The world premiere of ‘The Dam Busters’: an Associated British picture, was held at The Empire Theatre, Leicester Square… Monday, May 16th 1955

BELOW – Richard Todd signs autographs for quite a lot of young fans during the filming of ‘The Dam Busters’ – this could have been at Waddington Lincolnshire – not sure on that.

Interesting to see on a film of the occasion, Princess Margaret attended and introducing some of the RAF personnel was Lord Tedder accompanied by his wife Lady Tedder.

She seems to have been a great film fan – a few years earlier she had visited Denham Studios to see filming of ‘Treasure Island’ and is seen here enjoying a drink with Robert Newton =- in costume in his memorable role as Long John Silver – and Walt Disney himself.

ABOVE:  Robert Newton in costume as Long John Silver with Walt Disney and Lady Tedder

You have got to hand it to Talking Pictures, they unearth and show films that would never see the light of day again – I have a feeling that this is a good example.

In The Lost Lagoon, Charlie Walker is a hard-working man with a lot of responsibilities but when he is washed overboard in a storm and is washed up in the Bahamas, he comes to realise that he no longer likes his old life and disappears to a new life as a hotel manager with pretty, young Liz Moore. They fall in love and the hotel becomes successful, life seems idyllic

LOST LAGOON is a mixture of Caribbean romance and melodrama. When he is washed up on the island, Jeffrey Lynn is nursed back to health by the small island’s population, including Liz Moore

Leila Barry – in her only film tole as Liz Moore looks quite beautiful

Jeffrey Lynn as Charlie, gives a fine performance, full of melancholia and soul searching and because of this the film is a better-than-average effort although it did have a quite meagre budget.

Unfortunately, later in the film we come to learn that his life insurance requires proof of death, and so in comes a curious insurance adjuster c (Peter Donat) looking for that proof.

The script is credited to Mr. Lynn and director John Rawlins

“Lost Lagoon” is a very low-budget film that still is very much worth seeing – it does very well considering the money available to make it.

Apparently this is the only production by Bermuda Studio Production and the leading lady never appeared in another film – nor can I find out any more about her after this. A pity – she looked so good.

Last evening I strolled up to our local pub for a drink, and as it happens taking place there was a pool match between our village and a team from the local town

The visitors were very friendly, amiable people and it was a pleasure to welcome them there. However they looked to me as the most heavily tattooed crowd I have ever seen and it got me to thinking back to the film world – something I do all the time.

I thought that Queequeg from Moby Dick 1956 who seemed very strange indeed at the time, would have fitted in very well with this team. His tattoos would probably have made him the star of the team I reckon

Queequeg played by Friedrich von Ledebur

Queequeg is the best harpooner aboad the Pequod sailing ship. He predicted death in chasing the big white whale and did not survive the sinking of the Pequod, in Herman Melville‘s literary masterpiece Moby Dick.

Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, the obsessed master of the Pequod, in the 1956 movie: Moby Dick.

Last night at the local and in many other areas these days, Queequeg would certainly not seem out of place

Well I am repeating an earlier post below and in it I have written that no photographs are known to exist from this film, let alone a print of the film itself. I wish I could say we have found the film but as yet no luck.

This bit of luck came my way though – a still from the film showing Richard Todd in RAF uniform and his colleague. who I think is either David Markham or Peter Marinka – from the cast list coupled with process of elimination

It arrived in my possession today and I am so pleased.

This film had a very strong cast – Gillian Raine who Richard Todd recommended for the part, Patrick Barr who had been with him in The Story of Robin Hood, Sonia Dresdel, Susan Jameson and Malcolm Tierney – all seasoned and polished actors with a lot of experience in films.

What a pity this Technicolor Film cannot be found – I have a feeling that it would be quite special – maybe even a mini classic

RE- PRINT Below :-

Well, I don’t know anyone who has ever seen this film – and I do know that even the star of the film Richard Todd never saw it.

There seem to be no pictures or film stills for us to use from this film

It starts out in a curious fashion in October of 1967.  Richard Todd was staying at his flat in London one evening when a knock came at the door and he opened it to quite a forlorn looking character who was Peter Everett. He had written a script for a film and was producing and directing it. He begged Richard Todd to read the script which Richard did later that night.  

The following evening Peter Everett came round again and was almost in tears and imploring Richard Todd to take the leading role in his film – he explained that Richard was vital to the film.

