The 39 Steps 1959 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller aka: The Thirty-Nine Steps
Director: Ralph Thomas Cast: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda De Banzie, Barry Jones, Reginald Beckwith, Faith Brook, Michael Goodliffe, James Hayter, Duncan Lamont, Jameson Clark, Andrew Cruickshank, Leslie Dwyer, Sid James, Betty Henderson, Joan Hickson
This is an entertaining remake of the 1935 Hitchcock classic. Richard Hannay (Kenneth More) inadvertently becomes involved in espionage and murder after attending a vaudeville show with a young nanny (Faith Brook). Violence erupts at the show, and Richard takes the nanny to his home where she is stabbed by an assailant and is killed–but not before telling Richard that he has only two days to stop an espionage plot. And the race against time begins.
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Another Time, Another Place 1958 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Lewis Allen Cast: Lana Turner, Glynis Johns, Barry Sullivan, Sean Connery, Terence Longdon, Sid James, John Le Mesurier, Julian Somers, Bill Fraser, Martin Stephens
After her love affair with a World War II newsman (Sean Connery) ends in his death, Sara Scott (Lana Turner) goes to his Cornwall home to comfort her lover's widow (Glynis Johns).
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Crest of the Wave 1954 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Drama
Director: John Boulting, Roy Boulting Cast: Gene Kelly, John Justin, Bernard Lee, Jeff Richards, Sid James, Patrick Doonan, Patrick Barr
When a British war effort is in jeopardy due to the death of the scientist in charge of production, an American, Lieutenant Bradville (Gene Kelly), steps in to help with torpedo research.
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Father Brown 1954 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Comedy aka: The Detective
Director: Robert Hamer Cast: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Sid James, Ernest Thesiger, Gerard Oury, Ernest Clark, Austin Trevor
Father Brown (Alec Guinness) refuses the aid of Scotland Yard and takes charge of the delivery of a priceless cross.
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Give Us This Day 1949 N/R, 120 min. Genre: Drama aka: Salt to the Devil Christ in Concrete
Director: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Sam Wanamaker, Lea Padovani, Kathleen Ryan, Charles Goldner, Bonar Colleano, William Sylvester, George Pastell, Philo Hauser, Sid James, Karel Stepanek, Rosalie Crutchley, Robert Rietty
Set in New York City (though shot in England since Director Dmytryk was blacklisted in the U.S.), this is the powerful story of an Italian immigrant family–and immigrants in general–who struggled to survive during the Great Depression. Geremio (Sam Wanamaker) made enough to save for a new house for him and his wife, but lost his job during the Depression. He finally found another job, though he had to work in an unsafe environment. Tragedy follows.
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The Glass Tomb 1955 N/R, 59 min. Genre: Mystery aka: The Glass Cage
Director: Montgomery Tully Cast: John Ireland, Honor Blackman, Geoffrey Keen, Eric Pohlmann, Sid James, Liam Redmond, Sydney Tafler, Valerie Vernon, Arnold Marle, Stan Little, Arthur Howard, Sam Kydd, Ferdy Mayne
This story revolves around a murder at a carnival when "The Starving Man" Sapolio (Eric Pohlmann) is found dead inside his glass cage. Now, his manager Pel (John Ireland) takes it upon himself to find out what really happened.
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The Iron Petticoat 1956 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Ralph Thomas Cast: Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, David Kossoff, Alan Gifford, Paul Carpenter, Nicholas Phipps, Sid James, Tutte Lemkow
When a stern Soviet officer (Katharine Hepburn) defects to the West, an American officer (Bob Hope) takes her on an eye-opening adventure in the capitalist world.
