Something Always Happens (1934)
This restored early Powell comedy looks gorgeous, has a fair share of his visual wit, and makes the viewer feel good, but ultimately it's too predictable and too lightweight to add up to much. Still, I've watched it twice and it was easy enough both times. The relationship between Ian Hunter and young John Singer is the heart of the movie.
Crown v. Stevens (1936) +
This murder "mystery" also looks good in its restoration, but as with the last film, it suffers from underdevelopment due to it being just over an hour long. Powell's direction is efficient but not terribly innovative. Patric Knowles is the innocent man caught in femme fatale Beatrix Thomson's clutches.
Spy in Black aka U-Boat 29 (1939)
This is the best of the three films but it's never been restored! Suave Conrad Veidt (Casablanca) plays a WWI German submarine captain who comes to Scotland to meet his British spy contact Valerie Hobson. In between adventures with the British fleet, there's time for romance. Emeric Pressburger wrote the script although this isn't an Archers film. Powell gets to show off a bit more here, and there's a good Miklos Rozsa score, but it still could have been pumped up more.
This restored early Powell comedy looks gorgeous, has a fair share of his visual wit, and makes the viewer feel good, but ultimately it's too predictable and too lightweight to add up to much. Still, I've watched it twice and it was easy enough both times. The relationship between Ian Hunter and young John Singer is the heart of the movie.
Crown v. Stevens (1936) +
This murder "mystery" also looks good in its restoration, but as with the last film, it suffers from underdevelopment due to it being just over an hour long. Powell's direction is efficient but not terribly innovative. Patric Knowles is the innocent man caught in femme fatale Beatrix Thomson's clutches.
Spy in Black aka U-Boat 29 (1939)
This is the best of the three films but it's never been restored! Suave Conrad Veidt (Casablanca) plays a WWI German submarine captain who comes to Scotland to meet his British spy contact Valerie Hobson. In between adventures with the British fleet, there's time for romance. Emeric Pressburger wrote the script although this isn't an Archers film. Powell gets to show off a bit more here, and there's a good Miklos Rozsa score, but it still could have been pumped up more.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page