ALASTAIR SIM'S SCHOOL FOR LAUGHTER -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/21/20

 

Film Movement Classics' four-disc Blu-ray collection ALASTAIR SIM'S SCHOOL FOR LAUGHTER is a delightful sampler of British film star Alastair Sim's best comedy films of the 40s and 50s, all beautifully restored (especially for fans of fine black and white photography) and augmented with a number of bonus features. Here are our impressions of each film.


THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN'S (1954)

If you thought Hayley Mills' mischievous Catholic schoolgirl in THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS was something, wait'll you get a load of THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN'S (1954). These girls and their crooked moneymaking schemes would be the admiration of both Sgt. Bilko and all of McHale's Navy.

Popular British comedy actor Alastair Sim scores a homerun here in the dual role of St. Trinian's harried headmistress Millicent Fritton, who struggles to turn a blind eye to the goings on in her severely cash-strapped institution, and her conniving brother Clarence, a bookmaker with a special interest in horse racing.

The plot, about a visiting Sultan and his prize racehorse Arab Boy upon whom the girls are planning to make a potentially lucrative wager if they can scrape together enough money (a scheme in which Miss Fritton will also become involved), provides an excuse for scene after frenetic scene of wildly inappropriate behavior by this bunch of very dirty-faced angels.

Not only do they make their own moonshine gin in chemistry class, which is bottled and sold by their weaselly bookie Flash Harry (George Cole), and cheat at intermural field hockey games by knocking the referees and opposing coaches cold with mallets, but they're not above actually kidnapping Arab Boy and keeping him under wraps at the school in order to foil Clarence's own kidnapping scheme.  

As Miss Fritton states, "At most schools, girls are sent out quite unprepared for a merciless world but, when our girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared."

Each of these girls is like a cross between Wednesday and Pugsley Addams, who should've been sent to St. Trinian's in ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES instead of that happy-shiny summer camp. Here, they'd have barely seemed out of place.

We can't help rooting for these female refugees from "Lord of the Flies" even at the expense of the good girls in the school, bless them, whose efforts to maintain a sense of order and decency are utterly doomed. (Hammer horror fans will be pleased to spot a very young Andree Melly of THE BRIDES OF DRACULA as one of the bad girls.)

Created by cartoonist Ronald Searle in a series of popular cartoons which in turn spawned this film series, THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN'S are so brazenly and unabashedly warped that their exploits seem to appeal to our most basic desire for chaos and nonconformity.  And for fans of the very dry, very droll Alastair Sim, his amusing dual role here (helped by some nifty split-screen effects) will have an irresistible appeal all its own.


SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (1960)

This time, achingly droll British comedy star Alastair Sim plays more background character than lead as headmaster of the SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (1960), the main focus being on his clumsy, mild-mannered, and socially inept (but very willing) student Henry Palfrey (Ian Carmichael).

Henry's a nice enough young chap but totally out of his league when his attempts to woo pretty young acquaintance April (Janette Scott, HOW WENT THE DAY?, DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS) are thwarted by snide upper-class cad Delauney, played to perfection by Terry-Thomas at the top of his game, who steps all over Henry's romantic aspirations with a curdled grace and sadistic glee.

With other aspects of his life proving too much to handle, including an inherited family business he's unable to manage, Henry makes his way to a dumpy old mansion on the outskirts of a small English village, where cynical old Mr. Potter (Sims) and his staff teach their pupils all about one-upmanship, i.e. how to always get the upper hand over one's fellow man.

Thus, the first half of the film is a brutally cringeworthy account of Henry's staggering ineptitude that's keenly funny in an almost unpleasant way. Carmichael's easy likable as Henry, with Scott a winsome object of his affections, but it's Terry-Thomas who provides the most joy as we watch his Delauney effortlessly steamroll over Henry's every feeble effort to impress while laciviously moving in on the lovely April.

This includes dinner in an expensive restaurant--Delauney manages to sit between Henry and April while mocking Henry's attempts to order from the complicated menu--and a disastrous tennis match in which Delauney breezes to victory with insufferable ease.

A particularly funny scene occurs when Henry tries to purchase a fancy auto to compete with Delauney's expensive sports car and ends up being taken to the cleaners by a couple of smooth con artists. The sputtering, smoke-churning monstrosity that he ends up with is unlike anything I've seen on four wheels. 

Naturally, after all of this build-up, we view Henry's successful graduation from Mr. Potter's "Lifemanship" course and subsequent declaration of war against Delauney with a great deal of satisfaction. 

It's gratifying to watch Henry's devious plans to humiliate his foe and win April's heart come to fruition--but at what cost? Will Henry stop being the lovable fellow we've come to admire and become a lecherous cad like Delauney?

With a very capable cast (look for Jeremy Lloyd, the tall man who dances with Ringo in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, in a bit part as a student) bringing this sharply-written story to life, SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS is one of the most giddily enjoyable and well-rendered of the classic British comedies.


LAUGHTER IN PARADISE (1951)

Sometimes the premise of a comedy sounds so enticing that you can't wait to see how it's actually carried out. For me, that was the case with LAUGHTER IN PARADISE (1951), in which a notorious practical joker dies and his will stipulates that all beneficiaries must perform certain tasks before they can receive their inheritance.

Naturally, all of them are in need of the money and willing to do whatever is required of them, no matter how outlandish. Which of course is the built-in appeal of this pleasantly appealing comedy whose various interrelated subplots consist of either light farce or more substantial personal drama.

That most unlikely of comedy stars, the terminally droll Alastair Sim, embodies the former as Deniston Russell, a mild-mannered gent who secretly writes the most lurid best-selling pulp novels under various pen names while living in fear that his bride-to-be, a straight-edge military woman with a humorless father, will find out.

