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Freeview 81
Film Club Sky 328
JAN/FEB 2020 newsletter Freesat 306
Virgin 445
Dear Supporters,
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! May 2020 be filled with health and happiness. Our first
release for 2020 is a brilliant new box set War In Film Volume 1; three discs full of war related films,
all restored, plus our exclusive documentary Lest We Forget – all for just £20 with free UK postage.
Optional subtitles are available to select on the discs. The set of films includes: Who Goes Next,
Subway in the Sky, Desert Mice, The Treasure of San Teresa, During One Night, The Hand,
Beyond the Curtain, Mr Kingstreet’s War and shows war from all aspects, not just the gritty and
gruesome, but also the human story, humour, sadness, joy and triumph, at home and at the front.
Our first event in 2020, The Renown Festival of Film, is just a few weeks
away and we are delighted that it is completely sold out – there will be no
tickets on the door. We have a wonderful day lined up, which will be revealed
in our next newsletter. We have already booked The Stockport Plaza for 2020,
Sunday 4th October – do put the date in your diaries. This year tickets for this
event will be with numbered seating. We are also looking at a London event
and a coastal weekend away in the summer, more details to follow.
I spent a great afternoon filming with Sid James’ daughter, the lovely
Reina James last year which led me to read one of her books. What a
talented writer she is! We are very proud to be able to offer her book
The Old Joke about retired film stars – very apt for all of us I thought!
It will soon be Valentine’s Day (Friday 14th February) and for the Val-
entines in your lives (or just for yourselves!), we have created a beautiful
British Bombshell Make Up Bag featuring film sirens and for those who are
an ‘Absolute Shower’ a useful wash bag!
It’s a month of fun on Talking Pictures TV this January, with a host of
premieres including Personal Services with Julie Walters on Sat 18th Jan at
9:30pm, Old Bill and Son with Morland Graham and John Mills on Tues 21st
Jan at 7pm, Follow a Star with Norman Wisdom on Sun 26th Jan at 6:50pm
PLUS we are bringing SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM back
to British TV screens from Sunday 19th January at 9pm.
We are often inundated with requests for films and series to be shown
on Talking Pictures TV. Everything we air comes at a price and requires a
license to be shown. It takes lots of research and hard work to make it all
available; and that’s if we can get a license and if it even still exists!
We provide more films and series every month and all for FREE!
Which leads me to our monthly plea to spread the word about the film club,
our events and Talking Pictures TV – you have no idea how important it is.
To help spread the word, you can purchase one of our limited edition
Renown Film Club Member badges while the last few stocks remain for just
£2 when purchasing anything else in this newsletter. Wear it with pride!
We write with sadness following the recent loss of dear Elizabeth Sellars
and Tony Britton to the great Cinema in the Sky. We have been in touch with Tony’s daughter Fern
several times over the years. He enjoyed watching Talking Pictures TV and was an honoured member of
The Renown Film Club. Such wonderful actors, we will help to keep their memories alive.
To cheer everyone up this newsletter has everything from Tommy Cooper to Charlie Chaplin plus
a Killer B Movie Collection, a Hitchcock Collection and music from Craig Douglas. Until next month,
many thanks for your support and Happy New Year once again,
Very best wishes, Sarah, Noel & Neill 1
you will receive all the films on both pages
NEW EXCLUSIVE RE
A collection from the Renown archives of
films depicting war in many different ways.
Fully restored, with optional subtitles,
WAR IN
Volume 1 of this three-DVD box set
includes: Who Goes Next; Subway in the Sky
Desert Mice; The Treasure of San Teresa;
Box
During One Night; The Hand; Beyond the
Curtain; Mr Kingstreet’s War and a bonus
3-DVD Co
feature, the exclusive Renown documentary: with option
£
Lest We Forget.
Who Goes Next (1938)
Director: Maurice Elvey Cast: Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, JUST
Jack Hawkins, Charles Eaton, Frank Birch, Andrew Osborn,
Roy Findlay, Alastair MacIntyre, Meinhart Maur,
WITH FREE U
Francis James, Viola Compton, Elizabeth Nolan,
Charles Lancing, Francis R. Mann, Wyndham Hewett,
Kitty Kirwan, George Spence. A group of British officers attempt to
escape a POW camp.
Subway in the Sky (1959)
Director: Muriel Box. Cast: Hildegard Knef,
Cec Linder, Katherine Kath, Van Johnson,
Tom Watson, Albert Lieven, Gerda Larsen,
Michael Bell, Chuck Keyser, Edward Judd,
Vivian Matalon, Gaylord Cavallaro,
E. Kerrigan Prescott, James Maxwell.
Set in Berlin; a military doctor is accused of
dealing in illegal drugs.
Desert Mice (1959)
Director: Michael Relph. Cast: Sid James, Dora Bryan,
Alfred Marks, Liz Fraser, Dick Bentley, Irene Handl,
Joan Benham, Gilbert Davis, Reginald Beckwith,
Kenneth Fortescue, Marius Goring, Anthony Bushell,
Philo Hauser, John Le Mesurier, Anthony Bate, Jim O’Brady,
Yvonne Buckingham, Nigel Davenport, Harry Landis,
Paul Eddington, Arthur Howard, Stanley Escane, Ivor Salter.
The story of an ENSA troupe of entertainers in North Africa.
The Treasure of San Teresa (1959) (AKA Hot Money Girl)
Director: Alvin Rakoff.
Cast: Eddie Constantine,
Dawn Addams, Marius Goring,
Christopher Lee, Nadine Tallier,
Walter Gotell, Willy Witte, Tsai Chin,
Georgina Cookson, Clive Dunn,
Steve Plytas, Derek Sydney, Anna Turner,
Stella Bonheur, Leslie ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson,
Gaylord Cavallaro, Hubert Mittendorf.
Call Us Now On
American ex-serviceman returns to Europe to
2 retrieve jewels hidden from the Nazis in 1944.
ENOWN 3 DVD SET you will receive all the films on both pages
N FILM During One Night (1960) (AKA Night of Passion)
Directed & written by: Sidney J. Furie.
x Set
Cast: Don Borisenko,
Susan Hampshire,
Sean Sullivan, Joy Webster,
Alan Gibson, Graydon Gould,
ollection Barbara Ogilvie, Tom Busby,
Jackie Collins, Roy Stephens,
Michael Golden, Colin Maitland.
nal subtitles 24 hours in the lives of two World
£20
War II airmen, one with a terrible injury, one dealing with life.
The Hand (1960)
Director: Henry Cass. Cast: Derek Bond, Ronald Leigh-Hunt,
UK POSTAGE Reed De Rouen, Ray Cooney, Reginald Hearne, Tony Hilton,
Bryan Coleman, Harold Scott, Walter Randall, Jean Dallas,
Gwenda Ewen, Michael Moore, Ronald Wilson, Pat Hicks.
Revenge thriller which follows the trail of the murder of a
one-handed man back to a POW camp in Burma in 1946.
Beyond the Curtain (1960)
Director: Compton Bennett. Cast: Richard Greene,
Eva Bartok, Marius Goring, Lucie Mannheim, Andree Melly,
George Mikell, John Welsh, Denis Shaw, Annette Carell,
Gaylord Cavallaro, Leonard Sachs, Brian Wilde, Steve Plytas,
Guy Kingsley Poynter, André Mikhelson, Court Benson,
Carmen Blanck, Max Brimmell, Maurice Browning, Ian Curry,
Bill Edwards, Thomas Foulkes.
