Rank and File - A British Cinema Blog

FAMILY WAY (1966)   Hywel Bennett & Hayley Mills Back in the early 1980s I bought a book entitled something like 'The Fifty Greatest British Films'. This was included among them. Be wa...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/08/family-way-1966-hywel-bennett-hayley.html

MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (1956)   “You weren’t so outspoken or brutal as young people are today … if you’d been born at the beginning of a war and reared through a blitz and always had ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-teenage-daughter-1956-you-werent-so.html

MR CINDERS (1934)   The Western Brothers   "Dutchmen get used to windmills, The Spanish got used to Spanish flu, If Germans can get used to sauerkraut, I can get used to you."...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/03/mr-cinders-1934-western-brothers.html

BRONCO BULLFROG (1969)   Anne Gooding, Del Walker and Sam Shepherd   "I don't know what I want."   Where do you start to review a film like Bronco Bullfrog? It's a film that so...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/03/bronco-bullfrog-1969-anne-gooding-del.html

Love on the Dole (1940) "Ah’m supposed to be a man, Ah am … Well, luk at me!” He held out his hands, tears shone in his eyes.      The recent DVD release of Love on the Dole mak...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/02/love-on-dole1940-ahm-supposed-to-be.html

Murder in Soho (1939)     With it's opening montage of London scenes: Piccadilly Circus ...   ...gamblers ...   ... prostitutes ...   ... and the inevitable d...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/murder-in-soho-1939-with-its-opening.html

His Excellency (1952) Eric Portman   His Excellency is an interesting film that is wholeheartedly of its time. No, let me rephrase that: His Excellency is a film that is wholeheartedly...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/his-excellency-1952-eric-portman-his.html

Guns of Darkness (1962)   Even the most ardent fan of cinema should be aware of how many 'forgotten' films are out there: there are the films you have seen; the films you are expected t...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/guns-of-darkness-1962-even-most-ardent.html

Boys in Brown (1949) This story of life in a borstal – a sort of Scum for the 1940s – is entertaining if, and it’s a big if, you can suspend your disbelief for long enough to truly b...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/boys-in-brown-1949-this-story-of-life.html

SECRET LIVES (1937) Brigitte Horney When you are a seasoned consumer of old films, it’s always refreshing to be pleasantly surprised by a film about which you have no expectations. And ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/secret-lives-1937-brigitte-horney-when.html

MIRACLE IN SOHO (1957) John Gregson and Belinda Lee You want a miracle? Here you have one: It's a miracle this film ever got made! Written and produced by Emeric Pressburger, you immediat...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/miracle-in-soho-1957-john-gregson-and.html

LABURNUM GROVE (1936) Cedric Hardwicke & Ethel Coleridge Directed by Carol Reed, from a play by J.B. Priestley, Laburnum Grove is an entertaining little film that pokes fun at the respecta...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2016/01/laburnum-grove-1936-cedric-hardwicke.html

Quadrophenia (1979), Scum (1979), The Long Good Friday (1980) & Babylon (1981)   Quadrophenia In a short three year period between 1979 and 1981, British cinema underwent a brief  - a...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/12/quadrophenia-1979-scum-1979-long-good.html

THE PASSIONATE STRANGER (1957)   Oh dear, this film is rather dull. It's a 1950s 'melodrama within a farce' that is neither particularly dramatic nor particularly farcial. In fact, I spent ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-passionate-stranger-1957-oh-dear.html

VICTIM (1961)   Dirk Bogarde From the team of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph, the 1961 film ‘Victim’ is a ground breaking film about the precarious existence endured by the UK...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/08/victim-1961-dirk-bogarde-from-team-of.html

For the Love of Mike (1932) Bobby Howes Oh dear. Where do I start? Much as I would like to be able to say something positive about this film, I’m afraid I can’t. It’s supposedly a mu...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/07/for-love-ofmike-1932-bobby-howes-oh-dear.html

Freedom Radio (1941) Derek Farr & Clive Brook   Director Anthony Asquith’s 1941 film Freedom Radio is a fine example of British cinema’s attempts to quickly and cheaply remind the ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/06/freedom-radio-1941-derek-farr-clive.html

BROTHERS IN LAW (1957)   Ian Carmichael If there's a British comedy of the 1950s that you haven't seen, but really should see, then it is Brothers in Law. This 1957 Boulting Brothers ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/05/brothers-in-law-1957-ian-carmichael-if.html

MEET MR LUCIFER (1953)   Stanley Holloway as  the Devil and ... ... as an actor playing the Devil! Meet Mr Lucifer must be one the strangest films ever to come out of Ealing Stud...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/05/meet-mr-lucifer-1953-stanley-holloway.html

A Honeymoon Adventure (1931)   Peter Hannen & Benita Hume   Oh dear. Where do I start? This is really not very good. The story of a honeymooning couple Peter and Eve Martin (Peter ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-honeymoon-adventure-1931-peter-hannen.html

CAGE OF GOLD (1950)   Jean Simmons & David Farrar James Donald & David Farrar   Released in 1950, Cage of Gold is a classic post-war British drama that reflects both the impact ...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/05/cage-of-gold-1950-jean-simmons-david.html

Autumn Crocus (1934)   Ivor Novello & Fay Compton When I sat down to watch this film I recall that I uttered the words 'Oh no, 80 minutes on Ivor Novello in a Tyrolean Inn'. Now, havin...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/05/autumn-crocus-1934-ivor-novello-fay.html

Loyalties  & Three Men in a Boat (both 1933) The ongoing series of ‘Ealing Rarities’ being reissued by Network DVD aims to showcase the entire output of what was probably the natio...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/04/loyalties-threemen-in-boat-both-1933.html

Yesterday’s Enemy (1959) "The British don't do things like that." Stanley Baker & Wolf Morris Although Hammer are best known for their production of Gothic horrors, readers of this bl...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/04/yesterdaysenemy-1959-british-dont-do.html

The Man Who Finally Died (1962) Nigel Green & Stanley Baker Here's a rather odd film: what is it?   As I watched at first I thought it a spy drama, then I thought this is going to be...

http://rankandfile1.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-man-who-finally-died-1962-nigel.html