Austin Dempster

The Story of Jacob and Joseph

This film recounts the tales of the Biblical figures, Jacob and Joseph. The first part tells the story of Jacob fleeing his tribe when he cheats his brother out of his birthright, gets cheated himself in his exile years while learning of the need to make amends. The second part is of the story of Jacob's favorite son, Joseph. Betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, he meets and overcomes all adversity to become the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.

A Touch of Class

Steve, a happily married American man living in London meets Vicki, an English divorcée and run off to Marbella for a rollicking week of sex. They then return to London to set up a cozy menage, despite the fact that he loves his wife and children, and now realize that he and Vicki have also fallen in love.

And No One Could Save Her

The life of young newlywed, Fern O'Neil, is turned upside-down when her husband is called home to visit his dying father in Ireland. When she fails to receive a phone call from her husband, she contacts the airline and discovers he was not on the plane. Further investigation reveals that her husband is not who she thought he was. Her search ultimately takes her all the way to Ireland, where her sanity and, of course, her story come into question.

The Little Ark

This heart-rending family-oriented drama chronicles the adventure of two Dutch children who temporarily lose their father and mother during the great flood of 1953. Fortunately, they and their animals are taken in by a salty old boatman who helps them reunite with their father.

Tales of Beatrix Potter

The Royal Ballet Company brings Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Pigling Bland, and Pigwig to the screen doing pirouettes and pas de deux in this filmed ballet production directed by Reginald Mills. The film more properly belongs, however, to choreographer Frederick Ashmore, composer John Lanchbery, and costume designer Rostislav Douboujinsky. This literal adaptation concerns the shy Beatrix Potter and how, when all of the toy animals in her room come to life, she emerges from her shell and begins to enjoy life. Sequences include a rowdy dance with Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca destroying a collection of plaster food, a midnight pas de deux between Pigling Bland and Pigwig, and a corps de ballet of dancing mice.

A Severed Head

Antonia Lynch-Gibbon, wife of upper-crust wine dealer Martin, falls in love with her husband's best friend, noted psychiatrist Palmer Anderson. While both Palmer and Antonia would like to remain in Martin's life, he has some secrets of his own — namely, a mistress called Georgie, whom his womanizing brother also desires. All the while, Palmer's sister Honor seems to know everyone's business.

Loot

Two bank robbers, Dennis and Hal, are on the run from the police after a successful heist. Needing somewhere to hide the loot, they turn to a funeral parlour where they stash the cash in Hal's recently-deceased mother's coffin. Taking the coffin, they turn to Hal's father and hide it in the bathroom of his hotel. Before long the hotel is host to the eccentric Inspector Truscott.

The Looking Glass War

When a Polish sailor jumps ship in Britain, a couple of local intelligence operatives keep him under surveillance. Soon, he’s recruited to infiltrate a missile installation outside of East Berlin and bring back photos of the new rockets.

Otley

A petty crook finds himself mistaken for a murderer and a secret agent.

A Dandy in Aspic

Double-agent Alexander Eberlin is assigned by the British to hunt out a Russian spy, known to them as Krasnevin. Only Eberlin knows that Krasnevin is none other than himself! Accompanying him on his mission is a ruthless partner, who gradually discovers his secret as Eberlin tries to maneuver himself out of a desperate situation.

A Dandy in Aspic

Double-agent Alexander Eberlin is assigned by the British to hunt out a Russian spy, known to them as Krasnevin. Only Eberlin knows that Krasnevin is none other than himself! Accompanying him on his mission is a ruthless partner, who gradually discovers his secret as Eberlin tries to maneuver himself out of a desperate situation.

Bedazzled

A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.

Two for the Road

On the way to a party, a British couple dissatisfied with their marriage recall the gradual dissolution of their relationship.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.

Kaleidoscope

Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer because he has succeeded in marking the original plates for the backs of all the playing cards manufactured in a plant in Geneva and used in all the gambling joints in Europe. In his gambling depredation, Barney is spotted by Angel McGinnis, the daughter of a Scotland Yard Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis on the lookout for a man to do a job. The inspector enlists Barney's help in playing poker with a shady London character whom Scotland Yard wants to force to financial ruin.

Arabesque

When a plot against a prominent Middle Eastern politician is uncovered, David Pollock, a professor of ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University, is recruited to help expose the scheme. Pollock must find information believed to be in hieroglyphic code and must also contend with a mysterious man called Beshraavi. Meanwhile, Beshraavi's lover, Yasmin Azir, seems willing to aid Pollock -- but is she really on his side?