A German-born airline stewardess is trapped behind the Iron
Curtain when a flight she is on is forced down.
Mr Kingstreet’s War (1971)
Director: Percival Rubens.
Cast: John Saxon, Tippi Hedren,
Rossano Brazzi, Kerry Jordan,
Brian O’Shaughnessy, Gaby Getz,
Joe Seakatsie, Roland Robinson,
Anthony Wheeler, John Marcus,
Raymond Matuson, Luigi Vitali,
Michael Preston, Tullio Monetas.
Caught between warring factions in 1939 just before
World War II, the Kingstreets battle to protect their way of life.
BONUS FEATURE: Lest We Forget (2018)
Exclusive documentary, made for
Talking Pictures TV, commemorating the
centenary of the end of WWI.
Presented by war historian Alan Forbes,
who visited Flanders and the Somme to
pay moving tributes to “Our Boys”.
Freephone 0808 178 8212 3
BOOK OFFERS – RECOMMENDED READ FOR THIS MONTH!
The Old Joke
The second novel from
Reina James, daughter of
Sid James.
Reina James (born 1947) has written two
novels, the first of which won the Society of
Authors’ McKitterick Prize in 2007. In her
20s she appeared in the stage play John,
Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert by
Willy Russell and later appeared in Russell’s
musical Blood Brothers. She is married to
Mike Reinstein, a musician.
Mim Lyons is a retired film actress,
occasionally still recognized from her last great
starring role in the late 1960s, but now more
than content to restrict her performances to
occasional play-readings with a group of old
friends from the theatrical world.
However, when her agent calls out of the blue
PAPERBACK BOOK with a job offer, her husband schemes about the
possibility of a comeback in a role that
unsettles Mim’s perception of how he sees her
– and of who she really is. As Mim struggles to
preserve the quiet existence she has created, it
becomes impossible to ignore the turmoil in the
lives of those closest to her. While her friends’
marriages hit the rocks, her son struggles to
clean up his act and her estranged daughter
floats back into her life, Mim begins to reas-
sess the roles she has been playing – as friend,
daughter, mother and wife – and to decide
exactly who she wants to be.
Our Price £9.99
Price includes £2 Postage & Packing
Call Us Now On Freephone
0808 178 8212 Or 01923 290555
4
Memories of working at
The Rank Organisation
Part 5, by Noel Cronin
Soho seemed distant as I arrived at Lambeth North to start
work at the Central Office of Information, a Government
Ministry, formerly the Ministry of Information, the purpose
of which was to inform the public, and, indeed, the world
of what Britain had to offer regarding technology,
tourism and all things British. It was early in the 1970s, and I worked in the film
department as an assistant film editor along with a mixture of technicians either
finishing their careers or younger persons learning, including an intellectual
Peter Greenaway and an ex school teacher, new to film writing and producing,
Chris Tarrant – proof things could get better for me. The duties of an assistant,
rewinding film reels and hanging film trims were so, so boring and my fragile film
career was taking a dive even at the COI – I think I was very close to being fired, until
one day everybody in film editing were either off sick with flu or already busy on
other editing when an urgent rush job came up and I was the only person available.
Reluctantly I was asked could I edit a short film? I had never edited two shots together
before but I set about the edit and to everyone’s amazement –including mine – the end
result was not bad! In-house producers started using me now and then and I began to
enjoy my job. It took about two years before I could be promoted as my past record
was so bad and without the help and support of a high ranking officer I doubt I would
have been promoted. The COI was always the target for government cuts and indeed
the film department most of all; we were “industrial” civil servants and about to be
closed down, but the minister involved became caught up in a scandal and the
decision was reversed. A while later we faced another closure threat and I, with a
couple of happy years of editing under my belt, decided to return to Soho to join a
small post-production company. Next stop, Great Russell Street!
Producer Noel Cronin founded Talking Pictures TV
and Renown Pictures. Noel is contributing a series
of memories to the newsletter over the coming
months. Ever since his entrance into the world
of film as a young man, Noel has been interested
in preserving the heritage of lost and forgotten
films, shorts and programmes, and for many years
has been gathering, restoring and preserving this
wonderful heritage which would otherwise be
lost. Noel worked for The Rank Organisation and
the Central Office of Information, and bought the
rights to several libraries that owned films which
now air on TPTV. His career as a producer and
editor of films, documentaries and TV series spans
several decades.
5
Masters of Comedy on DVD
Tommy Cooper
RRP £15.99
OUR PRICE £7.99
with FREE UK POSTAGE
Call Us Now On Freephone:
0808 178 8212
Or 01923 290555
1 Disc; Running Time: 70 mins approx.
With Subtitles. Highlights from some of his best shows.
The definitive TV moments of Tommy Cooper’s Comedy Career.
Tommy Cooper is well-remembered as one of the funniest British comedians ever.
With his red fez and daft catch phrases usually delivered after another magic trick had
gone wrong, he tapped into the nation’s funny bone. This hilarious compilation includes
many of his finest comedic moments and illustrates why he is still regarded as a Master
of Comedy. One of Britain’s best-loved comics, Cooper was a top-liner in variety with his
turn as the conjurer whose tricks never succeeded, but it was his television work that raised
him to national prominence. He was popular with audiences for nearly 40 years, notably
through his work with London Weekend Television from 1968 to 1972 and with Thames
Television from 1973 to 1980. Thanks to his many
television shows during the mid-1970s, he was one of
the most recognisable comedians in the world.
A statue of Cooper was unveiled in his birthplace of
Caerphilly, Wales, in 2008 by fellow Welsh entertainer
Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is patron of the Tommy
Cooper Society. In a 2005 poll, The Comedians’
Comedian, Cooper
was voted the sixth
greatest comedy act ever
by comedians and
comedy insiders.
6
Spotlight on
Elizabeth Sellars
Born: 6th May 1921 Died: 30th December 2019
On the 30th December 2019, the family of Elizabeth Sellars
announced that the 98 year old actress had passed away
at her home in France. There have been no fanfares, main-
stream television tributes or extensive reports in the news-
papers. Yet Sellars had been one of the most prolific leading
ladies and character actresses Britain has known.
Elizabeth McDonald Sellars was born in Glasgow. She
studied law until a student friend, Jean Hardwicke – the niece of Sir Cedric Hardwicke –
persuaded her to attend a stage audition with her, which changed her life forever.
She began appearing on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of
Dramatic Art. Her first London appearance came in 1946 in The Brothers Karamazov,
opposite Alec Guinness and she later appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company as
Elizabeth in Richard III, Helen in Troilus and Cressida, Gertrude in Hamlet and Hermione
in The Winter’s Tale.
Sellars entered films in 1949 with a role as flirty Judy in Floodtide, although she had
first made a TV movie, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus in 1947. She found popu-
larity with the cinema-going public and appeared in a string of British films in the 1950s
and 1960s which included Madeleine (1950), Cloudburst (1951) for Hammer Films, Night
Was Our Friend (1951), Recoil (1953), The Long Memory (1953), The Broken Horseshoe
(1953), Three Cases of Murder (1955), The Last Man to Hang (1956), The Shiralee (1957),
The Chalk Garden (1964) and The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) another film for Hammer.
