Hughes, Roddy

In Which We Serve

IN WHICH WE SERVE (DVD MOVIE)

Based on the true story of Lord Mountbatten's destroyer, In Which We Serve is one of the most memorable British films made during World War II. Unfolding in flashback as survivors cling to a dinghy, the film interweaves the history of HMS Torrin with the onshore lives of its crew. The 1942 film was the inspiration of Noel Coward, who desperately wanted to do something for the war effort, and he produced, wrote the screenplay, composed the stirring score, and starred as Captain Edward Kinross. Coward also officially codirected, though he handed the reigns to David Lean (in his directorial debut). There is fine support from Celia Johnson and John Mills, as well as a star-making debut from an uncredited Richard Attenborough. The use of real navy and army personnel as extras, together with lavish studio production and authentic shipboard location footage, lends the film an unusual sense of realism. A landmark in the careers of many of the most important names in British film, this moving and occasionally harrowing classic has a vital place in the development of British cinema. --Gary S. Dalkin

A Christmas Carol (Original B&W Version)

This is the desert-island choice of the many versions of A Christmas Carol, with a magnificent, full-bodied portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by Alastair Sim that leaves everyone else in the dust. Lean and direct, this film's version of the story wastes no time trying to impress viewers with the magical nature of the spirits' visitations. Director Brian Desmond Hurst keeps the focus on Scrooge's life story, beautifully simplifying and underscoring the theme of lost women with a haunting musical refrain from the folk song "Barbara Allen." Sim's commitment to the role is at times astonishing; his Scrooge's Christmas-morning ecstasy is a marvel of giddy technique. Watch for Patrick Macnee (Steed in The Avengers) as the young Jacob Marley--the actor made his screen debut in this 1951 production. --Tom Keogh

The Man in the White Suit

Ealing comedy--cozy, gentle, and whimsical, right? In this case, think again. Alexander Mackendrick was always the most politically aware of the Ealing directors, and in The Man in the White Suit (1952) he takes the studio's favorite theme of the little man up against the system and gives it a sharp satirical twist. Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness at his most unworldly), a maverick scientist working in a textile mill, invents a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. He's hailed as a genius--until management and unions alike realize what his brainwave implies. Mackendrick's humor is exact and pointed, and the satire turns savage as a lynch mob of bosses and workers hunt Sidney down through dark, narrow streets. Mackendrick's disenchanted view of class-ridden British society still rings horribly true, and he draws note-perfect performances from the cream of British character actors: Cecil Parker as the liberal mill owner (based, it's said, on Ealing boss Michael Balcon); Ernest Thesiger as the evil old godfather of the industry; and, wittily sensual as Sidney's confidante, the ever-wonderful Joan Greenwood. Plus, listen out for the "voice" of Sidney's bizarre apparatus, the funniest and most unforgettable sound effect ever devised. --Philip Kemp

Obsession

Robert Newton stars as Clive Riordan, a London doctor who can not and will not tolerate the humiliation of his faithless wife, Storm (Sally Gray). When he catches her with her American lover, Bill Kronin, Dr. Riordan plans his perfect revenge. He leads

Forgotten Noir, Vol. 6 (I'll Get You / Fingerprints Don't Lie)

I ll Get You (1952) - An F.B.I. agent illegally enters England following the disappearance of several noted atomic scientists. Fingerprints Don t Lie (1951) - The identity of the murderer of a town\'s mayor is decided by fingerprints on the weapon case closed. But is it?Bonus:Wallace CommentaryBlumberg CommentaryI ll Get You Photo GalleryFingerprints Don t Lie Advertising GalleryBiosScene SelectionsTrailersRuntime: 135minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 089859055720 Manufacturer No: KPF557

A Christmas Carol (2 versions: Colorized & Original Black and White)

This is the desert-island choice of the many versions of A Christmas Carol, with a magnificent, full-bodied portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by Alastair Sim that leaves everyone else in the dust. Lean and direct, this film's version of the story wastes no time trying to impress viewers with the magical nature of the spirits' visitations. Director Brian Desmond Hurst keeps the focus on Scrooge's life story, beautifully simplifying and underscoring the theme of lost women with a haunting musical refrain from the folk song "Barbara Allen." Sim's commitment to the role is at times astonishing; his Scrooge's Christmas-morning ecstasy is a marvel of giddy technique. Watch for Patrick Macnee (Steed in The Avengers) as the young Jacob Marley--the actor made his screen debut in this 1951 production. --Tom Keogh

On the DVD
This ultimate collectors' edition is crammed with special features, on both discs. Film (and Charles Dickens) fans won't want to miss a single screen. The audio commentary by Marcus Hearn and George Cole adds depth and perspective to Alastair Sim's amazing performance, and the groundbreaking special effects for the time. Cole also gives a homey remembrance of working with Sim during World War II and living in the English countryside to avoid the Blitz.

