"Actor: Maurice Denham"

• H.M.S. Defiant | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in 1797 at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, HMS Defiant is an enthralling British naval drama made to capitalise upon MGM's epic remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, also released in 1962. Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsey and starring Alex Guinness as a fair-minded captain locked in psychological conflict with Dirk Bogarde, his manipulative, coldly malicious first officer, the parallels with the famous true story are clear. However there were many naval mutinies at this period and this large-scale saga, which includes some spectacularly staged widescreen naval battles, offers a realistic depiction of life in the British navy at the time--from the press gangs and floggings, to the appalling food and living conditions. Director Lewis Gilbert--who previously helmed Sink the Bismarck! (1960)--strikes a good balance between the personal drama and sweeping maritime adventure. Guinness successfully varies his firm-but-fair officer from The Bridge on the River Kwai, Bogarde is chillingly hateful and Anthony Quayle gives strong support. ITV's recent Hornblower cumulatively offers a more detailed portrait of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars, though the TV series cannot match the visual scale of this big-screen production. On the DVD: HMS Defiant is presented anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1, though a little of the original CinemaScope frame is still cropped at the sides. The image is generally very good, though a handful of scenes near the end show considerable print damage and there is an inconstancy of colour grading between some shots. Grain is variable, but not generally a problem, though some unattractive "ringing" from edge enhancement is noticeable, particularly around Alex Guinness when he stands against a bright sky. The sound is in very clear mono with just occasional distortion on the music score. The disc offers the option of watching with dubbed French, German, Italian or Spanish soundtracks. The original trailer is included--under the American title of Damn the Defiant!--as are trailers for three other classic war films. The only other extra features are a small gallery of original publicity materials and three very basic filmographies. --Gary S Dalkin

• Alec Guinness - The Screen Icons Collection | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £24.89   |  Saving you £10.10 (40.58%)   |  RRP £34.99

  This box set contains the following films: The Last Holiday (Dir: Henry Cass) (1950): Alec Guinness plays a salesman of agricultural machinery who finds out that he hasn't long to live. He decides to enjoy his last months to the fullest. Kind Hearts And Coronets (Dir: Robert Hamer) (1949): Dennis Price plays Louis D'Ascoyne the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose mother was spurned by her noble family for marrying an Italian singer for love. Louis resolves to avenge his mother by murdering the relatives ahead of him in line for the dukedom all of whom are played by Alec Guinness! The Man In The White Suite (Dir: Alexander Mackendrick) (1951): Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) invents a new strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out! He uses this material to make a brilliant white suit and attempts to sell his product to the textile industry. However all is not as it seems when those in the industry realise that Stratton's new fibre could mean the end of their livelihood - the race is on to catch Stratton! Captain's Paradise (Dir: Anthony Kimmins) (1953): Henry St. James is the Captain of an international ferry. He enjoys his life at Sea especially as he has a loving English wife waiting for him in Gibraltar and another in Tangiers! A perfect life - so long as neither woman decide to travel with him! Barnacle Bill (1957) A British Naval Captain who is plagued by incurable seasickness retires from service and buys a decrepit amusement pier in a small coastal town. After discovering the local commissioners seek to condemn and seize his pier Captain Ambrose must do all in his power to save his pier.

