"Actor: Margaret Rutherford"

• The Happiest Days Of Your Life | DVD | (04/05/2009) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-1.54 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  From acclaimed director Frank Launder The Happiest Days Of Your Life is a precursor to the hugely successful St. Trinian's series. Nutbourn College the most established and respectable of boys' schools is run by unyielding Headmaster Wetherby Pond [Alastair Sim.] When a military mistake billets a girls' school to share the college's premises due to wartime restrictions he is outraged. However he soon discovers he has met his match when he encounters the Headmistress of the girls' school in question the formidable Muriel Whitchurch [Margaret Rutherford]. Initially the two are hostile to one another but with a staff of dazed eccentric teachers and a student body whose mischief knows no bounds they are forced to pull together. Then just when they thought the situation couldn't get any more complicated they discover they are faced with two troublesome visits on the same day; one from a group of parents who must believe the school is only for girls and one from the Ministry who must be presented with an all boys establishment! Unmissable and hilarious this is classic British comedy at its best.

• David Lean Box Set | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A collection of David Lean's finest films. Include: 1. The Sound Barrier (1952) 2. Hobsons Choice (1954) 3. Blithe Spirit (1945) 4. Brief Encounter (1945) 5. Great Expectations (1946) 6. Oliver Twist (1948) 7. Madeleine (1950) 8. The Passionate Friends (1949) 9. This Happy Breed (1944)

• Her Favourite Husband | DVD | (27/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Robert Beatty plays an Italian Bank clerk bullied by his wife (Jean Kent) and mother in law (Margaret Rutherford). When a gang of robbers discover that he is a perfect double for their leader they kidnap him and the two men switch places. The result is a wild confusion of mistaken identities. With original music composed by Nino Rota.

• The Importance Of Being Earnest | DVD | (08/10/1999) from £17.77   |  Saving you £-7.78 (-77.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The timeless 1952 version of Oscar Wilde's comedy of errors in a Special Collectors' Edition.

• The Smallest Show On Earth | DVD | (08/07/2002) from £20.37   |  Saving you £-7.38 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An amiable knock-off of the Ealing comedy style, The Smallest Show on Earth starts with aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his "nice gel" wife Virginia McKenna inheriting a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discovering that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, which specialises in those "smash 'em in the face, knock 'em over the waterfront" pictures, but the decrepit Bijou, known locally as "the fleapit". The initial plan, set up by lawyer Leslie Phillips, is to sell off the cinema to the owner of the Grand so he can knock it down to make a car park, but our heroes are put off by the arrogant bullying of the rival manager (Francis De Wolff) and succumb to the inept charms of the crazed, aged staff--drunken projectionist Peter Sellers, doddery commissionaire Bernard Miles and dotty ticket lady Margaret Rutherford (who joined the team as a piano accompanist). In the 1950s, there was a run of gentle British comedies in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions (steam trains, tugboats, vintage cars) were saved by collections of committed eccentrics who despised the new-fangled bus services or soulless council bureaucracies and were willing to resort to a little larceny (in this case, arson). The Smallest Show slots in perfectly with the cycle, getting laughs from the Bijou's already outmoded programme of scratchy Westerns and desert dramas (which increase ice cream sales) and sentiment over the staff's midnight screenings of silent movies that remind them of better days. It's likeable rather than hilarious, with Sellers and Miles buried under crepe hair and fake wrinkles competing to out-dodder each other and losing the picture to the inimitable Rutherford, who doesn't have to fake her eccentricity. Pin-up, June Cunningham, is the glamorous usherette and Sid James plays her annoyed Dad. On the DVD: The Smallest Show on Earth is presented in a decent print, but with no extras. The film is also available as part of the four-disc Peter Sellers Collection. --Kim Newman

• Stitch In Time, A / Just My Luck | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £7.26   |  Saving you £6.99 (116.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his famous Pitkin character for the third time in A Stitch in Time, and Edward Chapman is also back to provide Norman with the excuse to reprise his immortal catch-phrase "Mr Grimsdale!". Here he succeeds in causing chaos in a St John Ambulance unit, as well as donning drag to play a blonde nurse complete with suspender belt and silk stockings. Each Norman Wisdom movie usually sees him as the accidental Lord of Misrule in one institution or another, and this time it's the NHS: after being banned from his local hospital, Norman resorts to subterfuge to visit a little orphan girl. There's an autobiographical touch here, as Wisdom himself was raised in an orphanage and centred the plot of One Good Turn (1954) around such an establishment. --Gary S Dalkin An important step in the career of Norman Wisdom, Just My Luck is principally notable for the introduction of actor Edward Chapman, whom many would come to know as series regular Mr Grimsdale. Here he's the stuffy foil to Norman's romantic plans regarding his jewel-making job, where he'll do anything to possess some of the wealth about him. The chance comes in the form of an accumulator bet at Goodwood races thanks to a slimy Leslie Phillips. Another star cameo of note was a second appearance by Margaret Rutherford (after Trouble in Store) as an eccentric animal owner. But the real advance with the Wisdom formula was that--after a reasonably serious plot line--Norman finally gets the girl. --Paul Tonks

