SABU AND THE MAGIC RING (1957)

Sabu, was a veteran of classic Hollywood films in the 1940s, although he began his career under the direction of Alexander Korda at London Films who operated from Denham Film Studios.

This is somewhat later where he seems to attempt to keep his career afloat, Prior to this film, Sabu made a jungle film, JAGUAR, with the same director and almost the same writing-and-producing team. His early films in this vogue were quite big budget ones greasy ben this was not anywhere near on that scale.

In the film Sabu is a penniless stable boy who comes across a magic ring and finds that he can summon the hugely proportioned genie Ubal (William Marshall), who will grant him any wish– so long as he holds the ring. Trouble is, the city’s evil vizier witnesses the genie’s power and wants the ring.

Many don’t know that during World War II, Sabu served in the United States Army Air Corps and did so with distinction having won several awards for service above and beyond the call of normal duty. Being of a diminutive size he easily could fit in bomber aircraft tail and belly gun positions. When the war was over and he was discharged from the service, he wanted to return to the motion picture industry. Unfortunately, except for one superb film, Michael Powell’s “Black Narcissus”, most of the offerings were paltry. Audiences after the war, weren’t very interested in his kind of escapism; jungle adventures were not so fascinating anymore.

Eventually, he was approached by George Blair the producer/director who wanted Sabu to star in a television series that took place in a kind of Baghdad setting.

Two pilots were shot for that series and this is what became “Sabu and the Magic Ring” when the TV show failed to become a series. Like the Superman series this one was also shot in colour. The costar of it was William Marshall

The plot was a kind of cheap Arabian adventure, but it could in no way capture the days of Sabu’s majestic 1940 masterpiece “The Thief of Baghdad”.

This film is marginally better that Sabu films of this time, “Jungle Boy/Jungle Hell” which is two separate films sewn together from one picture.

After this, Sabu only made a handful of films and died at the very young age of 39.

However For many of us, though, he will always be that smiling boy sailing through the azure skies on his flying carpet seeking ever greater adventures. We have to bear in mind though that he had been to War since those heady days and would have been much changed by that experience

This was a favourite film of my Dad’s – and it is certainly one of mine

Terrorised by an evil landlord, the inhabitants of a shabby London boarding house exist precariously on the edge of disaster and despair. But when a new, rather strange lodger (Conrad Veidt) arrives, things seem to mysteriously take a turn for the better.

Conrad Veidt plays the mysterious stranger who takes up residence in a non too pleasant area of London in a boarding house whose residents are a mixture of sad, lonely and poor people.

Rene Ray plays one such resident and she really takes to the stranger whose quiet dignity and strength inspires her to survival in those tough times with his spiritual air

Conrad Veidt is impressive in this role.

This is a really interesting film, based on a Victorian play by Jerome K. Jerome.

Its director, Viertel, had left Germany for England, where he made several films. The Stranger is played by Conrad Veidt, famous for his roles in Dr. Caligari, and Casablanca.

It is an allegory of the struggle between good and evil. I especially enjoyed the performances of Conrad Veidt and Mary Clare, and Rene Ray 

This one of Conrad Veidt’s best portrayals, which says a lot, especially if you consider the parts he played particularly in The Thief of Bagdad, The Spy in Black and Casablanca.

An almost classic Science Fiction film

A flying saucer lands in Washington D.C. From it emerges a giant robot and Michael Rennie. He wishes to speak with the leaders of the earth, all of them, but that is impossible, So he escapes and makes his way to a boarding house, where he can learn about humans.

It’s a great cast, including Patricia Neal and Sam Jaffe as the smartest man in the world Like all serious science fiction films, it has an Important Message. Unlike many of them, it never disguises that this film is about the need to learn to live together in peace.

Robert Wise, that great director, does his usual impeccable job.

I am talking now of Two films that have nothing much in common except from a personal angle because I happened to have watched them quite close together – within a couple of days of one another.

The first a great favourite of mine ‘Mr Perrin and Mr Traill’ released in 1948 and the other a so-called cinema classic ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ which came out over a decade later but one which seems to gather lavish praise.

I find Mr Perrin and Mr Traill a fascinating story set at a private boarding school in the West Country between the Wars with a quick moving plot and quick moving scenes that hold the audience.

In contrast ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is long and drawn out with a slow moving plot and even slower moving scenes. There are too many long silences with us waiting for Gregory Peck to speak leaving us just wanting to wind things up like clockwork and get them moving.

I have to admit that I am not a great fan of Gregory Peck even though he had such a long and successful career in films. He just appears so down-beat and in need of a rev up in many scenes – particularly in this one.