• Two Way Stretch | DVD | (08/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A great British crime comedy always worth another watch, Two Way Stretch is the one about the cosily imprisoned crooks who hatch a scheme to pull off a heist with a perfect alibi by breaking out of their nick, doing the job and then breaking back into the jug again to serve out their sentences. Peter Sellers, usually an eccentric support in these things, takes a rare lead as cocky mastermind Dodger Lane, confident enough to share the screen with performers who would be doing serious time if scene-stealing were an actual offence. The chief delight of the film, obvious inspiration for Blakey from On the Buses, is Lionel Jeffries' bristling, infuriated, hilariously humiliated warder Sidney Crout, forever fuming as Dodger gets away with some new scheme. Also in on the scam: Wilfrid Hyde White as a bogus clergyman of extreme unctuousness, David Lodge as the dim-witted muscle bloke, and Bernard Cribbins in the nice young man part. The wayward plot finds room for cameos from such national institutions as Beryl Reid, Irene Handl and Liz Fraser. Director Robert Day, probably best known for the Hammer version of She, is nobody's idea of an auteur, but he puts this pacey little gem together perfectly. The British cinema has been turning out an unheralded series of wonderful caper comedies for decades, from The Lavender Hill Mob through A Fish Called Wanda to The Parole Officer; this effort--along with the follow-up The Wrong Arm of the Law--ranks among the best. On the DVD: Two Way Stretch comes to disc in a nice print. The film is also available as part of the four-disc Peter Sellers Collection.--Kim Newman

• Schalcken the Painter (Dual Format Edition) | DVD | (18/11/2013) from £14.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (33.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  World premiere of this highly sought-after ghost story from the BBC released in the BFI’s acclaimed Flipside series. Based on a short story by Sheridan Le Fanu Schalcken the Painter was originally shown in the Omnibus strand on BBC2 during Christmas 1979. The story follows the young seventeenth-century Flemish painter Godfried Schalcken who forsakes love for ambition but discovers that there is still a terrible price to pay for his choice. One of the most frequently requested programmes in the BBC archive Schalcken the Painter is an exquisitely shot atmospheric horror film which explores the uneasy dark relationship between art commerce and erotic desire. The superb cast includes Jeremy Clyde Maurice Denham and Cheryl Kennedy. Newly transferred to High Definition from film materials preserved in the BFI National Archive the release also includes the rare experimental Edgar Allan Poe adaptation The Pit (1962) assistant directed by Peter Collinson. Contents World premiere release on DVD and Blu-ray Part of the BFI’s celebrated Flipside series Interview with Director Leslie Megahey The Pit (1962 Edward Abraham 25 mins): experimental film based on the classic Poe tale The Pit and the Pendulum Fully illustrated booklet with original essays Other extras TBC

• The Uncle | DVD | (06/07/2015) from £9.25   |  Saving you £0.74 (8.00%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This moving evocative and highly original drama recalls the mystery the doubts and the poetry that is childhood – as seen through the eyes of an isolated little boy whose life is turned upside down by the unwelcome arrival of his unruly nephew. Directed by BAFTA nominee Desmond Davis and featuring powerful performances from an accomplished British cast including Rupert Davies Brenda Bruce and Maurice Denham this rare highly acclaimed film is presented in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements. At just seven years of age Gus has been an uncle all his life. When his quarrelsome unmanageable nephew Tom comes to spend the summer holidays with him however he finds the responsibilities of his position almost too hard to bear... Bonus Features: Image Gallery Promotional Material PDF

• The Purple Plain | DVD | (11/05/2015) from £6.09   |  Saving you £6.90 (53.10%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Four times BAFTA nominated, The Purple Plain stars Gregory Peck as Squadron Commander Forrester during the Burma Campaign. Forrester is on a transport flight over Burma in 1945 when his plane crashes. He and his passenger, Blore, attempt to trek through the jungle to safety with their injured navigator. Forrester is stern and hard after the loss of his wife earlier in the war, but his heart is softened by the kindness of a beautiful Burmese girl, Anna, and her friend, Miss Menab, a missionary. Blore cannot cope with the pressure and shoots himself, which leaves Forrester with the most gruelling test yet - to struggle back to base with the wounded navigator on his back.

• Minder - On The Orient Express | DVD | (05/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The first ever feature length Minder escapade. Terry and Arthur race through Europe on the Orient Express and become involved in a tale of gangland revenge murder and mayhem. Terry has been given tickets for the Orient Express by a mysterious young woman but Arthur needs Terry for protection and Terry need Arthur like a hole in the head. By devious means Arthur boards the train only to find Chisholm is aboard working with Interpol...