Richard Todd had , however been very impressed by the script that Peter Everett had written – they story centred on a former RAF fighter pilot who had seen much action in the War, and now the War was over seemed unable to adjust to the realities of post war life. He became more and more engrossed with memories of those finest hours and about the colleagues who had perished – he became lost in a hideous dream world much to the contempt of his son and the agony of his long suffering wife.   He had in the story, taken on a Pub close to a Wartime airfield in Kent – and proceeded to cram it with memorabilia of the conflict.

Finally almost deranged he dons his RAF uniform and wanders on to the airfield, surrounded in his mind by ghosts of the past.  His son finds him and at last seems to understand his inner turmoil and quietly talks him back to safety.    This is a touching scene that bridges the generations.

Richard Todd was profoundly disturbed by the script – however he found it beautifully written by Peter Everett who was a novelist and poet.

Richard Todd agreed to do it – he had by this time been told that filming would start in a few days time down at Hawkinge in Kent – and he learned that quite a strong cast of well-known British actors had been lined up including Patrick Barr, David Markham, Sonia Dresdel, Sue Jameson and Malcolm Tierney.  Then a  new cast member Gillian Raine was brought in to play the Airman’s wife – on Richard Todd’s recommendation. He said that he loved working with her.

The first day’s filming proved a nightmare of incompetence and chaos – a young cameraman had been assigned who had been a still specialist and no experience of this type of work.  That evening Richard Todd phoned up contacts he had and an experienced film cameraman and crew arrived on set  the next day.

Scenes in the local Pub at Paddlesworth went well –

Other studio scenes were done in a converted Hangar at Panshanger, a former RAF airfield Nr Welwyn.

This film was finished in November 1967. Richard Todd thought that they had managed to produce something really good.

However, he added ‘ What happened to ‘The last of the Long Haired Boys’ I don’t know’ 

Apparently he was out of the country when it was due for release – and he never saw any share of the profits from the film – if indeed there were any.

However one day some time afterwards he was sitting in a Restaurant in London when an old acting friend Trevor Howard came up to him and said ‘ Just seen your film Ther Last of the Long Haired Boys.  Bloody marvellous, Dicky old boy’

As Richard said ‘ I could not have asked for a finer accolade than that from my screen hero’

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If anyone out there knows of – or has seen this film please let me know. I have searched around for years for it – but to no avail. There must be a 16 mm or 35 mm copy somewhere

“Running from 1953 to 1983, *The Good Old Days* featured 108 episodes out of 245 that have survived.

Over its run, the show presented approximately 2000 acts, each episode lasting one hour and always concluding with the audience singing along to ‘Down At The Old Bull And Bush’ with the artists.

Leonard Sachs, who introduced each evening’s acts, meticulously reviewed nearly all episodes.

The audience and performers donned Victorian and Edwardian costumes, creating a unique atmosphere. The show featured a wide array of acts, including notable names such as Roy Hudd, Les Dawson, Roy Castle, Barbara Windsor, Hattie Jacques, Ken Dodd, Hylda Baker, Larry Grayson, and Danny La Rue, among others. Filmed at Leeds City Varieties,

*The Good Old Days* remains a cherished part of television history.

The Good Old Days

In 1953 Producer Barney Colehan, proposed outside broadcasts from the Leeds City Varieties Theatre.

The BBC were already transmitting a series called ‘Music Hall’ which began in 1950.

The idea was to send the cameras into an audience-filled music hall show in the hope of picking up and relaying into people’s homes the same sense of atmosphere of people having a night out.

‘Music Hall’ had been broadcast from the Scala in London’s West End before an audience. One of the Music Hall programmes was staged in the Bourneville Hall, Birmingham, thus giving the Midland TV audience their first local relay of television variety; another from the Theatre Royal Leeds, opened TV programmes for the North.

Barney Colehan’s idea was to have a master of ceremonies who would compere proceedings and the show would include more audience participation, singing along to the popular music hall songs of yesteryear.

Derek Guyler hosted the series which was called City Varieties. But that same year it changed its title and got a new host: Don Gemmell, who after only three shows.

On a personal note – In the late Sixties, I lodged on the opposite side of the road to where Derek Guyler lived in Norbury, South London. Never saw much of him though

Anyway back to the original story, Don Gemmell then handed over to Leonard Sachs who was on familiar territory hosting The Good Old Days. In 1936 along with Peter Ridgeway he had acquired premises on the top floor of 43 Kings Street, Covent Garden and rapidly established the Players’ Theatre Club. In 1937, they presented an evening of Music Hall entertainment. The show was an instant success.

