Mar 18th   
The Phantom of the Open*  (12A)  
(Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley)

(GB 2021)     
EOne/Ingenious/BBC Films/BFI/Cornerstone/Baby Cow. 102m.

In 1976 Barrow-in-Furness crane operator Maurice Flitcroft pretends to be a professional golfer at the British Open.
Another British story of parochial underdogs (similar in spirit to The Duke), with lots of clichés thrown in - many of them historically true - and meticulously observed by its leading man.

Written by: Simon Farnaby, from the book by himself and Scott Murray.
Producers: Tom Miller, Nichola Martin, Kate Glover.
Director: Craig Roberts.
Starring: Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies.
Photography: Kit Fraser.
Music: Isobel Waller-Bridge.

Mar 15th    
Lonely are the Brave**       
(US 1962)
Universal-International. 107m. bw. Panavision

A wandering cowboy in modern New Mexico tries to rescue his friend from jail, but instead faces a lone last stand with the local police force.
Moving modern Western about the old ways unable to adapt to the new (and vice versa), its star's favourite pet project, although the pathos of the scenario might have been more convincing with a more established cowboy star like Cooper, Wayne or Stewart - Douglas is just a little too "modern" himself. Clever, careful storytelling with a wonderfully poignant ending. 

Written by: Dalton Trumbo, from the novel "The Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abley.
Producer: Edward Lewis.
Director: David Miller.
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau, Gena Rowlands, Michael Kane, William Schallert, George Kennedy, Carroll O'Connor, Bill Bixby.
Photography: Philip Lathrop.
Music: Jerry Goldsmith.

Mar 9th  
Calling Paul Temple*      
(GB 1948)     
Butcher's Film Service. 92m. bw                

Retired detective and author Paul (and Mrs) Temple solve the mystery of a blackmailer murdering various glamorous women. 
Second in a series of Temple detective yarns, with certain pleasing elements of The Thin Man and others, and probably the best in the series for its cast.

w: A.R. Rawlinson, Kathleen Butler, from the radio play by Francis Durbridge
p: Ernest G. Roy
d: Maclean Rogers
s: John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan, Margaretta Scott, Abraham Sofaer, Alan Wheatley, Jack Raine, Hugh Pryse, Wally Patch, Celia Lipton
ph: Geoffrey Faithfull
md: Percival Mackey

Preceded by:
Tom and Jerry in
A Mouse in the House**
(US 1948. 8m; d: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera; p: Freq Quimby.)

Mar 1st
A Run for Your Money**        
(GB 1949)
Rank/Ealing. 85m. bw

Two Welsh miners win a trip to the England-Wales rugby international but get sidetracked by the London lifestyle.
For St. David's Day, this exemplary Ealing comedy with its share of amusing observations and stereotypes, and some amusing cameos including Guinness as a put-upon gardening correspondent.

Written by: Clifford Evans, Richard Hughes, Leslie Norman, Charles Frend, Diana Morgan.
Producers: Michael Balcon, Leslie Norman.
Director: Charles Frend.
Starring: Donald Houston, Meredith Edwards, Hugh Griffith, Alec Guinness, Moira Lister, Clive Morton, Leslie Perrins. Joyce Grenfell, Julie Milton, Peter Edwards.
Photography: Douglas Slocombe.
Music: Ernest Irving.