79% (2) Moby Dick 116 min, Not Rated, [Adventure, Drama] [John Huston] [03 Oct 1956]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, Rotten Tomatoes: 85%, External Reviews
Awards: 5 wins & 4 nominations.
Actors: Gregory Peck, James Robertson Justice, Leo Genn, Richard Basehart
Writer: Ray Bradbury (screenplay), John Huston (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK, USA
Plot: This classic story by Herman Melville revolves around Captain Ahab and his obsession with a huge whale, Moby Dick. The whale caused the loss of Ahab's leg years before, leaving Ahab to stomp the boards of his ship on a peg leg. Ahab is so crazed by his desire to kill the whale, that he is prepared to sacrifice everything, including his life, the lives of his crew members, and even his ship to find and destroy his nemesis, Moby Dick.
Rotten Tomatoes: Previous film versions of Moby Dick insisted upon including such imbecilities as romantic subplots and happy endings. John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick remains admirably faithful to its source. "Call me Ishmael" declares itinerant whaler Richard Basehart as the opening credits fade. Though slightly intimidated by the sermon delivered by Father Mapple (Orson Welles in a brilliant one-take cameo), who warns that those who challenge the sea are in danger of losing their souls, Ishmael nonetheless signs on to the Pequod, a whaling ship captained by the brooding, one-legged Ahab (Gregory Peck). For lo these many years, Ahab has been engaged in an obsessive pursuit of Moby Dick, the great white whale to whom he lost his leg. Ahab's dementia spreads throughout the crew members, who maniacally join their captain in his final, fatal attack upon the elusive, enigmatic Moby Dick. Screenwriter Ray Bradbury masterfully captures the allegorical elements in the Herman Melville original without sacrificing any of the film's entertainment value (Bradbury suffered his own "great white whale" in the form of director Huston, who sadistically ran roughshod over the sensitive author throughout the film).Cinematographer Oswald Morris' washed-out color scheme brilliantly underlines the foredoomed bleakness of the story. Moby Dick's one major shortcoming is its obviously artificial whale-but try telling a real whale to stay within camera range and hit its marks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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78% (2) Murder She Said 87 min, Unrated, [Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery] [George Pollock] [07 Jan 1962]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%, External Reviews
Actors: Arthur Kennedy, James Robertson Justice, Margaret Rutherford, Muriel Pavlow
Writer: Agatha Christie (novel), David D. Osborn (adaptation), David Pursall (screenplay), Jack Seddon (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: Old miss Marple is on a train ride when she witnesses a murder in a passing train. She reports it to the police but they won't believe her: since no body can be found there can't have been any murder, right? As always, she begins her own investigation. The murder was committed while passing Ackenthorpe Hall and miss Marple gets herself a job there, mixing cleaning and cooking with searching the house for clues.
Rotten Tomatoes: Dumpy, dough-faced British comedienne Margaret Rutherford was not precisely the physical type Agatha Christie had in mind for the prim, tweedish sleuth Miss Marple. Still, Rutherford's first "Marple" movie Murder, She Said did so well at the box office that there was no question she would continue appearing in the role in the inevitable sequels. In this initial effort, Marple witnesses a murder being committed on a speeding train. She informs the authorities, but they find no evidence of a killing and write off Marple as a doddering eccentric. Determined to prove that she's not imagining things, Marple investigates the area around the stretch of railroad track where the murder occurred. She winds up on the estate of James Robertson-Justice, disguised as a maid. Many family skeletons are exhumed by Miss Marple before she proves that she indeed saw a murder and pinpoints the guilty party. Stringer Davis, Margaret Rutherford's husband, makes his first appearance as Miss Marple's chaste companion Mr. Stringer. Based on Agatha Christie's 4:50 From Paddington, Murder, She Said was released in some markets as Meet Miss Marple. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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72% (1) Orders to Kill 93 min, [Drama, War] [Anthony Asquith] [04 Jul 1958]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 nominations.
Actors: Eddie Albert, James Robertson Justice, Lillian Gish, Paul Massie
Writer: Donald Downes (original story), George St. George (adapted for the screen by), Paul Dehn (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, French, German Country: UK
Plot: American agent faces an engrossing moral dilemma when he is parachuted into France to eliminate a suspected traitor in the French Resistance.