Leonard Sachs had a gift for discovering new talent and in those early days he introduced to audiences the likes of Patricia Hayes, Megs Jenkins, Bernard Miles and Peter Ustinov – who made his professional debut just twelve hours after his audition. The Players’ quickly established itself by public and critics as ‘The most original entertainment in London’

Destined to become household names, Hattie Jacques, Ian Carmichael, Clive Dunn, Patsy Rowlands and Maggie Smith all walked out for the first time on its hallowed floorboards.

Sachs was soon asked to present a similar show at the Festival Gardens, for the Festival of Britain. So favourable was the response, that the great theatre chain of the time, Moss Empires, invited Sachs to undertake a long tour of all the major variety theatres in the United Kingdom. It was only natural that the BBC should be the next to make an approach.

His impact on The Good Old Days was instantaneous and the show, which was originally scheduled for four outings, was then extended to thirteen, then twenty-six weekly editions. It remained a part of the BBC light entertainment for 30 years.

Steve Reeves is back in action here with the type of film we associate with him – and in which he is always good

The film  La Battaglia di Maratona, was released in the US and the Uk as The Giant of Marathon.

The film starts in Olympia in 490 BCE, where the games are being held and Phillippides ( Steve Reeves ) wins everything.

Upon returning to Athens, the city-state he was representing, he is named Captain of the Sacred Guard, which is the elite guard of the city.

However behind the scenes there is some political intrigue, Hippias who once ruled Athens has plans to return and seize control of the city. He had in the recent past fled Persia and managed to influence the ruler there.

This film was a French/Italian co-production and, when it began was being directed by the very experienced Jacques Tourneur.

Tourneur didn’t like the film and didn’t want to do it, but he was under contract. However midway through the filming, his contract ran out and he just left.

The Producers then turned , Mario Bava.

So effectively this film was directed by two people who are quite well known for their visual style and yet the finished film is quite ordinary to look at.

MGM took up the distribution of the film in the USA and I must say did a very good job with a saturation style release and bags of publicity – and they ended up making a sizeable profit. Steve Reeves had become pretty much Box Office gold during this period but his star was not going to shine for long – he was really limited to the ‘epic’ film and this eventually faded

Starring: Steve Reeves, Mylène Demongeot, Sergio Fantoni, Alberto Lupo, Daniele Vargas, Gianni Loti, Miranda Campa, Philippe Hersent, Anita Todesco, Ivo Garrani, Daniela Rocca, Sergio Ciani, Franco Fantasia, Carlo Lombardi, Ignazio Balsamo, Gian Paolo Rosmino, Walter Grant, Maria Grazia Sandri, Gérard Herter, Rinaldo Zamperla Directors: Jacques Tourneur, Mario Bava
Titanus, Galatea Film, Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France, Societé Cinématographique Lyre, Italy, France, 1959. 

Terence Rattigan is my favourite playwright, his dialogue is so intelligent, and the storytelling so beautifully constructed.

Along with ‘The Winslow Boy’ and particularly ‘The Browning Version’, ‘Separate Tables’ is a perfect example of Terence Rattigan at his best,

The film version had David Niven giving one of his best performances as the disgraced Major at the Hotel, and it is a film packed with stars.

I always think that Burt Lancaster was not the right actor for his role in this film, but he was responsible for financing the film. So we have to give him some credit

The story is centred around long stay guests in a small seaside hotel – all different types put together but not necessarily with any perceived warmth for one another. Really a study in loneliness.

Gladys Cooper with Deborah Kerr ABOVE

ABOVE David Niven – as The Major – enters the dining room – in disgrace and fears the reaction of his fellow residents.

ABOVE Deborah Kerr hears the news that The Major will be leaving

BELOW – An awkward breakfast with The Major very uncomfortable as the other residents look on

On ‘The Terence Rattigan Collection’ DVD issue there is available many of his best works as done by the BBC over a period of years. There is ‘The Winslow Boy’ with Eric Porter and Alan Badel, and the 1985 adaptation of ‘The Browning Version with Ian Holm and Judi Dench

This is nowhere near as good as the Michael Redgrave film of 1951 ( one of the finest adaptations of any of Rattigan’s plays )

In this 1954 film, Attila was played by Jack Palance but at the same time a French Italian version ‘Attila the Hun’ had been made with Anthony Quinn in the title role – these were released more or less together although the Anthony Quinn version came in November 1954 and Sign of the Pagan on 11 February 1955

Sign of the Pagan was made in Hollywood

Jeff Chandler was probably at his most popular in 1954

1954 Universal International film titled Sign of the Pagan. It is an epic adventure tale set in the 15th-Century about the chieftain Attila the Hun who was a leader of the Hunnic Empire in central Europe .