ABOVE – With Mr Perrin and Mr Traill, we have sharp and punchy dialogue and well cast characters – all capable of turning in a good performance – and in this film they do just that

I can’t think that ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ had a very big budget. The home and village where most of the cation took place was quite confined – and the final courtroom drama looked to be filmed on quite a small set.

Nevertheless the filmmakers extracted the maximum from the quite limited surroundings.

Back to ‘Mr Perrin and Mr Traill’ which I far prefer, pne of he stars – in fact the female lead – was Greta Gynt. She certainly looked very lovely and captured the heart of Mr Perrin whose inability to admit his feelings and his failure to act led him to be devastated when she turned elsewhere.

I remember Grta Gynt a few years late in another favourite – the widescreen, Colour film ‘The Blue Peter’

Greta Gynt

The Blue Peter 1955 Film

The Film title comes from the flag of England’s Outward Bound Sea School at Aberdovey, Wales.

The Story concerns Mike Merriworth, a Merchant Navy hero of the Korean War returns to England after three years of captivity in Communist hands, his mind confused by brain-washing and indoctrination at the hands of his captors, and accepts a post as an instructor at the Outward Bound Sea School

Stars: Kieron Moore, Sarah Lawson, Greta Gynt, Harry Fowler, Mervyn Johns, Anthony Newley

This film was released on 1 January 1951 and looking down the cast list I see some names that became- or were – very familiar. Patrick McNee, Terence Alexander, Archie Duncan, Peter Colpey, Arthur Wontner ( a famous film Sherlock Holmes ) and Eugene Deckers to name just a few.

In this costume adventure set in France during the Reign of Terror, a mysterious man known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues noblemen from the guillotine and leads them to safety across the English Channel.

Chauvelin played by Cyril Cusack – is determined to unmask the Pimpernel and bring him to justice. When evidence begins to suggest that the hero is actually foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, Chauvelin blackmails Percy’s wife, Marguerite, into cooperating on the threat that he’ll expose the criminal activities of her brother Armand.

However, Marguerite doesn’t much care for her husband, hardly believes he could be the heroic Pimpernel, and is startled when she finds out that he truly is the hero.

The film was conceived as a co-production deal between Alexander Korda’s London Films and Samuel Goldwyn, in which it was agreed that Goldwyn would fund half the film’s production costs in exchange for US distribution rights. 

Korda had produced a versionof ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ in 1935 with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, and Goldwyn anticipated a colour remake that would repeat that film’s international success.

The Elusive Pimpernel was eventually released in America in a further truncated form (and in black and white) as The Fighting Pimpernel.
Although both Powell and Pressburger were dissatisfied with it, The film itself is highly enjoyable.

It features stunning location work in Bath, the Loire Valley and on Mont St. Michel

There are some lavish costumes to see – David Niven and Jack Hawkins’ humbug-striped tailcoats and frilly lace cuffs commanding as much visual attention as Margaret Leighton’s elegant ball

There is one action sequence in the film that has stayed with me since I saw this with my Mother and Father at the time of release and that was when Sir Percy in his horse and carriage race against the Jack Hawkins character. As they speed neck and neck, in the distance is a narrow bridge that only one can get through. It is quite exciting as they hurtle towards this obstacle. In the end Sir Percy wins leaving the other carriage to veer away and come to a crashing halt.

Because of the contractual troubles around the production and release, this film was not that well promoted – not at all in the USE until a few years later – so it is not well remembered and not often shown on TV.

Nevertheless it is a very colourful production

Another Victor Mature film but this time one that did not fare well with the public. I don’t Think that this was at all well promoted at the time of it’s release or I would certainly have noticed it more – I do remember it though.

Again a film shot in Technicolor and Cinemascope with much of the action in the Caribbean

ABOVE – Victor Mature and Karen Steele in a publicity still for the film

Based on actual events in the development of a shark repellent by the U.S. Navy in World War 2. First used in 1943, it was granted a patent in 1949 and was used by the Navy until 1973.

However its effectiveness is now judged dubious nowadays. The actual scientific work consisted of observations of shark behaviour in 1942 off Mayport, Florida; Woods Hole, Massachusetts; and the harbour of Guayaquil, Ecuador by civilian scientists of the Marine Studios Oceanarium.

Filming took place in the middle of the Cuban revolution, which started on July 26, 1953 and culminated when Cuban president Fulgencio Batista fled the country on January 1, 1959. Around the time of filming in March 1955, unrest was growing and student demonstrations against Batista were becoming more commonplace.

