Laurence Hanray
Biography: Laurence Hanray (16 May 1874 – 28 November 1947), sometimes credited as Lawrence Hanray, was a British film and theatre actor born in London, England. He is also credited as the author of several plays and music hall songs. Laurence Hanray was born Lawrence Henry Jacobs in St John's Wood on 16 May 1874, the son of Angelo Jacobs (c. 1851-1910), a glass manufacturer, and Leah (née Nathan; 1850/1851 - 1946). His father changed his name to Angelo Jacobs Hanray, and with it the family name, after becoming bankrupt in 1897, although Laurence had been using the name Hanray professionally from at least 1892, when he appeared as a member of the Hermann Vezin Theatre Company in supporting roles in Hamlet and Macbeth at Her Majesties Theatre, Dundee. Australian newspapers show he was in Australia and New Zealand from around 1901-04, appearing as Carraway Bones the undertaker in the farce Turned Up at the Theatre Royal, Perth, in May 1901, and subsequently at most of the main cities until June 1904. Travel records show him departing Sydney for Auckland in August 1901, and sailing from Sydney for London on 7 October 1904. He then resumed touring in Britain. In the 1911 census, Laurence Hanray (36), actor, is listed as residing at the Woolton Hall Hydropathic Hotel, Much Woolton, Lancashire, England. Hanray married Dorothy Mary Chambers Farnsworth (1884-1918) in the Birkenhead district during the first quarter of 1914. She petitioned for divorce in 1917, but then died suddenly in London on 16 August 1918. Hanray married Lois Grace Heatherley (1892-1966) in Paddington during the same quarter his first wife died. Lois was also an actress and performed with Laurence at the Booth Theatre, Broadway, in 1921. They were also together in The Faithful Heart, she as Ginger and Laurence as Major Lestrade, at the Comedy Theatre, Haymarket. Travel records then show the couple arriving in New York in September 1922. He appeared in John Galsworthy's play Loyalties at the Gaeity Theatre on Broadway. They arrived in Liverpool in May 1923. The couple also played together in Escape at the Booth Theatre, Broadway in 1927, she as Miss Grace and he in multiple roles (the Fellow Convict, the Old Gentleman and the Farmer). Laurence and Lois had a daughter, Ursula Susan Edith Hanray, on 16 November 1923. According to travel records, the family visited America from September 1927. Laurence also went on his own to Canada in September 1931, and also during 1939-1940. Ursula became a child actress, playing the title role in the first televised production of Alice Through The Looking Glass in 1937, and the young Queen Victoria in a London theatre in 1940. Hanray worked almost up to his death; The Times reported in early September 1947 that he was to appear in a play at Dunfermline Abbey Theatre. He died at age 73 on 28 November 1947, following an operation at the Middlesex Hospital, London. Lois Grace Hanray died aged 74 on 25 April 1966.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: May 15, 1874
Deathday: November 28, 1947
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Known For
Leap Year
1932-10-11
Leap Year
Overview: 'Affianced Foreign Office agent searches for mystery woman he loves.' (British Film Catalogue)
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-10-11
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His Grace Gives Notice
1933-07-22
His Grace Gives Notice
Overview: 'Butler inherits title but keeps it secret to woo employer's daughter.' (British Film Catalogue)
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-07-22
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The Private Life of Henry VIII
1933-08-17
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Overview: Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second wife, executed on charges of treason, King Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that marriage also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the king picks German-born Anne of Cleves as his bride, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and King Henry continues his string of spouses.