Her film work was not restricted to British films as she also appeared in a few Hollywood
films – usually in secondary roles – including The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Désirée (1954),
Prince of Players (1955), The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) and 55 Days at
Peking (1963). Her last film The Hireling (1975) – a British film with Robert Shaw and Peter
Egan – saw her playing the mother of Sarah Miles’ Lady Franklyn.
She also found herself in demand for television, becoming even busier, as a character
actress, appearing in a variety of productions from Churchill’s People and Shades of Green
in the seventies to Winter Sunlight and most notably in A Voyage Round My Father with
Laurence Olivier in the eighties. She appeared in many of the popular series of the day
including, The Avengers, Shadows of Fear, The Power Game and many Play for Today
productions for both the BBC and ITV channels. Her last appearance was on television in
the series Made In Heaven in 1990, after which she retired.
Sellars married a surgeon, Francis Henley,
in Stow-on-the-Wold in September 1960.
It was a happy union that lasted until Hen-
ley’s death in 2009.
In her heyday, Elizabeth Sellars was
described as having “the allure of Ingrid
Bergman and the power of Bette Davis.”
She delivered glamour and a steely drama
in all her roles, no matter whether it was a
support feature or a Hollywood film. Her
body of work plays regularly on Talking
Pictures TV, ensuring her star continues
to shine.
7
After the success of last month’s Victorian Lady’s
Ghostly Anthology audio CD we bring you:
A Victorian Gentleman’s
Ghostly Anthology
OUR PRICE £15.99 Audio Book
with FREE UK POSTAGE
Audio Book on 4 CDs
Read by: John Banks
Twelve of the very best
ghost stories from the
Victorian era, all written
by talented, but sometimes
overlooked or forgotten,
authors. Once you tire of
Dickens and James, these
are the true masters of
short-form suspense.
The Steel Mirror by W.W. Fenn
A Real Country Ghost Story
by Albert Smith
The Weird Violinist
by Anonymous Never shall I forget the ghastliness of
Walsham Grange: that face —the white horror stamped upon
every feature — the agony which seemed to
A Real Ghost Story sink the very eyes beneath the contracted
by E. Morant Cox brows; it was awful to me to behold,
Haunted by Coulson Kernahan accustomed as I was to scenes of terror.
Nicodemus by Alfred Crowquill
The Veiled Portrait by James Grant Call Us Now
The Ghost Chamber by Anonymous On Freephone:
The Doll’s Ghost by F. Marion Crawford 0808
How Peter Parley Laid A Ghost:
A Story of Owl’s Abbey by Anonymous
178 8212
The Ghost’s Summons by Ada Buisson
A Terrible Retribution; or, Squire Orton’s Ghost by Anonymous
8
Exclusive to Renown
The Bombshell Cosmetic Bag
£10 plus £2 Postage & Packing
NOT AVAILABLE IN ANY SHOPS!
Make up with the stars using this stylish cosmetic bag featuring a collage of
some of our best British screen sirens, including: Ann Todd, Carole Lesley,
Glynis Johns, Jean Kent, Liz Fraser, Diane Cilento, Dinah Sheridan,
Geraldine Fitzgerald, Googie Withers, Hazel Court, Margaret Lockwood,
Muriel Pavlow, Patricia Dainton, Sandra Dorne, Joan Collins, Constance
Smith, Diana Dors, Peggy Cummins and Vera Day. The monochrome design
is completed with a polka dot border against a black base.
The bag has a flap over design and can also be used as a stylish clutch bag
for evenings out. Perfect for Valentines Day, a birthday or Mother’s Day gift.
Printed in the UK; measures approx: 20.8cm x 10.5cm. This is a bespoke
item, and will be created and delivered within 10 working days of order.
Call Us Now On Freephone
0808 178 8212 Or 01923 290555
9
The Very Best Of: Craig Douglas
THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION ON ONE CD
OUR PRICE £12.99 WITH FREE UK POSTAGE
Born in Newport, Isle of Wight Craig Douglas (born
Terence Perkins) was employed as a milkman before
becoming a professional singer, and was known to
many as the ‘Singing Milkman’. Voted ‘Best New
Singer’ in 1959 in the British music magazine, NME,
Douglas went on to record eight cover versions of
former American hit songs, in his total of nine Top 40
UK singles. Amongst that tally, Douglas had a Number
1 single in 1959 with Only Sixteen, which outsold Sam
Cooke’s original version in the UK. It was recorded
at EMI’s Abbey Road studios, with whistling by Mike
Sammes, and released through Top Rank records.
Douglas had four consecutive Number 9 placings on
the UK Singles Chart.
30 Tracks:
1. Only Sixteen
2. Pretty Blue Eyes
3. A Teenager In Love
4. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
5. The Heart Of A Teenage Girl Other top twenty hits include: A Teenager in Love
6. Oh What A Day (1959), Pretty Blue Eyes (1960), The Heart of a
7. A Hundred Pounds Of Clay Teenage Girl (1960), A Hundred Pounds of Clay
8. Time (1961), Time (1961), When My Little Girl is Smiling
(1962), and Our Favourite Melodies (1962), all of
9. After All which appear on this compilation. His early career
10. When My Little Girl Is Smiling bridged the gap between the end of the easy listening
11. Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue period, when the focus was on ‘crooners’ and the
12. Another You beginning of teenage pop music; his ability was to
combine both styles. Douglas topped the bill on the
13. No Greater Love Beatles’ first major stage show and also appeared in
14. Battle Of New Orleans the 1962 film It’s Trad, Dad! with Helen Shapiro. He
15. Our Favourite Melodies recently appeared on stage at the Talking Pictures
TV/Renown Pictures film festival in St Albans in 2019.
16. A Change Of Heart
17. Carolina In The Morning
18. Come Softly To Me
19. Riddle Of Love
20. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
21. Dream Lover
22. My First Love Affair
23. What Do You Want
24. Where’s The Girl (I Never Met)
25. A Painted Smile
26. It All Depends On You
27. My Hour Of Love
28. Rainbows Call Us Now On Freephone
29. The Girl Next Door
10
30. Ring-A-Ding 0808 178 8212From the British Film Institute AS SEEN ON
Captured TALKING PICTURES TV
DVD & Blu Ray Edition RRP £19.99
Director: John Krish
Starring: Alan Dobie, Ray Brooks
OUR PRICE £15
and Wilfred Bramble. WITH FREE UK POSTAGE
Year: 1959; Black and White. Call Us Now On Freephone
2 discs: DVD and Blu-ray editions
Running time: 65 minutes; 0808 178 8212
Optional subtitles. Or 01923 290555
You will receive 2 discs: one will be a
Blu Ray one will be a DVD.
John Krish’s graphic Prisoner of War drama, a lost
gem of British post-war film-making.
Never commercially released before and
previously only shown to a highly restricted
audience of top military brass from the
Ministry of Defence, Captured (1959) is a
stunning POW drama and a lost gem of British
post-war film making.
Directed by cult British director John Krish, the
film was sponsored by the Army Kinematograph
Corporation. This tightly plotted drama shows
British POWs enduring brainwashing and torture
during the Korean War, thereby revealing what a
soldier could expect if he was ever captured by
enemy forces.
Captured is accompanied by other rarities from
John Krish, including H.M.P. (a 1978 fly-on-the-
wall documentary about the Prison service) and
Krish’s celebrated 1977 public safety short
Finishing Line. All of these films have been
transferred to HD by the BFI from the very best
available film materials.
