVD and won't play without an all region DVD player or VLC Player on your PC.

A Royal Scandal 1945

A Royal Scandal 1945 It's a remake of Lubitsch's 1924 silent film Forbidden Paradise. Bruno Frank adapted it and Producer Ernst Lubitsch worked with Edwin Justus Mayer on the screenplay. Lubitsch did all the pre-production and rehearsals but became ill as they were starting to shoot the film, he hired Otto Preminger to finish the job. It was the third last film Lubitsch would make, he died in 1947.

Catherine the Great has dumped her lover, the Captain of the Guards. General Ronsky wants to connect her to his nephew. He's got a plan to depose Catherine and take over. The Chancellor has his own plan, he's got a treaty with France to work on. A rando soldier comes to see Catherine and manages to get past the layers of court. She falls for him and they start a romance.

Good cast, Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Coburn, Anne Baxter, Vincent Price, Mischa Auer, Sig Ruman and a lot of people I didn't know. Good script, plenty of jokes, plenty of running about. I hadn't seen it before, at least that I remember, I really enjoyed it. You can see a copy on YouTube, link in the title.

A Night Of Magic 1944

A Night Of Magic 1944 Script by Eversley Bracken under the name Ewesley Bracken, directed by Herbert Wynne. A short British comedy musical about the 3000 year old mummy of Egyptian Princess Raviola being found alive in her sarcophagus. Her coffin arrives at the apartment of a young upper class man who gets over his surprise quickly, it's a short film, no time to waste. He takes her out to the hairdresser and shopping for modern clothes. He dumps his fiance and plans to marry her. There's a sucky surprise ending and some songs by a guy playing the ukulele. He's no George Formby. Fun enough but below average.

A Man's Affair 1949

A Man's Affair 1949 Written by Jay Lewis and Harold Stewart, directed by Jay Lewis. Jay started started directing documentary shorts in 1940, he started the Verity Film Company with Sidney Box. He only directed three other feature films, none of which I've seen. Sadly, I could find no poster for this movie.

A romantic comedy set in and around the seaside town of Ramsgate in Kent. Two gals on holiday meet a couple of coal miners and there's romance ahead.  The picture on the left shows our coal miners, Hamish Menzies and Cliff Gordon, the picture of the right shows our visiting ladies, Diana Decker in the scarf and Joyce Linden on her left. They'll soon to be happy couples and other than for the usual movie pitfalls it's safe to say things will work out fine in the end. There's a few laughs but it isn't much better than average. You can check it out on YouTube, link in the usual place.

Whiskey Galore! 1949

Whiskey Galore! 1949 Compton MacKenzie wrote the novel and co-wrote the screenplay with Angus MacPhail, the director is Alexander Mackendrick. In the US Whiskey Galore! was called Tight Little Island. After this film Mackendrick directed The Man In The White Suit, his other well known films include The Ladykillers, The Sweet Smell Of Success and A Boy Ten Feet Tall. Angus MacPhail has 70 writing credits listed on the IMDb, starting with a scenario credit for the 1928 film Balaclava, and I've seen a few of them. One of the earliest films I've seen is the 1931 version of The Ghost Train, a film I've come to like a good bit. He wrote Trouble Brewing and To Hell With Hitler for George Formby and The Ghost Of St Michaels, The Black Sheep Of Whitehall, The Goose Steps Out, Go To Blazes and My Learned Friend all for Will Hay.

Basil Radford is Captain Waggett of the Home Guard. He's one of the few English people on the island of Todday in the Outer Hebrides. The town is made up but the basic story is based on a real incident.

In 1941 a ship floundered on the rocks near Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, before it sank the islanders took some cases of single malt whiskey off of the ship. The Wikipedia says there were 22,000 plus cases of whiskey on the ship and the locals saved 7,000. The locals in the film didn't seem to save that many.

It's a small island with not too many people, nothing much goes on. When the movie starts life has turned dour as they've drunk all the whiskey and none has come with the ship from the mainland. Captain Waggett has his work in the Home Guard to keep a few of them busy. When the ship flounders the towns people so want to rush out there to salvage what they can but it's the Sabbath and that's a no go. At midnight they rush out to get what they can, not knowing that the Captain has been onto the Customs and Excise. A special boat full of agents arrives on the island to find the ship sunk and all the cargo lost. The local barman is upset as it's cutting into his business so he rats them out. It's a scramble to save what whiskey they can.

There's plenty of action once the whiskey arrives and there's a fair number of gentle guffaws to be had. I was entertained and would want to watch it again. I didn't see any copies on YouTube. I ordered a DVD from the UK and it turned out to be a DVDr from the company that shall not be named. I've been seeing a lot of their DVDs of late.

Candles At Nine 1944

Candles At Nine 1944 Director John Harlow wrote the screenplay with Basil Mason. It's based on a novel called The Mouse Who Wouldn't Play Ball by Anthony Gilbert. Jessie Matthews plays a showgirl who inherits a rich man's estate. She's got to stay in his mansion for a month to get the moola. His other family isn't too happy about that, they are more happy that the estate goes to them if Jessie leaves the house, or dies,  before the month is up. They aren't fussy, either way. John Stuart is a detective who helps her out. It's more a comedy than a mystery, there's a bit of danger but there are more gags. I found it about average, I might watch it again someday, but not likely. You can check it out in the link in the title above. That's where I saw it. I have a few other Jessie Matthews movies to watch at a future date, some of here films are picks in The British Film series from Network. I need to get back to that series again. So many things struggling to get viewed.

Blithe Spirit 1945

Blithe Spirit is a 1945 British comedy directed by David Lean. It's based on Noël Coward's play of the same name, the screenplay is by David Lean, Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan.

It's got Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond, Margaret Rutherford, Hugh Wakefield and Noël Coward as the narrator.

Rex is a crime novelist, he invites a medium, played by Margaret, over to the house, he's got research in mind for a novel. Unfortunately she brings the ghost of his dead wife to the house and she causes all sorts of issues. Rex and his current wife end up dead by the end of the film and it made me glad ghosts aren't real. It's kind of funny but not Topper funny, I didn't laugh at all the jokes anyway. It's not going to be one of my favorite ghost stories that's for sure. I'd still watch it again sometime. Who can say when. Too bad there aren't liars fortune tellers to let me know when that would be happening.