Jess Chandler plays a Roman centurion called Marcian – the real Emperor

There takes place a battle of wits and wills between Attila/Jack Palance and Marcian/Jeff Chandler . Jack Palance dominates in this historical adventure with acting in the ‘over the top’ variety – very effective – much as he did a decade later in Barabbas – one of my favourite epic films

Marcian gains the favour of Pulcheria (Ludmilla Tchérina ) , lovely sister of Theodosius , who wants a united Empire and is plotting against Attila .

As Attila marches across Empire to Rome, things look bleak for the weakened imperial forces .

This spectacular film contains plenty of action , battles , thrills , romance , historical events – even if they are more fiction than fact, and large impressive crowd scenes that fill the giant Cinemascope screen

The film has big production values , lavishly produced , brilliant photography and rousing soundtrack – all from Universal International at the time .

The film was directed by Douglas Sirk who did a very good job

Attila the Hun 1954

After starring in La Strada Anthony Quinn went on to do two more films while in Italy, Ulysses where he supported Kirk Douglas and Attila where he starred as the bloodthirsty Hun chief who nearly conquered Rome.

This clip / trailer above does not make the film look particularly good and there is one brief shot where a rear projection scene is amateurish. I think that this was made very much on the cheap.

I hope that David Raynor a regular contributor, knows more about these two ‘epics’ – I hope so and hope that he comments and adds a bit more

I had not heard of Gilbert Gunn until, maybe six or so years ago, when I saw advertised a stack of his papers including letters that he had written and these were for sale. A woman in the lovely Lincolnshire village of Woodhall Spa had these items and I purchased them and went to collect. My interest of course was his strong connection with the film industry – the British Film Industry specifically – which I am obviously interested in.

There are probably 40 or so papers in the folder – letters from 1949 up to 1958

Gilbert Gunn

ABOVE from 1958 – it seems a Theatrical

It seems that a Theatrical Agent was attempting to get some of his actors into a Gilbert Gunn film – and there are some famous names Actors not yet in the public eye such as Maggie Smith, Patricia Marmont, Ian Hendry and Peter Hammond

ABOVE and BELOW – Letters or Memos that Gilbert Gunn wrote to various people in -or connected with – the film world. There are quite a lot of them

Gilbert Gunn

Remembering Gilbert Gunn, screenwriter & director, born on this day in 1905

Screenwriter & director Gilbert Gunn was born in Scotland.

Not much is known about Gilbert Gunn, despite him directing some very popular films which are still regularly shown on channels such as Talking Pictures. It could be said that Gunn helped launch many a career in film, from directing Rachel Roberts and Kenneth Williams in their first credited film appearances, to Adam Faith in his first leading film role.

Gilbert Gunn started as a screenwriter, contributing scenes to several of the films he worked on as well as writing the screenplays of “Chamber of Horrors”, “Landfall”, and “Me & My Pal”.

After directing wartime recruitment shorts for the Ministry of Information, Gunn was enlisted by Elstree, then called ABPC, to create & compile a documentary to mark 25 years of the studios.

Over the course of three months, Gunn watched hundreds of hours of film, sometimes twice, to devise and produce “Elstree Story”, hosted by actor Richard Todd.

After “Elstree Story”, Gunn was entrusted to direct “Valley of Song“, the film adaptation of Cliff Gordon’s radio play “Choir Practice“. Gilbert wanting to use the original play title ‘Choir Practice’ but the film chiefs didn’t want that

Filmed at Elstree Studios and on location in Wales, the film marks the first credited film appearances of Rachel Roberts and Kenneth Williams. Coincidentally, Roberts & Williams both worked together in 1950 at Swansea repertory theatre under the directorship of Clifford Evans, who also stars in “Valley of Song“.

Gilbert Gunn must have been a pleasant director to work with as Kenneth Williams, who was never one to hold back, wrote the following in his diary when he visited Elstree on the 24th of October 1952:

“To Elstree for my one line in Choir Practice directed by Gilbert Gunn. It was all over for me by 12 o’c. Very nice. My father was played by Kenneth Evans. Two Kenneths. Terribly funny really.”