Extras:
Presented in High and Standard Definition.
Sewing Machine (John Krish, 1973, 1 min): road
safety filler.
Searching (John Krish, 1974, 1 min): shocking fire
safety filler.
H.M.P. (John Krish, 1976, 55 mins): compelling
and humane recruitment film made for the prison services.
The Finishing Line (John Krish, 1977, 21 mins): violent public safety film made to discourage
children from trespassing on the railway.
Shooting the Message: The films of John Krish (2013, 23 mins): an extensive interview with
the director about his life and work.
Illustrated booklet with full credits and new writings by James Piers Taylor, Patrick Russell,
Stephen Thrower and Alex Davidson. 11RENOWN Box Set Special price for this newsletter only:
A Rainy Afternoon At The Flicks
SPECIAL PRICE ONLY £10 with free UK P&P
Box set of three discs usually £20!
What better way to spend a rainy (or snowy) afternoon in
January? This box set recreates a good old fashioned afternoon
at the flicks with a newsreel, an old advert, a short and a main
feature. There are seven sections of entertainment, each with
the National Anthem at the end, just as it was always played in
the good old days of cinema going.
SCREEN 1: The Agitator (1945) Directed by
John Harlow. Produced by Louis H. Jackson. Starring William
Hartnell, Mary Morris, John Laurie and Moore Marriott.
A young British socialist unexpectedly inherits the large
factory where he works as a union mechanic.
PLUS: A Bob in the Pound (1943) Featuring the voice
of Tommy Handley. Learn to save with this animated cinema
short! Felix Follows the Swallows (1925) Directed by
Otto Messmer. Short cartoon classic.
SCREEN 2: He Found A Star (1941) Directed by
John Paddy Carstairs. Produced by John Corfield.
Starring Vic Oliver, Sarah Churchill, Evelyn Dall, Barbara
Everest, Joan Greenwood and David Evans. A stage manager
starts a theatrical agency to find unknown talent.
PLUS: News Thrills of 1942: Glimpses
Highlights of the important war news events from the year Call Us Now On Freephone
1942. The footage also includes the attack on Pearl Harbour.
SCREEN 3: Bob’s Your Uncle (1942) 0808 178 8212
Directed by Oswald Mitchell. Starring Albert Modley, Wally
Patch, H.F. Maltby, Johnnie Schofield, Bert Linden and Alfred Wright. This rare British comedy film
portrays the enthusiastic members of a Home Guard unit. PLUS: The Day Begins Early (1948)
A short behind the scenes look at actress and singer Petula Clark’s working day in 1948.
SCREEN 4: She Knows Y’Know (1962) Directed by Montgomery Tully. Starring Hylda Baker,
Cyril Smith, Peter Myers, Linda Castle, Tim Connor, Neil Wilson, Alfred Burke and Lucy Griffiths. The
son of a working-class matriarch gets in trouble with the daughter of a middle-class family. PLUS:
Butch and Billy and their Bang-Bang Western Plot (1961) With the voices of Danny Krieg-
er, Steven E. Krieger and Bob Custer.
SCREEN 5: Second Best Bed (1938) Directed by Tom Walls. Starring Tom Walls, Jane Baxter,
Veronica Rose, Carl Jaffe, Greta Gynt, Ethel Coleridge and H.Victor Weske. A newly married couple
run into domestic difficulties when the wife refuses to obey her husband. PLUS: Yesterday Lives
Again: Glimpses. A collection of rare newsreel footage from the early 1900s including the Wright
Brothers. Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (1934) Directed by Ub Iwerks and Shamus Culhane.
An early animated short cartoon based on the Aladdin story.
SCREEN 6: The Common Touch (1941) Produced & Directed by John Baxter. Starring Greta
Gynt, Raymond Lovell, Percy Walsh, Bernard Miles and Charles Carson. On the death of his father, young
Peter Henderson leaves school to take over the family firm in the City of London.
PLUS: Call of the West (1947) A Western style musical revue short, featuring the vocal talents of
Spade Cooley, Tex Williams and The King Sisters.
SCREEN 7: A Cry from the Streets (1958) Directed by Lewis Gilbert. Starring Max Bygraves,
Barbara Murray, Colin Petersen, Dana Wilson and Kathleen Harrison. Social worker Ann Fairlie is
assigned to help a group of orphans. PLUS: Celebrity crazy cricket in the 1950s: Glimpses
Featuring Jon Pertwee, Richard Hearne, Tommy Cooper, Jerry Desmonde and Edmundo Ros.
12Spotlight on
Tony Britton
Born: 9th June 1924 Died: 22nd December 2019
On the 22nd December, Fern Britton sadly announced
that her father Tony Britton had passed away at the age of
95. He was a great star and a true gentleman who bought
much joy to those who saw his performances on stage,
television and film.
Anthony Edward Lowry Britton was born on 9 June 1924
in a room above the Trocadero public house in Temple
Street, Birmingham. He received his education in Edgbaston and the Thornbury Grammar
School, Gloucestershire. He joined an amateur dramatics group in Weston-super-Mare –
his first curtain call at age 18 was in Quiet Weekend – before he turned professional.
After serving with the Royal Artillery for 41/2 years, he eventually returned to the theatre,
at first in the capacity of an assistant stage manager at the Manchester Library Theatre.
While there he progressed to lead actor, then made his London debut in The Rising Wind
at the Embassy Theatre.
Tony began to make his name in repertory at Edinburgh and the Bristol Old Vic
during the 1951 season, but major attention came after being cast as Rameses in
Christopher Fry’s The Firstborn at London’s Winter Garden Theatre in 1952. This success
led to the leading role and excellent critical notices in The Player King later that year at the
Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Glen Byam Shaw, director of the Memorial Theatre,
witnessed this performance and invited him to join his company, where he remained for two
seasons. Other London stage roles came with The Night of the Ball opposite Wendy Hiller and
Gladys Cooper, and Gigi starring Leslie Caron. At the Old Vic he played Trigorin in The
Seagull and Hotspur in Henry IV before settling in for a two-year run as Henry Higgins in
My Fair Lady. He would return to this part more than once over a decade later.
His first film appearances Waterfront (1950) and Cage of Gold (1950) were both
uncredited. He appeared in many British ‘B’ films from the 1950s onwards including
Salute the Toff (1952) with John Bentley, The Heart of a Man (1959) with Frankie
Vaughan and Anthony Newley, The Rough & The Smooth (1959) with Nadja Tiller and
Portrait of a Sinner (1960). His performances in the classic Operation Amsterdam (1959),
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973) won critical acclaim.
Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for The Nearly Man.
He was also a familiar face on television in both plays and sitcoms. From 1983 to 1990,
he starred with Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan in the
BBC sitcom, Don’t Wait Up. Other sitcom appearances
include ...And Mother Makes Five and Robin’s Nest. In
September 2013, when Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala
Performance of William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Old
Vic in London, Britton played the Earl of Gloucester.
Britton and his first wife Ruth had two children, script-
writer Cherry Britton and TV presenter Fern Britton. Actor
Jasper Britton is Tony’s son by his second marriage.
His legacy of television and film work will ensure that he
is not forgotten.
13Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Season 1 6 discs
OUR PRICE £20.00
RRP: £60.00
with FREE UK POSTAGE
Call Us Now On Freephone:
0808 178 8212
Or 01923 290555
Running Time: 961 mins approx
6 Discs |Years: 1955–56
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock, Don Weis,
Robert Stevens, Don Medford,
Francis Cockrell, Robert Stevenson, Justus Addiss, James Neilson,
Herschel Daugherty, Arnold Laven.
