GREAT BRITISH ACTORS – LESLIE PHILLIPS
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Triple bill of British comedies starring Leslie Phillips. In ‘The Man Who Liked Funerals’ (1959) Simon Hurd (Phillips) takes it upon himself to raise the necessary finances to keep the local youth club open. But he uses a peculiar technique to do so – he attends funerals and blackmails mourners into giving him money by threatening to reveal unfortunate stories about them to the press. However, he may regret his pitches after potentially meeting his match… In ‘Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something’ (1974) Phillips stars as Sir William Mainwaring-Brown, a Government minister with a roving eye who has just introduced a bill to combat libertarian behaviour in Britain. Sir William, however, is having affairs with both his secretary Miss Parkyn (Joanna Lumley) and Wendy (Anita Graham), the wife of an eminent reporter. A group of hippies who oppose the bill seek to derail his campaign by discrediting co-founders Sir William and his best friend Barry Ovis (Brian Rix). In ‘In the Doghouse’ (1962) Phillips and James Booth star as rival vets. After ten long years of training, Jimmy Fox-Upton (Phillips) finally qualifies as a vet and opens his own practice. Settled in London, Jimmy opposes the money-grabbing ways of his fellow graduate Bob Skeffington (Booth) and sets about exposing his lucrative equine export scam.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – THE WORLD WAR 2 COLLECTION (volume 2), digitally remastered
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A collection of Classic WWII films featuring: Secret Mission, Millions Like Us, Freedom Radio and Two Thousand Women.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – THE WORLD WAR 2 COLLECTION (volume 1), digitally enhanced
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A collection of Classic WWII films featuring: We Dive at Dawn, Sea of Sand, The Silver Fleet and Waterloo Road.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – BRITISH SERIAL KILLERS
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A series of 4 made-for-TV crime dramas about real-life serial killers.
In ‘A Is for Acid’ (2002), after mistakenly believing a Latin term to mean that murder can only be proven with the evidence of a body, John George Haigh (Martin Clunes) discovers a way to get rid of potential victims by using sulphuric acid. ‘Harold Shipman – Doctor Death’ (2002) follows the story of Dr. Harold Shipman (James Bolam), a general practitioner who throughout his career is believed to have killed as many as 250 of his patients. In ‘The Brides in the Bath’ (2003), in order to accumulate wealth George Joseph Smith (Martin Kemp) commits bigamy under various pseudonyms and kills three of his wives between 1910 and 1915. He tries to make it look as though the women died by accidentally drowning in their bathtubs but the deaths are eventually linked with Detective Inspector Arthur Neil (Alan Mckenna) working to solve the case. This Is Personal: The Hunt For The Yorkshire Ripper – This BAFTA nominated drama tells the story of the greatest manhunt in British criminal history. For years Peter Sutcliffe evaded the clutches of the embattled West Yorkshire Police led by Detective George Oldfield (Alun Armstrong)
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – FILM NOIR (volume 2)
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Contains: Deadly Nightshade, The Big Chance, Dublin Nightmare, High Treason
This fine collection of British Film Noir hidden gems includes films that were all made in the 1950 s. The films all demonstrate the mood, darkness and espionage of the first decade after the 2nd World War.
The world is in turmoil in the years following WW2. Cold war tensions are high and the threat of nuclear war is a real possibility. Espionage and counter espionage plots abound. In High Treason (1951), directed by Roy Boulting, a ship is blown up in the Port of London and Special Branch discover a communist plot to sabotage power stations. Will the authorities foil the saboteurs before they can put their deadly plan into action? In Deadly Nightshade (1953) Robert Matthews is an apparently innocent artist enjoying his holiday in Cornwall however all is not as it seems in a case of mistaken identity with tragic consequences? The Big Chance (1957) is a fast paced thriller starring screen siren Adrienne Corri. Bill Anderson (William Russell) has a mundane job as a clerk in a travel agency His chance to escape his monotonous existence when a client changes his travel plans at the last minute. Will Bill eventually escape the monotony of his existence or will he realise he is not cut out for life on the run?
Dublin Nightmare (1958) sees a dissident republican return to Dublin to aid the Republican cause by taking part in the armed robbery of a security van in the North. The robbery is a success but when the movement discover a traitor will they be able to extract their revenge before he escapes?
