Campbell’s Kingdom.

In-between the Ralph Thomas directed and Betty Box produced movies Doctor at Large (1957) and Tale of Two Cities (1958) Dirk Bogarde played Scotsman Bruce Campbell in a British adventure film Campbell’s Kingdom (1957). Campbell had been told he has only six months to live; he has an unnamed terminal disease. Following this devastating piece of news he then finds out that he has inherited a small valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains known as Campbell’s Kingdom from his grandfather. Before the old man died in suspicious circumstances he was convinced that his land had a rich vain of oil beneath it. But when Bruce arrives from England he discovers that the land is to be flooded on completion of a nearby dam, which means he only has a short time to determine if his grandfather was correct and save the valley. The dam is being built by a corrupt construction contractor Owen Morgan (a menacing Stanley Baker) who will stop at nothing to finish the dam even if it means resorting to dirty tricks to stop Campbell proving that there is oil on his land and therefore preventing the flooding of the valley.

 

Bruce Campbell as portrayed by Dirk Bogarde.

Assisting Bogarde in his quest is Barbara Murray who plays the daughter of old man Campbell’s crooked partner, who had swindled the locals out of their savings, and Bruce’s love interest Jean Lucas. Michael Craig plays the geologist Boy Bladen. James Robertson Justice, with a dubious Scottish accent, play’s a drilling contractor whose willing to risk every thing on Bladen geology results, the ones that Owen Morgan has been suspected of tampering with!

 

Some of the supporting stars including Sid James.

Set in the Alberta, the movie was shot in the Italian Dolomites and at the Pinewood Studios in England. The movie was seen at the time as an attempt to emulate Hollywood’s western genre action films but most critics of the period did not think it succeeded. Returning to it now it turns out to be a very satisfying watch. It was based on a cracking old fashioned adventure yarn written by Hammond Innes in 1952 and adapted by Robin Estridge. With a great cast and an exciting climax its well worth 102 minutes of your time. Another significant release from Network.

  

A Tale of Two Cities.

Written in 1859 and originally published in weekly instalments between April 1859 and November 1859 Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities was set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution and depicts how when the French proletariat got sick of the way aristocracy was treating them they decided that the best response was to execute the lot of them by chopping off their heads using the guillotine! Dickens story set out the social parallels between Paris and London but unfortunately the British did not have the use of the guillotine and to this day are still putting up with the shite served up by their rich overlords.

 

The handsome Sydney Carlton. 

Following four silent film adaptations of Dickens story the first talky was in 1935 directed by Jack Conway and starred Ronald Colman and Elizabeth Allan and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1980 there was a TV adaptation that starred Chris Sarandon, Peter Cushing, Alice Krige and Billie Whitelaw. But between the two we had A Tale of Two Cities made at Pinewood in 1958. Directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty E Box. The Rank Organisation movie starred Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carlton with Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette.

 

Stephan Murray, Dorothy Tutin, Bogarde and Athene Seyler.

This is affectively a love story set against the storming of the Bastille with Bogarde's character making the ultimate sacrifice for the girl he loves so that she can live happily ever after with his look-alike rival. Some critics have commended Bogarde's performance as his best to date, which is not surprising as most of his career changing performances, other than Hunted (1952) came after A Tale Of Two Cities. Mine you the 38 year old actor did look extremely handsome as Carlton, a young lawyer who hates himself and seems to have a death wish slowly killing himself by consuming large quantities of alcohol! Dorothy Tutin (Savage Messiah 1972) does not have to put much effort into her role but there are some stand out performances further down the pecking order including Donald Pleasance as an unctuous spy, Christopher Lee as a sadistic aristocrat and Rosalie Crutchley as a sort of Madame guillotine character who gets a lot of pleasure arranging for the aristocracy to meet there deserved end. Also in attendance among the host of British actors is Cecil Parker as a banker, Athene Seyler as Tutin’s over protective companion and Stephan Murray as Tutin’s father - whose speedy recovery from 18 years in the Bastille is something to be marvelled at!

 

Rosalie Crutchley as 'Madame Guillotine'

Made completely in a studio does not help to make this the most realistic ‘revolutionary’ film you have ever watched with some scenes so underplayed that the excitement is completely non-existent. But is does pick up in the second half, which is probably more to do with the first half being so soporific and certainly is not a stand out movie in the career of one of Britain's greatest actors.

The Wild and the Willing.

