Basil Dearden
Date of Birth: 01 Jan 1911
Country: UK
Biography: Graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean. He first began working as a director at Ealing Studios, co-directing comedy films with Will Hay. In later years he became associated with the writer and producer Michael Relph, and the two men made films on subjects generally not tackled by British cinema in this era. Dearden was killed in a car accident in 1971. He had two sons, Torquil Dearden and the screenwriter and director James Dearden.
Total Credits at Criticker: 39 (Director), 10 (Writer)
Biography and picture submitted by driscarpin
Find more information about Basil Dearden at The Internet Movie Database
Titles you haven't rated - Director (39) | Writer (10)
Architect Walter Craig, seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare (imdb)
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English General Charles George Gordon, a devout Christian, is appointed military governor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by Prime Minister Gladstone... (imdb)
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Work has been going with a bang for freelance assassin Hawkins but a job in England just after the war is a different matter. His apparently easy target, a pompous government minister, is off for some hanky-panky at the Green Man on the south coast, where Hawkins is planning to retire him for good. But before he can get on with this the hit-man has a procession of unwanted visitors at home to dispose of - one way or another. (imdb)
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After intense wartime naval experiences a trio buy their old ship but then have to use it for smuggling and worse, before finally having to come to their senses. (imdb)
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While driving one evening, Harold Pelham appears possessed and has a car accident. While on the operating table, there even appears to be two heartbeats on the monitor. When he awakes, Pelham finds his life has been turned upside-down: he learns that he now supports a merger that he once opposed, and that he apparently is having an affair. People claim they have seen him in places that he has never been. Does Pelham have a doppelganger - or is he going insane? (imdb)
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Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline and planning are imposed by Hyde and second-in-command Race on the team, although civilian irritations do start getting in the way. (imdb)
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A plea for reform of England's anti-sodomy statutes, this film pits Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde), a married lawyer, against a blackmailer who has photos of Farr and a young gay man (who is being blackmailed and later commits suicide)in Farr's car. After the suicide, Farr tracks down other gay men being extorted for money by the same blackmailer. The well-educated police Detective Inspector Harris (John Barrie) considers the sodomy law nothing more than an aid to blackmailers, and helps Farr in calling his blackmailer's bluff... (imdb)
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The Assassination Bureau has existed for decades (perhaps centuries) until Diana Rigg begins to investigate it. The high moral standing of the Bureau (only killing those who deserve it) is called into question by her. She puts out a contract for the Bureau to assassinate its leader on the eve of World War I. (imdb)
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Jean and Bill are a struggling married couple with Bill trying to scrape a living as a writer. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them that Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business - a cinema in the town of Sloughborough... (imdb)
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We follow the daily activities of two London bobbies, veteran George Dixon and rookie Andy Mitchell. Meanwhile, young hoods Tom and Spud plan a series of robberies with Tom's girl Diana, a discontented beauty, as inside worker. But in their second crime, one of our heroes is shot, setting off a citywide manhunt. The killer is clever, but will he outsmart himself? (imdb)
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An insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Hay is on the list, and co-opts Claude Hulbert to try and stop him from meeting a grisly end. This black comedy suggests that, had he lived, Will Hay might have moved on to the darker corners of Ealing comedies such as 'The Ladykillers'. (imdb)
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In 1950s London racial hostility to Commonweath immigrants is openly paraded. A pregnant girl, initially assumed to be white, is murdered. As two detectives start to investigate, and discover her racial origins were much more mixed, public prejudices and those of the officers themselves are exposed. (imdb)
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Comedian Tommy Trinder plays it straight in this tribute to the wartime AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service). The dedicated band who kept the fires of London under control during the blitz and fire bombings of WWII. (imdb)
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Tyrannical but ailing tycoon Charles Richmond becomes very fond of his attractive Italian nurse, Maria. The nurse, in turn, falls in love with Charles' ne'er-do-well nephew Anthony, who plots ways to gain control of his uncle's fortune. (imdb)
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A shipping tycoon with a record becomes a suspect when money goes missing from the company vault. (TCM.com)
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In 1940, a concentration-camp escapee assumes the identity of a dead British officer, only to become a prisoner of war. (imdb)
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The British send an American and a war hero to kidnap and hide an oil-country prince. (imdb)
