89% (2) This Sporting Life 134 min, [Drama, Sport] [Lindsay Anderson] [22 May 1963]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.
Actors: Alan Badel, Rachel Roberts, Richard Harris, William Hartnell
Writer: David Storey (based on the novel by), David Storey (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver. Machin lodges with Mrs Hammond, whose husband was killed in an accident at Weaver's, but his impulsive and angry nature stop him from being able to reach her as he would like. He becomes increasingly frustrated with his situation, and this is not helped by the more straightforward enticements of Mrs Weaver.
Rotten Tomatoes: Adapted by David Storey from his own novel, this drama stars Richard Harris as an athletic coal miner who aspires to the greener pastures of professional rugby. Soon establishing himself as one of the most brutal and arrogant players in the business, Harris begins amassing a fortune.
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84% (2) Brighton Rock 92 min, [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir] [John Boulting] [21 Sep 1948]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, Rotten Tomatoes: 95%, External Reviews
Actors: Harcourt Williams, Hermione Baddeley, Richard Attenborough, William Hartnell
Writer: Graham Greene (from the novel by), Graham Greene (screenplay), Terence Rattigan (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: UK
Plot: Pinkie Brown is a small-town hoodlum whose gang runs a protection racket based at Brighton race course. When Pinkie orders the murder of a rival, Fred, the police believe it to be suicide. This doesn't convince Ida Arnold, who was with Fred just before he died, and she sets out to find the truth. She comes across naive waitress Rose, who can prove that Fred was murdered. In an attempt to keep Rose quiet Pinkie marries her. But with his gang beginning to doubt his ability, and his rivals taking over his business, Pinkie starts to become more desperate and violent.
Rotten Tomatoes: Pinky, the psychotic, razor-toting gang leader, romances and marries a teenage waitress in order to keep her silent about one of his nefarious crimes.
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79% (2) The Mouse That Roared 83 min, Approved, [Comedy] [Jack Arnold] [01 Nov 1959]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 70%, Rotten Tomatoes: 89%, External Reviews
Actors: David Kossoff, Jean Seberg, Peter Sellers, William Hartnell
Writer: Roger MacDougall (screenplay), Stanley Mann (screenplay), Leonard Wibberley (novel)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, French Country: UK
Plot: The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the smallest country in the world, is nestled in the French Alps. Being as isolated as it is, its life is a throwback to olden days. It is a happy, peace-loving country. Its economy solely rests on export of its only wine, Pinot Grand Fenwick, to the US. When a California vintner starts producing and selling a knock-off of the Pinot Grand Fenwick at a lower price, the Grand Fenwick economy goes into a crisis situation, the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Three protests to the US go largely unanswered. Grand Fenwick's Prime Minister, Rupert of Mountjoy, believes the solution is to declare war on the US, and promptly lose the war in less than a day with no casualties on either side, after which the US, which it has historically done, will provide vast financial aide to rebuild the country. Grand Fenwick's monarch, the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII, ultimately supports this concept. The plan is to send an official declaration of war to the US, have a small army of approximately twenty sail from Marseilles to New York City, and the army immediately surrendering when they can't enter the US without visas anyway. Although seen as a hapless man, the person to lead the mission is Tully Bascombe, who inherited the roles of Grand Fenwick's head forest ranger, head field marshal and grand constable of the armed forces, which still uses longbows and arrows as their weapon. The Prime Minister and Duchess believe that even Tully cannot screw up losing the war. But things do not go according to plan, due largely to the US official receiving the declaration believing it to be a gag, and events happening in New York City the day the army arrives leading to the army having no one to surrender to. Things take a further turn when Tully believes that they can actually win the war by kidnapping Doctor Alfred Kokintz and his q-bomb - which is exponentially more deadly than the h-bomb - which he is developing for the US. This move by Tully leads to an all-out global crisis. In the process, they need to also kidnap Kokintz's daughter, Helen Kokintz, with who Tully falls in love, but who sees in Tully solely a criminal. Even the greatest diplomatic minds may not be able to figure a way out of this crisis, especially with Tully on the scene.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this film, the tiny country of Grand Fenwick faces economic ruin when their chief export of wine loses out to a California vintage. They declare war on the United States, hoping to receive money to rebuild the country after they lose. However, things don't go according to plan.
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68% (1) Escape 78 min, [Film-Noir, Thriller] [Joseph L. Mankiewicz] [17 May 1948]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 68%, External Reviews
Actors: Norman Wooland, Peggy Cummins, Rex Harrison, William Hartnell
Writer: Philip Dunne, John Galsworthy (play)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK, USA
Plot: A convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes from a prison and goes on the run aided by a local girl.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this drama, set after the war, a WW II flying ace and hero comes to the aid of a hooker who is being harassed by a policeman. He pushes the abusive cop away during the tussle; the cop falls, hits his head, and dies. The former flier is promptly tried and given a three-year prison sentence. He escapes one night during a heavy fog. He is taken in by a caring woman who tries convincing him to surrender. The fugitive at first refuses, but then after seeking sanctuary in a church relents because he does not want the parson to have to lie on his behalf. His surrender is made easier by the knowledge that the woman will wait for him.
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63% (1) Carry On Sergeant 84 min, Approved, [Comedy, War] [Gerald Thomas] [12 Dec 1958]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, External Reviews
Actors: Charles Hawtrey, Dora Bryan, Eric Barker, Kenneth Williams, Shirley Eaton, William Hartnell, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams
Writer: R.F. Delderfield (by), Norman Hudis (screenplay), John Antrobus (additional material)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: Sergeant Grimshaw wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But what a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshaw to put the no-hopers through their paces.
Rotten Tomatoes: This first entry in the long-running (some would say interminable) British "Carry On" series is at base a collection of motheaten army jokes, albeit served up with freshness and energy. Future Doctor Who star William Hartnell plays Sergeant Major Grimshaw, whose fondest wish is to win the coveted Best Troop Award before his retirement. Alas, this may never come to pass: his newest batch of conscripts include some of the biggest and stupidest foul-ups in military history. Popular comedian-cartoonist Bob Monkhouse and cockney bombshell Shirley Eaton head up the supporting cast, which includes such "Carry On" stalwarts-to-be as Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams. Carry On Sergeant was very loosely based on The Bull Boys, a novel by R. F. Delderfield.
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61% (1) Appointment with Crime 90 min, UNRATED, [Crime, Drama] [John Harlow] [18 Feb 1951]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 61%, External Reviews
Actors: Herbert Lom, Raymond Lovell, Robert Beatty, William Hartnell
Writer: John Harlow (screenplay)
External Links: IMDb Language: English Country: UK
Plot: An ex-con, released after imprisonment for a jewel theft, swears vengeance on his former accomplices and devises an intricate plan to steal their fortune.
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