Episode 140 - Reach For The Sky (1956)

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism   This week...more from the great Hammer studios as we continue our Hammer horror retrospective   The Two Faces Of Dr Jeckyll (1960)   Dr. Henry Jekyll is a dull, bookish scientist who spends more time with his lab animals testing theories of alternate personalities than with his beautiful, young wife. Kitty Jekyll has given up trying to find any passion in her distant, preoccupied husband and is involved in an affair with one of Jekyll's old 'friends,' Paul Allen, a weak slacker and wastrel who relies on Jekyll to pay his numerous gambling debts. After experimenting on himself, the bearded, tweedy Jekyll transforms himself into the young, dynamic, and self-confidant Edward Hyde. In his new character he befriends Allen, who has no idea that this clean-cut, handsome playboy prone to outbursts of violence is really Jekyll. As Hyde, he encourages Allen to introduce him to the dark underbelly of London's night life including opium dens and sex clubs, where he begins an affair with the sensual courtesan Maria, an exotic dancer and snake charmer. When he tries to seduce Allen's mistress, in reality his own wife, he is frustrated to find she prefers her decadent lover to him.   "London and I are virgins to one another."   You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts   Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod   email: [email protected]   #podcast #britmovie #reelbritannia #hammerhorror    Thanks for listening Scott, Steven and Mark

Welcome to Reel Britannia-a very British podcast about very British movies ...with just a hint of professionalism. Classic eighties comedy this week from the superb Bill Forsyth Local Hero (1983) Up-and-coming Houston oil executive "Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) gets more than he bargained for when a seemingly simple business trip to Scotland changes his outlook on life. Sent by his colourful boss (Burt Lancaster) to the small village of Ferness, Mac is looking to quickly buy out the townspeople so his company can build a new refinery. But after a taste of country life Mac begins to question whether he is on the right side of this transaction.   "Keep watching the sky, MacIntyre."   You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod email: [email protected] #britmovie #reelbritannia #localhero #burtlancaster #billforsyth #movie #podcast Thanks for listening! Scott and Steven  

Reel Britannia podcast - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism.   Scott and Steven are joined this week by Antony, host of Film Gold, Glass Onion : On John Lennon, and Life and Life Only to discuss something of a departure for Richard Burton.   Villain (1971) Hailing from East London, Vic Dakin dotes on his aged and largely bedridden mother. He is also the leader of a criminal gang whose proceeds are largely from the regular collection of "protection money" from their victims. Vic often uses brutal violence against enemies as well as "friends" to prove a point, the violence in and of itself which he seems to relish. While not a regular means to money, Vic decides that his gang will work on a tip to rob a factory payroll, which, somewhat against his wants, will entail working with fellow criminal Frank Fletcher, who understands such a job better than Vic or anyone on his team. Making the job more complex at this time are: the police being after Vic for the vicious attack on one of Vic's associates who acted as a police snitch; and Vic's association with Wolfie Lissner, who procures sexual services for a number of people, including some fairly high profile ones, and who often acts as Vic's "on demand" sexual partner. "Frank, Frank. We're the boys, aren't we? Aren't we the boys. Always have been, ever since we were kids. Hardly got off our mother's tit when we had 'em quaking down in Hackney." This and previous episodes can be found everywhere you download your podcasts Follow us on Twitter @rb_podcast   Glass Onion: On John Lennon https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/glass-onion-on-john-lennon/id1473867166  Life And Life Only https://lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com/  Film Gold https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/film-gold/id1544641271    Thanks for listening Scott and Steven

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism   This week, Scott and Steven are joined by Mark from The Good The Bad and The Odd podcast to chat about, not Hammer horror this time, but Julien Temple's musical from 1986 starring Patsy Kensit and David Bowie   Absolute Beginners (1986)   A musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes' novel about life in late 1950s London. Nineteen-year-old photographer Colin is hopelessly in love with model Crepe Suzette, but her relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. Meanwhile, racial tension is brewing in Colin's Notting Hill housing estate...     You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts   Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod   email: [email protected]   #podcast #britmovie #reelbritannia #davidbowie   Thanks for listening   Scott, Steven and Mark  

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism   This week...more from the great Hammer studios as we continue our Hammer horror retrospective   Brides of Dracula (1960)   Classic horror starring Peter Cushing. A young teacher on her way to a position in Transylvania helps a young man escape the shackles his mother has put on him. In doing so she innocently unleashes the horrors of the undead once again on the populace, including those at her school for ladies. Luckily for some, Dr Van Helsing (Cushing) is already on his way.   You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts   Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod   email: [email protected]   #podcast #britmovie #reelbritannia #hammerhorror    Thanks for listening Scott, Steven and Mark

Welcome to Reel Britannia-a very British podcast about very British movies ...with just a hint of professionalism. Classic wartime drama from the 50s this week with Kenneth More in the story of a true British hero. Reach For The Sky (1956) Biopic of famed British World War II flyer Sir Douglas Bader. He joined the RAF in 1928 and easily took to flying, perhaps too easily as his commanders are concerned at the risks he takes with his aircraft. After a nasty crash in 1931, he loses both of his legs above the knee. After a long convalescence and learning to walk again with artificial legs, he returns to flying school where he again passes. The RAF forcibly retires him due to his presumed disability. With the onset of World War II, Bader is re-instated and given command of a fighter squadron. He survives the Battle of Britain but is shot down over enemy territory in 1941 losing one of his artificial legs. He was a POW and the RAF even sent a new leg to replace the one he lost. Known as a problem prisoner because of his numerous attempts to escape, he was transferred to Colditz for much of his time until the war's end.   Equipment Officer: I'm sorry, the book says I must wait three months before I can initiate the procedure for hastening new issue. Bader: Fine! We'll send Goring a telegram, and ask him not to come over for *three months*!     You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod email: [email protected] #britmovie #reelbritannia #kennethmore #reachforthesky #lewisgilbert #movie #podcast Thanks for listening! Scott and Steven

