Movies on this page:
King Solomon's Mines
The Light Touch
The Prisoner of Zenda
Scaramouche
Young Bess
All the Brothers Were Valiant
Moonfleet
The Last Hunt
Bhowani Junction
The Little Hut
King Solomon's Mines
One,TwoThree,Four
-1950-Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Richard Carlson, Hugo Haas, Lowell Gilmore, Kimursi, Siriaque, Sekaryongo, Baziga
-Dir-Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton
Allan Quatermain (Granger), a disillusioned safari guide is hired by a woman, Elizabeth Curtis (Kerr), and her brother Henry (Carlson), to go on a safari to search for her missing husband. He had left with an old map in search of Solomon's legendary treasure. While braving the dangers of the trip, Quatermain and Elizabeth gradually begin to fall in love.
Their expedition is joined by a mysterious noble native, a dispossesed king of the unknown land into which they are headed. He fights to regain his title from usurpers. The evil shaman leads the Englishmen into the mines to kill them. In there they find great riches...and the body of Elizabeth's husband. A cave in hides the treasure forever and they head back for known territories with the aid of their friend, the new king. (This is again, from memory.)
King Solomon's Mines - what can you say? - the big blockbuster of 1950 made Stewart Granger, hitherto an unknown in the United States, America's #1 heart-throb - it won the Oscar for Cinematography that year - I was 6 when it came out and still remember standing in line with my mother for HOURS just to get into the theater, it was so mobbed, and in 1950, before the multiplexes, movie theaters were HUGE!
The Light Touch
-1951-Stewart Granger,Pier Angeli, George Sanders, Kurt Kasznar, Joeseph Calleia, Larry Keating, Rhys Williams, Norman Lloyd, Mike Mazurki
Dir-Richard Brooks
Granger plays an art thief in this movie. It reminded me a whole lot of a "Remington Steele" (and I love Remington Steele). Pretty decent movie.
Prisoner of Zenda
One,Two,Three
-1952-Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Louis Calhern, Jane Greer, Lewis Stone, Robert Douglas, James Mason
Dir-Richard Thorpe
Rudolf Rassendyll (Granger) plans to innocently enough vacation in the small Germanic country of Ruritania. However, he runs into intrigue. It turns out he could be the twin to the king, Rudolf V (Granger), to whom he is distantly related. He meets the king and is pressed into service to impersonate after the king is kidnapped by his brother Michael (Douglas) and his cohort, Rupert (Mason). The king was taken on the eve of his coronation...and on the eve of he reintroduction to his intended bride, Flavia (Kerr).
Naturally Rudolf and Flavia fall in love, she surprised by the king's change of heart and attitude. Her memories of the king were of a dissolute playboy and of being teased by him when they were children.
In rescuing the king, Rudolf and Zapt (Calhern) find an ally in a lady, Antoinette (de Mauban) (Greer), who loves Michael. She helps because if Michael becomes king he1ll be forced to marry Flavia to solidify his position as ruler.
Naturally, since this is a Granger movie, the king must be rescued by from Rupert's castle in Zenda single-handedly. Not only that the weapon of choice is the sword (who1d ever guess?) :-) After a battle between Rudolf and Rupert, the king is saved. He gives his thanks to Rassendyll, Flavia says goodbye, and Rassendyll returns to England with the memories of his adventures.
This is Granger's other best movie, along with Scaramouche. One great action/adventure movie not to be missed- if it is ever shown on TV/cable/satellite. It is based on a book by Anthony Hope but I haven't had the chance to read it yet. One part that bugs me (just a little) though is at the end when Granger as the king is thanking Rassendyll. The king is supposed to be in ill health after his imprisonment and he is waaay too healthy and suntanned. Couldn1t the make-up people have made him look a little sickly?
Prisoner of Zenda - a remake, almost frame by frame (!) of the original 1937 B&W classic with Ronald Coleman - directed by Richard (one-take) Thorpe, it doesn't hold a candle to the original and the actors finish each scene as if they are waiting for him to yell "CUT!"
Scaramouche
One,Two
-1952-Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrar, Lewis Stone
-Dir-George Sidney
The story of Andre Moreau (Granger), the illegitmate son of an unknown nobleman. He lives a carefree life until his best friend (Richard Anderson) is killed by the Marquis de Maynes (Mel Ferrar), the finest swordsman in France. Moreau vows revenge but first must hide out with a comedy troupe while secretly learning the sword. An added attraction in this troupe for Moreau is an old flame, Lenore (Eleanor Parker). However, Moreau had already met Aline de Gavrillac, a young noblewoman with whom he fell in love before discovering her to be his sister. She is wooed by Noel de Maynes, Moreau's foe.