• Shout At The Devil | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Shout at the Devil was Roger Moore's second starring role in an adaptation of one Wilbur Smith's bestselling African adventures (the first being 1974's Gold, also directed by Peter Hunt). Taking its mixture of comedy and drama, and part of its plot, from The African Queen the movie finds Moore's decent, upright Englishman teamed with Lee Marvin--in a variation on his Cat Ballou drunken brawler comedy persona--fighting the Germans in colonial East Africa at the beginning of the Great War. Moore plays it straight and makes a most heroic and handsome matinee idol hero. Produced between Moore's second and third outings as Bond, Shout at the Devil was staffed with various 007 regulars, including Hunt who was had edited the first three and directed On Her Majesty's Secret Service, title designer Maurice Binder and director John Glen. It even has a ticking clock-gigantic explosion finale. This is an exciting, beautifully shot escapade which deserves to be much better known. On the DVD: The original Panavision 2.35:1 image is incorrectly letterboxed at around 2:1, cropping so much picture information that the credits disappear at either side of the screen. The print used is of very variable quality, with some scenes looking fine, others washed out and lacking detail, with long shots often being slightly out of focus. Adding to the problems is the abysmal digital encoding which, despite anamorphic enhancement, has left many scenes swarming with compression artefacts. The sound is adequate mono. Unfortunately this disc uses a heavily re-edited and shortened version of the film--cut from 147 to 119 minutes following poor reviews--and the losses in continuity, especially in the early part of the film are very noticeable. The extras are the original trailer, which reveals the entire plot right up to and including the ending, comprehensive filmographies of Marvin, Moore and Hunt, and a seven-minute compilation of posters and publicity stills set to the main themes from Maurice Jarre's score. --Gary S Dalkin

• Sunday, Bloody Sunday | DVD | (12/01/2009) from £32.99   |  Saving you £-17.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Oscar winners Glenda Jackson Peter Finch and John Schlesinger pool their talents for this remarkable exquisitely photographed [and] almost perfectly directed film about two Londoners coping with the noncommittal affections of the lover they have in common. Alex Greville (Jackson) and Daniel Hirsh (Finch) are deeply in love... with a young artist named Bob (Murray Head). And though Bob professes to love each of them he moves freely between them unencumbered by any sense of guilt. Realizing that their situation is a temporary comfort in an uncomfortable world Alex and Daniel each grapple with their predicaments she to face her fear of being alone and he to come to terms with his homosexuality.

• British Transport Films Collection - Vol. 3 - Running A Railway | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £15.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (25.02%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Running a Railway is the third release in bfi Video's digitally re-mastered double-disc DVD series of British Transport Films combining favourites from the much loved and best-selling video series with additional material. This new collection contains four hours of footage including the multi-award-winning Terminus directed by John Schlesinger. Among these rare gems are: Farmer Moving South (1952): The true story of a Yorkshire farmer who decided to sell his land and move his entire stock - cattle pigs and poultry machinery ploughs and tractors - south to Sussex by rail in December on what was the coldest night of the year. I Am A Litter Basket (1959): Every day the people who use railway stations drop hundreds of tons of litter all over the place while me and my mates have to stand by empty and starving. Until one day we get so desperate we go foraging for ourselves. And what happens? Take a look at this film. It makes me weep to think of it. I nearly gave up all hope until - but wait and see! Modelling for the Future (1961) Visions of an earlier Channel Tunnel scheme and a model of the proposed terminal. This film demonstrates a range of facilities and shows the possibilities of an age-old dream - a dry land crossing between England and France. The Third Sam (1962) - Sam Smith is taught to drive an electric locomotive. He learns the new job without difficulty but one day his train breaks down and Sam summons up three sides of his character to deal with the emergency. With narration in typical rhyming monologue by Stanley Holloway this is an original and amusing approach to instructional filmmaking. E For Experimental (1975): An account of the development of British Rail's experimental Advanced Passenger Train (APT) The film explains in simple terms some of the many novel design features of the APT including the tilt mechanism and the hydro-kinetic brake and shows the train in action during its trials. All these films are now preserved in the bfi National Film and Television Archive. The DVDs are a 'must' not only for the transport enthusiast but also for anyone who enjoys historical documentary films. A booklet containing an introduction and film notes by BTF historian Steven Foxon accompanies the discs.