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – FILM NOIR (volume 1)
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Film Noir is concerned with errors and confusions. We don’t know what’s going on but we know something bad is out there controlling events. Film maker, Errol Norris, described Film Noir as stories about scape-goats, the person who finds themselves caught in a net and the more they struggle, the deeper and deeper they become entwined in the nightmare. Hunted, Sapphire, So Long At The Fair, Turn the Key Softly and 21 Days available together for the first time in this British Film Noir box set.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – CRIME
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This fine collection of Crime films from the 1950’s and 1960’s stars some of Britain s finest actors including Stanley Baker, Joan Collins, Yvonne Mitchell James Robertson Justice and Nigel Patrick. The Informers (1963) sees Scotland Yard battle organised crime in this tough Police drama, a forerunner to the 1970 s TV series The Sweeney. Checkpoint (1956) stars Stanley Baker in a taut industrial espionage thriller set in the world of sports car racing. An attempt to headhunt an Italian car designer ends in theft, corruption and murder. Sapphire (1959) is a BAFTA winning crime drama directed by Basil Dearden. Nigel Patrick and Michael Craig are Scotland Yard detectives investigating a murder on Hampstead Heath and their enquiries lead them on a manhunt through both the black and white communities where they encounter distrust and prejudice. Turn the Key Softly (1953) starring Joan Collins as one of three women who leave prison on the same day. Over the course of 24 hours each faces a struggle with herself to avoid a return criminal ways.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – WORLD WAR II
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Four classic World War II movies bought together in this collection for the first time: Seven Thunders, Conspiracy of Hearts, Theirs Is The Glory, Operation Amsterdam.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – WORLD WAR I
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Collection of feature films inspired by the Great War. In ‘I Was a Spy’ (1933), Martha Cnockhaert (Madeleine Carroll) works as a spy in a German hospital, acting for the allies. Aided by orderly Stephan (Herbert Marshall), Martha plots to blow up a German ammunition dump. When Martha accompanies a German Commandant to Brussels, a change in the Kaiser’s movements inadvertently reveals Martha’s true purpose. ‘1914 All Out’ (1987) is a made-for-TV drama set during World War I in a quiet Yorkshire village. While the locals are enjoying a Bank Holiday cricket match, their fun is cut short when war breaks out and the men go off to fight for their country. Set in the Scottish Orkney Islands during the First World War, ‘The Spy In Black’ (1939) tells the story of three German spies plotting to sink the British fleet. When U-Boat Captain Hardt (Conrad Veidt) makes contact with his beautiful co-conspirator (Valerie Hobson), he falls in love with her, but she is already having an affair with the third spy in their group, Royal Navy traitor Lieutenant Ashington (Sebastian Shaw).
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – ROMANCE
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Collection of four classic romantic dramas. In ‘The Astonished Heart’ (1950), middle-aged psychiatrist Dr Christian Faber (Noel Coward) is happily married to Barbara (Celia Johnson), but when he is introduced to her childhood friend, Leonora (Margaret Leighton), sparks fly and the two begin a passionate affair that ends in tragedy. In ‘Quest for Love’ (1971), Joan Collins stars as a woman who becomes the object of a scientist’s desire in two different realities. In ‘The Young Lovers’ (1954), Ted Hutchens (David Knight) is a lonely bachelor working for the US Embassy in London. When Ted meets Anna Szobek (Odile Versois), also an embassy worker, at a performance of ‘Swan Lake’, the pair soon fall in love. However, it’s not long before the international situation threatens their new-found happiness. In ‘Always a Bride’ (1953), a close family bond allows Victor Hemsley (Ronald Squire) and his daughter, Clare (Peggy Cummins), to pose as husband and wife. Using this to their advantage, the pair perform an elaborate scam to yield money from other guests living in hotels throughout the Riviera. But when Clare meets British Treasury worker, Terence Winch (Terence Morgan), her outlook changes.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – HORROR
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A collection of classic British Horror movies together for the first time: Nothing But The Night, Vampire Circus, The Man Who Changed His Mind.
GREAT BRITISH ACTORS – DIRK BOGARDE (volume 2)
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Nicknamed the Idol of the Odeon Dirk Bogarde was one of Britain s greatest actors. In this collection of Hidden Gems from his collection of leading roles Dirk Bogarde demonstrates his versatility in a variety from comedy to film noir.
