United Kingdom

  • Lawrence Huntington – Suspected Person (1942)

    1941-1950CrimeLawrence HuntingtonThrillerUnited Kingdom

    Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
    Suspected Person was one of several Associated British Pathe productions released in the U.S. by PRC pictures. Clifford Evans stars as Jim Raynor, one of a trio of American bank robbers. When Raynor flees to England with the loot, he leaves his two accomplices at the mercy of the Law. Winning unexpected acquittals, the two crooks chase after Raynor — while Scotland Yard, hoping to recover the money, chases after all three. A very young Patricia Roc essays one of her first major roles as Raynor’s sister, while future “Dr. Who” William Hartnell plays a minor role.Read More »

  • Ken Annakin – Hotel Sahara (1951)

    1951-1960ComedyKen AnnakinUnited KingdomWar

    In World War II, desert hotel proprietors Emad (Sir Peter Ustinov) and Yasmin (Yvonne De Carlo) are caught between the warring armies and have to constantly shift their political allegiance to whichever army happens to control the area.Read More »

  • Patrick Keiller – London (1994)

    1991-2000DocumentaryPatrick KeillerUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    An inspiring tale through London by pictures narrated by Paul Scofield.

    NY Times wrote:
    The city of London is not a hospitable-looking place in Patrick Keiller’s exceedingly arch cinematic meditation on England’s largest city. Filmed during Prime Minister John Major’s 1992 re-election campaign, “London” examines a metropolis whose stately old architecture is increasingly dwarfed by hideous post-modern skyscrapers and mocked by garish billboards.Read More »

  • John Boulting – I’m All Right Jack (1959)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyJohn BoultingUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Naive Stanley Windrush returns from the war, his mind set on a successful career in business. Much to his own dismay, he soon finds he has to start from the bottom and work his way up, and also that the management as well as the trade union use him as a tool in their fight for power.Read More »

  • Roy Rowland – The Girl Hunters (1963)

    1961-1970CrimeRoy RowlandThrillerUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Private detective Mike Hammer (Mickey Spillane) is found by the police, lying in a back alley in a drunken stupor – the same drunken stupor he’s spent the last few years suffering from since his secretary Velda disappeared. But the police want him sober because they have a fast-fading victim of a shooting in the local hospital and he has requested to speak with Hammer before he dies. Hammer is taken to the home of police captain Pat Chambers (Scott Peters) and roughed up by the testy lawman, then escorted to the hospital where after another drink to steady his nerves Hammer speaks with the dying man, who tells him that the man who shot him is the same killer who is chasing after Velda… a killer known as The Dragon.Read More »

  • Terence Fisher – Dracula AKA Horror of Dracula (1958)

    1951-1960ClassicsHammer FilmsHorrorTerence FisherUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle (apparently somewhere in Germany), the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker’s fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker’s friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.Read More »

  • Ken Russell – The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

    1981-1990CampHorrorKen RussellUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm uses Dracula author Bram Stoker’s final novel as the basic springboard into a surreal and dark-humored tale concerning a bizarre cult and a series of sacrificial murders in honor of an ancient pagan god. When archeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaladi) discovers the mysterious scull of an undiscovered beast, further investigation reveals a bizarre myth concerning a medieval knight slaying a fearsome dragon. Soon making the acquaintance of Lord James D’Ampton (Hugh Grant), the conquering knight’s descendant, Flint begins to learn of local lore surrounding the creature and soon discovers that, throughout the years, many unexplained disappearances have haunted the local populace. Read More »

  • Stephen Frears – The Van (1996)

    1991-2000ComedyDramaStephen FrearsUnited Kingdom

    Bittersweet comedy about two unemployed Dubliners who open a mobile fish and chip shop. The film is set in a working class suburb of the Irish capital against the backdrop of the 1990 World Cup, when Jackie’s army made it into the quarter finals.Read More »

  • Sidney Gilliat – The Rake’s Progress AKA Notorious Gentleman (1945)

    1941-1950ClassicsDramaSidney GilliatUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Rex Harrison stars in this stylish British drama that caused problems with U.S. censors, who forced the film to be trimmed due to what was considered graphically amoral and sexual content for its time. Harrison is Vivian Kenway, an unrepentant cad who embarks on a campaign of irresponsible behavior after being ejected from Oxford. Among his many sins are seducing Jill Duncan (Jean Kent), the wife of his best friend Sandy (Griffith Jones), marrying a rich Austrian Jew, Rikki Krausner (Lilli Palmer), for her money, and dallying with the secretary (Margaret Johnson) of his father, Colonel Kenway (Godfrey Tearle). Read More »

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