Q Planes (1939)

Produced before WW-II, this is a sort of British equivalent of the Saturday-matinée thrillers they used to produce in the U.S. by the hundreds in those days. However, this particular example sports A-List British stars Lawrence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Valerie Hobson. The story involves a nefarious plot by foreign agents to steal the newest British airplanes, and the efforts of an eccentric intelligence agent, a female reporter and a heroic pilot to thwart them. It's strictly comic-book stuff but these three pros, and particularly Ralph Richardson, lift the material up above the level of mediocrity.This was early in Olivier's career, before he made "Withering Heights", the movie on which he admittedly learned how to act in movies. Olivier was still clearly not entirely at home in front of the camera.On the other hand, Valerie Hobson was a major British film star and was at the peak of her relatively short career at the time this movie was produced. She retired from acting in the mid 1950s, when she was still only in her thirties. However, this is clearly Richardson's movie. He is delightfully hilarious as an eccentric British Intelligence agent, and milks every scene he is in for all it is worth. When Richardson and Olivier share the same scene Olivier doesn't stand a chance. One of my all-time favorite actors, Ralph Richardson was one of those versatile British actors who seemingly could turn his hand to everything, from Shakespearean tragedy to low comedy, with equal grace. And he possessed that incredible voice, the sort that actors don't seem to have anymore. Small wonder that, when Terry Gilliam had to cast an actor to play the role of "The Supreme Being" in "Time Bandits", he chose Ralph Richardson. After all, if there is a God, doesn't it stand to reason that He would have to be something like Ralph Richardson?If you don't mind checking your mind at the door this is the perfect movie with which to sit back and enjoy some vintage fun.

Beneath the British B-picture exterior lies a hidden gem of an espionage thriller. Q PLANES is briskly paced and delightfully entertaining, balancing exciting spy intrigue with lighthearted character moments. The villains' dastardly scheme foreshadows James Bond villainy to come, and one can almost hear the John Barry music swell up during certain scenes.The film is anchored by Ralph Richardson in a droll performance as a slightly Holmesian secret service man: undeniably brilliant, if a tad eccentric and prone to absent-mindedness. The triumvirate of stars is completed by Laurence Olivier as a pilot (and all-around good guy) and Valerie Hobson, who we learn is a newspaper reporter out looking for a scoop (in the grand tradition of such characters).Top-secret experimental planes are disappearing under mysterious circumstances and Richardson is doing everything he can to get to the bottom of it. The main cast of Richardson, Olivier, and Hobson are great together and the movie manages to blend real comedy with real excitement. This little-known British thriller is a real winner. It's lots of fun and a wonderful surprise. Try to catch it on TCM sometime.

You really can't go wrong with Ralph Richardson in a cast, and it holds true with "Clouds Over Europe," a 1939 film that also stars Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It's pre-WW II, and Richardson plays a secret service man in England who is convinced that a series of missing planes from diverse places is no accident. He's convinced the planes are being sabotaged, but by whom, and why? Olivier plays one of the pilots, and he's funny as well as handsome. Valerie Hobson is a reporter in an adversarial relationship with Olivier. She turns out to be related to someone else in the film.But it's Richardson who steals the show with his eccentric portrayal of Major Charles Hammond, a man who always forgets his umbrella and returns for it. He helps to give this affair a lightheartedness that makes it enjoyable.Recommended for its very good British cast.

Everyone involved with this brisk comedy/thriller seems to be enjoying themselves immensely. It's a ripping yarn about spies, disappearing planes and a secret ray gun, lit up by Olivier and Richardson, with lots of cheerful gags along the way. It's dated, of course, but if you can leave that aside it's still good fun.