"Actor: Basil Radford"

• Unpublished Story | DVD | (06/07/2015) from £3.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (225.56%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Wartime spy thriller. Richard Greene stars as war correspondent Bob Randall, who returns from Dunkirk to report on Nazi atrocities committed during the Blitzkrieg, and to deliver a stark warning about the traitors who aided the Germans in their conquest of Europe. He is outraged to discover that the 'People for Peace Society' in England are campaigning to appease the Germans, and tries to expose them for the fools they are - only to have his newspaper stories censored by Home Security. As the Blitz rages in London, Randall and fellow journalist Carol Bennett (Valerie Hobson) uncover an even more sinister side to the Society. Do they have advance knowledge of German bombing raids? And who is really controlling them?

• Three Films By Somerset Maugham - Trio / Encore / Quartet | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £24.93   |  Saving you £0.06 (0.24%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Three Films By Somerset Maugham: Trio Encore and Quartet (3 Discs)

• Will Hay - Oh Mr Porter / Convict 99 | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £12.60   |  Saving you £0.39 (3.10%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Though he gets solo above-the-title billing, Will Hay was no more a solo comedian than Groucho Marx. Teamed with sidekicks Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt the trio formed one of British cinema's greatest comedy gangs. Oh, Mr Porter!, one of their finest vehicles, finds Hay as congenial William Porter, an inept railway worker who is shunted off to the dead-end job of stationmaster in Buggleskelly, Northern Ireland. The delight of the film is in the interplay between Hay and Marriott, the single-toothed dotty old-timer, and Moffatt, the chubby smart kid, as they fail the most basic requirements of their jobs but come up trumps when investigating the ghost of One-Eyed Joe and his haunted mill. --Kim Newman One of Will Hay's brisker comic efforts, 1936's Convict 99 sees Dr Benjamin Twist, Hay's clueless schoolmaster, caught in a case of mistaken identity and invited to head up a prison for especially hard-boiled criminals. It's a typical outtake from Hay's bizarrely lawless universe in which, for all his harrumphing and bluster, he's unable to exercise any sort of discipline whatsoever over the men in his charge. Hay plays exactly the same character from film to film, one so ill-equipped for any situation he's equally suited for all. Whereas Twist is an incompetent who somehow muddles through, Hay the comic actor is a master of timing and double-takes who knows precisely how to create the air of a shambles. --David Stubbs

• Ha'Penny Breeze | DVD | (08/02/2016) from £8.16   |  Saving you £1.83 (22.43%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Director Don Sharp appears in a rare acting role alongside Interpol Calling's Edwin Richfield and Welsh actress Gwyneth Vaughan in this heart-warming film charting the endeavours of two friends who are determined to restore the fortunes of a war-weary coastal village. Filmed in and around the picturesque boating haven of Pin Mill in Suffolk, Ha'penny Breeze is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.At the end of the Second World War, David and his Australian friend Johnny return to David's Suffolk village to find the community spent and demoralised. Gradually, however, they gather support for David's scheme to enter a yachting race with a converted fishing smack. Winning it could prove to be a lifeline for the village...

• Ealing Studios Boxset 1 | DVD | (16/10/2006) from £27.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (7.15%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Kind Hearts and Coronets (Dir. Robert Hamer 1949): Sir Alec Guinness became an international star with his extraordinary performance as eight different characters in this 1949 Ealing Studios classic. Dennis Price (I'm All Right Jack Private Progress) co-stars as Edwardian gentleman Louis Mazzini who plots to avenge his mother's death by seizing the dukedom of the aristocratic d'Ascoyne family. But to gain this inheritance Mazzini must first murder the line of eccentric relatives who stand between him and the title including General d'Ascoyne Admiral d'Ascoyne The Duke of Chalfont Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne and four more all brillantly portrayed by Guinness and leading to one of the most delicious final twists in comedy history. Passport To Pimlico (Dir. Henry Cornelius 1949): An ancient document reveals that London's Pimlico district really belongs to France. And the Pimlico community eager to abandon post-War constraints quickly establish their independence as a ration-free state with hilarious results. Nicholas Nickleby (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1947): The classic Charles Dicken's tale of 'Nicholas Nickleby ' a man who is deprived of his inheritance and travels to seek his fortune with a group of gypsies. Went The Day Well? (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1942): The residents of a British village during WWII welcome a platoon of soldiers only to discover that they're actually Germans!