In Boys in Brown (1949) Bogarde stars as young offender Alfie Rawlins alongside other British films great Richard Attenborough and Jack Warner in this 1940 s crime drama set in a post war borstal. Rawlins is a petty criminal but displays an innocent charm that becomes integral to the plans of the inmates to escape. Hunted (1952) is an award winning film and a film noir classic. Director Charles Crichton superbly captures working class life in post war Britain (in the early 1950 s) with the gritty but sensitive British drama. Also made in 1952 Penny Princess is a charming 1950 s British farce with Bogarde in one of his early comedy lead roles.
The Spanish Gardener (1956) was nominated for the Golden Bear award at the Berlin international film festival and sees Bogarde in one of his most sensitive roles as he befriends a young boy and his overbearing father. The Singer not the Song (1961) sees Bogarde star opposite another screen great, John Mills, as the moody cowboy Anacletto. Dressed in black leather Anacletto cuts an intimidating presence in this small Mexican town where he and the priest played by John Mills wrestle for the hearts of the residents.
GREAT BRITISH ACTORS – DIRK BOGARDE (volume 1)
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Esther Waters, High Bright Sun, Once A Jolly Swagman, Simba and So Long At the Fair all together and available as a box set for the very first time. A must for any Bogarde fan interested in reliving exactly why he is seen as one of our greatest screen actors!
GREAT BRITISH ACTORS – STANLEY BAKER
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Triple bill of films featuring Stanley Baker. In ‘Violent Playground’ (1958), Truman (Baker) is initially unhappy with his new position tackling youth crime in Liverpool, but things improve when he meets and falls in love with Cathie Murphy (Anne Heywood) through the misbehaviour of her younger siblings. However, the misdemeanours of the older brother of the Murphy family, Johnnie (David McCallum), are of a more serious nature! In ‘Sea Fury’ (1958), Captain Bellew (Victor McLaglen) is in charge of a tugboat that currently operates from a small Spanish village, and things get complicated when a crafty local tries to tempt the captain into a liaison with his daughter, Josita (Luciana Paluzzi), in the belief that Bellew will die soon and leave them his money. However, Josita has fallen in love with one of Bellew’s crew, Abel (Baker). The situation is aggravated even more when Bellew receives a call to tow in a boat carrying dangerous cargo. In ‘Checkpoint’ (1956), O’Donovan (Baker) is hired by a racing team owner, Warren Ingram (James Robertson Justice), to steal the car design plans of a rival ahead of an important race. O’Donovan duly breaks into the team’s factory and manages to obtain the plans, but in doing so sets off an alarm that leads to a fatal shoot-out. As Ingram sets out to cover up his role in events – perhaps even at the expense of O’Donovan’s life – the thief himself prepares to enter the race.
GREAT BRITISH ACTORS – JOHN MILLS
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Flame In The Streets, The Rocking Horse Winner, The Singer Not The Song and Tiara Tahiti – 4 classic John Mills films available to buy together in this box set for the first time. He was a part of British cinema for almost seventy years and one of our best known actors.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – 1960’s
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Boxset of four classic films from the 1960s. ‘No Love for Johnnie’ (1961) stars Peter Finch as an MP whose thirst for greater power leads him to political intrigue. ‘The Beauty Jungle’ (1964) is a British comedy drama in which a young woman finds a new career as a beauty queen. Attractive typist Shirley Freeman (Janette Scott) is encouraged by newspaper journalist Don Mackenzie (Ian Hendry) to enter a beauty pageant while on holiday. After winning she decides to quit her job and become a full time contestant, proving to be very successful. However, her success won’t last forever… ‘The High Bright Sun’ (1964) is set in Cyprus in 1957 against the backdrop of Cyprus’s determined struggle for independence from British rule, starring Dirk Bogarde. ‘Flame in the Streets’ (1961) is a hard-hitting melodrama about racial tensions in early 1960s England starring John Mills and Sylvia Sims.
GREAT BRITISH MOVIES – 1950’s
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Boxset of four classic films from the 1950s. ‘Simba’ (1955) is an adventure drama about a man who travels to post-colonial Africa. ‘Sapphire’ (1959) is a hard-hitting crime drama exploring racism towards immigrants among the London police and public. ‘The Happy Family’ stars Stanley Holloway and Kathleen Harrison as a couple who refuse to move from their house as the government reveal their plans to build a Festival Hall on the South Bank. ‘Violent Playground’ (1958) is a tough kitchen sink drama starring Stanley Baker and David McCallum and is set amongst the tough council estates of Liverpool.
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