At the end of the period which became known as the British New Wave 1959 – 1963 the Rank Organisation attempted to enter the genre with its own brand of realism with a movie produced by Betty E Box and directed by Ralph Thomas called The Wild and the Willing (1962), which on viewing turns out to be a very misleading title. It’s neither wild nor willing! The only hint of ‘wild’ is the character of Harry Brown who is from a poor working class background and has won a scholarship to the Kilminster University and thinks of himself as a bit of a rebel. The posh students Harry mixes with, including the desperate self conscious black student Reggie, are ‘willing’ to make complete arses of themselves getting drunk, upsetting the local residents and singing stupid songs. One gets the impression that it’s these types of people that are now helping to run the country, punishing ordinary folk and supporting the rich – you know very well whom I am referring too!

 

Harry Brown and friends.

The story involves the shenanigans of this bunch of obnoxious young academics male and female and their relationships, particularly concentrating on how Brown fits in with both his fellow students and the lecturers. There are two people he seems close too, one being his rather sensitive roommate Phil Corbett, and the other a young female student called Josie Stevens (Samantha Eggar) who thinks Harry is in love with her, that is until she discovers he has entered into a sexual relationship with a women (Virginia Maskell) from a higher social class, the rather sophisticated but promiscuous wife of one of his Professors (Paul Rogers). Obviously the whole thing ends in tears, as you would expect?

 

Harry and the promiscuous upper classes.

The screenplay, by Nicholas Philips and Morecai Richler adapted from The Tinker an unsuccessful West End play by Laurence Dobie and Robert Sloman, attempts, not too successfully in my opinion, to deal with class structure with ridiculous dialogue like “to step over others not as far up the social ladder”, racial prejudice, a one way gay relationship and the treatment of women. The best thing about this film is the stand out performances from two well-known actors who both made their debuts in this movie. The first is Ian McShane complete with a broad Manchester accent and straight from drama school who has the leading role of Harry Brown and the second is John Hurt who plays Phil Corbett. I’m afraid that Thomas’s direction does nothing to further the cause of realism within the British cinema. Made at Pinewood and on location in the City of Lincoln. 

   

Hot Enough for June.

Another British spy spoof made on the back of the success of the first two James Bond films Dr No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963) was the Rank Organisations Hot Enough for June released in 1964 and produced by Betty E Box and directed by Ralph Thomas. The film starred Dirk Bogarde who reverted back to his matinee idol image so loved by Rank.

 

The Job Interview. 

As well as Bogarde this comedy thriller starred Robert Morley and in her English film debut Yugoslavian actress Sylva Koscina who went on to play Danica in the Yugoslavian partisan film Battle of Neretva (1969) and incidentally was considered for the role of Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love.   

 

The Driver and Guide Vlasta. 

Based on the 1960 novel The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson, Bogarde plays the unemployed writer Nicolas Whistler[1] who when he turns up at the Labour exchange is sent for an interview as a trainee executive at a glass company. Prior to this we witness Roger Allsop (John Le Mesurier) handing in the belongings of a deceased agent code name 007 and at a meeting with his superior Colonel Cunliffe (Morley) he discusses the need to send someone behind the Iron Curtain to collect some “secret” information. There’s a knock on the door and in walks Nicolas Whistler ready for his interview for the executive job he knows he is not at all suitable for!  When Cunliffe finds out that his interviewee can speak Czech he offers him £40 per week plus expenses if he will go to Prague and collect some data. The naïve Whistler believes he is collecting information for a new type of safety glass. Still unaware of his real purpose even when he discovers that his driver and guide is the beautiful uniformed Communist Vlasta (Koscina).  But his suspicions grow when he suddenly realises that his life could be in danger?  

 

Whistler's suspicions grow!

Another of these British movies made at Pinewood, where if your of a certain age will recognise some very familiar character actors including Leo McKern as the Communist intelligence officer, with John Standing, Derek Nimmo and John Junkin in smaller roles. Not well received by the reviewers at the time of release including the Daily Worker’s critic who wrote an open letter to Betty Box accusing her of stirring up the ‘Cold War’! A return to a somewhat witty and bright role for Bogarde after winning a BAFTA for Best Actor in The Servant  (1963) as the sinister Hugo Barrett, and although a little lightweight, an enjoyable movie all the same. The film was cut by twenty minutes and retitled Agent 8¾ for the US release.

 

A nice publicity shot of Bogarde with Sylva Koscina. 

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[1] A part originally meant for British actor Laurence Harvey.