• Ealing Studios DVD Collection - Champagne Charlie/The Maggie/It Always Rains On Sunday/Whisky Galore | DVD | (29/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  This collection features four classic British films from the Ealing studio. Whisky Galore: The Scottish islanders of Todday by-pass war time rationing and delight in smuggling cases of their favourite tipple from a wrecked ship. Basil Radford stars as the teetotal English official who is totally unable to comprehend the significance of whisky to the islanders. Marvellously detailed and well played it firmly established the richest Ealing vein with the common theme of a small group triumphing over a more powerful opponent. Champagne Charlie: Tommy Trinder gives one of the very best performances of his career in this lively musical comedy about the career of music hall star George Leybourne - better known to one and all as Champagne Charlie. It Always Rains on Sunday: Rose Sandigate used to be engaged to local bad-boy Tommy Swann but he found himself locked up and thrown in Dartmoor prison. Rose eventually marries George a sedate but gentle man. However Tommy has escaped from Dartmoor and needs Rose's help... The Maggie: It looks as if the 'Maggie' an old and decrepit puffer boat is destined for the scrap-yard. That is until an American shipping company accidentally awards the puffer boat a valuable contract. When the mistake is discovered the head of the company himself decides to put things right. Calvin B. Marshall is a first rate hustler but the puffer crew outsmart him at every turn to keep their contract.

• The Way to the Stars | DVD | (17/05/2004) from £7.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (25.03%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 1940 a deserted airfield somewhere in the heart of England becomes a bustling bomber command station. In 1942 advance units of the American Air Force arrive to join The Royal Air Force and help turn the tide of World War II. So unfolds the story of a group of flyers and their 'missions'. Peter Penrose (John Mills) a young RAF pilot is sent to Halfpenny Field close to the small town of Shepley. His Squadron Leader Flight Lieutenant David Archdale (Michael Redgrave) gives him inspiration and encouragement and they fast become friends. They are joined by a young American pilot Johnny (Douglas Montgomery) which complicates the friendship. This is the story of the group's private lives - particularly their loves during war-time.

• The Lady Vanishes | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £16.02   |  Saving you £-6.03 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Hitchcock's masterful film about intrigue and espionage is filled with suspense and excitement.

• Its Not Cricket | DVD | (24/03/2014) from £6.09   |  Saving you £6.90 (113.30%)   |  RRP £12.99

  ‘It’s Not Cricket’ is a hilarious post war comedy produced by one Britain’s finest comedy talents Peter Rogers and his future wife and probably the finest female producer of her generation Betty E. Box. Major Bright (Basil Radford) and Captain Early (Naunton Wayne) are two helpless intelligence officers in the British army in post war Germany. Sent back to England for a spot of leave they fail to notice that their new batman is actually war criminal Otto Fisch (Maurice Denham) and when he vanishes the two officers are quickly demobed. Back on Civvy Street our two heroes set up a private detective agency ‘Bright and Early’. When they are invited to a weekend country house party for a cricket match they stumble across a robbery plot involving a diamond that Fisch has stolen. Will the two helpless detectives finally catch Fisch and recover the diamond?

• The Lady Vanishes | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Hitchcock's masterful film about intrigue and espionage is filled with suspense and excitement.

• Quartet | DVD | (21/05/2007) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-4.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Four film versions of W. Somerset Maugham are brought together and introduced by the man himself: 'The Facts of Life' features a young tennis player who escapes from his domineering partner and absconds to Monaco; 'The Alien Corn' features Dirk Bogarde playing a man with the ambition to be a top pianist but he is rejected by music scholars; 'The Kite' stars George Cole as a man with an obsession for kites and little time for his wife; 'The Colonel's Lady' revolves around a stuffy colonel's search for the man his wife has been writing passionate poems about.

• Millions Like Us | DVD | (26/01/2004) from £5.70   |  Saving you £7.29 (127.89%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Co-directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat in 1943 Millions Like Us is widely regarded as one of the finest British films of the Second World War.Patricia Roc stars as Celia Crowson an ordinary young woman determined to do her part for the war effort. Leaving her home she takes a job in a factory and finds herself living in a hostel with other volunteers. Her fellow volunteers come from all walks of life and positions of society. They are all so very different - and yet united in their desire to defend Britain and see the menace of the Nazis defeated forever. The film follows the girls as they work together and discover the importance of friendship and true love. Eric Portman and Gordan Jackson co-star in this fascinating film portrayal of life on the Home Front at the height of the Second World War.

• Unpublished Story | DVD | (08/02/2010) from £6.40   |  Saving you £6.59 (102.97%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Richard Greene and Valerie Hobson star in this British wartime spy thriller set in London's Docklands during the Blitz of 1940. War correspondent Bob Randall (Richard Greene) returns to England from Dunkirk with a powerful story of Nazi atrocities committed during the Blitzkrieg - and a stark warning about the traitors who aided the Germans in their conquest of Europe.