• Blue Lamp, The / The Nanny | DVD | (23/06/2003) from £14.99   |  Saving you £1.00 (6.67%)   |  RRP £15.99

  This is a double-feature of two British crime classics, The Blue Lamp (1949) and The Nanny (1965). The Blue Lamp is the film that introduced PC George Dixon, played by Jack Warner, later immortalised in the BBC's long-running Dixon of Dock Green (1955-76). Here Dixon's murder is the catalyst for an exciting London manhunt, shot largely on location in a fast-moving, starkly efficient style showing the influence of The Naked City (1948). The war-damaged East End and the car chases through almost vehicle-free streets offer a documentary-like vision of a London now long gone, and a young Dirk Bogarde makes a serious impact in an early starring role. In contrast, The Nanny has a superstar, the imported Hollywood legend Bette Davis, in the declining years of her career. Just one of three psychological thrillers Hammer produced in 1965 (the others were Frantic and Hysteria), the film capitalises on the popularity of Davis's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) with a comparable mix of hateful insanity and paranoia. The screenplay skilfully juggles the audience's sympathies between a superb Davis and the dysfunctional family of which she becomes a part, developing a powerful sense of dread which shows such clichéd later fare as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) how to do this sort of thing with real class. On the DVD: The Blue Lamp and The Nanny are presented in black and white with adequate mono sound. The Blue Lamp is in its original 4:3 ratio; The Nanny is cropped from its theatrical 1.85:1 to 4:3, though it's only in a few shots that it becomes obvious that information is missing at the sides of the screen. The print of The Blue Lamp is soft and grainy, while The Nanny is grainy with a considerable amount of flicker. There are no extras. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Inspector Morse - Series 5 | DVD | (21/02/2005) from £24.95   |  Saving you £0.04 (0.20%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This box set features the entire fifth series of the classic British Television drama Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. Second Time Around: Morse becomes concerned when an ex-Deputy Police Commissioner is murdered. He also discovers that there exists a connection between a missing chapter from the murdered man's memoirs and himself... 2. Fat Chance: A woman deacon dies in suspicious circumstances and Morse is called in... 3. Who Killed Harry Field?:

• The Lotus Eaters - The Complete Series One | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  To eat the fruit of the lotus is to lose the desire to return home. But everyone who does has a reason. Shepherd's bar is a focal point for a group of expatriates living in and around a small town on the isle of Crete. Run and owned by reformed Alcoholic Erik Shepherd the bar is a temptation that is never far from Erik's mind and his faltering marriage to Ann (Wanda Ventham) provides little respite from his addiction. When Donald Culley (James Kerry) arrives on the island the populace are drawn to this charming handsome stranger. However Culley knows something about Ann that could prove far more devastating that Erik's drinking. Featuring the complete series 1 of the BBC's The Lotus Eaters.

• Doctor At Sea | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £7.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (66.78%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The second of the popular Doctor series sees doctor Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) keen to escape the boredom of medical practice ashore and the threat of matrimony. Sparrow signs up as a medical officer onboard the cargo ship SS Lotus pleased to be free of any female distractions. However Sparrow soon falls foul of the ship's skipper fearsome captain Hogg (James Robertson Justice) and worse still lands in jail after a drunken celebration on arrival in South America. Two new passeng

• Simon and Laura | Blu Ray | (02/08/2021) from £17.03   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Multiple-award-winning screen legend Peter Finch stars alongside Kay Kendall, Muriel Pavlow and Ian Carmichael in this whimsical satire on then-BBC programming that prefigures the current Reality TV landscape by fifty years! Adapted from Alan Melville's hit West End play and directed by Oscar-winner Muriel Box, Simon and Laura is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. A cunning idea for a new television programme showing the trials and tribulations of a famous married couple seems a surefire hit. But this perfect couple with their perfect life also argue, bicker and throw things at each other regularly when no-one is watching... Can they keep up their façade for the viewing millions?

• Lotus Eaters-Complete Series | DVD | (19/03/2007) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-10.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The story of mysteriouscouple Erik Shepherd (Ian Hendry) and his wife Ann (Wanda Ventham) continues in the second series of this classic BBC drama. Erik comes back to his bar in Crete when he discovers that Ann has lost her memory. The couple return to face death, deception and intrigue a new game is being played out and Police Chief Michael Krasakis (Stefan Gryff) warns Erik that no one can be trusted. Who is Gerald ace (Timothy Carlton), and why is he so interested in the Shepherds? Is Erik right to place his trust in Sam Webber (Paul Maxwell)? And why is the Shepherds old friend Dr Dartington (Ronald Howard) behaving so strangely? Erik comes to realise that nothing is what it seems as the saga of The Lotus Eaters reaches its shattering conclusion... The second series of this classic BBC drama has been unseen on network television for over 30 years and is now available on DVD for the . rst time. he story of mysterious couple Erik Shepherd (Ian Hendry) and Ventham) continues in the second series of this Erik comes back to his bar in Crete when he discovers that Ann has lost her memory.

• Schalcken the Painter (DVD) | DVD | (19/10/2015) from £15.85   |  Saving you £2.14 (13.50%)   |  RRP £17.99

  An aspiring young painter falls for his patron's niece but forsakes love for ambition when a ghoulish stranger demands her for himself. Adapted from the chilling ghost story by J Sheridan Le Fanu, Schalcken the Painter weaves a fictional tale of terror around the work of real life seventeenth-century Dutch painter, Godfried Schalcken. Originally screened by the BBC during the dying hours of 23 December 1979 this exquisitely shot, atmospheric horror film explores the uneasy relationship between art, commerce and erotic desire. The superb cast includes Jeremy Clyde, Maurice Denham and Cheryl Kennedy.

• Fall Of Eagles - Complete Series | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Fall Of The Eagles is a stunning BBC dramatisation of the declining years and final collapse of three of the most powerful European dynasties - the Hapsburgs Romanovs and Hohanzollerns - between the mid 19th century and the end of the First World War. The series focuses on the tempestuous reigns of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany....

• The Purple Plain | DVD | (08/02/2010) from £9.91   |  Saving you £3.08 (31.08%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Set during the Burma Campaign, Peck stars as a pilot whose life has already been shattered by the loss of his wife during an air raid on London. Shot down after a dogfight with a Japanese fighter, he finds himself marooned in the Burmese jungle with a badly-injured navigator and a traumatised passenger. How will they make it to safety?

• Night Caller (In Colour) | DVD | (31/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The inhabitants Ganymede need to find mates from another world or they will become extinct. They soon discover a suitable breeding stock amongst the females of planet Earth. After receiving an unusually high number of reports of missing women, policeman Detective Hartley (Alfred Burke) begins to search for an explanation. Meanwhile, Jack Costain (John Saxon), an earnest American scientist, investigates the dramatic increase in UFO activityWonderful Cameo from Warren 'Alf Garnett' Mitchell and along side John Saxon are well know actors Ballard Berkeley ( Fawlty Towers) and the character actor Aubrey Morris (The Wicker Man)Includes the Hit 60's pop music track IMAGE by Joe Glenn, Larry Greene and Bob Sande