The 3rd volume of VCI's British Cinema Collections only has four movies and there's a drama theme.
The Rough And The Smooth 1959 Based on the novel by Robin Maugham, screenplay by Audrey Erskine-Lindop and Dudley Leslie, directed by Robert Siodmak. It was released in the US under the title Portrait Of A Sinner.
Tony Britton has a fiancee but he gets involved with Nadja Tiller anyway. She's a sexy German with lacking morals. She lives with William Bendix but there's nothing romantic going on there. She just wants William's cash to give to Tony Wright, her regular lover.
Why people get involved with tramps like her I can't imagine. What's happened to their brains? At first there's the sexy times then it's drama until the cows come home. What a horrible woman. Best to avoid them. The movie was about average, might have been improved with a murder.
The Scamp 1957 Directed by Wolf Rilla, he adapted the play Uncertain Joy by Charlotte Hastings. Called Strange Affection in the US.
Richard Attenborough is a teacher at a boys school, he befriends Tod, the son of a drunken lout. Terence Morgan plays Tod's dad and Colin Peterson plays Tod. Terence abandons Tod and leaves the area for a while. Tod continuously misbehaves at Richard's place, he and his wife, played by Dorothy Alison, try to help him the best they can.
Terence shows up with a new wife and takes Tod home. Things go poorly there and Terence dies from a blow to the head with an ashtray wielded by Tod. He was just trying to stop his dad from hitting his new mom. Too much drama from Tod for me. The film's about average but the poster is really awful. You can see it on YouTube, link in the title.
Kill Me Tomorrow 1957 Original story by Robert Falconer, screenplay by Robert Falconer and Paddy Manning O'Brine, direction by Terence Fisher.
Pat O'Brien plays an old reporter who's lost his wife and his job. In need of cash he goes to his old editor looking for work only to find the man dead in his office. A crook offers him cash to take the murder rap. Now he's got to figure out how to trap the killer.
There's a fairly good story and some good actor's to help it along, Lois Maxwell, George Coulouris, Ronald Adam, Richard Pascoe, Peter Swanwick and Robert Brown. Tommy Steele plays a song. More enjoyable than the first two films.
Grand National Night 1953 Campbell Christie and Dorothy Christie wrote the play adapted for the movie, the film has no screenplay credit, it was directed by Bob McNaught. Re-titled Wicked Wife in the US.
Nigel Patrick is married to Moira Lister, he raises and trains race horses, she raises trouble. After a big fight she runs off and is found dead in a car. A train ticket in Nigel's pocket puts him in the town where Moira's body was found. He has no alibi and it looks bad for Nigel.
A fairly good story with another good cast, Betty Ann Davies, Michael Horden, Noel Purcell and Colin Gordon. I enjoyed it too. I'd watch the two films on this disc again but would leave the first two.
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