"Director: Mark Robson"

• The Inn of the Sixth Happiness | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £8.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An epic and extraordinary true story--or, at least, an extraordinary story based on a novel (Alan Burgess's The Small Woman) based on a true story. Gladys Aylward (an improbably mesmerizing Ingrid Bergman) is a British would-be missionary with an obsession about China. As she has no experience, the Missionary Society won't let her go, but she goes anyway, alone, to a remote northern province. She is hated, then loved; finally she becomes both a significant political figure and the heroine of a miraculous escape in which she shepherds 100 children to safety across the mountains just ahead of a Japanese invasion. Curt Jurgens is suitably stony as Lin Nan, the half-Dutch, half-Chinese military officer who falls in love with her, and a visibly ailing Robert Donat (who died before this, his final film, was released) is the wily local mandarin who sees and makes use of her extraordinary abilities. Directed by Mark Robson, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a sweeping, stirring tearjerker, a big tale told in a big landscape with acres of orchestrated strings by Malcolm Arnold. A beautiful and beautifully made film that's a classic of the "everyone said I couldn't but I did it anyway" genre. --Richard Farr

• The Bridges At Toko-Ri | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £9.89   |  Saving you £6.10 (61.68%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A powerful study of courage in the face of irrational odds, The Bridges at Toko-Ri (based on James Michener's novel) is no less patriotic than many other war films, but it dispenses with the gung-ho bluster to focus on the very real and tragic consequences of war. This is also one of the first films to openly criticise the morality of the Korean War while praising the honour and integrity of the men who fought it. Lt Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is one of those men: a lawyer with a loving wife (Grace Kelly) and two young daughters, who is recalled to duty from the Navy Reserve, his mission; to fly with a bomber jet squadron over one of the Communists' most heavily protected targets, the strategically vital bridges in the Korean canyon of Toko-Ri. Brubaker has his own noble protection from his fellow pilots (including Charles McGraw in a fine supporting role), admiring admiral (Frederic March), and from the helicopter scouts (Mickey Rooney, Earl Holliman) who saved his life on a previous missions. But his ambivalence--and his fear that the Toko-Ri mission will be his last--is what gives the film its potent emotional impact. Holden is perfect in his role, and director Mark Robson steadfastly avoids any false sentiment or macho theatrics that would diminish the film's devastating climax. The Bridges at Toko-Ri is also a superlative showcase for the naval operations; the aerial sequences earned an Oscar for special effects and the Navy's cooperation assures total authenticity in the "flat-top" aircraft carrier scenes. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Harder They Fall | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £7.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (62.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A movie that proved a fine swansong for Humphrey Bogart, The Harder They Fall is a gripping drama set against a background of fixed boxing matches. Not so much about the fights as the exploitation of the sport, the film is based on a novel by Budd Schulberg, whose Oscar-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront (1954) helped turn Rod Steiger into a star. Here Steiger delivers an equally bravura performance as the chillingly corrupt manager, Nick Benko, a man who will do anything to turn a buck. Bogart meanwhile is outstanding as unemployed sports writer Eddie Willis, hired against his better judgement to promote a no-hope Argentinean boxer, Toro Moreno (Mike Lane). Powerfully written, if built around the unlikely premise of building a 10th-rate fighter into a world-class contender, the drama is essentially a battle for Willis's soul as he is torn between money and conscience. Though the scenes with Bogart and Steiger facing off are the strongest and a veritable masterclass of hardboiled characterisation, Mark Robson, who also helmed the Kirk Douglas boxing classic Champion (1949), directs with a convincingly dirty realism, the final punishing and bloody match a clear influence on Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980). On the DVD: The Harder They Fall's anamorphic 1.77:1 transfer is excellent with only one brief scene showing any significant print damage. Burnett Guffey's noir-ish black-and-white cinematography looks sharp and fresh as the day it was shot, with only minimal grain. The mono sound is strong and clear, without a hint of distortion or compression. The only extra is a scored gallery of posters and lobby cards from other Bogart films available on Columbia. There are dubbed versions in French, German, Spanish and Italian, and a plethora of subtitle options. --Gary S Dalkin

• Earthquake | DVD | (06/06/2011) from £10.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When the most catastrophic earthquake of all time rips through Southern California it levels Los Angeles and sends shockwaves through the lives of all who live there... Charlton Heston stars as a construction engineer whose life is devastated when the quake hits in a disaster film which showcases some of the most chilling special effects ever filmed!

• Von Ryan's Express | DVD | (02/07/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An American POW leads a group mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII.

