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Maurice Ostrer
Maurice Ostrer (1896–1975) was a British film executive. He was best known for overseeing the Gainsborough melodramas. He was head of production at Gainsborough Studios from 1943–46. He resigned from the studio in 1946 after a disagreement with J. Arthur Rank, who had taken over the studio. Ostrer left the film industry and went to work in textiles. According to writer Robert Murphy, "Maurice's subsequent disappearance from the film industry... makes it easy to dismiss him as a dilettante whose success owed more to luck than judgement. The break-up of the partnership with [producer Ted] Black was unfortunate and Gainsborough became severely debilitated in terms of acting, writing and directing talent. But of the ten films Maurice Ostrer was directly responsible for, seven were big box-office successes and his vision of an efficiently run studio dedicated to medium budget entertainment films with the emphasis on a particular genre was unique and it was to provide a model for Ham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gainsborough Melodramas
The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 which conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline British Film Institute. Retrieved 21 March 2020. The melodramas were not a film series but an unrelated sequence of films which had similar themes that were usually developed by the same film crew and frequently recurring actors who played similar characters in each. They were mostly based on popular books by female novelists and they encompassed costume dramas, such as ''The Man in Grey'' (1943) and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), and modern-dress dramas, such as '' Love Story'' (1944) and ''They Were Sisters'' (1945). The popularity of the films with audiences peaked mid-1940s when cinema audiences consisted primarily of women. The influence of the films led to other British producers releasing similarly themed works, such as ''The Seventh Veil'' (1945), '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It
''Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It'' is a 1941 British detective film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Phyllis Calvert and Edward Chapman. It was the third and final film adaptation of the Inspector Hornleigh stories. It was released in America by 20th-Century Fox under the title ''Mail Train''. Plot summary Hornleigh and Sergeant Bingham join the army in an effort to uncover a ring of German spies. Cast *Gordon Harker as Inspector Hornleigh *Alastair Sim as Sergeant Bingham *Phyllis Calvert as Mrs. Wilkinson * Edward Chapman as Mr. Blenkinsop * Charles Oliver as Dr. Wilkinson *Raymond Huntley as Dr. Kerbishley *Percy Walsh as Inspector Blow * David Horne as Commissioner *Peter Gawthorne as Colonel *Wally Patch as Sergeant Major *Betty Jardine as Daisy *O. B. Clarence as Professor Mackenzie *John Salew as Mr. Tomboy *Cyril Cusack as Postal Sorter *Bill Shine as Hotel Porter *Sylvia Cecil *Edward Underdown *Marie Makine * Richard Cooper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man In Grey
''The Man in Grey'' is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures; it is considered to be the first of a series of period costume dramas now known as the "Gainsborough melodramas". It was directed by Leslie Arliss and produced by Edward Black from a screenplay by Arliss and Margaret Kennedy that was adapted by Doreen Montgomery from the 1941 novel ''The Man in Grey'' by Eleanor Smith. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. The picture stars Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger and Martita Hunt. It melds elements of the successful " women's pictures" of the time with distinctive new elements. Plot In London, in 1943, a Wren (Phyllis Calvert) and an RAF pilot (Stewart Granger) meet at an auction of the Rohan estate, now being sold off because the last male heir died at Dunkirk. The gems of the auction are two portraits, one of the 8th Marquis of Rohan, known as The Man in Grey, and one of his wife, Clarissa, a famous Rege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss London Ltd
''Miss London Ltd.'' is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical, war film, directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Fred Gunn and Gainsborough Pictures. Plot This musical comedy playing in wartime London, stars Arthur Askey as Arthur Boden alias Miss London, the name of the escort agency he inherited from his mother. Soon he is joined by his new American partner, Terry Arden (Evelyn Dall), as she inherited the other half of the Agency from her parents, who just arrived from abroad. The first thing she accomplishes is to clean up the office, together with her partner. Then they have to renew the files of escort-Ladies. In order to do so, each of them goes searching in different places. Arthur Boden is assigned to the railway station and finally he finds railway clerk Gail Martin ( Anne Shelton) to hire. The opening sequence of the film features the latter singing "The 8.50 Choo Choo For Waterlo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We Dive At Dawn
''We Dive at Dawn'' is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Frank Launder. It was produced by Edward Black. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. Plot It is April, 1942. Lieutenant Freddie Taylor and some crew of the submarine ''Sea Tiger'' are given a week's leave after an unsuccessful patrol. Leading Seaman Hobson goes home to save his marriage, while a reluctant Torpedo Gunner's Mate Corrigan departs for his wedding in London. When the crew are recalled early Corrigan is relieved, though later regrets not completing his marriage. ''Sea Tiger'' has been assigned the top secret mission to sink Nazi Germany's new battleship, the ''Brandenburg'', before she transits the Kiel Canal for sea trials in the Baltic Sea. ''Sea Tiger'' must put to sea immediately. Crossing the North Sea, the subma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's That Man Again (film)