Stars include: Vera Miles, Pat Hitchcock, John Williams, Claude Rains,
John Cassavetes, Thelma Ritter, Joanne Woodward.
Legendary master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, presents all 39 original episodes of
the first season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Emmy® Award-winning murder-
mystery series that, in the words of Hitchcock himself, “brought murder back into the
home – where it belongs”. This spectacular collection includes exclusive never-before
available bonus features, including in-depth interviews with Alfred Hitchcock’s daughter,
Pat and associate producer Norman Lloyd. Join stellar guest stars Joanne Woodward,
Vera Miles and more in over 16 hours of the most intriguing, suspenseful television.
14Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1 39 Episodes:
Episode 1: Revenge Episode 21: Safe Conduct
Stars: Ralph Meeker, Vera Miles Stars: Claire Trevor,
Episode 2: Premonition Jacques Bergerac
Stars: John Forsythe, Warren Stevens, Episode 22:
Cloris Leachman, George Macready Place of Shadows
Episode 3: Triggers in Leash Stars: Everett Sloane
Stars: Gene Barry, Darren McGavin, Episode 23: Back for Christmas
Ellen Corby Stars: John Williams
Episode 4: Don’t Come Back Alive Episode 24: The Perfect Murder
Stars: Sidney Blackmer Stars: Hurd Hatfield, Mildred Natwick
Episode 5: Into Thin Air Episode 25: There Was an Old Woman
Stars: Pat Hitchcock Stars: Estelle Winwood
Episode 6: Salvage Episode 26: Whodunit
Stars: Gene Barry, Stars: John Williams
Nancy Gates Episode 27: Help Wanted
Episode 7: Breakdown Stars: John Qualen, Lorne Greene
Stars: Joseph Cotten Episode 28: Portrait of Jocelyn
Episode 8: Our Cook’s a Treasure Stars: Philip Abbott, Nancy Gates
Stars: Everett Sloane, Beulah Bondi Episode 29: The Orderly
Episode 9: The Long Shot World of Mr. Appleby
Stars: Peter Lawford, John Williams Stars: Robert H. Harris,
Episode 10: The Case of Mr. Pelham Meg Mundy
Stars: Tom Ewell Episode 30: Never Again
Episode 11: Guilty Witness Stars: Phyllis Thaxter,
Stars: Judith Evelyn, Kathleen Maguire, Louise Allbritton,
Joseph Mantell Warren Stevens
Episode 12: Santa Claus and the Episode 31: The Gentleman from America
Tenth Avenue Kid Stars: Biff McGuire
Stars: Barry Fitzgerald Episode 32: The Baby Sitter
Episode 13: Stars: Thelma Ritter
The Cheney Vase Episode 33: The Belfry
Stars: Patricia Collinge, Stars: Jack Mullaney, Pat Hitchcock
Darren McGavin Episode 34: The Hidden Thing
Episode 14: A Bullet Stars: Biff McGuire, Robert H. Harris
for Baldwin Episode 35: The Legacy
Stars: John Qualen Stars: Leora Dana, Jacques Bergerac
Episode 15: The Big Switch Episode 36: Mink
Stars: George Mathews, Beverly Michaels Stars: Ruth Hussey
Episode 16: You Got to Have Luck Episode 37: Decoy
Stars: John Cassavetes, Marisa Pavan Stars: Robert Horton, Cara Williams
Episode 17: The Older Sister Episode 38: The Creeper
Stars: Joan Lorring, Carmen Mathews, Stars: Constance Ford, Steve Brodie
Polly Rowles
Episode 39: Momentum
Episode 18: Shopping for Death Stars: Skip Homeier,
Stars: Jo Van Fleet Joanne Woodward
Episode 19: The Derelicts
Stars: Robert Newton
Episode 20: And So Died Riabouchinska
Stars: Claude Rains 15Exclusive to Renown
‘You Absolute Shower’ Wash Bag
Just £20 with free UK Postage
Perfect for holidays and travel, or for hanging in your bathroom at home,
this fold out wash-bag features an image of comedy icon Terry-Thomas
with the immortal phrase: “You Absolute Shower!” The monochrome
image is printed on a white background and the wash bag base is black.
The stylish wash-bag has a flap over design hanging hook and useful
compartments and makes a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, a birthday
or Father’s Day gift. Any fan of British comedy will appreciate it!
Printed in the UK; measures approx: 21.8cm x 14.73cm. This bespoke
item will be created and delivered within 10 working days of the order.
Call Us Now On Freephone
0808 178 8212 Or 01923 290555
16Too Many Crooks ON DVD
RRP 14.99
OUR PRICE £7.99
with FREE UK POSTAGE
Call Us Now On Freephone:
0808 178 8212
Or 01923 290555
Year: 1959 | 1 Disc
Running Time: 82 mins approx
Subtitles: English Hard of Hearing
Black & White | Extra feature: trailer
Director: Mario Zampi
Actors: Terry-Thomas, George Cole,
Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Bresslaw,
Sidney James, Joe Melia, Vera Day.
Billy Gordon, played by Terr-Thomas, is a tight-fisted, loose-living millionaire who
drives around in a Jaguar XK 150 and has hoards stashed away as a tax dodge.
Fingers and his gang of criminals have the reputation for being the most dim-witted
crooks London has ever seen. The incompetent gang fail in an attempt to rob
Gordon and decide to change tack and kidnap Gordon’s beloved daughter instead, how-
ever, they err yet again and end up with Gordon’s wife Lucy. Hearing that he has refused
to pay her ransom, his wife turns the tables on him, drawing on her expertise as
a wartime PT instructor by marshalling the support of the crooks.
This likeable farce features a cast of familiar British faces including John Le Mesurier,
Nicholas Parsons, Sydney Tafler, Sam Kydd and Terry Scott.
17From the British Film Institute
Charlie Chaplin: The Essanay Comedies
Starring: Charlie Chaplin RRP £24.99
Year: 1915-16 Black and White
2 discs Running time: 400 minutes OUR PRICE £20
Silent with music and intertitles WITH FREE UK POSTAGE
This comprehensive 2 disc collection features Call Us Now On Freephone
0808 178 8212
15 films, fully restored, presented alongside
exclusive special features – never before
released in the UK.
In December 1914, the great Charlie Chaplin Or 01923 290555
signed a one year contract with the Essanay
Film Manufacturing Company for what was
then an unprecedented salary. Shooting in both
their California and Chicago studios he made
15 films that firmly established him as the world’s
favourite screen comedian.
Unlike other screen stars of the time, Chaplin
retained complete creative control over his
films, from writing and directing, to choosing
his cast. While this led to his relationship with
Essanay growing increasingly strained, this
fruitful period of his career saw him evolve his
style, resulting in seminal works such as
The Tramp, The Bank and The Champion.
Films:
His New Job A Woman
A Night Out The Bank
The Champion Shanghaied
In the Park A Night in the Show
A Jitney Elopement A Burlesque on
The Tramp Carmen
By the Sea Police!
His Regeneration Triple Trouble Chaplin with
Work Ben Turpin in
‘His New Job’
Extras:
Charlie Chaplin: The Long Year at Essanay (2016,
23 mins): newly produced video essay presented by writer
and broadcaster Glenn Mitchell.