Genres: History Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-08-17
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Hatter's Castle
1942-02-02
Hatter's Castle
Overview: The year is 1880. On the outskirts of the fictional small Scottish town of Levenford there stands a strange building, half cottage, half castle, embraced with thick stone walls. The townsfolk nickname the fortress "Hatter's Castle", for James Brodie, the man who built it. Brodie is a hatter who keeps the members of the family in fear and submission; he is brutal, arrogant, selfish and cruel. His wife, who has long been ailing, and his daughter Mary, are in awe of him. His son Angus, aged 15, alone dear to his heart, suffers under his love as the others suffer under his sternness.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-02-02
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Many Waters
1938-10-17
Many Waters
Overview:
Genres: Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-10-17
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My Learned Friend
1943-10-25
My Learned Friend
Overview: 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.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-10-25
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It's Never Too Late to Mend
1937-03-01
It's Never Too Late to Mend
Overview: An evil prison administrator cruelly abuses the inmates at his prison, until one day the tables are turned.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-03-01
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Murder at Monte Carlo
1935-01-01
Murder at Monte Carlo
Overview: A professor comes up with a system to win at roulette, and goes to the famous casino at Monte Carlo to try it out. When he turns up murdered and his "system" missing, a reporter sets out to find the killer--and the system.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-01-01
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Moonlight Sonata
1937-02-11
Moonlight Sonata
Overview: In this romantic tale Paderewski, the famed pianist, and two other plane crash survivors are guests of a Swedish baroness. Interwoven throughout this gentle and charming story are exquisite piano solos performed superbly by the elderly pianist, Paderewski.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-02-11
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The Three Maxims
1936-01-01
The Three Maxims
Overview: The Three Maxims are trapeze artists Pat (Anna Neagle), Toni (Tuilio Carminati) and Mac (Leslie Banks). After spending most of their careers in the small time, the threesome finally get their big chance in Paris, at which point Mac realizes he's in love with Pat.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-01-01
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Love Story
1944-11-20
Love Story
Overview: After discovering that she has only a short time left to live, concert pianist Lissa travels to Cornwall for the final fling of her life. While there, she falls in love with young mineral prospector Kit, a man whose dark secret prevents him from fighting in the War. Unbeknownst to Lissa, however, Kit's affections are also much in demand from a rival of hers.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-11-20
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On Approval
1944-05-22
On Approval
Overview: Two wealthy Victorian widows are courted tentatively by two impoverished British aristocrats. When one of the dowagers suggests that her beau go away with her for a month to see if they are compatible, the fireworks begin.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-05-22
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Julius Caesar
1938-12-09
Julius Caesar
Overview: The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony
Genres: Drama History TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-12-09
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The Man from Toronto
1933-01-01
The Man from Toronto
Overview: According to the terms of a will two strangers must marry. Leila (Jessie Matthews) is an English widow, and Fergus (Ian Hunter) is a Canadian bachelor. Both are bequeathed a fortune, but there is a condition to receive it; the two must marry within a year. To aid matters, Leila disguises herself as Fergus' maid, and the two begin to fall in love. However, when Fergus discovers the truth, he is less than pleased by the deception.
Genres: Romance Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-01-01
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Wedding Rehearsal
1932-10-01
Wedding Rehearsal
Overview: The grandmother of a British nobleman, reluctant to marry, plays matchmaker. He outmaneuvers her by getting all of the matches married off .
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-10-01
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Action for Slander
1937-07-21
Action for Slander
Overview: A bankrupt officer, accused of cheating at cards, defends his honour with a writ.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-07-21
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The Girl in the Taxi
1937-09-02
The Girl in the Taxi
Overview: In this British musical, set in Paris, an apparently upstanding husband and father spends his nights fooling around with wild women. His son, wanting to be just like his dad, begins dating a seductive widow--the same widow his father has been seeing. Trouble ensues when the father refuses to let his daughter marry her true love. When the fiancée learns of the father-son shenanigans, he begins blackmailing them into letting him marry the daughter.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-09-02
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The Good Companions
1933-02-28
The Good Companions
Overview: Film musical taken from JB Priestley's novel about three musicians joining together to save a failing concert party, the Dinky Doos.
Genres: Romance Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-02-28
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The Last Chance
1937-11-11
The Last Chance
Overview: Alan Burmister leaves Devon on a secret gun-running expedition immediately after his engagement to Mary Perrin is announced; he returns at Christmas to find himself accused of the murder of Ivor Connel, a moneylender. Mary's father had always hoped that his daughter would marry John Worrall, a rising barrister. Worrall is briefed for the defence, but when he loses the case and Alan is condemned to penal servitude for life, no one but the judge realises that he has not made use of the best piece of defence evidence...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-11-11
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The Man Who Could Work Miracles
1936-07-23
The Man Who Could Work Miracles
Overview: An ordinary man, while vigorously asserting the impossibility of miracles, suddenly discovers that he can perform them.