''It's That Man Again'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Tommy Handley, Greta Gynt and Jack Train. It was based on Handley's radio show ''It's That Man Again''. In the film, the mayor of a small town lends his assistance to some drama students. Plot The disreputable mayor (Tommy Handley) of small town Foaming-at-the-Mouth gambles the civic accounts and wins a bombed out local theatre. He steals the rights to a new play which he stages in an attempt to save the financial situation. However, local drama students he has cheated turn up and try to ruin the show. Cast * Tommy Handley ... Mayor Handley * Greta Gynt ... Stella Ferris * Jack Train ... Lefty/Funf * Sydney Keith ... Sam Scram * Horace Percival ... Alley-Oop/Cecil * Claude Bailey ... C.B. Cato * Franklyn Bennett ... Hilary Craven * Vera Frances ... Daisy * Dino Galvani ... Signor Soso * Jean Kent ... Kitty * Leonard Sharp ... Claude * Dorothy Summers ... Mrs. Mopp * Clarence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Arthur Was A Gentleman
''King Arthur Was a Gentleman'' is a 1942 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey. It was produced by Edward Black and Maurice Ostrer for Gainsborough Pictures. Synopsis Set during World War II, the plot involves the undersized Arthur joining the army to prove himself to his girlfriend Susan (Evelyn Dall), who is in the same unit as him. Here, his idealistic notions about King Arthur prompt his messmates to trick him into believing that a sword they have dug up is the fabled Excalibur. Armed with this talisman Arthur strides forth to deal with the Wehrmacht. Cast * Arthur Askey as Arthur King * Max Bacon as Maxie * Al Burnett as Slim * Evelyn Dall as Susan Ashley * Vera Frances as Vera * Peter Graves as Lance * Brefni O'Rorke as Colonel Duncannon * Anne Shelton as Gwen Duncannon * Ronald Shiner as Sergeant * Jack Train as Jack * Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uncensored (film)
''Uncensored'' is a 1942 British war drama film directed by Anthony Asquith starring Eric Portman, Phyllis Calvert and Griffith Jones. The film was produced at Gainsborough Pictures by Edward Black, with cinematography from Arthur Crabtree and screenplay by Rodney Ackland, Wolfgang Wilhelm and Terence Rattigan based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Oscar Millard. The film was shot at the company's Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush, with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. ''Uncensored'' is set in occupied Belgium and shares the propagandistic tone of many British films of its era. While its reception was mainly positive, it was criticised in some quarters for its unrealistic portrayal of the occupying German forces as bungling, incompetent and easily outwitted buffoons. On its original UK release ''Uncensored'' ran for 108 minutes; for overseas distribution however it was trimmed to 83 minutes and the cut version subsequently became more widely c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Young Mr
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Back-Room Boy
''Back-Room Boy'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures and distributed by General Film Distributors. The cast includes Arthur Askey, Googie Withers, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. The original story was written by J.O.C. Orton, Marriott Edgar and Val Guest. A man from the Met Office is sent to a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island to monitor the weather, where he hopes to escape from women, but soon finds the island overrun by them. ''Back-Room Boy'' was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom on 17 April, 1942. Plot Meteorologist Arthur Pilbeam's fiancée Betty breaks their engagement because he does not spend enough time with her due to having to attend at the BBC every hour, on the hour, for his internationally vital job of creating the BBC pips. He is so upset, he uses the pips to play "Shave and a Haircut". When he is reprimanded, he tries to resign, but he is not allowed do that during w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hi Gang! (film)
''Hi Gang!'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon and Vic Oliver. Production It was a spin-off from the popular BBC radio series '' Hi Gang!''. It was made by Gainsborough Pictures at Lime Grove Studios. The film's art direction was by Walter W. Murton. Plot Two married reporters (Daniels and Lyon) in New York City working for rival radio networks engage in cut-throat competition, assisted by an incompetent with big ideas (Oliver). A publicity stunt by the couple to adopt a British evacuee boy live on air goes wrong and they end up adopting Albert (Moffatt) a rowdy pub landlord's son and his cantankerous Uncle Jerry (Marriott). The final third of the film sees them all travel to England in the mistaken belief that Albert is the son of Lord Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Thank You (film)
''I Thank You'' is a 1941 black and white British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. It was produced by Edward Black at Gainsborough Pictures. Plot summary The film is set in London during the Second World War at the time of the Blitz. The leads are a couple of out of work variety entertainers who use great ingenuity in their efforts to get financial assistance to "put on a show". Hoping to put their proposal to the formidable Lady Randall, ex-music hall star Lily Morris, they infiltrate her house in the guise of a servant (Murdoch) and cook (Askey - in drag). After some farcical interludes, they achieve their aim after Lady Randall is persuaded to sing an old music hall standard "Waiting at the Church" at an impromptu show located underground at Aldwych tube station, - used during wartime as an underground bomb shelter. As the ex-music hall star, Lily Morris plays herself. The title of the film i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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