denry's - Rented List
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A global byword for cinematic quality of a quintessentially British nature, Ealing Studios made more than 150 films over a three-decade period. A cherished and significant part of British film history, only selected films from both the Ealing and Associated Talking Pictures strands have previously been made available on home-video format - with some remaining unseen since their original theatrical release. 'The Ealing Studios Rarities Collection' redresses this imbalance. Featuring new transfers from the best available elements, in their correct aspect ratio, this multi-volume collection showcases a range of scarce films from both Basil Dean's and Michael Balcon's tenure as studio head, making them available once more to the general public.
The Secret of the Loch (1934)
An elderly professor seeks to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. His claims meet with hostility, but one reporter decides to test them for himself.
The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947)
Googie Withers stars as a young woman who flouts convention by choosing to run the farm she inherited, and by rejecting the man she is expected to marry...
Birds of Prey (1930)
A former police commissioner becomes the target of a revenge plot by two men he had helped convict years before.
Davy (1957)
A young music-hall entertainer aspires to stardom on his own terms, but faces a dilemma as to whether he should go it alone or stick with his family troupe.- Director:
- Milton Rosmer
- Cast:
- Seymour Hicks, Nancy O'Neil, Gibson Gowland
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It's Christmas 1940 and the people of Everytown, unprepared and ill-equipped, find themselves at war against an enemy who has been planning such a conflict for years. The land is devastated by the horrors of aerial bombardment as the war drags on for thirty years, causing a period of despair, with feudal tyrants ruling a downtrodden populace suffering famine and pestilence. Can the human race rise above its desperate circumstances and build a scientific utopia? - Director:
- William Cameron Menzies
- Cast:
- Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson
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Arthur and his friend, Stinker, are contacted by a member of the BBC to inform them that they will soon be given an audition. On hearing this, the duo decide to install themselves in a disused studio on the roof of the Broadcasting House. There they announce they will transmit a pirate broadcast at eight o'clock that evening. But with the public, the BBC and the police on their tail, will they make it, and if they do, will it be a success? - Director:
- Marcel Varnel
- Cast:
- Moore Marriott, Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch
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Arthur (Arthur Askey), Stinker (Richard Murdoch) and Albert (Graham Moffatt) - a trio of reprobate students - are in danger of expulsion from Oxford for conduct unbecoming. After due consideration they hatch a cunning plan to save their bacon - the only problem is that it entails convincing the Dean (J.H. Roberts) that Arthur is actually Albert's wealthy Aunt Lucy (Jeanne De Casalis)! - Director:
- Walter Forde
- Cast:
- Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Graham Moffatt
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Aldwych Theatre farceur Robertson Hare and character comedian Alfred Drayton reprise their original stage roles in two classic screen comedies.
Banana Ridge (1942)A screen adaptation of Ben Travers' celebrated and enduring farce - a wonderfully mischievous comedy of disputed paternity and caddishness. Two businessmen have the shock of their lives when a woman appears out of their past bearing a 23-year-old son - and one of them may be the father!