Genres: Comedy Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-07-23
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Mine Own Executioner
1947-11-22
Mine Own Executioner
Overview: Fearing her husband could become a killer, a woman seeks a psychiatrist's help.
Genres: Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-11-22
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Midnight Menace
1937-05-04
Midnight Menace
Overview: When a reporter is killed under mysterious circumstances, the political cartoonist on his paper begins to investigate on his own. He finds that a vengeful industrialist may be trying to manipulate an international peace conference to stage a bombing attack on London.
Genres: War Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-05-04
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The Great Defender
1934-11-26
The Great Defender
Overview: Sir Douglas Rolls is a highly respected defence lawyer of many years experience. Now in rapidly failing health, he is advised to retreat from the courtroom and pursue more pleasurable activities. But it is just at this point in his life that his great lost love a woman his own strong sense of duty led him to give up twenty years ago, and whom he still loves deeply walks into his chambers to ask that he defend her adulterous husband, now to stand trial for murder. Reluctantly agreeing to take on the case, Sir Douglas soon finds there is more to the story than meets the eye.
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-11-26
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21 Days Together
1940-01-07
21 Days Together
Overview: After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. When he is found guilty, Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together before he must give himself up or let an innocent man go to the gallows.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-07
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Those Were the Days
1934-04-02
Those Were the Days
Overview: A farce based on Arthur Wing Pinero's play 'The Magistrate' in which the son (John Mills) of a stern magistrate (Will Hay) visits a music hall against the wishes of his father. In true farcical style, the magistrate too ends up at the music hall, and before long all the characters are trying not to avoid each other... Mainly notable (a) because of its depiction of the music hall as seen by a generation which knew it intimately (b) because of its use of music hall acts of the time and (c) because it gave Will Hay his first film role.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-04-02
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Someone at the Door
1936-09-28
Someone at the Door
Overview: When Sally inherits a country house, her young brother Ronald, an aspiring journalist, hits on a sensational way to make his first big scoop: Sally will 'disappear', and he will be arrested for her murder! At his trial she will reappear, his acquittal will follow, and he will be able to supply his paper with an exclusive story. Sally and her fiance, Bill, fall in with the scheme. However, there are complications which they had not foreseen.
Genres: Thriller Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-09-28
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Loyalties
1933-07-02
Loyalties
Overview: A houseguest at an upper-class gathering, wealthy Jew Ferdinand de Levis, is robbed of £1,000 with evidence pointing towards the guilt of another guest, Captain Dancy. Instead of supporting De Levis, the host attempts to hush the matter up and when this fails, he sides with Dancy and subtly tries to destroy de Levis' reputation. When Dancy is later exposed, and commits suicide, de Levis is blamed for his demise.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-07-02
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Chu Chin Chow
1934-05-01
Chu Chin Chow
Overview: Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.
Genres: Music Fantasy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-05-01
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Knight Without Armour
1937-07-23
Knight Without Armour
Overview: British agent working in Russia is forced to remain longer than planned once the revolution begins. After being released from prison in Siberia he poses as a Russian Commissar. Because of his position among the revolutionaries, he is able to rescue a Russian countess from the Bolsheviks.
Genres: History Drama Adventure Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-07-23
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Lonely Road
1936-08-23
Lonely Road
Overview: Commander Stevenson, suffering from unrequited love drives to the coast while very drunk and interrupts some smugglers and informs Scotland Yard.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-08-23
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Lorna Doone
1934-12-09
Lorna Doone
Overview: High drama, set in the English moorland of the 1600s. John Ridd wants revenge on the criminal Doone family, but falls in love with the daughter of the family, Lorna.
