
Directing
John Paddy Carstairs
Born — Died
1910-05-11 — 1970-12-12
Place of birth
London, England, UK
Known for
Directing
Credits
40 titles
John Paddy Carstairs was a British film director and television director, usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and painter.
Known for
6.8A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
A Yank at Oxford
1938
6.5Norman Pitkin and Mr Grimsdale are council workmen mending the road outside an Army base when they come into conflict with the military. Shortly afterwards, they get drafted and fall into the clutches of the Sergeant they have just bested. They are sent to France to repair roads in front of the Allied advance but get captured. Pitkin takes advantage of a useful similarity to impersonate General Schreiber and manages to return a hero
The Square Peg
1958
6.2Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood Children's Home and now acts as their caretaker. All the orphans are very happy and well cared for. The adventures start when a nasty property developer who is also the chairman of the orphanage board wants to close the orphanage and build a factory on the site. The children are sent to Brighton for the day and Norman is very excited because he's "Never seen the Sea". When they get back they discover the plan to close the orphanage and have to decide what to do
One Good Turn
1955
6.7Droste, a mild-mannered businessman, was an intelligence expert during World War II. When Droste runs into his old friend Baron Von Straub, the two rekindle a friendship that was interrupted by the war. However, when Von Straub asks Droste to deliver a small package to a friend in West Germany, the befuddled Droste is set up for a series of complicated spy games.
The Devil's Agent
1962
6.0Young Viscount Tony Pym wangles National Service leave on the pretext of standing as a Tory candidate for a local seat held by his family for generations. The request is a ruse to enable Pym to marry his wealthy American fiancee while she's still in England, but his masterplan backfires when he finds himself swept into an election campaign and beaten by Labour's Mr Cleghorn – who is then made a peer. In an attempt to save face, Pym decides to stand again – as a socialist. It all proves too much for the Pyms' loyal, true-blue butler, Mr Beecham...
The Chiltern Hundreds
1949
6.1Norman is working in the stock room of a large London department store, but he has ambition (doesn't he always !!), he wants to be a window dresser making up the public displays. Whilst trying to fulfill his ambition, he falls in love (doesn't he always !!), with one of the shopgirls. Together they discover a plot to rob the store and, somehow, manage to foil the robbers.
Trouble in Store
1953
Behind the camera
6.8A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
A Yank at Oxford
1938
6.5Norman Pitkin and Mr Grimsdale are council workmen mending the road outside an Army base when they come into conflict with the military. Shortly afterwards, they get drafted and fall into the clutches of the Sergeant they have just bested. They are sent to France to repair roads in front of the Allied advance but get captured. Pitkin takes advantage of a useful similarity to impersonate General Schreiber and manages to return a hero
The Square Peg
1958
6.2Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood Children's Home and now acts as their caretaker. All the orphans are very happy and well cared for. The adventures start when a nasty property developer who is also the chairman of the orphanage board wants to close the orphanage and build a factory on the site. The children are sent to Brighton for the day and Norman is very excited because he's "Never seen the Sea". When they get back they discover the plan to close the orphanage and have to decide what to do
One Good Turn
1955
6.2Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood Children's Home and now acts as their caretaker. All the orphans are very happy and well cared for. The adventures start when a nasty property developer who is also the chairman of the orphanage board wants to close the orphanage and build a factory on the site. The children are sent to Brighton for the day and Norman is very excited because he's "Never seen the Sea". When they get back they discover the plan to close the orphanage and have to decide what to do
One Good Turn
1955
6.7Droste, a mild-mannered businessman, was an intelligence expert during World War II. When Droste runs into his old friend Baron Von Straub, the two rekindle a friendship that was interrupted by the war. However, when Von Straub asks Droste to deliver a small package to a friend in West Germany, the befuddled Droste is set up for a series of complicated spy games.
The Devil's Agent
1962
6.0Young Viscount Tony Pym wangles National Service leave on the pretext of standing as a Tory candidate for a local seat held by his family for generations. The request is a ruse to enable Pym to marry his wealthy American fiancee while she's still in England, but his masterplan backfires when he finds himself swept into an election campaign and beaten by Labour's Mr Cleghorn – who is then made a peer. In an attempt to save face, Pym decides to stand again – as a socialist. It all proves too much for the Pyms' loyal, true-blue butler, Mr Beecham...