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A Kid for Two Farthings 1955 N/R, 96 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Carol Reed Cast: Celia Johnson, Diana Dors, David Kossoff, Joe Robinson, Jonathan Ashmore, Brenda De Banzie, Primo Carnera, Sydney Tafler, Sid James, Lou Jacobi, Irene Handl, Danny Green
Joe (Jonathan Ashmore) is a young boy who believes the story told by a tailor (David Kossoff) about captured unicorns granting wishes. Joe buys a goat with only one horn, and when good things start happening to his poor, hard-working neighbors, Joe is convinced that his goat really is a unicorn.
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A King in New York 1957 N/R, 105 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Chaplin Cast: Charles Chaplin, Maxine Audley, Oliver Johnston, Dawn Addams, Sid James, Harry Green, Michael Chaplin, John McLaren, Phil Brown, Alan Gifford
There are some funny scenes in this satire on the 1950s' Communist witch hunts, but it is not one of Charlie Chaplin's best films. The king of a tiny country is overthrown, and he and his wife move to New York. There, though he has no money, he is a hit with the status seekers. Then he sees what the 1950s are all about in the U.S.: rock 'n roll and McCarthyism.
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Lady Godiva Rides Again 1951 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Launder Cast: Dennis Price, John McCallum, Stanley Holloway, Pauline Stroud, Gladys Henson, Bernadette O'Farrell, George Cole, Diana Dors, Eddie Byrne, Kay Kendall, Renee Houston, Joan Collins, Sid James, Tommy Duggan, Dana Wynter
Waitress Marjorie Clark (Pauline Stroud) enters a national beauty contest and wins money and a movie contract in London. But, Marjorie has no acting talents and ends up performing nude on the stage–until her boyfriend Larry (John McCallum) makes her promise to leave the show business world and settle down in the domestic world with him.
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Last Holiday 1950 N/R, 89 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Henry Cass Cast: Alec Guinness, Beatrice Campbell, Kay Walsh, Gregoire Aslan, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ernest Thesiger, Helen Cherry, Brian Worth, Sid James, Jean Colin, Muriel George, Esma Cannon, Campbell Cotts, Moultrie Kelsall
Salesman George Bird (Alec Guinness) has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and has been told that he has less than one month to live. George decides on one last fling–pretending to be a wealthy man and spending all of his money. He buys new clothes and rents a room at an exclusive inn. He meets new business prospects at the inn and, because he now does not mind taking risks, doors are opening in his world as a salesman. Then, George learns that his diagnosis is wrong, and that he is no longer in danger of dying in less than a month. How will George handle the news?
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The Lavender Hill Mob 1951 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Charles Crichton Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie Fielding, John Gregson, Edie Martin, Clive Morton, Audrey Hepburn, John Salew, Ronald Adam, Arthur Hambling, Gibb McLaughloin, Sydney Tafler, Marie Burke
A very unlikely duo forms a partnership to rob a gold bullion shipment. Henry Holland (Alec Guinness) is the quiet bank clerk who teams up with Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) in this very funny story about amateurs doing well in the criminal world. Guinness was nominated for an Oscar, and an Oscar was won for Best Writing
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The Man Inside 1958 N/R, 97 min. Genre: Action
Director: John Gilling Cast: Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Anthony Newley, Donald Pleasence, Sid James, Eric Pohlmann, Bonar Colleano, Sean Kelly, Josephine Brown
After successfully planning and carrying out a diamond heist, Sam Carter (Nigel Patrick) is tracked throughout Europe by a determined detective, Milo March (Jack Palance), with the diamond's real owner, Trudie Hall (Anita Ekberg) in tow.
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Quatermass II 1957 N/R, 84 min. Genre: Sci-Fi aka: Enemy from Space
Director: Val Guest Cast: Brian Donlevy, John Longden, Sid James, Bryan Forbes, Vera Day, William Franklyn, Charles Lloyd Pack, Percy Herbert, John Van Eyssen, Michael Ripper
Aliens invade and take over human bodies in this "Quatermass" episode featuring Brian Donlevy in the role of the gruff Dr. Quatermass.
