Keith Michell

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Patrick McGoohan and Richard Attenborough star in this powerful psychological drama which deftly re-interprets Shakespeare’s Othello via the beating, syncopated heart of East London’s early-sixties jazz scene. Directed by Basil Dearden, All Night Long features outstanding performances from jazz legends Charlie Mingus, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Dankworth and Tubby Hayes. It is presented here in a brand-new High Definition transfer from original film elements in its original, as-exhibited aspect ratio.

Wealthy music promoter Rod Hamilton throws an anniversary party for a famous jazzman, Aurelius Rex, and his wife and musical partner, Delia. Music and goodwill flow freely until the arrival of an ambitious musical rival, Johnny Cousin, who – intent on poaching Delia to join his own band – plans to destroy the couple’s relationship over the course of a single night…Read More »

Greek actress Melina Mercouri made her English-language film debut in The Gypsy and the Gentleman. Mercouri plays tempestuous gypsy girl Belle, while the “gentleman” is Sir Paul Deverill (Keith Michell). Escaping an arranged marriage, Sir Paul weds the bewitching Belle,who intends to take him for every penny he’s got, then move on to other lovers. Imagine her disappointment when she discovers that her prize catch is flat broke. All sorts of bizarre complications ensue, including the kidnapping of an heiress (June Laverick) by Belle’s gypsy compadres. Gypsy and the Gentleman was directed by American expatriate Joseph Losey, whose British film career wouldn’t truly get off the ground until his collaborations with Harold Pinter in the 1960s.by Hal EricksonRead More »

An Ideal Husband (BBC1, 1969, dir. Rudolph Cartier)

Rudolph Cartier’s Play of the Month version of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband (1895) shares the same aesthetic of visual pleasure realised through detail as Cedric Messina’s Pygmalion (BBC1 16 December 1973), as well as many common features of setting and dressing; ballrooms, studies, morning rooms, elegant dresses and eveningwear. However, Cartier’s directorial technique demonstrates a greater awareness of the possibilities of studio technique to comment upon the action of a play, and is an exemplary production in its use of finely realised period detail to achieve dramatic effects, as an interpretation that works on deeper levels than surface aesthetic visual pleasure. Read More »