May 29th 

Robin Hood*                                  

(US 1973)
Walt Disney. 83m. 

Robin helps liberate Nottingham from the snivelling Prince John and his slithery sidekick Hiss.
Animated all-animal pantomime version of the legend patterned in the style of Jungle Book, rather smug at times and lacking a decent plot, but with pleasant comic moments.

Written by: Larry Clemmons, Ken Anderson, and others.
Producer/Director: Wolfgang Reitherman.
Voices of: Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Andy Devine, Pat Buttram, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley, Roger Miller.
Music: George Bruns.

Preceded by:

Amelia and the Angel**

(GB 1958. 26m. bw; A little girl searches London for a replacement pair of wings.; w: Ken Russell, Tony Evans; d/ph: Ken Russell; s: Mercedes Quadros, Helen O'Brien, Mika Van Bloemen, Elisha Manasseh, Nicholas O'Brien.)

May 24th 

Afghan Cricket Club: Out of the Ashes** 

(GB TVM 2010)

Shabash/Bungalow Town Productions. 84m.

On-the-spot documentary following Afghanistan's fledgling cricketing nation attempting to qualify for the ICC World Cup in 2009.
Compelling to watch in its contrast between the grim war-torn country and the colourful (sometimes quaint) setting of the cricket tournaments, and reasonably objective in its viewpoint, without dwelling too much on aspects of the game or politics.

Producers: Rachel Wexler, Leslie Knott.
Directors: Tim Albone, Lucy Martens, Leslie Knott.
featuring Taj Malik Aleem, Nawruz Mangal,Hasti Gul Alad, Gulbadeen Naib, Geoffrey Boycott, and others.
Photography: Tim Albone.
Music: Andrew Phillips.

Executive Producer: Sam Mendes.

May 17th

They Who Dare*                           

(GB 1953)
 British Lion/Mayflower. 107m.

In 1942 British commandos and Greek patriots attempt to sabotage the German-occupied airfields on the island of Rhodes.
Proficient, slightly studio-bound WWII adventure with added melodramatics, the Technicolor looking unsuitable for the grittiness of the subject.

Written by: Robert Westerby.
Producers: Maxwell Sefton, Audrey Baring.
Director: Lewis Milestone.
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott, Akim Tamiroff, Eric Pohlmann, Gerard Oury, Alec Mango, David Peel, Peter Burton, Sam Kydd.
Photography: Wilkie Cooper.
Music: Robert Gill.

May 16th 

Go West**                              

US 1925. Metro-Goldwyn. 70m. bw. silent

An incompetent drifter can't cope with city life and tries his hand at being a cattle rancher.
Typically quirky and inventive Keaton spoof on the Western genre, with an opening reel that echoes Chaplin-style sentiment (but lacking the Tramp's pathos), quickly dispensed towards a touching bovine romance and a rollicking finale with the cattle wandering through the city as if like idle children.

Written and Directed by: Buster Keaton, Lex Neal, from a story by Raymond Cannon.
Producer: Joseph M. Schenck.
Starring: Buster Keaton, Brown Eyes, Kathleen Myers, Howard Truesdale, Ray Thompson.
Photography: Elgin Lessley, Bert Haines.

May 15th

Legend*                                        

(GB 1985)
Twentieth Century Fox/Universal/Legend Productions. 89m. Panavision

In a mythical land a princess is tempted into destroying the last of the unicorns by the lord of darkness.
Average fairy tale overblown to big budget levels, with all the elaborate sets and grotesque make-up no substitute for a proper narrative and more engaging characters. Eighties indulgence by Scott, where the visuals are everything and the content incidental.

Written by: William Hjortsberg.
Producer: Arnon Milchan.
Director: Ridley Scott.
Starring: Tim Curry (as Satan), Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Robert Picardo.
Photography: Alex Thomson.
Music: Jerruy Goldsmith (European version)
Make-up: Rob Bottin.
Production Design: Assheton Gordon.

The best thing about Legend: Tim Curry, of whom devils don't get much hornier than this.

May 11th 

The Big Noise                                   

US 1944. Twentieth Century Fox. 74m. bw

Two janitors at a detective agency are given the task of guarding an eccentric inventor's high explosive which is also being sought after by crooks.
Routine basement studio end-of-the-line mystery thriller combined with reused old Laurel & Hardy material, and lacklustre in both respects; even the boys themselves look a little unenthused by the enterprise.

Written by: W. Scott Darling.
Producer: Sol M. Wurtzel.
Director: Mal St. Clair.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Arthur Space, Doris Merrick, Veda Ann Borg, Esther Howard, Bobby Blake, Jack Norton, Frank Fenton, James Bush.
Photography: Joe MacDonald.
Music: David Buttolph.

Preceded by:

Hard Luck*

(US 1921. 20m. bw. silent; A failed suicide tries to hunt for armadillos but instead foils robbers. Curiously, both of the items in this double bill seem to have patched together scripts.; w,d: Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline; s: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts.)

Apr 30th   

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes*    

GB 1984. Warner Bros/WEA Records. 130m. Panavision

In 1885 the orphaned baby son of the Earl of Greystoke is adopted by apes in the jungle, and as an adult struggles to adjust to his inheritance.
Doleful, well-meaning serious British epic slant on the Tarzan legend, sumptuously made and movingly performed (with half the film devoid of dialogue), but perilously lacking in heroics.

Written by: "P.H. Vazak" (Robert Towne), Michael Austin.
Producers: Hugh Hudson, Dudley S. Canter.
Director: Hugh Hudson.
Starring: Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Andie MacDowell (dubbed by Glenn Close), James Fox, John Wells, Cheryl Campbell, Paul Geoffrey, Nigel Davenport, Ian Charleson, Richard Griffiths.
Photography: John Alcott.
Music: John Stott.
Ape Make-up: Rick Baker.
Production Design: Stuart Craig.