Poppa T Reviews

Not So Dusty (1956)

A Cheerful Enjoyable British Comedy

[5/10 · 28 August 2005]

Dusty and Nobby are a pair of dustmen who come into possession of a valuable book.

A standard British comedy of the time featuring television stars and up and coming actors of the day. The jokes are forced one-liners taken straight out of stage comedies and the plot is superficial to support the jokes.

As long as you are not expecting too much this is an enjoyable film with satisfactory performances. Dandy Nichols steals the show and gives us a taste of her talent which was particularly suited to Sit-Com's on television such as Till Death Us Do Part and In Sickness And In Health, both with Warren Mitchell.

The Veil (1958 TV Movie)

Karloff Comes Home

[7/10 · 25 July 2002]

This gem of a TV movie has the Boris Karloff stamp all over it and together with usual atmospheric lighting and production bestowed upon a British TV thriller it makes for compelling viewing. It is nice to see that after a long and successful film career in the US that Mr Karloff decided to return to the land of his birth and make not only this film, but also others like 'Curse Of The Crimson Altar' which were shown on the big screen in the late Sixties and which are now shown regularly in Britain on television.

His performance in 'The Veil' is up to his usual standard. What is particularly interesting is the many characters he plays in this film. He tackles them all - the weird, the wise and the perfectly normal. Robert Hardy too should get a mention for an early performance which showed the promise of what was to come in British television. By the way the year is either 1963 or 1964. I used to know but cannot be sure, now.