ABOVE – The Press Book from the Film

‘The Sharkfighters’ was filmed – filming finished in March 1955 a shoot of maybe little more than a month

We saw this famous Charles Dickeens Story done as a stage play a few months ago at the Lincoln Theatre Royal. Brilliantly done with special sound effects and smoke to add to the atmosphere as we sat in the stalls and could almost see the train speeding towards us – all illusion of course but how good it was.

This adaptation on Talking picture starred Denholm Elliott in the main role as the Signalman evertually telling his story to the stranger – and what a story it was. I think that it was originally a BBC Production.

BELOW: The Signalman does his job – day in and day out.

BELOW: The Stranger arrives

This was a perfect adaptation of a ghost story. The location is right – actually at Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway and the performances beautifully measured – and the atmosphere engulfs the viewer

The adaptation stays loyal to the story.

Denholm Elliott standing at the mouth of the tunnel as smoke billows out behind him after the collision and the night shot of the stranger returning to the inn are quite remarkable.

An extremely good version of a great and ghostly story leaving us shivering just a little.

For some reason I had it in my head that this was a Francis Durbridge story adapted from a TV serial – they usually ran over six weeks – but I was wrong and it was not one of his at all. I must admit the title s like one of hios and watching the film, it seemed to move along in that style.

I was wrong though.

Nevertheless it was an absorbing and intriguing storyline where we never know quite what was going on as we were transported scene to scene in and around London and the Home Counties

A plane crash sets the story in motion, where a man is killed – or is he ?

ABOVE – Joan Scott ( Betty McDouwall) hears that her husband has been killed in the plane crash and here is comforted by her friend Pam Jennings ( Clare Owen)

ABOVE and BELOW: Bill Vernon ( Vincent Ball ) chats with Pam and Joan

Joan is devastated and just cannot believe that her husband has gone – and strange things then start to happen

ABOVE : Col Justin ( Geoffrey Toone) is now involved and a crashed car leads to more developments. Bill Vernon assists him.

Bill Vernon chats with Pam/

All in all a very entertaining film

Betty McDowell was a n Australian actress who cam to England and had quite a success in films like this one, and on the West End Stage but I was intrigued to see that she also played Laura Archer on Radio in ‘The Archers’

Vincent Ball was another Australian who came here and was in quite a number of films and Television dramas. He did go back to Australia and is still alive at the age of 100. He did play a part in Australia as recently as 2014 when he was a mere 91

I liked this film which was shown a few days ago on one of the many TV Film Channels.

Well, it starred Victor Mature who, as readers of this Blog will have come to realise is a favourite of mine – as he was of my father – and he gives another good performance

Victor Mature’s diverse career included starring in a number of historical epics – Samson and Delilah (1949), The Robe (1953), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), and The Egyptian (1954).

These big-budget films were interspersed with lighter fare such as Wabash Avenue (1950) with Betty Grable and Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) with Esther Williams.

He also starred in numerous Westerns, including Fury at Furnace Creek (1948), Chief Crazy Horse (1955), and this one – The Last Frontier (1955).

This is an enjoyable Western. The scenery Is fantastic. The soundtrack Is in stereo- which is quite something for a Western In 1955

Most of the scenes are Inside a military fort or shot on location.

Victor Mature plays a trapper turned military scout trying to prevent a glory-mad Colonel from attacking the Indians as It would mean a massacre of the whole fort.

Robert Preston plays the colonel who Is constantly at loggerheads with Victor Mature.

The final battle with the Indians is very well staged and goes on for quite a while – the action taking place in a forest – beautifully filmed

The film fared pretty well at the Box Office – as most Victor Mature films did

The biggest hit of the year ‘White Christmas’ swelled Paramount’s Bank balance by 12 million dollars from the American release alone – and pretty much the same again from the rest of the World

Such stars – and talents – as Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye along with Irving Berlin certainly did the trick – ably assisted by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The story was nothing special but was about a couple of entertainers assisted by their girl friends who put on a show at a Winter Resort Hotel to make it a success for their old Army Officer.

The production was in Technicolor and VistaVision – the first film to be released using this process which was Paramount’s answer to Cinemascope.

The film boasted 15 Irving Berlin songs including ‘Count Your Blessing’ , ‘The Best Things Happen when you’re Dancing’ ‘Sisters’ and old ones like ‘Blue Skies’ and ‘Heatwave’

The script and story, makes this almost a remake of Holiday Inn.

Then we have the performances, with Bing Crosby his usual charming self as Bob, and Danny Kaye is superb as Phil. His dance routine with Vera Ellen, who looked gorgeous here, was a knockout.

Rosemary Clooney is terrific as Betty, with a calm and subdued performance. The choreography was excellent – clever, fast-paced and energetic.

All in all – a perfect film for Christmas