Christmas has arrived and C Flight's Jakey, Leckie, Lilley and Ken are the only boys left on camp, as the appointed maintenance crew over the season. Alice instructs Cpl. Marsh to invite them for dinner.

Dutch patriots, a U.S. officer (Jeffrey Hunter) and a British spy (Nigel Patrick) fool the Nazis with a fake Soho film company.

Directed by Victor Vicas. With Jeffrey Hunter, Annemarie Düringer, Nigel Patrick, David Kossoff.

The Way Ahead - World W*r II drama that follows a group of British draftees, starting with their rigorous basic training, and ending with their deployment in North Africa.

The Way Ahead (1944)
Director: Carol Reed
Writers: Eric Ambler(original story), Peter Ustinov(screen play)
Stars: David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald
Genre: Drama, War
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English, French, German
Also Known As: The Immortal Battalion
Release Date: 6 June 1944 (UK)
Duration: 114 min
Filming Location: Pirbright Army Camp, Pirbright, Surrey, England, UK

Storyline:
A group of draftees are called up into the infantry during World War II. At first, they appear to be a hopeless bunch, but their Sergeant and Lieutenant have faith in them and mould them into a good team. When they go into action in North Africa, they realize what it's all about.

Reviews:
"This is a film about a seemingly run of the mill sort of group. After the Brits were involved in WWII and saw how bad the going would be, the government was forced to draft men who would traditionally have been exempt. Men who were a bit old or involved with careers that might be deemed 'useful' to the effort were suddenly being called to duty, as times were dire. The beginning of the film shows these men being selected for service.

Unfortunately, this is a rather motley group and they tended to complain quite a bit as well (mostly by Stanley Holloway's character). How they could become a productive unit seemed pretty doubtful and I doubt if such an unimpressive group of men would have been used as actors had this propaganda film been made a few years earlier--when things looked really bad for the British. However, now that the war was appearing win-able, I can understand the choices of actors.

There is nothing particularly magical about any of the film--their selection, their training or their combat experience in North Africa. However, all of it was very well handled and excelled because they tried to make it believable--normal, everyday men rising to the occasion. In many ways, it reminded me of a landlocked version of "In Which We Serve"--with fine acting and writing instead of jingoism and super-human exploits. Very well done.

There are a few interesting actors in the film. Peter Ustinov is in his first film and he plays a French-speaking man. While his French isn't 100% fluid, it was decent and a bit of a surprise. Apparently, he was in real life David Niven's assistant in the British Army and somehow ended up in the film.

⁣Groucho Marx hosts a quiz show which features a series of compe****ive questions and a great deal of humourous conversation.

In the Oxfordshire countryside Clarence returns to his moving profession working for the vicar's wife.

COUPLE #1: Ida Taylor, who ran away from a cornfield as a young girl / Charles McLaughlin, a vaguely self-described "entrepeneur"
COUPLE #2: Oney Boren, wife of an oil man / John Granger, whose beard gets in the soup

Ida Taylor is a real hoot, especially during the quiz segment. There's a fantastically funny outtake of her in the "stag reel" for this season (originally released by Shout Factory as a bonus on one of their two great YBYL DVD sets from a decade ago). It starts 5:57 into this video if the link doesn't start where it's supposed to (just make sure you play it to the end-- it's Ida's last line that's the real killer!):

Chauvelin uses the Pimpernel's strong sense of chivalry to bait a trap with the beautiful Cecille as the bait. Informed that Madame la Guillotine awaits her pretty neck, Sir Percy plans a rescue.

Crime/Drama/Film-noir

In a vein similar to the James Bond movies, British Agent Philip Calvert (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotland.

Kind hearted to a fault, a soft touch, always ready to give a helping hand, being a good neighbour gets him into lots of scrapes, but that's fine with him.

Gary Cooper, Ann Sheridan star in this family film.

Shortly before Christmas, a family moves into an apartment where Rupert the squirrel lives in the attic rafters. Just as it seems that the holiday will come and go without so much as a Christmas tree, Rupert acts as the family’s guardian angel - not only saving Christmas, but changing their lives forever.

Young Mr Grace is going into semi-retirement and his brother Old Mr Grace is to replace him. Mr Humphries has contracted Marine's Disease. It means the staff must go into isolation.

Why would an American who desperately needs the Pimpernel's help challenge him in a duel to the death? Sir Percy must find a way to protect his second identity and protect the man, at the same time.

The staff at Grace Bros are working late, but they are not alone in the building. There's a thief about. Well, two actually.

Stars: Michael Whalen, Anne Nagel, William Bakewell
Director: Albert Herman

A Nazi spy ring is after a U.S. Army formula that increases the power of ordinary gasoline!

⁣McGill goes from the Cezanne to the frying pan when he's hired by an estranged daughter to investigate why her dying father refuses to see her. Nothing is as it appears beyond the wrought-iron gates of her family's mansion.


Director: Peter Duffell
Writers: Wilfred Greatorex, Richard Harris, Dennis Spooner
Stars
Richard Bradford
Terence Alexander
Justine Lord

The house next door to Eddie and Joan has been sold and the couple that moves in comes as a massive shock to Eddie.

Nellie contacts a spiritualist in an attempt to contact her late mother in the after life. She has an important question, and she needs an answer.

The cold has set in and fuel rations are severely limited amidst a fuel crisis, so Marsh is quick to alleviate C Flight of their portion of coke for Alice's use each night. Meanwhile, Ken is facing troubles of the heart.

⁣Groucho Marx hosts a quiz show which features a series of compe****ive questions and a great deal of humourous conversation.