86% (2) Henry V 137 min, Not Rated, [Biography, Drama, History, War] [Laurence Olivier] [28 Oct 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 73%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors: Felix Aylmer, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Banks, Robert Helpmann, Robert Newton, Vernon Greeves
Writer: William Shakespeare (by)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, French Country: UK
Plot: In the inspired Olivier concept, Shakespeare's play begins as a performance in the Globe Theatre, shifting in broad cinematic terms to an epic narrative of Henry V, who had developed from a dissolute youth to a purposeful monarch. Proving his ability as a soldier and skillful leader, he unites the dissident factions in the English army and goes on to crush the French, against enormous odds, at Agincourt. Arranging a treaty with the French court, he woos Princess Katharine to whom he is formally betrothed as part of the peace agreement.
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]
86% (2) The Most Dangerous Game 63 min, Passed, [Action, Adventure, Thriller] [Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack] [16 Sep 1932]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Actors: Fay Wray, Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong
Writer: James Ashmore Creelman (screen play), Richard Connell (from the O.Henry prize winning collection story by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Russian Country: USA
Plot: After their luxury cabin cruiser crashes on a reef, Bob Rainsford finds himself washed ashore on a remote island. He finds a fortress-like house and the owner, Count Zaroff, seems to be quite welcoming. Apart from Zaroff's servant Ivan, the only other people present are Eve Trowbridge and her brother Martin, also survivors of their own shipwreck. Other survivors are missing however and Rainsford soon learns why. Zaroff releases them into his jungle island and then hunts them down in his grisly "outdoor chess" game! Then after Martin disappears, Bob realizes that he and Eve are to be the next "pawns" in Zaroff's deadly game.
Rotten Tomatoes: A game-hunting nobleman's private island is the stage for perverse games in which he tracks down and kills human adversaries. This top-notch first screen incarnation (shot on sets built for King Kong (1933)) of the famous short story was redone many times but rarely to such excellent effect.
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]
84% (2) Went the Day Well? 92 min, Approved, [Thriller, War] [Alberto Cavalcanti] [28 Jun 1944]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 76%, Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, External Reviews
Actors: C.V. France, Leslie Banks, Marie Lohr, Valerie Taylor
Writer: Graham Greene (story), John Dighton (story and screenplay), Diana Morgan (story and screenplay), Angus MacPhail (story and screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English, German Country: UK
Plot: The residents of a British village during WWII welcome a platoon of soldiers who are to be billeted with them. The trusting residents then discover that the soldiers are Germans who proceed to hold the village captive.
Rotten Tomatoes: When Churchill said we'd fight the Nazis on beaches, landing grounds, fields, streets and hills, he left out the church-yard, manorhouse, pub and village-green. But in this stirring, startlingly violent (for its time) masterwork of WW2 propaganda, that's exactly where the plucky locals of Bramley End engage the enemy. Inspired by a Graham Greene short story, this is a true hidden gem of our national cinema.
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]
78% (2) The Man Who Knew Too Much 75 min, Not Rated, [Crime, Mystery, Thriller] [Alfred Hitchcock] [15 Apr 1935]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 69%, Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination.
Actors: Edna Best, Frank Vosper, Leslie Banks, Peter Lorre
Writer: Charles Bennett (by), D.B. Wyndham-Lewis (by), Edwin Greenwood (scenario), A.R. Rawlinson (scenario), Emlyn Williams (additional dialogue)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, German, Italian, French Country: UK
Plot: While holidaying in Switzerland, Lawrence and his wife Jill are asked by a dying friend, Louis Bernard, to get information hidden in his room to the British Consulate. They get the information, but when they deny having it, their daughter Betty is kidnapped. It turns out that Louis was a Foreign Office spy and the information has to do with the assassination of a foreign dignitary. Having managed to trace his daughter's kidnappers back to London, Lawrence learns that the assassination will take place during a concert at the Albert Hall. It is left to Jill, however, to stop the assassination.
Rotten Tomatoes: While vacationing in Switzerland, Britons Leslie Banks and Edna Best befriend jovial Frenchman Pierre Fresnay. Not long afterward, Fresnay is murdered. He whispers a secret in Banks' ear before expiring. This is witnessed by several sinister foreign agents, who kidnap Banks' daughter to keep him from revealing what he knows.
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]
66% (1) Fire Over England 92 min, APPROVED, [Adventure, History, Romance, War] [William K. Howard] [05 Mar 1937]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Actors: Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Banks, Raymond Massey, Vivien Leigh
Writer: A.E.W. Mason (novel), Clemence Dane (screenplay), Sergei Nolbandov (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: UK
Plot: Queen Elizabeth is running this show. The men in her court should be thinking about how to add to the glory of the Elizabethan Age and how to foil those pesky Spanish who got far too much influence in England when her older sister Mary was on the throne after their father Henry VIII was succeeded by their sickly half brother. Elizabeth thinks Michael Ingolby can do great things. Michael is mostly thinking about one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting, Cynthia. Soon his mind is on survival when Elizabeth sends him on a voyage to Spain.
Rotten Tomatoes: The War between England and Spain in the late 16th century serves as backdrop for the fictional machinations of this film. The dazzlingly-handsome Laurence Olivier plays a British naval officer who offers his services to Queen Elizabeth after his father is executed by the Spaniards.
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]
63% (1) The Arsenal Stadium Mystery 85 min, [Comedy, Crime, Sport] [Thorold Dickinson] [01 Nov 1939]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, External Reviews
Actors: Greta Gynt, Ian McLean, Leslie Banks, Liane Linden
Writer: Leonard Reginald Gribble (original story), Thorold Dickinson (adaptation), Alan Hyman (adaptation), Patrick Kirwan (screenplay), Donald Bull (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: During a charity soccer match between top professional side Arsenal and touring amateur side Trojans, the Trojan's new star player collapses. When he dies, Inspector Slade of Scotland Yard is called in and declares it was murder. It takes all his ingenuity and another death before the motive is discovered and the killer revealed.
Rotten Tomatoes: The game of football figures prominently in The Arsenal Stadium Mystery -- not the American gridiron version, but the soccer-style competition played in England. The focus is on Anthony Bushell, playing a champion British football player. Bushell is poisoned to death during a game, in full view of a capacity crowd. Police inspector Leslie Banks enters the scene to determine who, why, and how. Like many British programmers of the 1930s, Arsenal Stadium Mystery was an early arrival on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Scroll To: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% [ / 6]