Aren't Men Beats (1937)
Hollywood star June Clyde co-stars in this boisterous comedy caper. On the morning of his son's wedding, a mild-mannered dentist is visited by a dark, beautiful girl who disarranges her dress and screams for the police!- Director:
- Walter C. Mycroft
- Cast:
- Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton, Isabel Jeans
- Formats:
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Trio (1950)Trio: The Verger / Mr. Knowall / Sanatorium
1950 collection of three vignettes from short stories written by W. Somerset Maugham and introduced on screen by the writer himself. 'The Verger' follows the fortunes of Albert Foreman (James Hayter) a man of the cloth at St. Neville's whose position is terminated when it emerges that he is illiterate. Forced to change his life, he rejects reading and writing lessons and instead opens a tobacconist shop. He then becomes something of an unlikely business tycoon. In 'Mister Know All' we're introduced to Max Kelada (Nigel Patrick) the type of bigmouth everyone loves to hate. A Jeweler to trade, he goes on a cruise where his inability to keep quiet leads him into an awkward situation. When he identifies the necklace of a fellow passenger's wife as authentic and almost reveals a secret affair. His ability to finally keep his face shut earns him a newfound respect. Finally, 'Sanitorium' is set in a TB ward in the Scottish countryside. New patient Ashenden (Roland Culver) checks in and begins immediately to observe the lives of the other patients. A touching romance between resident patients Major Templeton (Michael Rennie) captivates his imagination while the incessant bickering between elderly residents McLeod (Finlay Currie) and Campbell (John Laurie) provides comic relief. - Director:
- Ken Annakin
- Cast:
- James Hayter, Kathleen Harrison, Felix Aylmer
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Travellers Joy (1950)Traveller's Joy
Bumble Pelham (Googie Withers) has just concluded a major business deal in Stockholm, Sweden. However, she is unable to celebrate her success with her secretary Tom (Colin Gordon) as she runs out of money due to foreign currency restrictions. Instead she is reduced to trying to sell clothes and jewellery to hapless hotel maid Eva (Dora Bryan) and her situation worsens when her ferry home is cancelled. By coincidence her wealthy estranged husband Reggie, (John McCallum) is also in Stockholm but is also short of money. Will the hapless couple find a way of meeting their debts and finding love again in this hilarious Ben Travers' farce? - Director:
- Ralph Thomas
- Cast:
- Googie Withers, John McCallum, Yolande Donlan
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The Seekers (1954)Land of Fury
It is 1821 and adventuring seafarer Philip Wayne (Jack Hawkins) and Paddy Clarke (Noel Purcell) have set ashore to explore the Bay of Plenty. Stumbling upon a Maori burial cave, they are captured and sentenced to death by the Maori for desecrating the resting place of their ancestors. Wayne's prowess impresses the Maori chief, Hongi Tepe (Inia Te Wiata), and he offers Wayne a chance to save his life by enduring a trial by challenge. When Wayne succeeds the chief adopts him as his honorary son. After Wayne returns to England he decides to return to the Pacific with his new wife Marion (Glynis Johns) and a crew that includes the sexually charged Wishart (Kenneth Williams). With a tense standoff emerging between the indigenous Maoris and the colonial British, the situation worsens when the beautiful Maori girl Moana (Laya Raki) rejects the advances of Wishart. Famous for being the first ever colour film to be made in New Zealand, this Rank 1954 feature is overflowing with beautiful scenery, colour and set pieces. - Director:
- Ken Annakin
- Cast:
- Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell
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A wonderfully simple story of Mr. Ningle (Richard Hearne) who lost his job in the City many years ago, but didn't want to tell his wife. So he goes off to town each day in his pinstripe and bowler then changes his clothes and works as a pavement artist. Unfortunately Bill Shine (a reporter) is sent to tail him, but when Ningle suddenly dissappears Shine calls the police. They find Ningle's clothes and assume he's been killed. A suspicious character seen near the scene is of course Ningle himself and the police set out to track Ningle in connection with his own death! - Director:
- MacLean Rogers
- Cast:
- Tom Gill, Richard Hearne, Betty Sinclair
- Formats:
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If you ever stay at London's swanky Royal Connought Hotel, be sure to ask for Mr Darling (Frankie Howerd). He's the hotel's Hall Porter and unofficial 'Mr. Fixit' - the man who knows everything and can get you anything... In fact Bill Darling is idolised by the guests and the main reason that anyone stays at the hotel. So, imagine the hotel management's consternation when he comes into a fortune and decides to pack his bags and decamp to the South of France. After all, he's indispensable... But a man can get tired of a life of luxury - and when Bill decides the beach life isn't for him, he returns to find the hotel up for sale. Plunging the last of his money into buying the property, Bill Darling finds he has just days to convince sceptical investors that the now dilapidated (and empty) hotel is a potential goldmine! - Director:
