Summer Film Series - 2012
The Fall/Winter series might be over but not to worry. The Toronto Film Society is here to help assuage our members desire for fantastic classic movies. Screened over seven monday nights during the months of July and August the films of the summer film series generally follow a theme. This year the Toronto Film Society will be waving the Union Jack... with Another British Invasion. A series of 14 films in 7 double bills at The Carlton Cinema. Screenings being at 7:30pm sharp and feature films with a distinctly British fare.
Another British Invasion
Location: Carlton Cinema at 20 Carlton Street. The NE corner of Yonge and
College.
Screening Time: 7:30pm
Cost: Series Membership of 14 films for $85 Note: Your T.F.S. membership
card will get you a discount at any of The Carlon's regular screenings thoughout the year.
Please Note: Regular Carlton Cinema box office pricing will not apply to Toronto Film Society screenings.
TTC: College subway and streetcar stop just steps away.
PARKING: Lot parking close by on Church Street, limited street parking out front.
Programme 1 - July 9th
Sixty Glorious Years - (1938) - 90 min
| Director: | Herbert Wilcox |
| Cast: | Anna Neagle |
| Anton Walbrook | |
| C. Aubrey Smith | |
| Walter Rilla |
As the present Queen Elizabeth celebrates her sixty-year reign we look back to her great grandmother, Queen Victoria, who did it first. As England’s legendary monarch, Anna Neagle gives a fine performance from the young queen to the “widow of Windsor” and Anton Walbrook is exceptionally persuasive as her intelligent, loving husband.
Folly to Be Wise - (1942) – 91 min
| Director: | Frank Launder |
| Cast: | Alastair Sim |
| Elizabeth Allen | |
| Roland Culver | |
| Martita Hunt |
In trying to enliven service life with various unique entertainments and the ensuing trials and tribulations, Alastair Sim’s Army Chaplain struggles bravely. A delightfully witty comedy.
Programme 2 - July 16th
Too Many Crooks - (1958) – 85 min
| Director: | Mario Zampi |
| Cast: | Terry Thomas |
| Brenda De Banzie | |
| George Cole | |
| Sydney Tafler |
In this amusingly daffy comedy a thick-headed gang of crooks tries their hand at extortion, bolstered by their leader Terry-Thomas who’s in fine shape. Plus an excellent chase sequence.
The Dock Brief (Trial And Error) – (1962) – 88 min
| Director: | James Hill |
| Cast: | Peter Sellers |
| Richard Attenborough | |
| Beryl Reid | |
| David Lodge |
John Mortimer’s satiric play becomes a disaster just waiting to happen, highlighted by a study in character acting by Sellers and Attenborough, one a bungling barrister and the other an accused murderer.
Programme 3 - July 23rd
Candlelight in Algeria – (1943) – 82 min
| Director: | George King |
| Cast: | James Mason |
| Carla Lehmann | |
| Walter Rilla | |
| Raymond Lovell |
Based on an actual war-time event, Operation Torch, Mason is a British agent caught up in spy intrigues prior to the Anglo American invasion of North Africa. Rilla is a fine villain.
Contraband (Blackout) – (1940) – 92 min
| Director: | Michael Powell |
| Cast: | Conrad Veidt |
| Valerie Hobson | |
| Hay Petrie | |
| Leo Genn | |
| Esmond Knight |
Veidt, a Danish merchant sea captain, and Hobson, an enigmatic passenger, get caught up with a London spy ring in the early days of WWII. A superior spy yarn with lots of atmosphere and very much in the Hitchcock vein.
Programme 4 - July 30th
The Glass Mountain – (1950) – 94 min
| Director: | Henry Cass |
| Cast: | Valentina Cortese |
| Michael Denison | |
| Dullcie Gray | |
| Sebastian Shaw |
An airman rescued in the Italian Alps during the war is later inspired by the event, and the girl who rescued him, to compose an opera. A beautifully-made film with magnificent on-location shooting is also a treat for music-lovers, with singers from La Scala appearing, led by the great baritone Tito Gobbi.
The Devil’s Disciple – (1958) – 83 min
| Director: | Guy Hamilton |
| Cast: | Burt Lancaster |
| Kirk Douglas | |
| Laurence Olivier | |
| Janette Scott | |
| Eva LeGallienne |
A rousing good adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s satire set during the American Revolution, American ne’er-do-well Dick Dudgeon (Douglas) almost allows himself to be hanged by the British in mistake for rebel pastor Lancaster. Olivier’s General Burgoyne is perfection. The three stars shine.
Programme 5 - August 13th
The Ghost Train – (1941) – 82 min
| Director: | Walter Forde |
| Cast: | Arthur Askey |
| Kathleen Harrison | |
| Richard Murdoch | |
| Herbert Lomas |
Passengers are stranded at an eerie station in Cornwall and are told by the stationmaster that it is haunted by a ghost train, the result of a deadly rail disaster. Tonight’s the anniversary of the event!
Sleeping Car to Trieste – (1948) - 95 min
| Director: | John Paddy Carstairs |
| Cast: | Jean Kent |
| Albert Lieven | |
| Paul Dupuis | |
| Derrick de Marney | |
| Rona Anderson |
The Orient Express is a fine setting for a highly entertaining cat-and-mouse game of espionage agents competing for possession of a “hot” political diary. A neat spy thriller with some good comedy touches.
Programme 6 - August 20th
Storm in a Teacup – (1937) – 87 min
| Director: | Ian Dalrymple |
| Victor Saville | |
| Cast: | Rex Harrison |
| Vivien Leigh | |
| Cecil Parker | |
| Sara Allgood |
A dog is seized by authorities of a small Scottish town for lack of a license and its owner, an old lady, refuses to pay for one. In the hands of a young, keen reporter it becomes a national sensation. Storm in a teacup, indeed! A witty social comedy.
Trouble in Store – (1955) - 85 min
| Director: | John Paddy Carstairs |
| Cast: | Margaret Rutherford |
| Norman Wisdom | |
| Moira Lister | |
| Derek Bond | |
| Megs Jenkins |
In tracing the ups-and-downs of an inept shop worker the film is filled with fun sight gags, good character acting and much hilarity. Rutherford is a wonderful shoplifter.
Programme 7 - August 27th
The Blue Lamp – (1950) - 84 min
| Director: | Basil Dearden |
| Cast: | Jack Warner |
| Jimmy Hanley | |
| Dirk Bogarde | |
| Bernard Lee |
In this seminal British police film, a young recruit helps nab a robber who’s killed a fellow policeman, the elderly cop who trained him. A dandy manhunt thriller as well as having an authentic documentary-like flavour.
Tiger Bay – (1950) – 105 min
| Director: | J. Lee Thompson |
| Cast: | John Mills |
| Horst Buchholz | |
| Hayley Mills | |
| Yvonne Mitchell | |
| Megs Jenkins |
In her first major acting role Hayley Mills is perfection as a lonely child who witnesses a murder and later becomes involved with the young killer. A poignant, sensitive and very different police chase and a superb suspense yarn.