One of the most compelling extras is a short bio of George Mintner, the film's executive producer who would go on to found his own successful distribution company, Renown Pictures. An unlikely film mogul, the British Mintner was shy and bookish, but managed to build a reputable mini-studio in the '50s, out of the Hollywood limelight. He produced mostly B-movies, though after A Christmas Carol (originally titled Scrooge), he produced another Dickens adaptation, The Pickwick Papers. There's a great mini-bio of Dickens, who grew up in the poverty that later fascinated him in his writings. Other extras include the colorized version (what were people thinking back in the '80s?), cast bios, original trailers, and a feature that more film companies might want to consider, an optional narration for the blind. Nothing is left out for film fans--God bless us, every one. --A.T. Hurley

Sea Wife

A shipwrecked RAF officer falls in love with another survivor unaware she's a nun.Starring:Joan CollinsRichard BurtonBasil SydneyCy GrantRonald SquireHarold GoodwinJoan HicksonGibb McLaughlinRuntime: 82 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 024543446361 Manufacturer No: 2244636

Corridors of Blood

"Pain and the knife are inseparable!" That's what incredulous colleagues keep telling Dr. Bolton (Boris Karloff), a respected surgeon who is determined to develop a successful anesthetic to bring pain-free surgery to 1840s England, when brutal amputation is a bloody and commonplace procedure. Bolton keeps testing his latest "inhalations" on himself, and his son's warnings against addiction remain unheeded. Before long, the tenacious doctor is hooked on his own elixir, barred from further practice and the drugs needed for research, and so desperate to prove the validity of his work that he agrees to a Faustian bargain: In exchange for the necessary chemicals, he signs bogus death certificates for local body-snatchers Black Ben (Francis De Wolff) and Resurrection Joe (Christopher Lee), who earn cash by supplying medical schools with fresh cadavers.

Robert Day (who also directed Karloff in The Haunted Strangler) handles this morbid plot with professional restraint, adding some routine hallucinatory interludes when Karloff's delirium results in a barrage of fevered visions. Otherwise this is a well-crafted but rather bland affair, noteworthy for its early display of blood (which is utterly tasteful by later standards) and also for giving Karloff one of his juicier roles, which the veteran horror icon tackles with admirable vigor and appropriate obsessiveness. On the strength of his early films for Hammer Studios, Christopher Lee was given prominent billing when this film (shot in 1958) was finally released in 1962, and while his eerie presence is keenly felt, his role is a relatively minor one. Still, this makes Corridors of Blood something of a milestone in the genre, signaling the passage of Karloff's era and the beginning of Lee's. --Jeff Shannon

Boris Karloff is a surgeon in search of a viable anesthetic, in the days when patients were strapped down with leather bands while fully conscious. The doctor soon becomes addicted to his newly-discovered gas. In his desperation to get the drug, Karloff must make a diabolical bargain with body snatchers to feed his growing habit. "A natural for horror addicts, if they can stand all that blood!"--Daily Cinema.

Trouble in Store [Region 2]

A Christmas Carol [Region 2]

This is the desert-island choice of the many versions of A Christmas Carol, with a magnificent, full-bodied portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by Alastair Sim that leaves everyone else in the dust. Lean and direct, this film's version of the story wastes no time trying to impress viewers with the magical nature of the spirits' visitations. Director Brian Desmond Hurst keeps the focus on Scrooge's life story, beautifully simplifying and underscoring the theme of lost women with a haunting musical refrain from the folk song "Barbara Allen." Sim's commitment to the role is at times astonishing; his Scrooge's Christmas-morning ecstasy is a marvel of giddy technique. Watch for Patrick Macnee (Steed in The Avengers) as the young Jacob Marley--the actor made his screen debut in this 1951 production. --Tom Keogh