Genres: Drama Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-12-09
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Whom the Gods Love: The Original Story of Mozart and His Wife
1936-02-22
Whom the Gods Love: The Original Story of Mozart and His Wife
Overview: Mozart biopic.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-02-22
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Drake of England
1935-05-16
Drake of England
Overview: Imposing Canadian-born stage actor and playwright Matherson Lang was one of the twentieth century's great Shakespearean players, and became Britain's foremost screen actor during the 1920s; in Drake of England, one of his final films, he takes the title role in Arthur Woods' portrayal of the life and times of the flamboyant piratical adventurer who founded Britain's sea fortunes. From clandestine romance at the court of Elizabeth I to conquests in the newly discovered lands of South America and spectacular victory over the Armada, Drake of England offers a panoramic overview of Drake's life.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-05-16
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Brewster's Millions
1935-01-01
Brewster's Millions
Overview: Jack Brewster is a pennyless English lad who learns that he has inherited 6 million pounds sterling from a recently deceased relative. But soon learns that he must spend 500,000 pounds in 60 days to inherit the rest of the money, or forfeit the entire inheritance.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-01-01
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Mimi
1935-03-28
Mimi
Overview: A struggling playwright in 1850s Paris and his mate finds love that furnishes him with the inspiration he has long sought.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-03-28
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Love on Wheels
1932-07-26
Love on Wheels
Overview: A department store assistant becomes publicity conscious.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-07-26
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What Happened Then?
1934-09-24
What Happened Then?
Overview: Young Raymond Rudford,sculptor, is on trial for slitting the throat of his uncle, who had adopted and raised him after Raymond's parent's died when he was a young boy. The prosecution allows his motive was fear of being disinherited if he married his fiancé, the fair Alicia Atherton, against his uncle's wishes, and the prosecution lays a mountain of evidence against Raymond, including his razor, dragged from an artificial lake on the estate, as the murder weapon; Raymond's bloody fingerprints and footprints found at the scene of bedroom crime, and his bloody shoes, found in his cupboard and bloody monogrammed-handkerchief found under his uncle's death bed. Raymond's only defense is that he could not have committed the crime as he goes into a paroxysm of dread at the mere sight of blood, a phobia he has had ever since childhood when his dog was run over by a lorry and the dog's blood was splattered into his face.
Genres: Romance Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-09-24
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Quiet Wedding
1941-04-19
Quiet Wedding
Overview: A young couple become engaged, but enjoy a number of comedic aventures before their wedding day.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-04-19
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The Ghost of St. Michael's
1941-04-01
The Ghost of St. Michael's
Overview: Will Hay, back in his role as a hapless teacher, is hired by a grim school in remotest Scotland. The school soon starts to be haunted by a legendary ghost, whose spectral bagpipes signal the death of one of the staff. Hay, assisted by Claude Hulbert and Charles Hawtrey, has to unravel the mystery before he becomes the next victim.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-04-01
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Hotel Reserve
1944-06-01
Hotel Reserve
Overview: A hunt for a spy, in a hotel in the South of France just before World War Two.
Genres: Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-06-01
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Beyond the Cities
1930-11-18
Beyond the Cities
Overview: "A wealthy young man, through losing the bulk of his fortune, goes to Canada, where he encounters and loves the daughter of the scoundrel lawyer who has robbed him." (Synopsis from The Bioscope, November 1930.)
Genres: Drama Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-11-18
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Dark Journey
1937-07-02
Dark Journey
Overview: Madeline Goddard, is a British double agent who meets and falls in love with a German spy Baron Karl Von Marwitz during World War I. This tale of espionage blends high adventure and romance making perfect order from wartime chaos and growing in faith from despair.