• Spring Meeting | DVD | (15/02/2016) from £7.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (66.78%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Hitchcock heroine Nova Pilbeam demonstrates her considerable flair for comedy in this incredibly popular wartime adaptation of the hit play by Irish author Molly Keane (a.k.a. M.J. Farrell) and John Perry. Co-starring Michael Wilding, Basil Sydney and Margaret Rutherford, Spring Meeting released in America as Three Wise Brides is featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements, in its original aspect ratio.Tiny Fox-Collier and her son, Tony, are broke. A cheery and handsome young man about town, Tony knows he can rely on his mother for a brainwave to save them from utter destitution. This she has: a visit is scheduled to the Irish country estate of her old flame Sir Richard Furze, now a wealthy widower with two daughters. But while Tiny is determined to see her son marry the beautiful but haughty Joan, it seems Tony only has eyes for Joan's spirited younger sister, Baby...SPECIAL FEATURES:Image galleryOriginal script PDFOriginal theatre programme PDF

• Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight | DVD | (30/04/2012) from £11.59   |  Saving you £8.40 (72.48%)   |  RRP £19.99

  On the brink of Civil War, King Henry IV (John Gielgud) attempts to consolidate his reign while fretting with unease over his son’s seeming neglect of his royal duties. Hal (Keith Baxter), the young Prince, openly consorts with Sir John Falstaff (Orson Welles) and his company of “Diana’s foresters, Gentlemen of the shade, Minions of the moon”. Hal’s friendship with the fat knight substitutes for his estrangement from his father. Both Falstaff and the King are old and tired; both rely on Hal for comfort in their final years, while the young Prince, the future Henry V, nurtures his own ambitions. Orson Welles considered Chimes at Midnight his personal favorite of all his films. Perhaps the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations, the film condenses the Bard’s Henriad cycle into a single focused narrative. Its international cast comprises of Jeanne Moreau, Fernando Rey, Margaret Rutherford, and Ralph Richardson as the narrator, in addition to Welles and Gielgud. The film’s harrowing war scenes have proven especially influential, cited in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V as well as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.

• I'm All Right Jack | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £14.21   |  Saving you £2.78 (16.40%)   |  RRP £16.99

  After a decade on radio in The Goons, 1959's I'm All Right Jack set Peter Sellers on the road to international stardom. Sellers played both Sir John Kennaway, and unforgettably, the Bolshy trade union leader Fred Kite (he would go on to take three roles in Dr Strangelove and featured endless disguises in The Pink Panther in 1963) series. The result is laugh-out-loud comedy with a satiric edge, lampooning the then burning issue of industrial relations. Bertram Tracepurcel's (Dennis Price) plans to make a fortune from a missile contract, a scheme which involves manipulating his innocent nephew Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) into acting as the catalyst in an escalating labour dispute, from which the socialist Mr Kite is only too keen to make capital. Management and labour both have their self-serving hypocrisy dissected in this ingenious comedy, actually a sequel to the military comedy Private's Progress (1956), but which stands independent of the earlier film. Both films were made by the brothers John and Roy Boulting, director and producer of such British classics as Brighton Rock (1947), Seven Days to Noon (1950), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959) and Heaven's Above (1963). The superb cast of I'm All Right Jack also features Richard Attenborough, John Le Mesurier, Margaret Rutherford and Terry Thomas. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Just My Luck | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £6.94   |  Saving you £3.05 (43.95%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Just My Luck was an important step in the career of Norman Wisdom for several reasons. It's principally notable for the introduction of actor Edward Chapman, whom many would come to know as series regular Mr Grimsdale. Here he's the stuffy foil to Norman's romantic plans regarding his jewel-making job, where he'll do anything to possess some of the wealth about him. The chance comes in the form of an accumulator bet at Goodwood races thanks to a slimy Leslie Phillips. Another star cameo of note was a second appearance by Margaret Rutherford (after Trouble in Store) as an eccentric animal owner. But the real advance with the Wisdom formula was that--after a reasonably serious plot line--Norman finally gets the girl. On the DVD: This is a straight transfer from video. So although the mono sound and 4:3 ratio don't improve on anything previously available, at least it won't deteriorate further.--Paul Tonks

• Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight | Blu Ray | (29/06/2015) from £11.59   |  Saving you £6.40 (55.22%)   |  RRP £17.99

  On the brink of Civil War King Henry IV (John Gielgud) attempts to consolidate his reign while fretting with unease over his sons seeming neglect of his royal duties. Hal (Keith Baxter) the young Prince openly consorts with Sir John Falstaff (Orson Welles) and his company of “Diana’s foresters Gentlemen of the shade Minions of the moon”. Hal’s friendship with the fat knight substitutes for his estrangement from his father. Both Falstaff and the King are old and tired; both rely on Hal for comfort in their final years while the young Prince the future Henry V nurtures his own ambitions. Orson Welles considered Chimes at Midnight his personal favorite of all his films. Perhaps the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations the film condenses the Bard’s Henriad cycle into a single focused narrative. Its international cast comprises of Jeanne Moreau Fernando Rey Margaret Rutherford and Ralph Richardson as the narrator in addition to Welles and Gielgud. The film’s harrowing war scenes have proven especially influential cited in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V as well as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.

