Classic British Thrillers

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: DDM2.0
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Leslie Banks - David Barr
       Binnie Hale - Alice Bright
       James Mason - Michael Joyce
       Rosamund John - Emma Wright
       Frank Vosper - Lord Dean
       Donald Calthrop - David Owen
       Carol Goodner - June Mackinnon
       Pamela Kellino - Kate Howard
       Alfred Drayton - Manning
       Jane Hylton - Miss Marsh
       Milton Rosmer - Dr. Carey
       Donald Calthrop - Macleod
       Morland Graham - Clay
       Ian Hunter - Jim Pierce
       Ann Stephens - Ann Wright

• Director:

  Lawrence Huntington, Michael Powell

• Producer:

  Sydney Box, Jerome Jackson, James Mason

• Play Author:

  Joan Roy Byford, Evadne Price

• Screenwriter:

  Jefferson J. Farjeon, Pamela Kellino, Austin Melford, L. Du Garde Peach, Ralph Smart

• Cinematographer:

  Geoffrey Faithfull, Roy Kellino, Leslie Rowson, Reginald Wyer

• Composer (Music Score):

  Louis Levy

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Muir Mathieson

• Editor:

  Alan Osbigton, Derek N. Twist

• Art Director:

  Alfred Junge, Andrew Mazzei, Alexander Vetchinsky

REVIEWS:

• {#Red Ensign} was among the last and the best of {$Michael Powell}'s British B-pictures, often referred to as "quota-quickies" for having been produced under a government-imposed quota system to maintain the presence of British-made films in British theaters. Indeed, it's so well made that it transcends its origins and comes off instead as the kind of B-movie that sometimes eclipsed its more opulent companion pictures. The title (which is pronounced "en-sign," not "en-sin") refers to the flag of the British mercantile fleet, which was largely idled by the worldwide economic depression of the early '30s. The performance by {$Leslie Banks} is one of the most energetic and charismatic of his career in a heroic role -- the latter itself was a rarity for him and he pulls it off with the same skill that he brought to such villainous portrayals as {%Zaroff} in {#The Most Dangerous Game}. But, overall, it is {$Powell}'s touch, bold and elegant in spots -- such as the use of the heroic passages from {$Smetana}'s {&The Moldau} as the scoring over the establishing shots of the idled shipyards -- and brisk and unobtrusive in the rest, that pulls this off, with a style that was almost American in its grace and vitality. The whole picture came about as a result of {$Powell} and producer {$Jerome Jackson} coming across a newspaper article about the British shipping industry, and the resulting script at times veers dangerously toward jingoism, without quite crossing the line. {%David Barr}'s fixation on British shipping is understandable, and the British mercantile fleet represented a major part of the life-blood of the world's economy; and his criticism of {%Manning} for using foreign registries for his ships turns out to be less a matter of national pride than a reflection of the fact that his poorly trained foreign crews are a hazard to the entire industry. The movie walks that and several other tightropes (the most important one budgetary) successfully, and ended up a genuinely exciting and engaging {\drama}, as well as one of the high points of {$Powell}'s early career. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• Red Ensign was among the last and the best of Michael Powell's British B-pictures, often referred to as "quota-quickies" for having been produced under a government-imposed quota system to maintain the presence of British-made films in British theaters. Indeed, it's so well made that it transcends its origins and comes off instead as the kind of B-movie that sometimes eclipsed its more opulent companion pictures. The title (which is pronounced "en-sign," not "en-sin") refers to the flag of the British mercantile fleet, which was largely idled by the worldwide economic depression of the early '30s. The performance by Leslie Banks is one of the most energetic and charismatic of his career in a heroic role -- the latter itself was a rarity for him and he pulls it off with the same skill that he brought to such villainous portrayals as Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game. But, overall, it is Powell's touch, bold and elegant in spots -- such as the use of the heroic passages from Smetana's The Moldau as the scoring over the establishing shots of the idled shipyards -- and brisk and unobtrusive in the rest, that pulls this off, with a style that was almost American in its grace and vitality. The whole picture came about as a result of Powell and producer Jerome Jackson coming across a newspaper article about the British shipping industry, and the resulting script at times veers dangerously toward jingoism, without quite crossing the line. David Barr's fixation on British shipping is understandable, and the British mercantile fleet represented a major part of the life-blood of the world's economy; and his criticism of Manning for using foreign registries for his ships turns out to be less a matter of national pride than a reflection of the fact that his poorly trained foreign crews are a hazard to the entire industry. The movie walks that and several other tightropes (the most important one budgetary) successfully, and ended up a genuinely exciting and engaging drama, as well as one of the high points of Powell's early career. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• A strange and uneven psychological thriller clearly inspired by Spellbound, The Upturned Glass has its flaws but is worth watching, especially to fans of the genre. One of Glass's flaws is the fact that it slips out of its grounding in reality on several occasions. For example, the bulk of the film is a flashback narrated by a doctor to a criminology class; it's not especially realistic that this doctor would be qualified to teach such a class, but more crucially, the doctor is revealing details about himself (however much he may claim it's about another) which tip his hand to his future illegal plans. Had this been set up as a way of showing that the doctor was not in his right mind, it might possible have worked, but there is no such set up. Pacing is also a flaw, as the first two-thirds of the film don't propel the story along at the desired pace; however, the final third makes up for this and is quite gripping (if still lacking in credibility). Helping to mask the film's flaws is the flawless performance of James Mason. Intense yet able to lay back with the best of them, Mason's turn is a marvelous mix of "star" performance and carefully calibrated, nuanced dramatic acting. The supporting cast is quite good as well, and while Lawrence Huntington's direction overall is uneven, when he's on, he does very good work here. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

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