- Gordon Parry
- Cast:
- Frankie Howerd, Ruby Murray, Dennis Price
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Fact-based historical drama about the Irish farmer rebellion against the landed and privileged class. In 1880, prominent Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell (Robert Donat), President of the Irish Land League which represented tenants' rights, held a public speech against the landlords. In his fiery speech, Parnell urged shunning the landlords rather than killing them. One of the worst landlords, Captain Charles Boycott (Cecil Parker), lived in County Mayo and charged extortionate rents from his tenants and sharecroppers. In case of late payment, Captain Boycott forcibly evicted his tenants using the constabulary force or the army. Farmer Hugh Davin (Stewart Granger) advocated the use of force rather than the passive resistance advocated by Irish politician Parnell. However, Parnell pertinently commented that use of force against the landlords will invite reprisals from the part of the army and the police. In the end, the farmers and those already evicted from their homes decide to give Parnell's idea a try... - Director:
- Frank Launder
- Cast:
- Kathleen Ryan, Cecil Parker, Stewart Granger
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The Very Reverend Richard Jedd (Will Hay) has a problem: the church spire, now in a parlous state of repair, will cost nearly £1,000 to fix. When various money-raising schemes go awry, he is persuaded to waive his principles and bet what's left of his savings on Dandy Dick, a 10-1 odds-on at the local races. A simple tonic to enhance the nag's performance seems a good idea...but when the butler decides to intervene, the respectable clergyman finds himself in the middle of a doping scandal - and worse! - Director:
- William Beaudine
- Cast:
- Will Hay, Nancy Burne, Esmond Knight
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The first five episodes of the sixth series of the popular British drama. Paul (Lloyd Owen) is now the new Laird of Glenbogle and gets involved in a land dispute between newcomer Isobel (Simone Lahbib), and her neighbour. Hector's (Alastair Mackenzie) brother, Donald MacDonald (Tom Baker) has been forced to return home by the police, placing him under the supervision of his estranged family. Lexie (Dawn Steele) organises Molly's (Susan Hampshire) 60th birthday party, in an effort to forget her marital problems. There is a tense atmosphere between Paul and Lexie and Duncan (Hamish Clark) shines as a DJ when Ewan (Martin Compston) is temporarily out of action. Molly and Donald reveal their secret history to the family and Isobel takes her organic produce to the local market. - Director:
- Robert Knights
- Cast:
- Dawn Steele, Susan Hampshire, Simone Lahbib
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Double bill of British comedy dramas.
She Shall Have Music (1935)Millionaire shipbuilder Freddie Gates decides to publicize his ships by hiring Jack Hylton and his orchestra to broadcast from his yacht.. Brian Gates, Freddie's son, has a low-approval-rating and a high dislike for jazz music and refuses board ship with the band on board. His father enters a conspiracy with singer Dorothy Drew to get him on the yacht, where the broadcasts will be made. Brian falls in love with Dorothy, but calls of the romance when he sees her dancing and singing with Hylton's band in Paris. Dorothy induces three members of the band to shanghai Brian when the yacht sails. A rival shipowner, determined to stop the broadcasts, bribes the crew to desert the ship and all hands are left stranded in mid-ocean on the yacht. The band-members manage to extricate them from their predicament and they get back to London, where Hylton is acclaimed and Brian marries Dorothy.
This Week of Grace (1933)
British comedy film directed by Maurice Elveyand starring Gracie Fields, Henry Kendall and John Stuart. A poor, unemployed woman is made housekeeper at the estate of a wealthy duchess. It was promoted with the tagline "Cinderella in modern dress".- Director:
- Maurice Elvey
- Cast:
- Gracie Fields, Henry Kendall, Douglas Wakefield
- Formats:
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When his colleague is shot dead by a burglar during a chase in North London, PC Frank Mason vows to bring the killer to justice. After volunteering to become a dog-handler he finds he soon he has a new partner to help him on his mission. Rex, the seemingly untamable Alsatian, quickly shows an aptitude for police work, and Frank moves the loyal canine into his home. And soon Rex starts to take over his life in more than Frank anticipated, much to the irritation of his girl-friend Pat, who begins to resent the growing bond between the two. In the meantime, the killer has been lying low. Until, strapped for cash, he breaks into a factory. The 999 call brings Frank and Rex running in hot pursuit... and the situation swiftly turns violent. - Director:
- Derek N. Twist
- Cast:
- Joan Rice, Tim Turner, Sandra Dorne
- Formats:
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