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The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw 1958 N/R, 103 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: Kenneth More, Jayne Mansfield, Henry Hull, William Campbell, Bruce Cabot, Robert Morley, Ronald Squire, David Horne, Charles Irwin, Sid James
An English gunsmith (Kenneth More) is given the job of sheriff in a troubled town and manages to do the job surprisingly well.
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The Smallest Show on Earth 1957 N/R, 81 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama aka: Big Time Operators
Director: Basil Dearden Cast: Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Leslie Phillips, Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, Bernard Miles, Francis De Wolff, Sid James, Sam Kydd, June Cunningham, George Cross, George Cormack, Stringer Davis, Michael Corcoran, Lynne Roberts
Matt and Jean Spenser (Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna) inherit a dilapidated movie theater in a small British town. Also included in the deal are the drunken ticket-taker/projectionist Percy (Peter Sellers), former silent-movie organist Mrs. Fazackalee (Margaret Rutherford), and janitor Tom (Bernard Miles) who are determined to keep their beloved theater open. Matt and Jean try to make the theater look like a successful business but encounter more than a few problems–until Tom comes up with a plan to torch the competing theater. Lots of fun.
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The Story of Esther Costello 1957 N/R, 104 min. Genre: Drama
Director: David Miller Cast: Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi, Heather Sears, Lee Patterson, Ron Randell, Fay Compton, Bessie Love, Sid James, Denis O'Dea, John Loder
Esther Costello (Heather Sears) has been deaf, mute, and blind since childhood and has suffered through subsequent exploitation; now an American woman, Margaret Landi (Joan Crawford), is involved in her life.
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The Titfield Thunderbolt 1953 N/R, 84 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Crichton Cast: Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle, Hugh Griffith, Gabrielle Brune, Sid James, Reginald Beckwith, Edie Martin, Jack MacGowran, Ewan Roberts
After the British Rail abandons its passenger train service, villagers take over the train and compete against the local bus company.
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Trapeze 1956 N/R, 105 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Carol Reed Cast: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida, Katy Jurado, Thomas Gomez, John Puleo, Minor Watson, Sid James, Gerard Landry, Jean-Pierre Kerien, Gamil Ratib, Pierre Tabard
Circus performer Tino Orsini (Tony Curtis) wants to be the seventh trapeze artist ever to perform the feat of a triple somersault. To obtain his dream, he asks veteran trapeze artist Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster) for help. Ribble agrees to work with Orsini, they become friends, and all goes well–until the circus' beautiful tumbler Lola (Gina Lollobrigida) enters the scene, and a love triangle threatens the friendship of Orsini and Ribble.
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What a Carve Up! 1961 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Comedy / Horror aka: No Place Like Homicide
Director: Pat Jackson Cast: Kenneth Connor, Sid James, Shirley Eaton, Donald Pleasence, Dennis Price, Michael Gough, Valerie Taylor, Michael Gwynn, Esma Cannon, Philip O'Flynn, Timothy Bateson, Frederick Piper
Members of the Broughton family gather together in an eerie mansion for the reading of Uncle Gabriel's (Philip O'Flynn) will. Several of the family end up murdered, and it turns out that the murderer is Uncle Gabriel who faked his death to get even with the rest of his family.
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| 1. The 39 Steps (1959) aka: The Thirty-Nine Steps
2. Another Time, Another Place (1958)
3. Crest of the Wave (1954)
4. Father Brown (1954) aka: The Detective
5. Give Us This Day (1949) aka: Salt to the Devil aka: Christ in Concrete
6. The Glass Tomb (1955) aka: The Glass Cage
7. The Iron Petticoat (1956)
8. A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
9. A King in New York (1957)
10. Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
11. Last Holiday (1950)
12. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
13. The Man Inside (1958)
14. Quatermass II (1957) aka: Enemy from Space
15. The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)
16. The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) aka: Big Time Operators
17. The Story of Esther Costello (1957)
18. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
19. Trapeze (1956)
20. What a Carve Up! (1961) aka: No Place Like Homicide
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