Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

I was lucky enough, some 30-odd years ago, to see the acclaimed National Theatre revival of this classic play by JB Priestley.  And I saw it again, some 20 years later, when it went on a national tour.  It was an  unforgettable theatrical experience, the perfect marriage of play and production design.  In comparison this 1954 film adaptation might at first glance seem staid and wooden, not helped by the fact that my recording off the TV was rather fuzzy to look at. But once Inspector Poole appears (a few minutes in) it's impossible not to be captivated and not to watch the drama play out right to the end. Looking at the different actors who have played Inspector Goole (as he is called in the play) on stage over the decades there's been quite a range, from Ralph Richardson, to Tom Baker, to of all people Graeme Garden. However having seen this film it's impossible not to think that Alistair Sim is the definitive inspector.  He simply has a unique commanding manne...

This is the follow-up to ‘The Ipcress File’, in which secret agent Harry Palmer is again played by Michael Caine. The critics regard this as somewhat inferior to its predecessor which is fair enough - it does lack some  of the visual style of the original (Guy Hamilton is the director this time) but at least we do get a more down-to-earth story (no brainwashing this time).  What initially appears to be the main plot about a Colonel Stok (well played by Oskar Homolka) defecting turns out to be a bit of misdirection; the real story centres on an ex-Nazi who is trying to get his hands on some documents which would  give him access a fortune in a Swiss bank account. Admittedly the plot does get quite convoluted by the end, and keeping track of the two sets of documents (one genuine, one fake) kept me on my toes, but overall I enjoyed it. I was pleased to see Colonel Ross return to try to keep Harry on the straight and narrow, but the  German actress who is Harry’s love i...