The Chiltern Hundreds
1949
6.1Norman is working in the stock room of a large London department store, but he has ambition (doesn't he always !!), he wants to be a window dresser making up the public displays. Whilst trying to fulfill his ambition, he falls in love (doesn't he always !!), with one of the shopgirls. Together they discover a plot to rob the store and, somehow, manage to foil the robbers.
Trouble in Store
1953
6.1Norman is working in the stock room of a large London department store, but he has ambition (doesn't he always !!), he wants to be a window dresser making up the public displays. Whilst trying to fulfill his ambition, he falls in love (doesn't he always !!), with one of the shopgirls. Together they discover a plot to rob the store and, somehow, manage to foil the robbers.
Trouble in Store
1953
6.8Spies pursue a stolen diary aboard the Orient Express.
Sleeping Car to Trieste
1948
6.6Norman is a file clerk who accidentally becomes a British delegate to a diplomatic conference, befriends the queen of a remote island, and winds up a knight. Norman leaves rooms in shambles, tailors in shreds, and diplomats in bandages. Chased by gunmen and assassins of foreign powers, Norman finds himself running through active TV studio sets and interrupts various programs and performances in progress
Man of the Moment
1955
6.6Norman is a file clerk who accidentally becomes a British delegate to a diplomatic conference, befriends the queen of a remote island, and winds up a knight. Norman leaves rooms in shambles, tailors in shreds, and diplomats in bandages. Chased by gunmen and assassins of foreign powers, Norman finds himself running through active TV studio sets and interrupts various programs and performances in progress
Man of the Moment
1955
5.8Suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed an European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal, who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan and dizzy socialite Penny Parker.
The Saint in London
1939
6.4Norman is a window cleaner who has to clean a manor house with hundreds of windows. He is distracted by the son of the house who persuades him to go into town. When some villains try and kidnap the young heir Norman fights them off but the heir has banged his head and can't remember Norman's heroic stand
Up in the World
1956
5.9Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elaborate plan to keep his budding boxing career a secret, with he and his tough-talking promoter Wally Burton both pretending to be devout 'men of the cloth'.
And the Same to You
1960
7.5A writer poses as a shy butterfly hunter who has a fortune and is hounded by reporters.
The Second Mr. Bush
1940
5.3Tommy is a happy sailor, travelling the world, singing his favourite songs. When he visits Spain, he gets mistaken for a famous bullfighter. Tommy finishes up in the bull-ring facing a VERY angry bull and cheered on by the crowd. What will he do now?
Tommy the Toreador
1959
5.7Short of money the owners of Ballyroden Hall must attempt to run it as a guest house, but not everyone is happy about the plan.
Treasure Hunt
1952
6.0An American airman inherits an Earldom in England along with the small matter of $3 million on the proviso that he gives up his US citizenship. Unsure if he is prepared to make the sacrifice he takes a trip with his two best friends to try our his new title, but will he be able to cope with the British aristocracy?
A Yank in Ermine
1955
5.6In this British comedy set in Saudi Arabia, a gentle British travel-agency clerk decides that it would be a smashing idea to open up a desert resort in Arabia. He heads to the desert and immediately finds himself on the bad side of a local sheik as the fellow tries to build his resort atop oil-rich land. A war erupts between rival desert bands as they vie for the rights to the oil, but it is the travel agent who wins out in the end
Sands of the Desert
1960
5.6In this British comedy set in Saudi Arabia, a gentle British travel-agency clerk decides that it would be a smashing idea to open up a desert resort in Arabia. He heads to the desert and immediately finds himself on the bad side of a local sheik as the fellow tries to build his resort atop oil-rich land. A war erupts between rival desert bands as they vie for the rights to the oil, but it is the travel agent who wins out in the end
Sands of the Desert
1960
6.7Howes plays Pamela Dickson, an impulsive young bride-to-be, while Guy Rolfe portrays her long-lost father Paul. Ostensibly a cad and bounder, Paul turns out to be just the opposite when he arrives for Pamela's wedding.