One Way Pendulum

A study of absurdity in a suburban family: father recreates the Old Bailey in the living room while the son teaches speak-your-weight machines to sing in the attic.

The Yellow Rolls-Royce

One Rolls-Royce belongs to three vastly different owners, starting with Lord Charles, who buys the car for his wife as an anniversary present. The next owner is Paolo Maltese, a mafioso who purchases the car during a trip to Italy and leaves it with his girlfriend while he returns to Chicago. Finally, the car is owned by American widow Gerda, who joins the Yugoslavian resistance against the invading Nazis.

A Shot in the Dark

Inspector Jacques Clouseau, smitten with the accused maid Maria Gambrelli, unwittingly turns a straightforward murder investigation into a comedic series of mishaps, testing the patience of his irritable boss Charles Dreyfus as casualties mount.

The Victors

Intercutting dramatic vignettes with newsreel footage, the story follows the characters from an infantry squad as they make their way from Sicily to Germany during the end of World War II.

In the Cool of the Day

After he mends a marital rift between a vacationing young couple, the bored, fragile wife falls hopelessly in love with the husband's ex-colleague who is married to a long-suffering and emotionally and physically scarred woman. The couple soon runs off to Greece together to pursue the romance.

Murder She Said

Miss Marple believes she's seen a murder in a passing-by train, yet when the police find no evidence she decides to investigate it on her own.

Five Golden Hours

A petty crook gallantly consoles wealthy widows and is doing all right in his chosen profession until he meets and falls in love with a lovely baroness, who knows all about get-rich-quick schemes.

The Grass Is Greener

Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle. But Charles Delacro, a millionaire oil tycoon, visits, and takes a liking to more than the house. Soon, Hattie Durant gets involved and they have a good old fashioned love triangle.

Sink the Bismarck!

The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.

The Bridal Path

Based on a novel by Nigel Tranter, The Bridal Path is a light-hearted look at the somewhat unfortunate results that can come of the continued marrying of fairly close cousins in a restricted and remote community. Set in the Hebrides off Scotland, the story tells how Ewan MacEwan leaves the isle of Eorsa in search of the perfect wife, but finally returns to marry Katie.

The Mouse That Roared

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.

Ill Met by Moonlight

Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo to embarrass the occupiers.

The Spanish Gardener

Harrington Brande, a British diplomat who recently broke up with his wife, is stationed in a small coastal town in Spain with his son, Nicholas. Harrington is unreasonably possessive of Nicholas and becomes jealous when he begins to form a close friendship with Jose, their gentle gardener.

The Battle of the River Plate

In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.

Footsteps in the Fog

A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.

Star of India

Squire Pierre St. Laurent returns from wars in India to 17th-century provincial France to find his estate confiscated by governor Narbonne, for back taxes, and resold to Katrina, a Dutch Countess. Katrina offers to return Pierre's property if he will help her get possession of the 'Star of India,' a fabulous sapphire, held at the moment by Narbonne.

The Lady with a Lamp

Based on the Reginald Berkeley stage play, this compelling historical drama offers a depiction of the life story of Florence Nightingale, the young 19th-century Englishwoman famously drawn to a career in nursing. Traveling to Turkey during the Crimean War, Florence gains a reputation for being devoted to the care of wounded soldiers and for pioneering higher standards for sanitary hospital conditions.

Odette

The film is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive French-born agent Odette Sansom, who was captured by the Germans in 1943, condemned to death and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp to be executed. However, against all odds she survived the war and testified against the prison guards at the Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials. She was awarded the George Cross in 1946; the first woman ever to receive the award, and the only woman who has been awarded it while still alive. (From Wikipedia, licensed under CC-BY-SA)

Night and the City

Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan.

Night and the City

Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan.

Maytime in Mayfair

Penniless man-about-town Michael Gore-Brown is delighted to hear he has been left a high-class Mayfair fashion salon. His intention is to sell it as quickly as possible, but on meeting Ellen, chief designer and manager, he quickly changes his mind and turns his attention to courting her.

Quiet Weekend

Comedy of a family trying to spend a country weekend which is disrupted by an unpleasant friend of the son.

The Man from Morocco

With the ending of the Spanish Civil War, a dispirited band of volunteers from the International Brigades seeks refuge in France. But on reaching the frontier, the band is disarmed, and all are detained as political prisoners. Then come instructions from Vichy that all fit prisoners are to be sent to Morocco to work on the Sahara railway for the Germans. However, one man manages to escape to London with vital information for the Allies.

They Came to a City

People from different walks of life mysteriously find themselves at the gate of an unknown city