• Valley Of The Dolls / Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls | DVD | (05/01/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Valley Of The Dolls: An adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's trashy novel telling the story of three remarkable women whose lives are affected by show-business celebrity. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls: An uninhibited all-girl rock trio and their manager arrive in Hollywood to claim an inheritance due to one of the group. They meet Ronnie Barzell a strange personality but a gifted promoter who soon has the combo headed for the big time. During their ascent the girls beco

• Von Ryan's Express | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Frank Sinatra Busts Loose And Outsmarts The Nazis! As the Allies begin to push the Nazis back toward Germany U.S. combat pilot Col. Joseph Ryan (Sinatra) is shot down and placed in a prison camp. Initially he's more concerned with surviving than escaping earning him the insulting nickname ""Von Ryan."" But in time Ryan takes over from the commanding British officer (Trevor Howard) and masterminds a daredevil race for freedom that involves commandeering a train and getting it acr

• Earthquake | Blu Ray | (05/08/2013) from £10.97   |  Saving you £7.01 (87.84%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Charlton Heston leads an all-star cast in an epic film about ordinary citizends who must come together in the face of an unstoppable disaster! When the most catastrophic earthquake of all time rips through Southern California it levels Los Angeles and send shockwaves through the lives of all who live there. Now strangers must become heroes as the city striggles to get to its feet before the next terrifying aftershock hits! Also starring Ava Gardner George Kennedy Lorne Green Geneviève Bujold Richard Roundtree and Victoria Principal. Earthquake combines outstanding performances with Academy Award-winning sound and groundbreaking special effects.

• Studio Classic: Classic War Movies | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Von Ryan's Express (1965): Colonel Joseph Ryan of the US Army Air Forces is shot down in Italy and taken to a prison camp populated by the Royal Army's 9th Fusiliers and run by sadistic commandant Battaglia. With the recent passing of their commanding colonel the 9th Fusiliers under Major Eric Fincham must now answer to the new senior officer of the prisoners Ryan. Also in the camp are several American prisoners who don't cotton to Major Fincham's stubborn passive resistance

• Peyton Place | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Allison MacKenzie looks back on life in the New England town where she grew up around the time of Pearl Harbour. Beneath the town's placid God-fearing exterior lay any number of dark secrets involving sexual attraction and repression illegitimacy rape gossip intolerance and class snobbery. No wonder Allison had moved to a quiet place like New York...

• Anastasia/Inn of the Sixth Happiness double pack | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £9.43   |  Saving you £5.56 (58.96%)   |  RRP £14.99

  An Ingrid Bergman double-bill comes to DVD with the classy pairing of Anastasia (1956) and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). In Anastasia Bergman gives one of her memorable, haunting and haunted performances as an amnesiac chosen by a White Russian general (Yul Brynner) in 1928 to play the part of the long-rumoured but missing survivor of the Bolsheviks' murderous attack on the Czar's family. The twist is that Bergman's mystery woman seems to know more about the lost Anastasia than she is told. Based on the play by Marcelle Maurette and Guy Bolton, this film--directed by Anatole Litvak (Out of the Fog)--really does get under one's skin, not least of all because of its intriguing story but more so as a result of the strong chemistry between Bergman and Brynner. --Tom Keogh The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is an epic and extraordinary true story--or, at least, an extraordinary story based on a novel (Alan Burgess's The Small Woman) based on a true story. Gladys Aylward (an improbably mesmerising Ingrid Bergman) is a British would-be missionary with an obsession about China. As she has no experience, the Missionary Society won't let her go, but she goes anyway, alone, to a remote northern province. She is hated, then loved; finally she becomes both a significant political figure and the heroine of a miraculous escape in which she shepherds 100 children to safety across the mountains just ahead of a Japanese invasion. Curt Jurgens is suitably stony as Lin Nan, the half-Dutch, half-Chinese military officer who falls in love with her, and a visibly ailing Robert Donat (who died before this, his final film, was released) is the wily local mandarin who sees and makes use of her extraordinary abilities. Directed by Mark Robson, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a sweeping, stirring tear-jerker, a big tale told in a big landscape with acres of orchestrated strings by Malcolm Arnold. It's a beautiful and beautifully made film that's a classic of the "everyone said I couldn't but I did it anyway" genre.--Richard Farr

• Valley Of The Dolls | DVD | (18/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  What a trip! An entertainingly psychedelic adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's splendidly trashy novel telling the story of three remarkable women whose lives are affected by show-business celebrity. Revered composer John Williams (Star Wars) won his very first Oscar - and nomination - for Best Music.

