Alive and Kicking 1958  N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Cyril Frankel
Cast: Sybil Thorndike, Kathleen Harrison, Estelle Winwood, Stanley Holloway, Eric Pohlmann, John Salew, Liam Redmond, Marjorie Rhodes, Richard Harris, Olive McFarland
When Dora (Sybil Thorndike), Rosie (Kathleen Harrison), and Mabel (Estelle Winwood) learn they are going to be moved from their "old folks" home, they escape the premises and set off on an adventure.
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The Beggar's Opera 1953 N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Musical / Drama
Director: Peter Brook
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Stanley Holloway, George Devine, Mary Clare, Hugh Griffith, Athene Seyler, Dorothy Tutin, Margot Grahame, Yvonne Furneaux, George Rose, Edward Pryor, Daphne Anderson, Eric Pohlmann, Stuart Burge, Gerald Lawson
Based on John Gay's 18th-century opera, this is the story of highwayman Captain MacHeath (Laurence Olivier) who loves the beggar king Peachum's (George Devine) daughter Polly (Dorothy Tutin) but is also interested in Lucy (Daphne Anderson) who is the daughter of the corrupt constable Mr. Lockit (Stanley Holloway). When Polly and Lucy join forces, they manage to have MacHeath sent to prison and condemned to a hanging. While in prison, The Beggar (Hugh Griffith) entertains MacHeath with an opera featuring MacHeath as a hero, and soon after MacHeath is rescued from his death sentence.
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Brief Encounter 1945  N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: David Lean
Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Everley Gregg, Irene Handl, Valentine Dyall, Sydney Bromley, Marjorie Mars, Margaret Barton, Alfie Bass, Wallace Bosco, Dennis Harkin, Richard Thomas
In pre-World War II England, British housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) and a married doctor, Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), meet in a train station and form a friendship during which they meet weekly at the station. They realize that they have fallen in love, but both Laura and Alec know that neither will be able to break their ties to the families they love. The story is sympathetic to their chaste affair.
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Caesar and Cleopatra 1945 N/R, 135 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: Gabriel Pascal
Cast: Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger, Anthony Harvey, Francis L. Sullivan, Flora Robson, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Leo Genn, Jean Simmons, Basil Sydney, Raymond Lovell, Anthony Eustrel, Ernest Thesiger, Michael Rennie
Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play, this is the story of Julius Caesar (Claude Rains) and the help he gives Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh) to attain her goal of ruling Egypt. They meet under the Sphinx in Egypt, and Caesar teaches Cleopatra about politics and how to behave like a queen. But, despite Caesar's attentions, Cleopatra yearns for Marc Antony who is far away in Rome.
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 Hamlet 1948   N/R, 153 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, Felix Aylmer, Norman Wooland, Terence Morgan, Peter Cushing, Stanley Holloway, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Niall MacGinnis, Harcourt Williams, Christopher Lee
This film represents Laurence Olivier at his best starring as the melancholy Dane, Prince Hamlet. Soon after his father's death, Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude (Eileen Herlie), marries her brother-in-law Claudius (Basil Sydney). Now his father's ghost returns to speak to Hamlet and tells him that his own brother Claudius murdered him. He wants Hamlet to be kind to Gertrude but to kill Claudius. Hamlet vows to avenge his death and fakes madness to accomplish that goal. His acts lead to the end of several lives–including Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet's chief counselor Polonius (Felix Almer) and Polonius' daughter Ophelia (Jean Simmons) who loves Hamlet, and, finally, Hamlet. There was a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar presented to Olivier. The film also won Oscars for Best Picture, Art Direction/Set Decoration, and Costume Design. Olivier also received a nomination for Best Director, and Simmons was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
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In Harm's Way 1965  N/R, 165 min.
Genre: Adventure / Drama
Director: Otto Preminger
Cast: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Burgess Meredith, Slim Pickens, Dana Andrews, Brandon DeWilde, Jill Haworth, Stanley Holloway, Franchot Tone, Carroll O'Connor
The heroic efforts of the U.S. Navy following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the camaraderie of those men and women as they found ways to fight back is the theme of this movie. John Wayne plays the hero and romantic lead Capt. Rockwell Torrey, while Kirk Douglas takes on the role of the executive officer Commander Paul Eddington Jr. who creates problems.
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Journey Into Fear 1975 R, 103 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Daniel Mann
Cast: Sam Waterston, Zero Mostel, Yvette Mimieux, Scott Marlowe, Ian McShane, Shelley Winters, Stanley Holloway, Donald Pleasence, Vincent Price, Joseph Wiseman
This remake of Orson Welles' film is about a geologist (Sam Waterston) and his venture into the world of espionage. Skip this one and watch the original 1942 version instead.
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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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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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Major Barbara 1941 N/R, 121 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Gabriel Pascal
Cast: Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, Stanley Holloway, Emlyn Williams, Sybil Thorndike, Torin Thatcher, Miles Malleson, Marie Lohr, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Walter Hudd, David Tree, Donald Calthrop
This film rendition of the intuitive play by George Bernard Shaw features Salvation Army officer Major Barbara (Wendy Hiller) as the young woman who rebels against her wealthy upbringing and opts to help those less fortunate. Love enters the picture in the person of an intellectual (Rex Harrison).
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 My Fair Lady 1964 N/R, 170 min.