Genres: Thriller War Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-07-02
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Beloved Impostor
1936-07-20
Beloved Impostor
Overview: A British musical film directed by Victor Hanbury
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-07-20
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The Faithful Heart
1932-05-01
The Faithful Heart
Overview: Herbert Marshall and Edna Best, husband and wife in 1933, star in the British drama Faithful Hearts. Best plays the daughter of Marshall, who years earlier had run out on his family. When Edna re-enters Marshall's life, it causes him to reassess his values-and to end his engagement to his judgmental fiancee. When Faithful Hearts was released in the US, all the voices were redubbed by American actors; even Herbert Marshall, a fixture in Hollywood films since the dawn of the talkie era, was submitted to this electronic augmentation. Original titled The Faithful Heart (Americans must have more of everything!), the film was based on a play by Monckton Hoffe.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-05-01
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That Night in London
1932-08-01
That Night in London
Overview: A young bank clerk steals £500 and plans to go on a spree before shooting himself but a bad girl turned good tries to convince him to return the money and stay alive
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-08-01
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Street Song
1935-09-16
Street Song
Overview: Lucy and her brother are struggling to make a go of their Soho pet shop, until Lucy meets Tom, a street singer.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-09-16
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Fire Over England
1937-03-05
Fire Over England
Overview: The film is a historical drama set during the reign of Elizabeth I (Flora Robson), focusing on the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, whence the title. In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at the breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I, British sea raiders such as Sir Francis Drake regularly capture Spanish merchantmen bringing gold from the New World.
Genres: History Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-03-05
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Her Reputation
1931-07-21
Her Reputation
Overview: A woman plans to boost her public profile by getting a divorce. She enlists the help of a male friend to act as co-respondent leading to a series of mix-ups and her eventual decision not to get divorced.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1931-07-21
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Adventure Ltd.
1935-03-31
Adventure Ltd.
Overview: A British adventure film directed by George King
Genres: Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-03-31
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This Week of Grace
1933-06-30
This Week of Grace
Overview: Grace Milroy loses her job working at a factory. However, through a strange set of circumstances, she is taken on as housekeeper at the nearby Swinford Castle the home of the eccentric Duchess of Swinford.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-06-30
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The Rise of Catherine the Great
1934-02-09
The Rise of Catherine the Great
Overview: The woman who will become Catherine the Great marries into the Russian royal family when she weds Grand Duke Peter, the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Although the couple has moments of contentment, Peter's cruel and erratic behavior causes a rift between him and Catherine. Mere months after Peter succeeds his aunt as the ruler of Russia, a revolt is brewing, and Catherine is poised to ascend to the throne as the country's new empress.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-02-09
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Read All About It
1945-04-08
Read All About It
Overview: An account of the technique of reading the tabloid press in an intelligent manor via differing editorial techniques that leads to three styles of newspapers giving varying accounts of a strip-tease act.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-04-08
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Smash and Grab
1937-09-20
Smash and Grab
Overview: John Forrest, an insurance investigator with a weakness for model railways, is on the trail of a gang of smash-and-grab thieves targeting Europe's most prestigious jewellers. As the chase leads him to Ireland, Forrest finds he needs help and who better to call upon than his impossibly elegant, highly capable wife, Alice?
Genres: Comedy Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-09-20
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A Royal Divorce
1938-09-21
A Royal Divorce
Overview: The love affair between the French Emperor Napoleon and the lady Josephine leads through Napoleon's rise to power and their eventual divorce.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-09-21
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There Goes the Bride
1932-10-25
There Goes the Bride
Overview: A businessman's daughter runs away from an arranged marriage, only to find herself penniless and suspected of theft after she becomes the victim of a bag thief in the train. When she refuses to tell him who she really is, her accuser decides to take her home where he can keep an eye on her until 12 o'clock the next day, the time at which she has calculated that it will be safe to tell the truth! But when his fiancée arrives unexpectedly and then his 'guest' is mistaken for her, it all gets rather embarrassing...
Genres: Romance Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-10-25
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Waterloo Road
1945-02-05
Waterloo Road
Overview: During WW2 a former railway employee who had been drafted, goes AWOL to hunt down the spiv and draft dodger who is having an affair with his wife.
Genres: Drama Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-02-05
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Old Mother Riley's Circus
1941-12-10
Old Mother Riley's Circus
Overview: Mother Riley takes over a circus on the point of closing down, and makes it a success.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-12-10
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Rembrandt
1936-11-06
Rembrandt
Overview: A character study depicting the life of Rembrandt Van Rijn at the height of his fame in the mid 1600s. Beginning with the death of his wife, Rembrandt's work takes a dark turn, which offends many of his patrons.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-11-06
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The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
1947-03-12
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
Overview: A fatherless boy tries to make his fortune despite interference from his rich uncle.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-03-12
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