Moreau is invited to join the National Assembly to give the People's Representatives a champion who can outfence the aristocrats in duels. By joining them he hopes to meet de Maynes and kill him. Aline and Lenore conspire to keep Noel and Andre apart, but they cannot keep them from meeting by chance. After one heck of a fencing scene, beautifully performed, Moreau grants Maynes mercy, for reasons unknown even to him. He discovers de Maynes is his half-brother and that Gavrillac wasn1t his father, he only pretended to be-making Aline unrelated to him. Lenore releases him to marry Aline while she finds herself a man of greater (though shorter) potential.
Best Quotes:
(scene: Mary Antoinette and Noel de Maynes upon finding an illegal pamphlet hidden in the Queen1s room)
N (reading the title of the pamphlet): "Liberty, equality, fraternity."
A: "Noel, the people that write such things...what do they really want?"
(scene: Andre and Philippe de Valmorin, his friend- upon Philippe's losing track of Lenore.)
A: "Where1s the lady? The bride to be, the light of my life? Where is she?... Where's Lenore?!"
P (apprehensively): "I don't know...I mislaid her."
A (increduously): "You mislaid her? You mislaid her?! What is she? A button, a handkerchief that she can be dropped on the carpet or be sent by mistake to the laundry? Come on you dunderhead--where1s my woman!"
This is one of Granger's best two movies. Great story, action, fencing, comedy, romance- what more could you ask for?
BTW...the novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini is also quite worth reading.
Scaramouche - the quintessential swashbuckler with arguably the finest sword fight in movie history - SG was NEVER better! In her autobiography, Janet Leigh recounts how during filming - which took several days - SG jumped from the balcony, missed his mark and almost killed himself crashing into the orchestra seats below, became so angry he flung his sword, missing her face by inches and sticking it in the wall! Known for his quick temper all his life, he felt absolutely terrible!
One
-1953-Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton, Kay Walsh, Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron, Cecil Kellaway, Rex Thompson, Robert Arthur, Leo G. Carroll
-Dir-George Sidney
This is a historical drama about Elizabeth I and the political intrigues she was involved in before she became Queen. She becomes enchanted by the her Lord Admiral of the Navy (played by Granger). This is obviously another short review.
Young Bess - Jean Simmons in the lead and Charles Laughton reprising his role as King Henry VIII steal the show in this one and SG hasn't much to do but stand around looking gorgeous. Rather draggy in spots.
All the Brothers Were Valiant
-1953-Stewart Granger, Robert Taylor, Ann Blyth, Betta St. John,
-Dir-Richard Thorp
The tale of two seafaring brothers in mid-1800s New England. Taylor comes back from a voyage to discover Granger has gone missing. Before setting out on his next sail to hunt whales and search for the wayward Granger, he marries the girl next door whom was interested in both him and Granger. She accompanies him on the trip to find Granger. They find him in a distant port where he tell them a story of being ill, jumping ship in his delirium, and of being rescued by a (naturally) beautiful native woman on one of the islands. She nurses him back to health but they are inadvertantly captured by a trio of pearl fishermen. Granger has no choice but throw his lot in with them. The trio kill each other off in their greed but so is the native girl. Granger loses the pearls. Now back on a ship with his jealous brother (Granger pays a little too much attention to his wife) Granger tries to get him to take the ship to go get the pearls. His brother refuses so Granger leads a mutiny that gets out of hand. Granger realizes he went too far and helps his brother put it down but is killed. Taylor and his bride sail back to New England. The end.
This movie was a real disappointment to me. Here it has two of my favorite actors in it and it is just mediocre. Granger's character is just a jerk who never figures out the name of the native girl who takes care of him for months (geez, can anyone be that stupid?) and Taylor plays an half angry, ineffectual seeming man throughout the whole movie. If you want to see Taylor in a wonderful movie watch Many Rivers to Cross. It is one of the best movies ever filmed. By the way if anyone knows where I can buy it on video...
All the Brothers Were Valiant - another Richard Thorpe lamer. I was 9 when this one came out and even at THAT age, I thought it was stupid.
