Director Robert Hamer (1911)

School for Scoundrels (1960) is a British comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. Henry Palfrey, the head of a family firm in London, travels to Yeovil to enroll in the College of Lifemanship, led by Mr. S. Potter. Arriving late, he overhears Potter explaining his focus on the science of ‘being one up on your opponents at all times’ to new students. Palfrey learns this firsthand during an object lesson when he unknowingly loses a name-calling game in an interview with Potter. As they discuss Palfrey’s reasons for enrollment, it becomes clear that a woman is involved. Through a flashback, Palfrey then ...

In the timeless classic Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), directed by Robert Hamer, we are transported to Edwardian England where Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini, 10th Duke of Chalfont, finds himself imprisoned awaiting execution for a murder he may or may not have committed. As he reflects upon his life in memoir form, we are taken back in time to see how events unfolded. Louis’s mother was the youngest daughter of the 7th Duke of Chalfont, but she scandalously eloped with an Italian opera singer named Mazzini and was subsequently disowned by her family. Sadly, Mazzini passed away soon after Louis’s birth, ...

Made by Ealing Studios, Dead of Night (1945) is a black and white British anthology supernatural horror film. It is a rare example from the 1940s, as horror films were prohibited from production in Britain during World War II. Its influence can be seen in subsequent British films of the same genre. John Baines’ stories were reused for later films, while the episode with the ventriloquist dummy was adapted for the pilot episode of CBS radio series Escape. Architect Walter Craig arrives at Elliot Foley’s country cottage in Kent, where he has been invited to consult on renovations. Strangely enough, despite never having met any of them before, Craig claims to ...