Produced before WW-II, this is a sort of British equivalent of the Saturday-matinée thrillers they used to produce in the U.S. by the hundreds in those days. However, this particular example sports A-List British stars Lawrence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Valerie Hobson. The story involves a nefarious plot by foreign agents to steal the newest British airplanes, and the efforts of an eccentric intelligence agent, a female reporter and a heroic pilot to thwart them. It's strictly comic-book stuff but these three pros, and particularly Ralph Richardson, lift the material up above the level of mediocrity.
This was early in Olivier's career, before he made "Withering Heights", the movie on which he admittedly learned how to act in movies. Olivier was still clearly not entirely at home in front of the camera.
On the other hand, Valerie Hobson was a major British film star and was at the peak of her relatively short career at the time this movie was produced. She retired from acting in the mid 1950s, when she was still only in her thirties.
However, this is clearly Richardson's movie. He is delightfully hilarious as an eccentric British Intelligence agent, and milks every scene he is in for all it is worth. When Richardson and Olivier share the same scene Olivier doesn't stand a chance.
One of my all-time favorite actors, Ralph Richardson was one of those versatile British actors who seemingly could turn his hand to everything, from Shakespearean tragedy to low comedy, with equal grace. And he possessed that incredible voice, the sort that actors don't seem to have anymore. Small wonder that, when Terry Gilliam had to cast an actor to play the role of "The Supreme Being" in "Time Bandits", he chose Ralph Richardson. After all, if there is a God, doesn't it stand to reason that He would have to be something like Ralph Richardson?
If you don't mind checking your mind at the door this is the perfect movie with which to sit back and enjoy some vintage fun.
This was early in Olivier's career, before he made "Withering Heights", the movie on which he admittedly learned how to act in movies. Olivier was still clearly not entirely at home in front of the camera.
On the other hand, Valerie Hobson was a major British film star and was at the peak of her relatively short career at the time this movie was produced. She retired from acting in the mid 1950s, when she was still only in her thirties.
However, this is clearly Richardson's movie. He is delightfully hilarious as an eccentric British Intelligence agent, and milks every scene he is in for all it is worth. When Richardson and Olivier share the same scene Olivier doesn't stand a chance.
One of my all-time favorite actors, Ralph Richardson was one of those versatile British actors who seemingly could turn his hand to everything, from Shakespearean tragedy to low comedy, with equal grace. And he possessed that incredible voice, the sort that actors don't seem to have anymore. Small wonder that, when Terry Gilliam had to cast an actor to play the role of "The Supreme Being" in "Time Bandits", he chose Ralph Richardson. After all, if there is a God, doesn't it stand to reason that He would have to be something like Ralph Richardson?
If you don't mind checking your mind at the door this is the perfect movie with which to sit back and enjoy some vintage fun.