Goodbye Mr. Chips 1939 - Donat gives one of the best performances in movie history

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IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Sam Wood
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips (based on James Hilton's novel) is another classic from 1939, featuring a performance by Robert Donat that is one of the most fondly remembered in 20th century filmmaking. A crisp and intelligent film in all aspects, it avoids the maudlin sentimentality that often hinders films of this sort. It has held a continuing influence on filmmakers - for example, both Dead Poets Society and Mr. Holland's Opus would seem to be direct spiritual descendants. The film is at its most powerful when evoking an appealing view of the past, when manners and honor were primary values, and when spending one's life in service to others was a noble art. Donat was the recipient of a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the title character, and the film features the debut performance of a young Greer Garson.While its two remakes have substantial merit, the original version remains the best. It may, however, be too old-fashioned to appeal to some of today's moviegoers." - www.allmovie.com

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The citadel 1938 - A superior look at the medical profession

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029995/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: King Vidor
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison

"Although made in 1938, The Citadel remains a powerful, haunting and rewarding drama. True, time has lessened its impact somewhat, as modern viewers have likely been exposed to other films that traffic in Citadel's general theme of the power of wealth to corrupt the spirit - and even other films that also specifically deal with this theme as it applies to those in the field of medicine. Nevertheless, Citadel still seems fresh, and the care with which it has been made ensures that it retains a great deal of impact. Credit goes to any number of people, starting with the team of screenwriters who did a skillful job of adapting A.J. Cronin's novel; the screenplay is by necessity less complex than the novel, but it is highly effective and affecting. King Vidor also deserves applause for his sensitive yet powerful direction; Vidor examines humanity in both its glory and its shame, reveling in the former and expressing sadness and regret rather than condemnation for the latter. Finally, there's the expert cast, with Rex Harrison and Ralph Richardson turning in sterling support for stars Rosalind Russell and Robert Donat. Russell is surprisingly good, her 'American-ness' not getting in the way as much as one might think; she delivers a finely nuanced performance that is a small gem. And Robert Donat delivers a carefully wrought performance that is a large treasure, calling upon all of his considerable talents and detailing a character whose changes are made true and easily believable. His climactic speech is everything one could wish for and more. Add in some lovely Harry Stradling camerawork, and the result is a fine, stirring classic." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-citadel-v9728/

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Knight without armour 1937 - A little known gem with Dietrich & Donat

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029087/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Jacques Feyder
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat

"Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat star in this gripping melodrama about the Russian revolution, based on the novel by James Hilton. Surprisingly, the film is not especially well known, despite the presence of Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat, and those that stumble upon it may wonder at its relative obscurity. There's a little something for just about everyone here, from historical epic to espionage thriller to romantic melodrama - even a bit of humor thrown in now and then. While those with little familiarity with the Russian revolution may find themselves lost in a couple of places, for the most part Knight does a fine job of utilizing its historical aspects in such a way as to make things clear. Jacques Feyder directs with a sure hand and a fine eye, providing a number of beautiful and/or exciting visual touches, such as the stunning moment when Dietrich's estate is suddenly overrun with revolutionaries. Dietrich herself does a very fine job, coming across as much more vulnerable and innocent than is often the case and creating a countess who is noble without being imperious. Donat does even better; faced with a character whose motivation doesn't quite ring true (i.e. he seems to have no ideology at all, yet is willing to work as a revolutionary spy for the English government), he makes him believable throughout. Add in a good supporting cast, excellent cinematography, and some excellent sets and costumes, and the result is a winner." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/knight-without-armour-v27581/

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The 39 steps 1935 - The thriller that firmly established Hitchcock's reputation

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026029/
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie

"This classic British thriller was one of Alfred Hitchcock's first major international successes, and it introduced a number of the stylistic and thematic elements that became hallmarks of his later work.
He'd already made three excellent thrillers - The lodger (1926), Blackmail (1929), and The man who knew too much (1934) - that had attracted considerable attention in America, but The 39 steps, as a piece of screencraft, assembled all the best elements in those widely scattered successes (spread across eight years of his career) between two covers in a way that riveted audiences and industry observers. It played exactly the way that British movies weren't supposed to: lively and piercingly funny, rather than stodgy and dignified; it was almost as much a comedy as a thriller, which was something new in any country's cinema; and it was almost as much a battle of the sexes in the jousting of its two leads (Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll) as it was a quest by the hero to prove his innocence of a murder charge; by the end of the movie, we want to see not only how Richard Hanney proves his innocence but also how he and Pamela manage to stay together. Not coincidentally, The 39 steps was also the first of his major films in which Hitchcock ripped up and threw away most of the contents of the underlying source (a novel by John Buchan that had been a best-seller then and which has remained a perennially popular read ever since) - he later followed this practice in his subsequent treatments of Josephine Tey's A Shilling For Candles (as Young and innocent), Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins (as The lady vanishes), and Francis Beeding's The House of Dr. Edwardes (as Spellbound), among other literary properties. In the process, he struck a blow for the director as a creative voice in his own right, independent of and superior to the novelist (at least where actual screen adaptations were concerned), who might take one or two good ideas, a name or two, and perhaps a setting and a scene from a chapter and junk everything else, making it his own. In a time when producers and studios still occupied a place of cultural inferiority (even in their own minds) to the authors and publishers of the printed word, this was no small achievement, especially considering that it was done well and, thus, justified itself. So, in his own way, working within the thriller genre in The 39 steps, Hitchcock helped open the way for virtually every major director who came after him." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-39-steps-v73696

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The count of Monte Cristo 1934 - The Hollywood debut of Donat

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025004/?ref_=nv_sr_3
IMDB rating: 7,7

Directors: Rowland V. Lee, Wilfred Lucas
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer

"Few famous novels have been filmed as often as Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo--and few versions are as enjoyable as this 1934 adaptation starring Robert Donat which faithfully  retells the story of the betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned Edmond Dantes. Though the film's tacked-on happy ending may seem a little weak by today's standards, Count provides ample reasons why Dumas and his timeless themes of faith, love and vengeance continue to spawn popular adaptations, such as 1998's Man in the Iron Mask. Directors Rowland V. Lee and Wilfred Lucas do an excellent job of visualizing Dumas' imaginative settings; no expenses were spared on the lavish sets. In the title role, Robert Donat heads up a perfect cast; the role made the Englishman a Hollywood star, and he was offered several other high-profile, swashbuckling roles before his debilitating asthma forced him back home." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-count-of-monte-cristo-v11131

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(avi, 826 MB):

http://filenuke.com/nlcj2wajickm

The private life of Henry VIII. 1933 - The movie that put British cinema on the map

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024473/
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: Alexander Korda
Main Cast: Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes

"Charles Laughton became an international star by chewing both mutton and scenes in his Oscar-winning turn as King Henry VIII. Alexander Korda's British super-production also put the British cinema on the map, which, until this film, received precious little respect in the international film community. The film, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, details the private life of the famous British monarch.
Laughton's Oscar-winning performance as Henry VIII rises above the stuffy limitations of the period piece to give us a portrait as rounded and exuberant as any on film. Laughton is well-supported by fine actresses as his wives, particularly Wendy Barry as the doomed Jane Seymour and Merle Oberon as the dim but delightful Anne Boleyn. Director Alexander Korda is the chief beneficiary of Laughton's larger-than-life performance, as his conservative helmsmanship fails to provide the film with a distinctly personal stamp. However, the sensual gusto in the scenes of Henry's indulgences is enthusiastically presented, and Korda deserves credit for giving us a very human portrait of this controversial figure. The film also benefits from some insidious dialogue by Arthur Wimperis (based on the story by Lajos Biro) that punctures the pomp of the English costume drama with tongue-in-cheek humor. Particularly entertaining are the exchanges between Henry and his prospective and coquettish wives (and mistresses), while some of the minor characters deliver wickedly insightful social criticism directed more at the state of the world's economy in 1933 than at the film's period." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-private-life-of-henry-viii-v39313

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