Jul 28th  

Fire Over England**      

(GB 1937)                       

London Films/Pendennis. 92m.

In 1587 a dashing servant to Queen Elizabeth I helps spy on the Spanish court to help defeat the Armada.

Fascinating early precursor to Henry V as well as Vivien Leigh's later role in Gone with the Wind, a historical adventure also speaking out indirectly at the threatening Nazi menace, directed in workmanlike fashion with some notable performances from emerging stars, and very grand looking, almost emulating Hollywood.

Written by: Clemence Dane, Sergei Nolbandov.

Producers: Erich Pommer, Alexander Korda.

Director: William K. Howard.

Starring: Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Tamara Desni, Morton Selten, Raymond Massey, Lyn Harding, Henry Oscar, Donald Calthrop, Charles Carson, James Mason, Robert Newton.

Photography: James Wong Hoe.

Music: Richard Addinsell.

Art Direction: Lazare Meerson.

Preceded by: 

Toyland**

(Spielzeugland)

(Ger 2007. A boy wants to play piano with his Jewish friend. Her mother tries to rescue them both from the Nazis.; w: Johann A. Bunners, Jochen Alexander Freydank; d: Jochen Alexander Freydank; s: Julia Jager, Cedric Eich, Tamay Bulut Oztavan, Torsten Michaelis.)

Jul 23rd  
Jackie Brown**  
(US 1997)                                     
Miramax/A Band Apart/Mighty Mighty Afrodite. 154m.

A California air hostess gets her revenge on her racketeer boss by playing off between him and FBI agents.
One of the best of the Tarantino cycle, a smooth blend of his style and the author's together with added homages to Spaghetti Westerns and the blaxploitation era. Long but perfectly paced with a leisurely soundtrack and an impressive cast.

Written and Directed by: Quentin Tarantino, from the novel "Rum Punch" by Elmore Leonard.
Producer: Lawrence Bender.
Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, Chris Tucker, Sid Haig.
Photography: Guillermo Navarro.
Music Coordinators: Ann Carlin, John Katovsich.

Jul 14th  
Start the Revolution Without Me*   
(GB 1969)                           
Warner Bros/Norbud. 90m.

Mixed-up pairs of identical twins at birth become entangled in the French Revolution.
Lavish spoof with funny moments but many of the jokes are overworked, and the plot steadily takes second place to the stream of gags in anarchic humour typical of its time, e.g. Orson Welles narrates in modern clothes outside Louis XVI's Palace and takes next-to-no part in the rest of the film.

Written by: Fred Freeman, Lawrence J. Cohen.
Producer: Norman Lear.
Director: Bud Yorkin.
Starring: Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, High Griffith, Billie Whitelaw, Victor Spinetti, Jack MacGowran, Harry Fowler, Ewa Aulin, Helen Fraser, Rosalind Knight, Murray Melvin, Graham Stark.
Photography: Jean Tournier.
Music: John Addison.

Jul 13th    
The Small Voice* 
(GB 1948)                       
British Lion/Constellation. 85m. bw

Three escaped Dartmoor convicts besiege a disillusioned couple's house in Wales, but also wind up with a child who is dying of meningitis.
More reserved British variation on The Desperate Hours, with an interesting cast in sometimes rather restrained form.

w: George Barraud, Derek Neame, Julian Orde
p: Anthony Havelock-Allan
d: Fergus McDonnell
s: Valerie Hobson, James Donald, Howard Keel (film debut), Joan Young, David Greene, Michael Balfour
ph: Stan Pavey
m: Stanley Black

Jul 11th  
The Day of the Locust**     
(US 1975)                                     
Paramount/Long Road. 143m.

In the 1930s Hollywood an aspiring art director sees his depiction of Hell begin to come to real life.
Flawed adaptation of a satirical novel lacking a definite central character but produced with a glowing nostalgia for its period. The climax lives up to its billing but still leaves the ending unsatisfactory.

Written by: Waldo Salt, from the novel by Nathanael West.
Producers: Jerome Hellman, Sheldon Shrager.
Director: John Schlesinger.
Starring: William Atherton, Karen Black, Donald Sutherland, Burgess Meredith, Richard Dysart, Geraldine Page, Bo Hopkins, Billy Barty, Lelia Goldoni, Paul Stewart.
Photography: Conrad Hall.
Music: John Barry.
Editing: Jim Clark.

Jul 4th  
The Iron Horse**    
(US 1924)       
Fox. 150m. bw. silent

Struggles of Union Pacific to build the first Transcontinental railroad linking with Central Pacific, encountering conflicts with Red Indians and landowners.
Early breakthrough Ford melodrama. long and heavy going by today's standards, but also with his growing sense of scenic composition, impish Irish humour and an eventual epic climax.

Written by: Charles Kenyon, John Russell, Charles Darnton.
Producer/Director: John Ford.
Starring: George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Cyril Chadwick, Francis Powers, J. Farrell MacDonald, Fred Kohler, Will Walling, Charles Edward Bull (as Abraham Lincoln), George Waggner (as Buffalo Bill), James A. Marcus.
Photography: George Schneiderman.

Music: Christopher Callendo (2007).
         

Jul 3rd
Jane Got a Gun*           
(US 2015)                                     
Lionsgate/Exclusive Media/BSFG/Handsome Charlie/1821 Media/Stone Village. 98m. Panavision

In 19th century New Mexico a mother enlists the help of her ex-fiancee to defend her and her wounded husband from vengeful outlaws.
Semi-coherent and semi-visible Western which despite its modern feminist take, the story still fits in with the wildness of its period. Beset by pre-production ins-and-outs, those that eventually make the film do a decent job, although John Ford would have made it with so much more clarity.

Written by: Brian Duffield, AnthonyTambakis, Joel Edgerton.
Producers: Natalie Portman, Aleen Keshishian, Zack Schiller, Mary Regency Boles, Scott Steindorff, Scorr LaStaiti, Terry Dougas.
Director: Gavin O'Connor.
Starring: Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Ewan McGregor, Noah Emmerich.
Photography: Mandy Walker.
Music: Lisa Gerrard, Marcello De Francisci.
Editing: Alan Cody.

A reunion of sorts for three actors from the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Joel Edgerton, Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor