"Actor: Wylie Watson"

• The 39 Steps | DVD | (19/06/2007) from £4.45   |  Saving you £11.54 (259.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A high point of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood career, 1935's The Thirty-Nine Steps is the first and best of three film versions of John Buchan's rather stiff novel. Robert Donat plays Richard Hannay, who becomes embroiled in a plot to steal military secrets. He finds himself on the run; falsely accused of murder, while also pursuing the dastardly web of spies alluded to in the title. With a plot whose twists and turns match the hilly Scottish terrain in which much of the film is set, The Thirty-Nine Steps combines a breezy suavity with a palpable psychological tension. Hitchcock was already a master at conveying such tension through his cinematic methods, rather than relying just on situation or dialogue. Sometimes his ways of bringing the best out of his actors brought the worst out in himself. If the scene in which Donat is handcuffed to co-star Madeline Carroll has a certain edge, for instance, that's perhaps because the director mischievously cuffed them together in a rehearsal, then left them attached for a whole afternoon, pretending to have lost the key. The movie also introduces Hitchcock's favoured plot device, the "McGuffin" (here, the military secret), the unexplained device or "non-point" on which the movie turns. --David Stubbs

• Brighton Rock | DVD | (16/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hard to imagine now but long before Richard Attenborough became Lord Dickie, benevolent patriarch of British moviedom, he specialised in playing weaselly little thugs and punks. Brighton Rock, adapted from Graham Greene's classic novel, offered him one of his best early roles as Pinkie, juvenile leader of a seedy gang of racetrack crooks in the Sussex seaside town. When it seems an innocent young waitress may know too much about one of their killings, Pinkie decides to keep her quiet by marrying her. But in Greene's world of guilt-ridden Catholicism and inexorable doom, it was never going to be that easy. Is the famous twist ending a cop-out? That depends just how much irony you read into it. But the Brighton atmosphere, all tawdry gaiety shot through with a crackling undercurrent of fear, is so vivid you can smell it. Made with a cool, dispassionate eye by the Boulting Brothers (before they turned jokey with the likes of I'm Alright Jack, for instance) and superbly shot by Harry Waxman, this is one of Britain's few great contributions to the noir thriller cycle. Young Dickie, twitchy, vicious and terrified, is a revelation--and don't miss William Hartnell, the original Dr Who, as his cynical sidekick. --Philip Kemp

• British Musicals of the 1930s: Volume 3 | DVD | (12/01/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  From playful romantic comedies to variety extravaganzas, the pre-war British musical films offered audiences a source of much-needed escapism throughout the decade haunted by the Great Depression and the growing menace of war. Often adapting much-loved hits of the music hall as well as serving as vehicles for the era's composers, performers and band leaders, they showcased home-grown talent alongside some of Hollywood's most bankable stars.This ongoing, multi-volume collection makes available a wealth of rare gems from the very earliest days of the British talkies, many of which have remained unseen since their original release; each film is presented uncut, in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE (1932)A useless secretary and his private detective friend try to help an heiress from being swindled by her guardian.FACING THE MUSIC (1933)A joyful medley of farce, romance, song and slapstick starring Stanley Lupino as an impressionable youth whose pursuit of an opera singer's niece lands him in trouble!MY SONG GOES ROUND THE WORLD (1934)Set in Venice, the touching and sometimes comic story of a diminutive tenor who falls in love whilst striving for success.HEART'S DESIRE (1935)Richard Tauber, the great Austrian tenor, features in the story of a singing peasant from a Vienna beer-garden who conquers London, but at a cost...

• Brighton Rock | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £7.97   |  Saving you £11.01 (221.08%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The elegant and respectable facade of Brighton hides a sinister underworld ruled by intimidation and terror. Richard Attenborough stars as Pinkie a ruthless and sadistic young criminal whose trail of killings and double crossings lead to his eventual downfall when savage justice is finally meted out in a thrilling and memorable climax...

• Please Teacher | DVD | (03/11/2014) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This entertaining pre-war farce stars diminutive music-hall stalwart Bobby Howes as an heir-hunter whose determined efforts to trace his aunt’s legacy lead to ructions in a girls’ school! Also featuring stage veteran Lyn Harding Australian comedienne Vera Pearce and noted character player Wylie Watson Please Teacher is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Tommy Deacon learns that a gift bequeathed by his aunt is hidden in her house inside a bust of Napoleon. However the house has been sold and is now a girls’ school – and to gain admission Tommy has to pose as the elder brother of Anne one of the pupils. His arrival in the school results in a variety of escapades but Tommy resolutely persists in his search for the missing legacy... Special Features: Image Gallery PDF Material

• The Flemish Farm | DVD | (08/02/2010) from £5.42   |  Saving you £4.57 (84.32%)   |  RRP £9.99

  As Hitlers Blitzkrieg sweeps across the Low Countries in early 1940, a squadron of Belgian pilots take temporary shelter with their aircraft on a Flemish Farm. Here, farmers daughter Trescha tends the wounded pilot Matagne and the two fall in love. When the decision comes to evacuate to RAF bases in England, Matagne secretly buries the Regimental Flag rather than destroy it as ordered. As the time comes to leave, Matagne has to be forced to go and leave his beloved Trescha. Now safe in England, he dreams of retrieving the Regimental Flag from underneath the noses of the invading Germans.

• The Years Between | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £18.96   |  Saving you £-2.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Michael Redgrave Valerie Hobson Flora Robson and Felix Aylmer star in this moving and sophisticated story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Second World War and based on the play by Daphne Du Maurier. After hearing news that her officer husband has been killed in battle Diana Wentworth forges a new life for herself becoming an MP and learning to love again. Then out of the blue comes the shattering news that her husband is not dead after all...

• British Comedies of the 1930s 5 | DVD | (16/11/2015) from £4.49   |  Saving you £8.50 (189.31%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The ebullient comedy films of the 1930s brought escape and laughter to millions of British cinemagoers, enabling veteran stars of the music-hall and theatre to reach out to a wider audience making household names of performers like Leslie Fuller, Hal Gordon, Bobby Howes, Ernest Lotinga and Gene Gerrard. Although comedy would prove to be the decade's most successful film genre, many of these classic early talkies have remained unseen since their original release. From boisterous knockabout humour to polished adaptations of popular stage farces, this ongoing collection showcases a wealth of rare features, each presented uncut, in a brand-new transfer from the best available elements in their as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. JOY RIDE (1935) Two cousins invite their girlfriends on a joy-ride, but car trouble leads to catastrophe! RADIO LOVER (1936) A penniless young charmer hits upon an ingenious route to fame and fortune...

• The Magnet | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £6.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (100.14%)   |  RRP £13.99

  A classic Ealing film of half-truths whispers and wild imaginations! Centred on Johnny Brent (James Fox) a boy who fleeces a younger child out of his beloved magnet. In its place he offers an 'invisible' timepiece and there begins the chain of chaos in which the young swindler absconds from his home with the mistaken belief that he has somehow caused the young child's death. Unbeknownst to him he has become the town hero and as the unsung victor remains on the run the community ar

• The 39 Steps | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hitchcock's first great romantic thriller is a prime example of the "macguffin" principle in action. Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, an affable Canadian tourist in London who becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when a mysterious spy winds up murdered in Hannay's rented flat--and both the police and a secret organisation wind up hot on his trail. With only a seemingly meaningless phrase ("the 39 steps"), a small Scottish town circled on a map, and a criminal mastermind identified by a missing finger as clues, quick-witted Hannay eludes police and spies alike as he works his way across the countryside to reveal the mystery and clear his name. At one point he finds himself making his escape manacled to blonde beauty Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), whose initial antagonism is smoothed by Hannay's charm. It's classic Hitchcock all the way, a seemingly effortless balance of romance and adventure set against a picturesque landscape populated by eccentrics and social-register smoothies, none of whom is what he or she appears to be. Hitchcock would play similar games of innocents plunged into deadly conspiracies, most delightfully in North by Northwest, but in this breezy 1935 classic, Hitch proves that, as in any quest, the object of the search isn't nearly as satisfying as the journey. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Whisky Galore | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £19.21   |  Saving you £3.77 (23.24%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Highland fling on a tight little island! The Scottish islanders of Todday bypass war time rationing and delight in smuggling cases of their favourite tipple from a wrecked ship... Basil Radford stars as the teetotal English official who is totally unable to comprehend the significance of whisky to the islanders. Marvellously detailed and well played it firmly established the richest Ealing vein with the common theme of a small group triumphing over a more powerful opponent.