• Will Hay - Convict 99 | DVD | (30/09/2010) from £6.21   |  Saving you £-1.22 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Will Hay - Convict 99

• Broken Blossoms | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £8.95   |  Saving you £4.04 (45.14%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This 1936 Twickenham production Produced by Julius Hagen who put together a fine team of technicians. Hagen a German, called upon several countrymen, Hans Brahm Director, Curt Courant Photography then on screen Dolly Haas, and our own master of the scissors Ralph Kemplen. Comparisons are made to the DW Griffith version which seems unnecessary. The early model work is not the best but enjoy this fine but not pc production. The picture and sound have been restored to a very good quality for a title of this age.

• There Goes The Bride | DVD | (25/05/2009) from £5.95   |  Saving you £4.04 (67.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  On the morning of an unwonted marriage reluctant bride Annette runs away to Paris. On the train she is robbed of her purse and meets a dashing wealthy young man Max who allows her to stay with him for 24 hours. Detectives trace the runaway and take her home but Max follows her and together they elope after eluding her captors.

• Young And Innocent | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Among Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood movies, 1938's Young and Innocent is a most unfairly overlooked classic. It's full of themes and stylistic touches that became permanent fixtures in his career. Based on Josephine Tey's novel A Shilling for Candles, the film title refers to the characters' outlook. However Hitchcock characteristically chips away at that innocence with flourishes of macabre humour, such as scenes of a dead rat at the lunch table and a hopeless conference with a defence lawyer, while suspense is heightened in a game of blindman's buff at a children 's party. The story concerns a typically Hitchcockian innocent man (Derrick de Marney) on the run, with a trivial object to find (a raincoat) that will prove his innocence. He's helped by a fiery young girl (Nova Pilbeam) who's unfortunately the daughter of the chief constable, but has some handy first aid skills. There's also an oppressive mother figure in the shape of an overbearing aunt (Mary Clare). Aside from these thematic traits, what remains impressive for viewers new or old is Hitchcock's technical set-pieces: a car sinks into a mineshaft, a railway station is recreated in miniature, and the twitchy-eyed murderer is finally located via an extended aerial tracking shot across a ballroom (pre-empting many similar shots, eg: Notorious). This sequence took two days to accomplish, and demonstrates the director was more than ready to move to the older and less innocent American industry . --Paul Tonks

• Whisky Galore (Single Disc) | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £9.43   |  Saving you £6.56 (41.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A Highland fling on a tight little island! The Scottish islanders of Todday bypass war time rationing and delight in smuggling cases of their favourite tipple from a wrecked ship... Basil Radford stars as the teetotal English official who is totally unable to comprehend the significance of whisky to the islanders. Marvellously detailed and well played it firmly established the richest Ealing vein with the common theme of a small group triumphing over a more powerful opponent.

• Will Hay - Convict 99 | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  One of Will Hay’s brisker comic efforts, 1936’s Convict 99 sees Dr Benjamin Twist, Hay’s clueless schoolmaster, caught in a case of mistaken identity and invited to head up a prison for especially hard-boiled criminals. Unable to believe his luck, Dr Twist celebrates his success with a few drinks, is still drunk when he arrives to take up his post and, confused with a new batch of inmates, ends up behind bars himself. There he makes the acquaintance of Moore Marriott as "Jerry the Mole", who has been digging an escape tunnel for nigh on 40 years and is only a fortnight away from his release date. When eventually reinstated as governor, Hay runs a loose ship, with inmates waited on by wardens, allowed to bet and even play the stock market. However, when a criminal on the outside attempts to defraud Twist, their indignation is naturally aroused. Convict 99 is a typical outtake from Hay’s bizarrely lawless universe, in which for all his harrumphing and bluster, he’s unable to exercise any sort of discipline whatsoever over the men in his charge. Hay plays exactly the same character from film to film, one so ill-equipped for any situation he’s equally suited for all. Whereas Twist is an incompetent who somehow muddles through, Hay the comic actor is a master of timing and double-takes who knows precisely how to create the air of a shambles. On the DVD: the original 1930s film stock has been well restored, give or take the odd crackle. But there are no extras, except scene index. --David Stubbs

• Whisky Galore | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £19.21   |  Saving you £3.77 (23.24%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Highland fling on a tight little island! The Scottish islanders of Todday bypass war time rationing and delight in smuggling cases of their favourite tipple from a wrecked ship... Basil Radford stars as the teetotal English official who is totally unable to comprehend the significance of whisky to the islanders. Marvellously detailed and well played it firmly established the richest Ealing vein with the common theme of a small group triumphing over a more powerful opponent.