21 Days 1940  N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: 21 Days Together
Director: Basil Dean
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier, Francis L. Sullivan, Hay Petrie, Robert Newton, Laurence Hanray, David Horne, Esme Percy, William Dewhurst
A couple (Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh) has just three weeks together before he plans to confess to a murder he committed in self-defense.
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Busman's Honeymoon 1940 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Mystery
aka: Haunted Honeymoon
Director: Arthur B. Woods
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks, Seymour Hicks, Robert Newton, Googie Withers, Frank Pettingell, Louise Hampton
Lord Peter Wimsey (Robert Montgomery), a noted criminologist, weds Harriet Vane (Constance Cummings), a well-known mystery writer. They get involved in solving a murder, which isn't how they planned on spending their honeymoon.
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The Door with Seven Locks 1940  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
aka: Chamber of Horrors
Director: Norman Lee
Cast: Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo, David Horne, Richard Bird, Cathleen Nesbitt, J.H. Roberts, Aubrey Mallalieu, Harry Hutchinson, Ross Landon, Phil Ray
Mad Dr. Manetta (Leslie Banks) lures heirs to a fortune into his mansion and eliminates them through torture. But the latest heir, Judy (Lilli Palmer), might be a little harder to eliminate, and the doctor's days may be numbered.
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Fire Over England 1937  N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William K. Howard
Cast: Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Raymond Massey, Robert Newton, James Mason, Tamara Desni, Henry Oscar, Laurence Hanray
While made in the 1930s, this film was not released in the United States until 1941 when England was trying to get America to enter the war in Europe. Based on the story of Britain's defeat of the Spanish Armada, the plot involves a British Naval officer (Laurence Olivier) who goes to Spain looking for identities of English traitors.
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Henry V 1944  N/R, 153 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Renee Asherson, Esmond Knight, Leo Genn, Felix Aylmer, Ernest Thesiger, Robert Helpmann, Ralph Truman, Griffith Jones, Morland Graham, Nicholas Hannen, Roy Emerton, Freda Jackson
No one can beat Sir Laurence Olivier when it comes to directing and acting in Shakespearean plays. In this film, he does both and scores a brilliant production hit. This version of "Henry V" centers on the 1415 battle of Agincourt where the English defeated the French. The film was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture and Actor. Olivier received an honorary Oscar for his achievement as actor, producer, and director for the film.
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Jamaica Inn 1939 N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Charles Laughton, Leslie Banks, Emlyn Williams, Robert Newton, Maureen O'Hara, Horace Hodges, Hay Petrie, Frederick Piper, Mervyn Johns, Wylie Watson
Sir Humphrey Pengalian (Charles Laughton) is a smuggler in Victorian England, and problems arise when Mary (Maureen O'Hara) discovers that her relatives are involved in shipwrecks.
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Madeleine 1950 N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Strange Case of Madeleine
Director: David Lean
Cast: Ann Todd, Norman Wooland, Ivan Desny, Leslie Banks, Elizabeth Sellars, Edward Chapman, Barbara Everest, Andre Morell, Barry Jones, Anthony Newley, Patricia Raine, Eugene Deckers, Susan Stranks, Ivor Barnard, John Laurie
Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd) was a 19th-century Scottish woman who was accused and put on trial for poisoning her French lover Emile L'Anglier (Ivan Desny) in 1857. The trial is reenacted in this interesting film that leaves the audience guessing. Based on a true story.
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The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Nova Pilbeam, Frank Vosper, Pierre Fresnay, Cicely Oates, D.A. Clarke-Smith, George Curzon, Henry Oscar
When Bob and Jill Lawrence (Leslie Banks and Edna Best) learn about an assassination plot, the would-be perpetrators kidnap their teenage daughter Betty (Nova Pilbeam) to prevent disclosure of their plans. Good Alfred Hitchcock fare, and he remade the story 22 years later.