Charlie’s Triple Trouble (1948, 15 mins): the re-released
British version of Chaplin’s 1918 film Triple Trouble.
A Burlesque on Carmen (1951, 35 mins): containing
additional footage filmed after Chaplin’s departure from
Essanay. This version features a commentary by comedian
Peter Sellers, which was used for the film’s British re-release.
Charlie Butts In (1920, 10 mins): short compilation of out-takes and alternate shots from
Chaplin’s 1915 film A Night Out.
Fully illustrated booklet with essays by Frank Scheide, new writing by Glenn Mitchell and
Vic Pratt and full film credits.
18From the British Film Institute
Charlie Chaplin: The Mutual Comedies
Starring: Charlie Chaplin RRP £24.99
Year: 1916-1917 Black and White
2 discs Running time: 341 minutes OUR PRICE £20
Silent with music and intertitles WITH FREE UK POSTAGE
Charlie Chaplin entered the film industry in 1914 Call Us Now On Freephone
0808 178 8212
and by 1916 was the highest paid entertainer in
the world after signing a contract with the Mutual
Film Corporation for a salary of $670,000.
Mutual built Chaplin his own studio and allowed Or 01923 290555
him total freedom to make 12 two-reel films
during a 12-month period, which have been
brought together for the first time on this two-
disc box set. Chaplin subsequently recognised
this period of film-making as the most inventive
and liberating of his career.
These twelve films demonstrate the breadth of
Chaplin’s abilities as both a physical slapstick
actor and a subtle, endearing character actor.
The collection includes the slapstick custard pie
fights of Behind the Screen and his first minor
masterpiece, The Vagabond, which combines
pathos and comedy to create a lyrical love story.
This collection of Chaplin films has been fully
restored and features music by acclaimed silent
film composer Carl Davis.
Films:
The Floorwalker Behind The Screen
The Fireman The Rink
The Vagabond Easy Street
One A.M. The Cure
The Count The Immigrant
The Pawnshop The Adventurer Chaplin with
Eric Campbell
Extras: in ‘Easy Street’
• All films fully restored in High Definition
• Scores by Carl Davis on all 12 films
•A lternative scores for each film by a range of composers,
including Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola and Stephen Horne
•A udio commentaries for all films by Frank Scheide,
Glenn Mitchell, Dan Kamin, Hooman Mehran, Bryony Dixon,
Michael J Hayde and Carl Davis
• Chaplin Signs the Mutual Contract (1916, 25 secs)
• Charlie on the Ocean to England (1921, 5 mins)
• An Interview with Carl Davis (2003, 9 mins)
•F ully illustrated booklet with new essays by Michael J Hayde, Dan Kimin, Glenn Mitchell
and Carl Davis; full film credits.
19THE KILLER B MOVIE COLLECTION
9 Classic Films
on 9 DVDs
OUR PRICE £25.00
RRP: £59.99
with FREE UK POSTAGE
Call Us Now On Freephone:
0808 178 8212
Or 01923 290555
Running Time: 713 mins approx
9 Discs |Years: 1940-1964
Directors: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Ib Melchior,
Ernest B. Schoedsack, Sidney W. Pink,
John Sherwood, Nathan Juran, Edgar G. Ulmer.
David Kramarsky, Roger Corman.
Stars include: Steve McQueen, Jeff Morrow,
Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Gerald Mohr,
Naura Hayden, Les Tremayne, Bent Mejding,
Jack Kruschen, Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley,
Janice Logan, Asbjørn Andersen, Alix Talton,
Rex Reason, Povl Wøldike, Leigh Snowden,
Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Dona Cole,
Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders,
Above: The Blob Below: Reptilicus
Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, Robert Clarke,
Margaret Field, Raymond Bond.
A collection of some of the best Sci-fi B-movies
ever made. Nine films, including Steve McQueen’s
gooey film debut in the The Blob, monster movies
The Deadly Mantis, The Creature Walks Among
Us, The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes and
Reptilicus and the Sci-Fi adventures of
The Man From Planet X, The Time Travellers,
The Angry Red Planet and Doctor Cyclops.
This 9 Disc DVD set will transport you back to a
different time in film-making, when big ideas did
not need big budgets!
20THE KILLER B MOVIE COLLECTION FILMS INCLUDED
The Blob (1958) The Man From Planet X (1951)
Havoc is wreaked on a small town by a An alien lands in
jelly-like outer-space monster. Scotland, with a plan for
Director: Irvin Yeaworth world domination!
Stars: Steve McQueen, Earl Rowe, Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Aneta Corsaut, Olin Howland. Stars: Robert Clarke,
The Deadly Mantis (1957) Margaret Field,
A thousand ton, Raymond Bond,
praying mantis is William Schallert.
released from its The Time Travellers (1964)
million-year slumber in A scientist travels 107
the frozen Arctic. years into the future to
Directors: Nathan a post-nuclear world
Juran, Craig Stevens where humans are being
Stars: Craig Stevens, attacked by mutants.
William Hopper, Director: Ib Melchior
Alix Talton, Donald Randolph. Stars: Preston Foster
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) Philip Carey, Merry
Scientists capture Anders, John Hoyt.
the Gill Man, but the The Angry Red Planet (1960)
creature begins an An expedition to Mars
orgy of destruction! runs into all sorts of alien
Director: terrors, including Mar-
John Sherwood tian plants and a giant
Stars: Jeff Morrow, mouse/spider hybrid.
Rex Reason, Director: Ib Melchior
Leigh Snowden, Stars: Gerald Mohr,
Gregg Palmer, Maurice Manson. Nora Hayden,
The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes (1955) Les Tremayne.
An extra-terrestrial Doctor Cyclops (1940)
lands a spaceship and Four explorers search
makes birds, cows and for legendary physicist
other animals attack Dr. Cyclops. When they
a family operating an discover their missing
isolated farm in the colleague, they find his
California desert. mind has been warped
Director: by radiation and the half-
John David Kramarsky blind, half-mad scientist
Stars: Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, Dona Cole. uses a body altering
Reptilicus (1961) device to reduce them to one-fifth their
Miners in Lapland discover a frozen piece normal size. The special effects received an
of reptilian tail which regenerates into an Oscar nomination and made this one of the
acid spitting rampaging monster. most memorable fantasy films of all time.
Director: Sidney W. Pink Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Stars: Bent Mejding, Asbjørn Andersen, Stars: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley,
Povl Wøldike, Ann Smyrner, Mimi Heinrich. Janice Logan, Charles Halton.
21£7.99
The Cat and the Canary ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
Ten years have passed since the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman and his
six remaining relatives gather in his old mansion to read the will. The family
maid announces that the spirits have told her that one of them will die that
night and the local prison guard warns that ‘The Cat’ – a homicidal maniac –
has escaped. Cue a night filled with murder, mystery and intrigue.
Directed by: Elliott Nugent
Cast: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery,
Gale Sondergaard, Elizabeth Patterson, Nydia Westman.
Year of Production 1939 | Running Time: 74 mins approx | Black and White
EXTRAS: Original Trailer, Lobby Card Gallery, Stills Gallery, Poster Gallery.
The House Of Blackmail ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
British crime drama about a soldier and his girlfriend who are implicated in
the murder of a blackmailer. Directed by: Maurice Elvey
Cast: Mary Germaine, William Sylvester, Alexander Gauge,
John Arnatt, Denis Shaw, Ingeborg von Kusserow, Patricia Owens.