• Inn Of The Sixth Happiness | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £6.89   |  Saving you £6.10 (88.53%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Inspired by her dream to be a missionary an English parlour maid journeys to China and opens an inn for tired hungry mule drivers crossing desolate mountain trails. Gradually overcoming the natives hostility she wins the heart of an Eurasian colonel and converts a powerful Mandarin to Christianity. But her greatest feat is achieved during the Japanese invasion of China when she leads one hundred homeless children to safety across enemy-held terrain. Based on the life story of G

• Lost Command | DVD | (10/06/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Anthony Quinn gives one of his best performances as Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Raspeguy a hard-headed officer determined to become a hero at any cost in this dramatic war saga. With strong technical merit and outstanding performances throughout 'Lost Command' vividly illustrates man's inhumanity to man for the sake of personal glory...

• Peyton Place | DVD | (02/07/2012) from £12.98   |  Saving you £-2.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Allison MacKenzie looks back on life in the New England town where she grew up around the time of Pearl Harbour. Beneath the town's placid God-fearing exterior lay any number of dark secrets involving sexual attraction and repression, illegitimacy, rape, gossip, intolerance, and class snobbery. No wonder Allison had moved to a quiet place like New York...

• Von Ryan's Express | DVD | (06/05/2002) from £8.46   |  Saving you £4.53 (53.55%)   |  RRP £12.99

• Films That Define A Decade: '70s | Blu Ray | (22/08/2016) from £28.92   |  Saving you £-19.33 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.59

  They say the ˜60s really happened in the ˜70s. Bell-bottoms and disco took over, while films from the ˜70s captured the free-spirited movement of the decade in many ways. There was the LA disaster epic Earthquake; pushing all boundaries came the cult classic National Lampoon's Animal House; there was the rip-roaring road trip Smokey and the Bandit; and crime caper The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

• Studio Classic: Classic Encounters | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £16.15   |  Saving you £18.84 (116.66%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Anastasia (Dir. Anatole Litvak 1956): The world will never know if the real Russian princess Anastasia met her death at the hands of red Russian rebels or if she lived on. Based on fact this story is set against the mystery surrounding this elusive puzzle. Ingrid Bergman portrays the destitute woman who remarkably resembles the true Princess Anastasia. She is chosen by two Russian courtiers to masquerade as the princess in order to gain ten million pounds. Meeting scepticism

• Champion | DVD | (16/06/2008) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Kirk Douglas in a career forming role as Midge Kelly the fairground boxer taken from a story by Ring Lardner one of the greatest American sports writers. Champion is truly one of the cinema''s great boxing motion pictures nominated for six Oscars The film set Douglas''s character for many films to come a performance not seen again until Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese''s Raging Bull. Marilyn Maxwell plays his tough as nails girlfriend and Ruth Roman (one time Howard Hughes girlfriend) plays the nice girl in his life. These two legendary actors support Douglas in a great screen performance that demonstrates his acting prowess and star power in this gritty film-noir drama.

• Humphrey Bogart - In The Frame Collection | DVD | (29/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This box set contains the films: Sahara (Dir. Zoltan Korda) (1943): After the fall of the Libyan city of Tobruk Sergeant Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) and his crew--Waco Hoyt (Bruce Bennett) Fred Clarkson (Lloyd Bridges) and Jimmy Doyle (Dan Duryea)--retreat in their tank across the Sahara. Along the way they pick up six Allied stragglers and Tambul (Rex Ingram) a Sudanese corporal and his Italian prisoner. Tambul directs the group to a desert fortress where they hope to find desparately needed water. A detachment of German soldiers arrives and attempts to barter food for water but Gunn and his followers refuse. When the Germans attack Gunn leads his desert-weary men in a desparate battle hoping that British reinforcements can arrive in time. Dead Reckoning (Dir. John Cromwell) (1947) Rip Murdock (Bogart) and Johnny Drake (Prince) are en route to Washington when Johnny disappears and then turns up dead. Rip learns that Johnny had been accused of murder and sets out to resolve the mystery surrounding his death... Caine Mutiny (Dir. Edward Dmytryk) (1954): Humphrey Bogart is Lt. Commander Queeg the skipper of the minesweeper Caine who when involuntarily relieved of his command during a violent typhoon brings his officers up on charges for conspiring. Harder They Fall (Dir. Mark Robson) (1956): A down and out sports writer (Bogart) takes a job minding a boxer for a syndicate. Having arranged a title fight he is forced into fixing it by a mobster... Sirocco (Dir. Curtis Bernhardt) (1951): In 1925 Damascus Harry Smith (Bogart) runs guns to the rebels under Emir Hassan. The French arrest him along with others and force him to sell weapons to them where he develops an dangerous interest in French intelligence officer Feroud's mistress Violette... In A Lonely Place (Dir. Nicholas Ray) (1950): A screenwriter is in need of an alibi after being charged with murder. Laurel Gray a neighbour comes to the rescue and provides an alibi but their closeness casts doubt on his innocence...