Genre: Family / Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Theodore Bikel, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Isobel Elsom, Mona Washbourne, John Alderson, John Holland, James Wood, Grady Sutton, John McLiam, Queenie Leonard
Among other awards, this film captured the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director (George Cukor), and Best Actor (Rex Harrison). It is the delightful story of "Pygmalion" set to music by Lerner and Lowe. Rex Harrison plays tutor Henry Higgins who claims that he can change the demeanor of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn). In all, the film received eight Oscars and was nominated for four others, including Best Supporting Actor (Stanley Holloway) and Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper).
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On the Fiddle 1961 N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Operation Warhead
Operation Snafu
Director: Cyril Frankel
Cast: Alfred Lynch, Sean Connery, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Alan King, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Kathleen Harrison, John Le Mesurier, Jack Lambert, Bill Owen
In spite of their ineptness as Royal Air Force recruits, Horace Pope (Alfred Lynch) and Pedlar Pascoe (Sean Connery) become military heroes.
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One Wild Oat 1951 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Saunders
Cast: Robertson Hare, Stanley Holloway, Sam Costa, Andrew Crawford, Vera Pearce, June Sylvaine, Robert Moreton, Constance Lorne, Joan Rice, Audrey Hepburn, Gwen Cherrell, Irene Handl, Fred Berger, Charles Groves, Ingeborg von Kusserow
When Cherie (June Sylvaine), who is the daughter of Humphrey Proudfoot (Robertson Hare), and Fred (Andrew Crawford) decide to marry, problems erupt because Fred's father Alfred Gilbey (Stanley Holloway) and Humphrey are arch enemies. Each of the fathers tries to get the goods on the other one in order to stop the romance. Dated, but mildly funny. A brief appearance by Audrey Hepburn in an early role.
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Passport to Pimlico 1949 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Henry Cornelius
Cast: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Paul Dupuis, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Raymond Huntley, Betty Warren, Jane Hylton, Barbara Murray
Residents of the Pimlico neighborhood discover an old treaty indicating their area of London legally belongs to Burgundy. The next step taken by the enterprising citizens is to charge customs to those riding the Underground when they pass through Pimlico's borders.
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The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes 1970 PG, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Genevieve Page, Christopher Lee, Tamara Toumanova, Clive Revill, Irene Handl, Stanley Holloway, Mollie Maureen, Catherine Lacey
This Billy Wilder film is effective as it studies the famed sleuth, though it is often slow-paced. In it, he solves several cases to the amazement of Dr. Watson, but not to the amazement of the audience.
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Target: Harry 1969 R, 81 min.
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
aka: How to Make It
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Victor Buono, Vic Morrow, Suzanne Pleshette, Cesar Romero, Stanley Holloway, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Ansara, Ahna Capri, Christian Barbier, Jack E. Leonard, Kathy Fraisse, Victoria Hale, Laurie Main, Milton Reid, Fikret Hakan
In this remake of "The Maltese Falcon," charter pilot Harry Black (Vic Morrow) finds himself caught in the middle of a plot to steal engraving plates from the British mint. And then there is sexy Diane Reed (Suzanne Pleshette) who has her own reasons for getting Harry's attention. The film was originally made for TV.
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Ten Little Indians 1965 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Mystery
aka: And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians
Director: George Pollock
Cast: Hugh O'Brian, Fabian, Shirley Eaton, Leo Genn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Daliah Lavi, Dennis Price, Marianne Hoppe, Mario Adorf
This version of Agatha Christie's novel at least keeps the author's ending. Guests are invited to an Austrian castle, and after the host announces that each guest has caused the death of an innocent person, the guests begin being killed–one-by-one.
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This Happy Breed 1944 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: David Lean
Cast: Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, John Mills, Kay Walsh, Stanley Holloway, Amy Veness, Alison Leggatt, Laurence Olivier, Eileen Erskine, John Blythe, Guy Verney, Betty Fleetwood, Merle Tottenham
Adapted from Noel Coward's play, this is the story of the defeats and victories of a British family during the 20-year period between World War I and World War II. The lower-class Gibbon family–father Frank (Robert Newton), mother Ethel (Celia Johnson), and two children Queenie and Reg (Kay Walsh and John Blythe)–move into a large Clapham house but find that it takes more than a house to make a family.
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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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The Way Ahead 1944 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Immortal Battalion
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie, Jimmy Hanley, William Hartnell, Raymond Huntley, Leslie Dwyer, Hugh Burden, Reginald Tate
This excellent film follows a group of recruits as they evolve from civilians into a well-trained team of soldiers. They understand why the training was necessary when they are sent to North Africa during World War II. Director Reed had joined the Army and served in the role of making documentaries. Likewise, David Niven, an officer, was a motivator for this film.
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| 1. Alive and Kicking (1958)
2. The Beggar's Opera (1953)
3. Brief Encounter (1945)
4. Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
5. Hamlet (1948)
6. In Harm's Way (1965)
7. Journey Into Fear (1975)
8. Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
9. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
10. Major Barbara (1941)
11. My Fair Lady (1964)
12. On the Fiddle (1961)
aka: Operation Warhead
aka: Operation Snafu
13. One Wild Oat (1951)
14. Passport to Pimlico (1949)
15. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
16. Target: Harry (1969)
aka: How to Make It
17. Ten Little Indians (1965)
aka: And Then There Were None
aka: Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians
18. This Happy Breed (1944)
19. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
20. The Way Ahead (1944)
aka: The Immortal Battalion
In The News
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