Year of Production 1953 | Black and White
Also Includes:
The Six Men (1953) Director: Michael Law
Starring: Harold Warrender, Olga Edwardes, Peter Bull, Michael Evans.
A Matter of Murder (1949) Director: John Gilling
Starring: Maureen Riscoe, John Barry, Charles Clapham, Ian Fleming.
Total Running Time: 193 mins approx
Valley of Eagles ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
A Swedish scientist discovers a method to transform sound into power.
His wife disappears with his young assistant and parts of his invention are
stolen. The police inspector, played by Jack Warner, follows their escape route
through desolate wastes where Lapp tribes and their reindeer herds eke out
a precarious living. Featuring an early performance by Christopher Lee.
Directed by: Terence Young
Cast: John McCallum, Nadia Gray, Jack Warner, Anthony Dawson,
Mary Laura Wood, Naima Wifstrand, Christopher Lee.
Year of Production 1951 | Running Time: 79 mins approx | Black and White
EXTRAS: Poster Gallery, Lobby Card Gallery, Stills Gallery, Original Cast and
Crew biographies, Original Press Stories.
I’ll Turn To You ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
When a pilot returns home to his wife after being away at war he struggles
to readjust. They have both changed; will they be able to put aside their
differences in order to rekindle their romance?
Directed by: Geoffrey Faithful
Cast: Terry Randall, Don Stannard, Harry Welchman, Irene Handl,
Ann Codrington, Ellis Irving, George Merritt, Sandy Macpherson.
Year of Production 1946 | Running Time: 93 mins approx | Black and White
22each OR any 4 for £20
Rising Damp The Movie ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
Based on the ITV popular Seventies sitcom. Grasping landlord Rigsby spends
most of his time lusting after his favourite tenant, Miss Jones. Unfortunately
for Rigsby, she only has eyes for the athletic son of a tribal chief Philip. He,
in turn, has no time for affairs of the heart, but is nevertheless amused by
the attempts of his new room-mate, Alan, to lose his virginity. Into this not
always happy household comes the apparently sophisticated Seymour.
Directed by: Vernon Lawrence
Cast: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour,
Gabrielle Rose, Derek Newark, Christopher Strauli, Denholm Elliott.
Year of Production 1980 | Running Time: 98 mins approx | Colour
Kiss The Bride Goodbye ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
A working-class girl’s plans to marry are thwarted when her mother
interferes. Hoping to improve her daughter’s social status, she arranges
for her daughter to wed her boss while the fiancé is away at war. He arrives
home to discover his love is engaged to another man. Who will she marry?
Directed by: Paul L. Stein
Cast: Patricia Medina, Jimmy Hanley, Ellen Pollock, Claud Allister,
Jean Simmons, Marie Lohr, Frederick Leister, Wylie Watson.
Year of Production 1945 | Running Time: 89 mins approx | Black and White
The Girl on the Boat ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
Adaptation of the P.G. Wodehouse novel of the same name. Set in the
1920s, two young men returning to England on a transatlantic liner fall
in love with two fellow passengers. Typically Wodehousian romantic
shenanigans ensue.
Directed by: Henry Kaplan
Cast: Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin, Richard Briers, Philip Locke,
Sheila Hancock, Bernard Cribbins, Athene Seyler, Philip Locke.
Year of Production 1961 | Running Time: 90 mins approx | Black and White
EXTRAS: Audio Commentary by Norman Wisdom and comedy historian
Robert Ross. Cast and Crew Biographies.
The Other Love ONLY £7.99 Free UK P&P
Romantic classic with an all-star cast including Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven
and Richard Conte. An ailing concert pianist who does not have long to live
checks into a sanatorium, determined to make the most of her remaining
time. She finds herself falling in love with her doctor, but ignores his warnings
that she must rest, taking up with a dashing racing driver instead.
Directed by: André De Toth
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven , Richard Conte, Gilbert Roland,
Joan Lorring, Lenore Aubert, Maria Palmer, Natalie Schafer.
Year of Production 1947 | Running Time: 90 mins approx | Black and White
23From the British Film Institute
Bill Douglas Trilogy (Dual Format Edition)
Starring: Stephen Archibald,
Hughie Restorick, Paul Kermack RRP £24.99
OUR PRICE £15
Jean Taylor-Smith, Bernard McKenna
Year: 1972-1978 | Black and White
Running time: 175 mins WITH FREE UK POSTAGE
Optional hard of hearing subtitles Call Us Now On Freephone
3 discs including both DVD
and Blu-ray editions
0808 178 8212
Bill Douglas’s award-winning and critically Or 01923 290555
acclaimed films: My Childhood, My Ain Folk
and My Way Home are three of the most
compelling films about childhood ever made.
The narrative is largely autobiographical,
following Jamie (played with heart-breaking
conviction by Stephen Archibald) as he grows
up in a poverty-stricken mining village in post-
war Scotland. In these brutal surroundings, and
subject to hardship and rejection, Jamie learns
to fend for himself. We see him grow from child
to adolescent; angry and bewildered, yet
playful, creative and affectionate.
In My Childhood (1972), eight-year old Jamie
lives with his granny and elder brother in a
Scottish mining village in 1945. With an
absent father and a mother in a mental home,
he is subject to the hardships of poverty.
In My Ain Folk (1973), Jamie is sent to live
with his paternal grandmother and uncle; a life
full of silence and rejection.
My Way Home (1978) sees Jamie’s ultimate
victory over his circumstances; after a spell in
foster care, and a homeless shelter, he is
conscripted into the RAF, where he embarks
on a redemptive friendship with pal Robert,
which allows him to emerge from his Extras:
adolescence and pursue his artistic ambition. Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
Despite the sometimes bleak subject matter, (2006, 63 mins), a new documentary about
watching the trilogy is far from a depressing Bill Douglas’s life and work. (DVD only)
Come Dancing (1970, 15 mins)
experience. This is cinematic poetry: Douglas
Douglas’s remarkable, rarely-seen student
contracted his subject matter to the barest short. (DVD only)
essentials; dialogue is kept to a minimum, and Rare archive interview with Bill Douglas
fields, slag heaps and cobbled streets are (4 mins) (DVD only)
shot in bleak monochrome. Yet with its Illustrated booklet containing newly
unexpected humour and warmth, the trilogy commissioned essays, notes and credits
brims with clear-eyed humanity, and affection
for an ultimately triumphant young boy.
24PREMIERE HIGHLIGHTS FOR January ON TALKING PICTURES TV
SKY328 | FREEVIEW 81 | FREESAT 306 | VIRGIN445
Sun 12th Jan 21:00 Sat 18th Jan 21:30
Mystery & Imagination Episode 6: and Wed 22nd Jan 22:05
The Curse of the Mummy (1970) Personal Services (1987)
Horror, directed by: Guy Verney. Comedy, directed by Terry Jones.
Stars: Isobel Black, Patrick Mower, Stars: Julie Walters, Alec McCowen,
Donald Churchill, Graham Crowden. Shirley Stelfox, Danny Schiller.
Wealthy and eccentric Trelawny A waitress decides to run a brothel.
attempts to reincarnate an ancient Sun 19th Jan 16:00
Egyptian Queen. and Thurs 23rd Jan 14:30
Wed 15th Jan 13:10 The Kidnappers (1953)
Vote for Huggett (1949) Drama, directed by Philip Leacock.
