Movies123 - - Basil Dearden Movie List

Khartoum (1966) After an Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, is destroyed in a battle in the Sudan in the 1880's, the British government is in a quandary. It does not want to commit a British military force to a foreign war but they have a commitment to protect the Egyptians in Khartoum. T

My Learned Friend (1943) An insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Hay is on the list, and co-opts Claude Hulbert to try and stop him from meeting a grisly end. This black comedy suggests that, had he lived, Will Hay might have moved on to the darker corners

Woman of Straw (1964) A ruthless tycoon, whom his nephew (Anthony "Tony" Richmond) hates as he had both deprived his father of half of the family business and had (after his father had committed suicide) married his mother. A nurse (Maria) from a poor Italian family, is initially hired to

Dead of Night (1945) Architect Walter Craig, seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare. Dreading the end of the dream that he knows is coming, he must first listen to all the assembled guests' own bizarre tales.

The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) While driving one evening, Harold Pelham appears possessed and has a car accident. While on the operating table, there even appears to be two heartbeats on the monitor. When he awakes, Pelham finds his life has been turned upside-down: he learns that he now support

The League of Gentlemen (1960) Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline

Masquerade 1965 The British send an American and a war hero to kidnap and hide an oil country prince

Victim (1961) A plea for reform of England's anti-sodomy statutes, this film pits Melville Farr, a married lawyer, against a blackmailer who has photos of Farr and a young gay man (who is being blackmailed and later commits suicide) in Farr's car. After the suicide, Farr tracks down other gay men be

The Assassination Bureau (1969) The Assassination Bureau has existed for decades (perhaps centuries) until Diana Rigg begins to investigate it. The high moral standing of the Bureau (only killing those who deserve it) is called into question by her. She puts out a contract for the Bureau to assassin

The Green Man (1956) Work has been going with a bang for freelance assassin Hawkins but a job in England just after the war is a different matter. His apparently easy target, a pompous government minister, is off for some hanky-panky at the Green Man on the south coast, where Hawkins is planning to

The Blue Lamp (1950) We follow the daily activities of two London bobbies, veteran George Dixon and rookie Andy Mitchell. Meanwhile, young hoods Tom and Spud plan a series of robberies with Tom's girl Diana, a discontented beauty, as inside worker. But in their second crime, one of our heroes is sho

The Mind Benders (1963) A British scientist is discovered to have been passing information to the Communists, then kills himself. Another scientist decides that they might have brainwashed him by a sensory deprivation technique, but he doesn't know if someone really can be convinced to act against t

Big Time Operators (1957) Jean and Bill are a struggling married couple with Bill trying to scrape a living as a writer. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them that Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business - a cinema in the town of Sloughborough. They pack their bag

Sapphire (1959) In 1950s London racial hostility to Commonweath immigrants is openly paraded. A pregnant girl, initially assumed to be white, is murdered. As two detectives start to investigate, and discover her racial origins were much more mixed, public prejudices and those of the officers themsel

I Believe in You (1952) A drama about parole officers to follow the successful Ealing police story of _Blue Lamp, The (1950)_. Various sub-plots follow the parole officers and their charges.

The Halfway House (1944) A group of travellers, each with a personal problem that they want to hide, arrive at a mysterious Welsh country inn. There is a certain strangeness in the air as they are greeted by the innkeeper and his daughter (Mervyn Johns and his real life daughter Glynis Johns). Why a

All Night Long (1962) This movie, based on William Shakespeare's Othello, is neatly positioned as a vehicle to showcase some of the best jazz musicians of the period, including Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus.

Who Done It? (1956) This movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists.

The Square Ring (1953) Boxing drama following the lives of 5 different fighters and their reasons for becoming boxers.

They Came to a City (1944) Adapted from a J.B. Priestly play with many of the original actors. The tale of various people who have come to live in an "ideal" city and their hopes and reasons for doing so.

Pool of London (1951) Crime melodrama about two sailors in London, an American open to theft and smuggling and an honest Jamaican, and the crooks and girls they know. A jewel theft goes wrong and those involved must decide whether to try to get away or to do the right thing. Superb photography of po

The Gentle Gunman 1952 I R A member Terry Sir John Mills modifies his violent views after working undercover in wartime London When his co conspirators are arrested, he ensures that his brother Matt Sir Dirk Bogarde escapes back to Ireland Terry follows and the local group have to decide what to do

Nowhere to Go 1958 Paul Gregory George Nader is sprung from jail in London by his accomplice after getting a stretch as expected for robbing a woman who falls for his charms Only he knows how to get to the money, but his partner is getting greedy, and as things turn sour, Gregory finds that home in

Frieda 1947 A Royal Air Force pilot who was shot down during World War II returns home to his English village with his new bride The trouble is that she is the German lady who helped him escape Then her brother arrives

The Rainbow Jacket (1954) A champion jockey is banned from racing so spends his time helping a young lad to become the next champion.

PT Raiders 1955 After intense wartime naval experiences a trio buy their old ship but then have to use it for smuggling and worse, before finally having to come to their senses

The Captive Heart 1946 After the evacuation at Dunkirk, June 1940, some thousands of British prisoners are sent to German P O W camps One such group includes Capt Geoffrey Mitchell, a concentration camp escapee who assumed the identity of a dead British officer To avoid exposure, Mitchell must corre

Saraband 1948 Young Sophie Dorothea marries Prince George Louis but its far from a love match Then she falls for Swedish Count Philip Christoph von Konigsmark

Train of Events 1949 A train disaster is told as four short stories to give character studies of the people involved, how it will affect them, and how they deal with it

Cage of Gold 1950 A young bride believes her husband has been killed After a suitable period of mourning, she re marries But then her dead husband comes back and tries to extort money from her

Walk in the Shadow 1962 When John Harriss daughter is badly injured in an boating accident, the hospital tells him that she will need an urgent blood transfusion Due to his religious beliefs Harris refuses permission, and the child dies When the inque