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism. The latest episode in our Hammer horror retrospective The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)   His terrifying secret, his hideous obsession made him... The Man Who Could Cheat Death   Director Terence Fisher (The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles) transformed the fate of Hammer Pictures with his vibrant and explicit series of gothic horror films, which would become the studio's signature style for nearly two decades. Fisher continued his winning streak for the studio with this tale of scientific debauchery, which remains one of Hammer Films finest achievements. Doctor and amateur sculptor Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring Circus of Horrors, Fahrenheit 451) has discovered a murderous method of maintaining his youth, once every ten years he murders a young woman and removes her parathyroid glands to replace his own. But after 104 years, he's run into some problems. His collaborator is now too old to perform the surgical procedure, and a detective is on his case. In desperation Bonnet blackmails another surgeon (Christopher Lee) into performing the procedure by threatening the life of Janine Dubois (Hazel Court), a woman who both men desire. With cinematography by Jack Asher (whose Bava-esque use of colours lend the film an almost dreamlike quality) and set-design by Bernard Robinson who could miraculously produce lavish and expensive looking sets on a tight budget, EReel Britannia is proud to present The Man Who Could Cheat Death.   You can find this and all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts   Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod   email: [email protected]   #podcast #britmovie #reelbritannia #hammerhorror    Thanks for listening Scott, Steven and Mark

Reel Britannia podcast - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism. Scott and Steven are joined this week by Anthony, host of Film Gold, Glass Onion : On John Lennon, and Life and Life Only to discuss Train of Events (1949) The portmanteau film “Train of Events” brings together the many talents of Ealing Studios to present four stories linked by a train bound for Liverpool. This Ealing anthology weaves drama and comedy amongst the stories documenting various train passengers, all leading up to an incident to change their lives. Starring Jack Hawkins, Gladys Henson, Leslie Phillips, Joan Dowling, Valerie Hobson, Laurence Payne, John Gregson, and introducing Peter Finch in his first British film (having emigrated from Australia). the film’s segments were directed by Ealing luminaries Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, & Sidney Cole. “Train of Events” opened at the Gaumont Haymarket cinema in Lonodn on the 18th of August 1949. "Well, don't overwhelm me ducks. I dunno as my poor old ticker'll stand it."   This and previous episodes can be found everywhere you download your podcasts Follow us on Twitter @rb_podcast   Glass Onion: On John Lennon https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/glass-onion-on-john-lennon/id1473867166  Life And Life Only https://lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com/  Film Gold https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/film-gold/id1544641271    Thanks for listening Scott and Steven

Welcome to Reel Britannia-a very British podcast about very British movies ...with just a hint of professionalism.    Classic kitchen sink drama this week from John Osborne and Tony Richardson featuring an all-star British cast headed by Laurence Olivier  The Entertainer (1960)  London schoolteacher Jean Rice (Joan Plowright) returns to her seaside resort hometown at a time of personal crisis. Her father, Archie (Laurence Olivier), is a star on the music hall circuit, but, in the television age, that old-fashioned entertainment is dying out. His second wife, Phoebe (Brenda De Banzie), is openly contemptuous of her husband's many affairs, and his son, Mick (Albert Finney), is a soldier fighting in the Suez. Despite Archie's unflagging optimism, tragic events unfold.    “You were a pretty little thing. Not that looks are important - not even for a woman. You don't look at the mantelpiece when you poke the fire. “    You can find this and all our previous episodes at:  Amazon Music  Apple Podcasts  Libsyn  Player FM  Podtail  Owltail  ListenNotes    Follow us on Twitter @rbritanniapod  Join us over at our Facebook Group ….we’d love to chat with you  email: [email protected]  #britmovie #reelbritannia #theentertainer  Thanks for listening!  Scott and Steven   

Reel Britannia podcast - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism.   Scott and Steven are joined this week by Anthony, host of Film Gold, Glass Onion : On John Lennon, and Life and Life Only to discuss Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate movie.   Frenzy (1972)   In London, a serial killer is raping women and then strangling them with a necktie. When the reckless and low-class with a bad temper bartender Richard Blaney is fired from the pub Global Public House by the manager Felix Forsythe, he decides to visit his ex-wife Brenda, who owns a successful marriage agency. Her secretary Miss Barling overhears an argument of the couple, and Brenda invites Richard to have dinner with her in a fancy restaurant. Then she put some money in his overcoat and does not tell him to avoid his embarrassment with the situation. Meanwhile, Richard's friend Bob Rusk visits Brenda in her office, rapes her, and kills her with his necktie. When Richard finds the money in his pocket, he visits Brenda, but finds the agency closed. Then he goes with his girlfriend Babs Milligan to an expensive hotel. Miss Barling sees Richard leaving the building and finds her boss strangled. She calls New Scotland Yard and Richard becomes the prime suspect. When Bob kills Babs, he frames Richard, who is arrested and sentenced to life. But Chief Inspector Oxford, who was in charge of the investigation is not absolutely sure that Richard is the serial killer.   "  Do I look like a sex murderer to you? Can you imagine me creeping around London, strangling all those women with ties? That's ridiculous... For a start, I only own two.."   This and previous episodes can be found everywhere you download your podcasts Follow us on Twitter @rb_podcast   Glass Onion: On John Lennon https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/glass-onion-on-john-lennon/id1473867166  Life And Life Only https://lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com/  Film Gold https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/film-gold/id1544641271    Thanks for listening Scott and Steven