Rotten Tomatoes: The moral dilemma of a reluctant American spy is chronicled in this psychological drama. He becomes an agent after he, originally a pilot, is grounded during WW II. He is trained to assassinate a Paris lawyer suspected of colluding with the Nazis. During his rigorous training for the killing, the new spy begins to have doubts about his upcoming assignment; these doubts increase when he actually meets his prey as the spy is unsure that the lawyer is really guilty. Still he fulfills his grim duty. Later he learns that the lawyer was innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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67% (1) Above Us the Waves 92 min, Approved, [Drama, War] [Ralph Thomas] [26 Oct 1956]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 67%, External Reviews
Actors: Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, John Gregson, John Mills
Writer: Charles Esme Thornton Warren (book), James D. Benson (book), Robin Estridge (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English, German, Swedish Country: UK
Plot: In World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. Being anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack it with any chance of success. But the navy trains a special commando to attack it, using little submarines to plant underwater explosives under it.
Rotten Tomatoes: Judging by the number of times it has shown up on TV, Above Us the Waves may be American viewers' favorite British war film. Most of the film is set in a British midget submarine, commandeered by John Mills. The sub's mission (together with its "fellow" vessels) is to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. This will be accomplished by the midget sub fleet sneaking into Norwegian waters, floating beneath the Tirpitz, then planting explosives. Only Mills' sub manages to complete the mission. Based on a true-life 1943 incident, Above Us the Waves takes a revisionist approach by showing the German officers and seamen to be human beings rather than faceless minions of Hitler.
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66% (1) The Sword and the Rose 92 min, Approved, [Adventure, Drama, Family, History] [Ken Annakin] [23 Jul 1953]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Actors: Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough, Richard Todd
Writer: Lawrence Edward Watkin (screenplay), Charles Major (novel)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA, UK
Plot: Tells the story of Mary Tudor and her troubled path to true love. Henry VIII, for political reasons, determines to wed her to the King of France. She tries to flee to America with her love but is captured when she is "un-hatted" on board ship. In return for her consent to the marriage with France, Henry agrees to let her choose her second husband. When King Louis of France dies, Mary is kidnaped by the Duke of Buckingham. He tries to force her to marry him but she is rescued by her love in an exciting battle on the beach.
Rotten Tomatoes: A man running away from his problems escapes conventional reality with the help of a band of pirates in this offbeat fantasy. Manuel (Manuel Mesquita) is a musician who is short on money and behind on his tax payments. Eager to leave his troubles behind, he spies a 15th Century pirate's ship and impulsively jumps on board. Throwing in his lot with the sea-going bandits, Manuel discovers they're an unusual bunch, searching for a strange but powerful substance called plutex and possessing the ability to become invisible, adopt new languages, or fashion strange gizmos at will. But matters of principle and opinion lead to conflicts among the crew, and Manuel searches for a way to follow his own path while doing right by his friends. A Espada e a Rosa (aka The Sword and the Rose) was the first feature film from director Joao Nicolau.
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63% (1) Storm Over the Nile 107 min, [Adventure, Drama, Romance, War] [Zoltan Korda, Terence Young] [22 Jun 1956]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, External Reviews
Actors: Anthony Steel, James Robertson Justice, Laurence Harvey, Mary Ure
Writer: A.E.W. Mason (novel), R.C. Sherriff (screenplay), Lajos Biró (additional dialogue), Arthur Wimperis (additional dialogue)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: A CinemaScope remake of The Four Feathers (1939).
Rotten Tomatoes: When an aristocratic British soldier is branded a coward, he struggles to prove the charges false and restore his good name. This remake of the Korda's 1939 classic features footage from their first version.
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62% (1) Guns of Darkness 102 min, [Drama] [Anthony Asquith] [17 Aug 1962]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 62%, External Reviews
Actors: David Niven, David Opatoshu, James Robertson Justice, Leslie Caron
Writer: Francis Clifford (novel), John Mortimer
External Links: Wikipedia IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: An English couple and a deposed ruler head for the border during a South American revolution.
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