Mar 7th
The Admirable Crichton**
GB 1957. Columbia/Modern Screen Plays. 93m. Vistavision

In 1905 a resourceful butler is the only hope for an aristocratic family stranded on a remote island, and a certain amount of role reversal takes place.
A gentle piece of satirical whimsy on the stage that looks rather silly on film, especially when transposed into such holiday brochure locations (which are mostly studio bound) and elaborate island costumes, but the actors make of it as best they can, and the wider issues of class distinction just occasionally rise to the surface.

Written by: Vernon Harris, from the play by J.M. Barrie.
Producer: Ian Dalrymple.
Director: Lewis Gilbert.
Starring: Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Diane Cilento, Sally Ann Howes, Martita Hunt, Jack Watling, Gerald Harper, Peter Graves, Eddie Byrne, Miles Malleson.
Photography: Wilkie Cooper.
Music: Douglas Gamley.
Production Design: William Kelner.

Preceded by:
Superman in
Destruction Inc.**
(US 1942. 8m.; My first sample of a now largely forgotten but surprisingly slick dramatic animation featuring the Man of Steel in one of his earliest incarnations, here helping Lois Lane to expose a group of saboteurs in an ammunition plant.; w: Jay Morton; d: Izzy Sparber; anim: Dave Tendlar, Tom Moore; for Paramount/Famous Artists.)
+ available on the Superman II DVD release

Preceded by:
Breakdowns of 1938**
(US 1938. Warner Bros. 12m. bw; Amusing and fascinating selection of outtakes from some of the Warner Studio's output of that year.; s: Basil Rathbone, Carole Lombard, Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Pat O'Brien, and others.)
+ to be found on Disc 2 of the extensive Adventures of Robin Hood DVD