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The Most Dangerous Game 1932 N/R, 63 min.
Genre: Thriller
aka: The Hounds of Zaroff
Director: Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Leslie Banks, Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente, Hale Hamilton, William B. Davidson, Oscar "Dutch" Hendrian, James Flavin
Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks) lives in his castle on his remote island while awaiting boats that often wreck on the island. When one unfortunate ship wrecks, the count greets the three boaters graciously. But it soon becomes clear that he loves to hunt humans. Let the sports begin! This is the first (and best) filming of this often-told story, which was remade as "A Game of Death" and "Run for the Sun." Producer Ernest B. Schoedsack, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and others in this movie were filming "King Kong" at the same time.
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Sanders of the River 1935 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Adventure
aka: Bosambo
Director: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks, Nina Mae McKinney, Robert Cochran, Martin Walker, Richard Grey, Tony Wane, Marques De Portago, Eric Maturin, Allan Jeayes, Luao, Oboja
In this British propaganda film, a Nigerian tribal chief (Paul Robeson) and a British officer (Leslie Banks) work together to bring law and order to the area.
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Ships with Wings 1942 N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Sergei Nolbandov
Cast: John Clements, Leslie Banks, Jane Baxter, Ann Todd, Basil Sydney, Edward Chapman, Hugh Williams, Frank Pettingell, Michael Wilding, Michael Rennie, Cecil Parker, John Stuart, Morland Graham, Charles Victor, Hugh Burden
During World War II, R.A.F. pilot Lt. Dick Stacey (John Clements) has fallen in love with Celia (Jane Baxter) who is the daughter of Adm. Wetherby (Leslie Banks). Stacey takes a plane without permission and crashes it leaving Celia's brother Lt. Wetherby (Hugh Burden) dead. His romance with Celia ends. After his court-martial, Stacey serves aboard the H.M.S. Ark Royal–the ship with wings–where he becomes a mercenary charter pilot in the Mediterranean. Stacey regains his patriotism when he goes on a suicide mission, crashes his plane into a German dam site, and floods a German post. He has redeemed himself and dies a hero.
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Went the Day Well? 1942 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
aka: 48 Hours
Director: Alberto Cavalcanti
Cast: Leslie Banks, Frank Lawton, Basil Sydney, Valerie Taylor, Elizabeth Allan, C.V. France, Mervyn Johns, Marie Lohr, David Farrar, Harry Fowler, Edward Rigby, Thora Hird, Norman Pierce, Johnnie Schofield, Patricia Hayes
During World War II, German paratroopers, led by Nazi officer Ortier (Basil Sydney), disguise themselves as British soldiers and make contact with Fifth Columnist Oliver Wileford (Leslie Banks). They are welcomed into a British hamlet. Their plan is to disrupt Britain's radar network. However, the village residents catch onto the ruse, fight back gallantly, and the mission fails.
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Wings of the Morning 1937 N/R, 89 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Harold D. Schuster
Cast: Annabella, Henry Fonda, John McCormack, Irene Vanbrugh, Philip Frost, Leslie Banks, Sam Livesey, Helen Haye, Evelyn Ankers
This is the first British attempt at filming in the process of Technicolor. Gypsies, horseracing, and a romance between Henry Fonda and Annabella don't add up to much, but the color is good.
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| 1. 21 Days (1940)
aka: 21 Days Together
2. Busman's Honeymoon (1940)
aka: Haunted Honeymoon
3. The Door with Seven Locks (1940)
aka: Chamber of Horrors
4. Fire Over England (1937)
5. Henry V (1944)
6. Jamaica Inn (1939)
7. Madeleine (1950)
aka: The Strange Case of Madeleine
8. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
9. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
aka: The Hounds of Zaroff
10. Sanders of the River (1935)
aka: Bosambo
11. Ships with Wings (1942)
12. Went the Day Well? (1942)
aka: 48 Hours
13. Wings of the Morning (1937)
In The News
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