Comedy, directed by: Ken Annakin. Stars: Jon Whiteley, Vincent Winter,
Stars: Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Adrienne Corri, Duncan Macrae.
Susan Shaw, Petula Clark, Diana Dors. Orphans ‘borrow’ a baby to care for as
Pa Huggett decides to enter the world their own. (AKA The Little Kidnappers)
of politics. Sun 19th Jan 19:10
Thurs 16th Jan 16:45 and Fri 24th Jan 14:30
Warlords of Atlantis (1978) Highly Dangerous (1950)
Adventure Fantasy, directed by: Thriller, directed by Roy Ward Baker.
Kevin Connor. Stars: Doug McClure, Stars: Margaret Lockwood, Dane Clark.
Peter Gilmore, Cyd Charisse, Daniel An entomologist investigating germ
Massey. A professor of archaeology, warfare finds herself in a spy game.
and his son are on a quest to find the Sun 19th Jan 21:00
lost city of Atlantis. Sunday Night at the
Sat 18th Jan 12:00 London Palladium Episode 1
On the Night of the Fire (1939) (1957)
Crime, directed by: Brian Desmond The ground-breaking original British
Hurst Stars: Ralph Richardson, variety show is brought back to TV
Diana Wynyard, Romney Brent. screens. Featuring cabaret, comedy and
A barber commits a theft, leading to showbiz stars. Hosted by Hughie Green
involvement in blackmail and murder. with Mario Lanza, Les Maragones,
Sat 18th Jan 17:35 George Holmes and Les Maturines.
and Wed 22nd Jan 15:05 Sun 19th Jan 22:00
Night Without Stars (1951) and Thurs 23rd Jan 19:00
Drama, directed by Anthony Pélissier. Venetian Bird (1952)
Stars: David Farrar, Nadia Gray, Mystery, directed by: Ralph Thomas .
Maurice Teynac. An Englishman falls for Stars: Richard Todd, Eva Bartok, John
the widow of a Resistance fighter. Gregson. A private detective travels to
Sat 18th Jan 19:25 Venice to find an Italian veteran of the
and Fri 24th Jan 18:55 Second World War. (AKA The Assassin)
The October Man (1947) Mon 20th Jan 19:10
Crime thriller, directed by Roy Ward and Sat 1st Feb 13:55
Baker. Stars: John Mills, Edward Personal Affair (1953)
Chapman, Joan Greenwood. Drama, directed by Anthony Pelissier.
A man is suspected of murder, and Stars: Gene Tierney, Leo Genn and
begins to doubt his own innocence. Glynis Johns. A teenager who is in
love with her teacher disappears.
Sunday Night at the London Palladium
on Talking Pictures TV
Debuting on ITV’s opening weekend in 1955, Sunday Night at the London Palladium was
one of the weekly TV highlights which today’s variety shows can only aspire to. Originally
hosted by Tommy Trinder, with Bruce Forsyth and Jimmy Tarbuck later taking over,
guests included: Norman Wisdom, Adam Faith, Sid James, Frankie Howerd,
The Searchers, Cleo Laine & Johnny Dankworth, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, Peter
Cooke & Dudley Moore. Airing on Sundays at 9pm, starting on Sun January 19th.
25PREMIERE HIGHLIGHTS FOR January ON TALKING PICTURES TV
SKY328 | FREEVIEW 81 | FREESAT 306 | VIRGIN445
Tues 21st Jan 19:00 Sun 26th Jan 16:00
and Sun 02 Feb 19:00 and Tues 28th Jan 19:10
Old Bill and Son (1940) The Lamp Still Burns (1943)
Comedy, directed by: Ian Dalrymple. War drama, directed by Maurice Elvey.
Stars: Morland Graham, John Mills, Stars: Rosamund John, Stewart Granger.
Mary Clare and Ronald Shiner. War A nurse faces many trials during the war.
veteran Bill ends up serving with his son. Sun 26th Jan 18:50
Wed 22nd Jan 18:45 and Tues 28th Jan 13:20
and Thu 30 Jan 08:45 Follow a Star (1959)
School for Secrets (1946) Comedy, directed by Robert Asher.
War Drama, written and directed Stars: Norman Wisdom, June Laverick,
by Peter Ustinov. Stars: Ralph Jerry Desmonde, Hattie Jacques.
Richardson, David Tomlinson, A shop worker dreams of becoming a
Richard Attenborough. Story of the famous singer.
scientists who developed radar. Sun 26th Jan 21:00
Sat 25th Jan 12:10 Sunday Night at the Palladium:
and Wed 29 Jan 11:30 Episode 2 (1958)
Man of Aran (1934) Variety show hosted by Tommy Trinder.
Robert J Flaherty’s epic portrayal of life Guest stars include Sarah Vaughan, Dick
off the western coast of Ireland where Shawn, Marvin Rainwater, Pinky & Perky,
families eked out a living. and The John Tiller Girls.
Sat 25th Jan 16:00 Sun 26th Jan 22:00
High Tide at Noon (1957) Nothing But The Night (1972)
Drama, directed by: Philip Leacock. Crime horror, directed by Peter Sasdy.
Stars: Betta St. John, Michael Craig, Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing,
William Sylvester. A young woman’s Diana Dors, Georgia Brown. A Scottish
husband squanders their savings. island orphanage is terrorized by a spate
Sat 25th Jan 18:10 of Satanic murders.
and Thurs 30th Jan 18:50 Thurs 30th Jan 16:50
They Were Not Divided (1950) IWM: They Stand Ready (1955)
War drama, directed by Terence Documentary about National Service
Young. Stars: Edward Underdown, illustrated by the story of one young
Ralph Clanton, Michael Trubshawe, National Serviceman.
Christopher Lee. The experiences of Sat 1st Feb 17:30
British & American soldiers. A Canterbury Tale (1944)
Sat 25th Jan 20:20 War Comedy, directed by
and Wed 29th Jan 22:05 Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger.
Tiger in the Smoke (1956) Stars: Eric Portman, Sheila Sim,
Crime drama, directed by Roy Ward Dennis Price. A small Kent town near
Baker. Stars: Donald Sinden, Muriel Canterbury is being plagued by a myste-
Pavlow, Tony Wright. War veterans rious “glue-man”, who pours glue on the
search London for their former sergeant. hair of girls dating soldiers after dark.
Sun 26th Jan 11:15 Sun 2nd Feb 07:15
and Fri 31st Jan 14:30 IWM: Treble One – A Tribute (1959)
I See a Dark Stranger (1946) Film featuring RAF 111 Squadron “Black
War Thriller, directed by Frank Launder. Arrows” aerobatics team. Daily routine at
Stars: Deborah Kerr, Trevor Howard. the base and formation flying.
A patriotic Irishwoman is used as a spy.
Nothing But The Night on Talking Pictures TV
Starring: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, this chilling tale of murder in an
isolated Scottish orphanage features a brilliant cast, including: Diana Dors,
Georgia Brown, Keith Barron, Gwyneth Strong, Fulton Mackay, Michael Gambon
and Kathleen Byron. Christopher Lee co-produced the film, which was directed by Peter
Sasdy. The intriguing story begins as a crime thriller and becomes a sci-fi horror with occult
overtones, culminating in a fiery climax. Airs on Sunday 26th January at 10pm.You can also read