Moonfleet
One
1955
1955-Stewart Granger, George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, Vivica Lindfors, Jon Whitely, Lilione Montevecchi
-Dir-Fritz Lang
This is the tale of Jeremy Fox (Granger) and John Mohune (Whitely). The setting is 1757 England. Jeremy Fox is an upper-class rogue, a man who deals in smuggling to keep him in his dissolute lifestyle. John Mohune is a child sent to him by John's late mother, who had been courted by Jeremy in his younger days.
In the town of Moonfleet John discovers Fox's piratical ways but isn't swayed in his loyalty, so when he unwittingly finds a treasure map (to the diamonds of Redbeard) he gives it to Fox. Fox, found out by the magistrate and a wanted man, needs to find the treasure so he can get out of the country. His partner in piracy, the shady Lord Ashwood (Sanders), will help him leave the country-on one condition-he must get rid of the child.
Fox and John find the treasure then Fox deserts John. After meeting with Ashwood, Fox's guilt gets to him and he breaks the deal, resulting in his partner literally stabbing him in the back-with a rapier. Fox shoots him and returns to John, hiding his injury, and gives him the diamond and tells him to return to Moonfleet1s priest. The lad returns to Mohune Manor, where Fox had lived, confident of Fox1s return-because "he1s my friend."
Very slow paced, overly dramatic music. Stylish clothing and sets. In the beginning Jon Whitely is kind of annoying but gets better. Granger is very great looking in this, of course. He is the greatest recommendation of this movie. Could anyone else look so good?
Moonfleet - wonderfully poignant film - SG plays a "good" bad guy - the closing line "but he was my friend" is haunting.
The Last Hunt
One,Two,Three
-1956-Stewart Granger, Robert Taylor, Debra Paget, Russ Tamblyn, Llyod Nolan
-Dir-Richard Brooks
This is a tale of two buffalo hunters, one who regrets killing the bison (Granger) and the other who gets excessive pleasure from it (Taylor). This, in my experience, is one of the strangest Westerns I've seen. It reminds me of the Westerns of the '60s and '70s instead of the earlier ones. Taylor plays a man who gets so obsessed with hunting the dwindling buffalo herds that he goes insane and dies as a result. I've never seen Taylor play a perverse character such as this before. In some ways this movie is kind of rambling and needed better editing/cutting (IMHO) but it is very thought provoking in a way because of the psychology of it. BTW I would have changed the ending just slightly but...
The Last Hunt - a strange film, from an even stranger book - not often you find a Western where the hero is a middle-aged man facing a career crisis and the villain is a psychopathic killer - both SG and Taylor put in first-rate acting jobs, but the film is overlooked. As a footnote, it was directed by Richard Brooks, whom Jean Simmons would leave SG to marry after he directed her a few years later in Spartacus.
Bhowani Junction
-1956-Stewart Granger, Ava Gardner, Bill Travers, Abraham Sofaer, Francis Matthews, Peter Illing
-Dir-George Cukor
This film is set in India in 1947 as the British are set on leaving their old colony. Ava Gardner, as Victoria Jones, plays a half English half Indian woman, a sub-lieutenant in the British service. Granger, as Savage, is her commanding officer who has arrived in the railroad city of Bhowani Junction to keep peace until the British pull out. Peace is much needed since there are several different factions in the city to create trouble. The first is the non-violent protesters who want India free from the British. The second group has the same goal but different methods. Led by an Indian named Darvey (Peter Illing), he heads the Communists in rioting and raiding British trains, planning to take control of the government once the English leave. The final group, personified by Jones, are the Indian-English who are torn between cultures.
This end of the colonial era mixes soul searching, romance, action, and murder set against an Indian background. I found this film to be an interesting look at the time and at the trouble India went through as the British left more abruptly than even the Indians expected. Another item of interest I found was that the story was based on a novel by John Masters, who also wrote The Deceivers, a 1988 movie starring Pierce Brosnan which was also set in India.
The Little Hut
-1956-Stewart Granger, David Niven, Ava Gardner
-Dir-Mark Robson
A great comedy of two best friends and the best friend's wife marooned on an island together (and a German Shepherd). Niven and Gardner are in love but the husband, Granger, is totally oblivious and dotes on his dog. Things come to a head on the island with Niven competing with Granger for Gardner's affection. This movie makes me wish Granger had been in more comedies.