After “Valley of Song“, Gunn was reunited with John Fraser to direct him in “The Good Beginning”, after which he directed Zena Marshall in “My Wife’s Family”. This was followed by the sci-fi B-movie “The Strange World of Planet X” (released as “Cosmic Monsters” in the USA) and then “Girls at Sea” which Gunn also produced.
1959 saw the release of the army comedy “Operation Bullshine” directed by Gunn and featuring Barbara Murray, Carole Lesley, Naunton Wayne, Dora Bryan, & Amanda Barrie.

Gunn also directed “What a Whopper” with Adam Faith in his first starring film role. Adam had appeared in films previously, including “Beat Girl”, but “What a Whopper” put him front and centre alongside Carole Lesley and a cast including Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, and Wilfrid Brambell (plus an uncredited brief appearance by Amanda Barrie).

Gunn only made one appearance on film, in the 1941 production of “The Farmer’s Wife” as a pianist, presumably drafted in when the shout went up for a for a piano-player at ABPC studios.

Gilbert Gunn died at the age of 62 on the 6th of December 1967. Whilst the body of work he left behind may not be critically-acclaimed, it certainly provided an important showcase for up-and-coming stars and his films are still very enjoyed to this day, thanks to regular repeats on television and through re-issues of the titles on DVD.

BELOW

A film that Gilbert Gunn directed and he also wrote it

OPERATION BULLSHINE 1959

One of the actors in this was the lovely actress Joan Rice

In many ways this seemed to be a copy of The Prisoner of Zenda’ – a similar storyline.

In 1951 Anthony Dexter made his film debut in “VALENTINO”. The resemblance to the original silent screen idol was uncanny.

Columbia Pictures thought they would build him as a swashbuckler like his predecessor.

So this is the film that they cast him in – it was an adventure story supposedly based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas but with more similarities to Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda in that he plays a dual role – a wounded king and an adventurer who is persuaded to double for him.

Anothony.Dexter handles his role(s)well including exciting sword duels and several dance routines .The film is in Technicolor – always a selling point for me – and direction by Phil Karlson.

The supporting cast are very good – Anthony Quinn as the villain, the two female leads Jody Lawrence and Gale Robbins,and Carl Benton Reid

 The King of Mandoora (a mythical country on the Iberian peninsula near Spain,Portugal and Northern Africa and not far from France)and his look-a-like half commoner cousin Captain de Largo (Anthony Dexter)are much like the Zenda characters King Rudolf of Ruritania (a country in Western Europe bordering Germanic speaking countries)and his half English commoner cousin Rudolph Rassendyll.

Ramon the evil royal cousin (Anthony Quinn) is the equivalent of King Rudolf of Ruritania’s half-brother the ambitious Prince Michael and Prince Michael’s disloyal rogue of a friend Rupert of Hentzau. There are many similarities between the stories but that hardly matters because anyone who loves classic adventure and the works of Alexandre Dumas and Anthony Hope will be happy with this

There were dozens of these made in the late 40’s and early 50’s, all done in color and looking much more expensive than they really were. Anthony Dexter, shows a variety of traits as an irresponsible king and his lookalike cousin, brought in to impersonate him after another cousin (Anthony Quinn) attempted an assassination.

The beginning of the film shows the more heroic Dexter character working as a guard for a middle eastern king, involved in a bizarre subplot involving a jealous diplomat and his philandering wife. Colourful costumes, redesigned sets from other Columbia swashbuckling (of which there were many) and plenty action are the highlights, and Dexter and Quinn are fabulous adversaries. 

The Brigand 1952

The Brigand is an entertaining and engaging costume romp that is well filmed, and features an appealing and understated performance by that much underrated actor, Anthony Dexter, in the duo-lead roles. Able backing is provided by Anthony Quinn as the treacherous and slimy villain of the piece. So many movies of this type are throw-away and forgettable, but this one has sufficient pace, as well as a good storyline, to retain the viewers interest throughout. It’s such a fine movie that it’s difficult to understand why it’s never been released commercially, and remains to this day very much of a rarity. It’s also interesting to note that it was the follow-up feature to Valentino, for Anthony Dexter, and it’s perfectly clear that only bad luck prevented him from going on to be a top Hollywood star. Far lesser actors managed to forge long, star-studded careers for themselves, so it will always remain something of a mystery as to why Mr Dexter never reached the heights.

The Brigand 1952

The Brigand 1952 BELOW – Very Interesting that a comic such as the one below was issued. Maybe it was thought that would increase the Box Office business – certainly create interest outside of the Cinema

The Brigand 1952