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A dedicated British scientist tests the possibility of brainwashing. If the experiment succeeds, he will stop loving his wife. (imdb)
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A young woman marries Prince George but it's far from a love match. Then she falls for a Swedish Count. (imdb)
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Will Hay plays a Professor teaching at a correspondence school who discovers that a Nazi agent is trying to prevent a trade treaty being signed between England and South America. The agent is posing as an economics expert seconded to the trade delegation. The professor must find the real economist and expose the agent. (imdb)
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A bumbling teacher (Will Hay) conveniently turns out to be the double of a German general. In the true spirit of wartime propaganda high jinks, he is flown into Germany to impersonate the general and cause chaos and hilarity in a Hitler Youth college (populated by the likes of Peter Ustinov, Charles Hawtrey and Barry Morse). (imdb)
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A group of travellers, each with a personal problem that they want to hide, arrive at a mysterious Welsh country inn. There is a certain strangeness in the air as they are greeted by the innkeeper and his daughter (Mervyn Johns and his real life daughter Glynis Johns). Why are all the newspapers a year old ? And why doesn't Gwyneth seem to cast a shadow? (imdb)
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This movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists. (imdb)
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Over the course of one eventful evening, during the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex (Paul Harris), a bandleader, and Delia Lane (Marti Stevens), a singer, Johnny Cousin (Patrick McGoohan), racked by ambition and jealousy, attempts to tear the interracial couple apart. (criterion.com)
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An RAF pilot who was shot down during WWII returns home to his English village with his new bride. The trouble is that she is the German lady who helped him escape. Then her brother arrives. (imdb)
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A young bride believes her husband has been killed. After a suitable period of mourning, she re-marries. But then her "dead" husband comes back and tries to extort money from her. (imdb)
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The battle of wills between a Liverpool Juvenile Liaison officer and a young and dangerous pyromaniac.
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IRA member Terry modifies his violent views after working undercover in wartime London. As a result he see to it that his co-conspirators are arrested, while ensuring his brother Matt escapes back to Ireland. Terry follows and the local group have to decide what to do about him and about their imprisoned colleagues being shipped to Belfast. (imdb)
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Amidst the pub sing-songs and bombsites and with slums giving way to high-rise flats, life in Bethnal Green is changing for the Flints. Dad may decide to quit the docks and their daughter wants a new home with her husband and expected baby. Son Ricky is dissatisfied with his lot and equally eager to get away. Involved with a planned robbery of the cigarette factory where he works, his life becomes even more complicated when he gets involved with quirky Catherine. (imdb)
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When their ship docks the crew disembark as usual to pick up their lives in postwar London. For one of them his petty smuggling turns more serious when he finds himself caught up with a robbery in the City. (imdb)
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Richard Attenborough, David Hemmings and Alexandra Stewart play three con artists planning a big-time scam. The object is to sell ammunition to a group of African militants -- or at least to pretend to. The trick is to keep at least one step ahead of the militants, lest the tricksters end up full of holes. A serviceable Len Deighton espionage novel was the source for Only When I Larf, which hooked up the material with "mod" gags about '60s fads and foibles. (allrovi.com)
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Adapted from a J.B. Priestly play with many of the original actors. The tale of various people who have come to live in an "ideal" city and their hopes and reasons for doing so. (imdb)
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A train disaster is told as four short stories to give character studies of the people involved, how it will affect them and how they deal with it. (imdb)
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A champion jockey is banned from racing so spends his time helping a young lad to become the next champion. (imdb)
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When John Harris's daughter is badly injured in an boating accident, the hospital tells him that she will need an urgent blood transfusion. Due to his religious beliefs Harris refuses permission, and the child dies. When the inquest clears Harris of all blame, the doctor in charge of the case tries to get the police to press manslaughter charges against Harris. (imdb)
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A drama about parole officers to follow the successful Ealing police story of _Blue Lamp, The (1950)_. Various sub-plots follow the parole officers and their charges. (imdb)
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Scientists are looking for a man to send up to be the first man on the moon. A man immune to worry, disease and even the common cold. They think they have found him until the impossible happens at Woomera... (imdb)
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Propaganda comedy promoting the benefits of saving for the war effort.
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Boxing drama following the lives of five different fighters and their reasons for becoming boxers. (imdb)
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