Fools Rush In
1949
7.5A con man hides out in a boys' school, posing as a professor. When the undisciplined and lazy boys have to pass a few tests, cheating becomes the only option.
Top of the Form
1953
8.0From a series of films made to raise awareness of the risks of idle gossip providing vital information to enemy spies and collaborators. This Ealing Studios production features well-known 1940s actor John Mills, playing a sailor who then divulges his sailing details to his girlfriend aloud.. The consequences prove disastrous when his boat next leaves to cross the English Channel.
All Hands
1940
8.0From a series of films made to raise awareness of the risks of idle gossip providing vital information to enemy spies and collaborators. This Ealing Studios production features well-known 1940s actor John Mills, playing a sailor who then divulges his sailing details to his girlfriend aloud.. The consequences prove disastrous when his boat next leaves to cross the English Channel.
All Hands
1940
6.1When his best friend is murdered inside a London dancehall, a cab driver and his girlfriend involve themselves in the investigation and discover a major criminal operation hiding behind the club's friendly facade.
Dancing with Crime
1947
9.0A family reduced to imminent poverty by the father's disinclination to work; an American lawyer looking for the heir to half a million pounds; the scene is set for a hilarious tale of creative deception!
Talk of a Million
1951
7.0Petty thief Willie Frith steals a suitcase full of bank notes, only to find out that they have been given all the same serial number. But this is only the start of his troubles, now he has to find a way of changing the notes, so he can impress the barmaid of his local pub.
The Big Money
1958
9.0A talent agent makes the mistake of becoming too involved with one of his clients.
He Found a Star
1941
No synopsis available yet.
It's a Cop
1934
5.5Fred, Tim and Deirdre plan a fun weekend break on the coast. What they didn't make allowances for was the company of Deirdre's mother who insists on coming along as her daughter's chaperone.
A Weekend with Lulu
1961
5.0Residents of the small English village of Dunmow react in comical ways when the Topham family hires a beautiful and young Hungarian maid.
Made in Heaven
1952
6.5Two truck drivers fired by the crooked trucking firm they worked for start their own company. Their former boss, worried about the competition, tries everything he can to drive them out of business, from sending his pretty daughter to seduce them to having his henchmen sabotage their trucks.
Night Ride
1937
8.0Commissioned by the Ministry of Information and specifically target working class audiences; ‘Now you’re talking’ follows a plant worker, who lets slip vital information about some overnight research on a captured enemy aircraft. This inevitably leads to this most important of secrets falling into the lap of the enemy.
Now You're Talking
1940
Two criminals are reformed when they meet and fall in love.
Love on the Spot
1932
The free-spirited wife of a proper British doctor leaves him after an arguement over the anatomically correct drawing of a horse on the wall drawn by their young son Tony.
Tony Draws a Horse
1950
9.0A young pilot, annoyed at not being selected to take part in a raid on an enemy target, moans to his fiancée, who in turn chatters to a friend at a cocktail bar.
Dangerous Comment
1940
9.0A young pilot, annoyed at not being selected to take part in a raid on an enemy target, moans to his fiancée, who in turn chatters to a friend at a cocktail bar.
Dangerous Comment
1940
7.0A industrialist has a row with his son, who leaves home. Meanwhile, both his assistant and solicitor conspire to embezzle a fortune in bonds. A plucky young newspaper reporter pursues the rich man's daughter.
Double Exposures
1937
8.0Maxwell Archer, a private detective, attempts to clear a young man wrongly accused of murder.
Meet Maxwell Archer
1940
Struggling young actress Jenny (Marjorie Browne) joins her dad (Mark Daly) when he moves into Aunt Hetty's (Elsie Wagstaff) boarding house. Aunt Hetty overworks them, but Jenny is lucky enough to find love in the form of aspiring songwriter Tom (Hal Thompson). But their romance is threatened and nearly destroyed by the jealous star actress of the local pantomime company. However, the young lovers move on to bigger and better things after winning a London West End theatre contract.
Lassie from Lancashire
1938