• Peter Sellers - Hoffman / The Smallest Show On Earth / Carlton-Browne Of The F.O./ Two Way Stretch | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Featuring the films: 'Hoffman' 'The Smallest Show On Earth' 'Carlton-Browne Of The F.O.' and 'Two Way Stretch'. Hoffman *(WS 1.85:1 Anamorphic 1970 1 hour and 47 Minutes Colour): Peter Sellers is Hoffman a middle aged misfit who blackmails his young attractive secretary into spending a week with him. Although he behaves like a creep throughout the weekend he actually emerges as a sympathetic character in the end. Two Way Stretch *(FS 1960 1 hour and 23 minutes B&W):

• Curtain Up | DVD | (27/06/2016) from £15.98   |  Saving you £-1.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Curtain Up is a 1952 British film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. In an English provincial town, a second-rate repertory company assemble at the theatre on Monday morning to rehearse the following week's play, a melodrama titled Tarnished Gold. Harry (Robert Morley), their irascible Director, is highly critical of the play, which has been foisted on him by the owners of the Company and is unenthusiastic about its prospects. The cast, a mixture of wanabee-film stars and has-beens, are equally unenthusiastic and little progress is made. Just as matters seemingly cannot get worse, the authoress of the play, Catherine Beckwith (Rutherford), appears and insists on 'sitting at the feet' of the Director. Chaos ensues...

• Spring Meeting | DVD | (09/09/2019) from £8.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hitchcock heroine Nova Pilbeam demonstrates her considerable flair for comedy in this incredibly popular wartime adaptation of the hit play by Irish author Molly Keane (a.k.a. M.J. Farrell) and John Perry. Co-starring Michael Wilding, Basil Sydney and Margaret Rutherford, Spring Meeting is featured here in a new High Definition transfer from original film elements, in its original aspect ratio. Tiny Fox-Collier and her son, Tony, are broke. A cheery and handsome young man about town, Tony knows he can rely on his mother for a brainwave to save them from utter destitution. This she has: a visit is scheduled to the Irish country estate of her old flame Sir Richard Furze, now a wealthy widower with two daughters. But while Tiny is determined to see her son marry the beautiful but haughty Joan, it seems Tony only has eyes for Joan's spirited younger sister, Baby...

• Arabella | DVD | (21/03/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Virna Lisi, winner of 24 International Film Awards, stars as Arabella a wily but good-hearted Italian temptress. Riddled with lovable stereotypes, this European comedy romp follows an elderly Italian lady (Oscar and Golden Globe winner Margaret Rutherford), who finds herself in seriously deep water when her unpaid tax bill rears its ugly head. She owes money all the way from 1895 but there's simply no chance she can pay. Luckily for her, she has a cunning granddaughter who is ready to help Arabella. The young woman makes it her mission to save grandma from destitution with more than a few mishaps along the way. British comedian Terry-Thomas bounces between four roles in this riotous, star-studded frolic. Also features BAFTA and Golden Globe winner James Fox (A Passage to India) and Oscar nominee Giancarlo Giannini (Seven Beauties).

• Falstaff-Chimes At Midnight | DVD | (28/02/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This film is an amalgam of Henry IV parts 1 & 2 and also Richard II Henry V and the Merry Wives of Windsor. It's based on Welles' play Five Kings an adaptation of four Shakespeare plays which he produced in 1939 and again in 1960. The film's narration spoken by Ralph Richardson is taken from the chronicler Raphael Holinshed. Orson Welles plays Sir John Falstaff alongside an incredible cast featuring Margaret Rutherford Jeanne Moreau and John Gielgud. Welles is uncompromising as the tragicomic Shakespearean character and many critics believe this is the greatest screen portrayal of Falstaff.

• Trouble In Store | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Perhaps surprisingly, the British comedy legend Norman Wisdom has made just 20 films, from his debut in Date With a Dream (1948) to the thriller Double-X (1992). From 1948 on he had his own TV series, Wit and Wisdom, but 1953 was the real turning point. Not only was his son Nicholas born, but he became an instant movie star with the release of Trouble in Store. Playing a character called Norman he brought his familiar stage and television personality to the big screen as a young man with the ambition to become a window dresser in a major department store. Ever loveable victim of his own clumsiness, all Norman's efforts to improve himself result in chaos. That is, until he meets Sally (Lana Morris), the girl of his dreams. Then things turn disastrous. Co-starring Margaret Rutherford, Trouble in Store introduced Wisdom's self-penned song which would become his theme, "Don't laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)". The film became a massive box-office hit and won Wisdom a BAFTA Award. Very much of its time, yet still highly entertaining, this video release provides the opportunity to nostalgically revisit and reassess one of Britain's greatest stars. Wisdom's follow-up was another substantial hit, One Good Turn (1954). --Gary S. Dalkin

• The Importance Of Being Earnest | DVD | (28/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  The timeless 1952 version of Oscar Wilde's comedy of errors in a Special Collectors' Edition.