His task in pursuit of the inheritance is to commit a crime like one depicted in his novels and spend at least 28 days in lock-up. Thus, his scenes are a series of amusing attempts to get arrested without having to do anything really harmful or destructive. He even goes to a police station trying to solicit their advice for the most genteel ways of breaking the law.

Other humorous subplots involve a milquetoast bank worker (George Cole) tasked with robbing his tyrannical boss at gunpoint, and an irresponsible cad (Guy Middleton) who must marry the first single woman he speaks to after leaving the reading of the will.

In the more heartfelt segment of the story, a wealthy woman (Fay Compton) who is cruel and thoughtless to her servants must hire on as a servant herself for one month to a similarly callous rich old eccentric.  As one might guess, she will soon learn what it's like to be browbeaten and emotionally abused by a "superior."

As with so many of these classic British comedies, the technical aspects are neatly done in eye-pleasing black and white and with modest production values. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot such familiar faces in the supporting cast as a young Sebastian Cabot and an even younger Audrey Hepburn.  BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE OLD DARK HOUSE fans will enjoy seeing an older Ernest Thesiger as the reader of the will.

While this premise may have resulted in raucous mayhem in other hands, LAUGHTER IN PARADISE treats it with a sublety and restraint that invites the viewer to simply settle in and watch things unfold without being wracked with guffaws and belly laughs. Which, every once in a while, is a markedly pleasant way to enjoy a comedy. 


HUE AND CRY (1946)

Ostensibly a comedy--known, in fact, as the first from Britain's venerable Ealing Studios--1946's HUE AND CRY is actually more of a rousing boys' adventure yarn in which a group of rowdy city boys (and one plucky girl) take on one of England's most insidious smuggling gangs.

Harry Fowler plays Joe Kirby, a typical teen boy whose love for the "kids' papers", or comic-book type serial stories printed in the newspapers, leads him to the shocking discovery that local criminals are using the periodical to transmit information on upcoming robberies to various members of their gang.

Trying to inform the police of this phenomenon only gets him in hot water, so Joe must organize his friends and undertake an investigation that will lead them into plenty of hair-raising situations that will pit them directly against the ruthless bad guys. 

The pace never lets up in this surprisingly gritty tale which boasts a superb cast, crisp black and white photography, and sharp direction that often has the look and feel of a Hitchcock thriller.

Unlike most boys' adventure films, this one places its young characters into some truly perilous scrapes, sometimes in opposition to the police themselves, with the kids making a harrowing escape through the sewer system or going into actual physical battle with burly baddies.

Some of the few purely comedic scenes are those involving Alastair Sim as the unsuspecting writer of the comics (his work is later altered before publication by the gang's beautiful moll who works for the printer).

Sim, probably the biggest name in the picture, has a surprisingly minor role here although his fans will enjoy his cowardly eccentric who writes lurid crime stories in a creepy old apartment building with only a cat as his companion.

The kids themselves are refreshingly realistic, not above getting into fistfights with each other but pulling together in times of danger. Their exploits in pursuit of the smugglers lead to an action-filled finale fit for an adult crime thriller, which, along with its more lighthearted aspects, makes HUE AND CRY a wholly satisfying entertainment.



Buy it from Film Movement Classics


Blu-ray Features

The Belles of St. Trinian's:
Interview with Geoff Brown
Interview with Melanie Williams
Interview with Alistair Sim’s Daughter - Meredith McKendrick
Interview with Steve Chibnall
The Girls of St Trinian’s

School for Scoundrels:
School for Scoundrels Trailer
Interview with Peter Bradshaw
Interview with Graham McCann
Interview with Chris Potter

Hue and Cry:
Interview with Steve Chibnall
Location Featurette

Booklet with notes, written by film scholar Ronald Bergan

Sound: Mono
Discs: 4

ALASTAIR SIM'S SCHOOL FOR LAUGHTER -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THEIR FINEST HOUR: FIVE BRITISH WWII CLASSICS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 3/28/2020

 

Film Movement Classics' five-disc Blu-ray collection THEIR FINEST HOUR: 5 BRITISH WWII CLASSICS brings together some of the absolute best British war films of the 40s and 50s, all beautifully restored (fans of rich old-style black and white photography should find them a visual treat) and augmented with plenty of bonus features.

Here are our impressions of each film:


DUNKIRK (1958)

While I loved Christopher Nolan's recent version of this particular WWII historical event, many criticized it for not supplying viewers with a more substantial backstory leading up to it.

The 1958 film, DUNKIRK, does just that, giving us much more of a lead-up to what happened and why, detailing the collapse of the British military's defense of France from the overwhelming German invasion and their subsequent retreat to the beaches at Dunkirk where a rescue effort descended into carnage and chaos.

In traditional Ealing Studios fashion, this is filmed in beautiful, no-frills black and white which gives everything more of a gritty realism.

It also reflects that studio's fondness for depicting the basic goodness and integrity of the British people when faced with a unifying adversity that threatened to strike at the very heart of their entire existence.

The first half of the story follows a ragtag group of soldiers separated from the rest of their unit and wandering about rural France under the reluctant command of a callow corporal (John Mills) who suddenly finds himself the highest ranking officer.

We get to know this likable bunch as they march through pastoral settings that suddenly turn into blazing life and death situations where even civilian refugees are slaughtered by strafing planes and missile shells.

Meanwhile, British civilians back home are gearing up to launch their small seagoing craft to aid in the rescue effort across the channel at Dunkirk.  Bernard Lee, who played "M" to Sean Connery's James Bond, willingly lends his own boat to the cause, while a young Richard Attenborough (THE GREAT ESCAPE) initially finds himself lacking the necessary courage for such a perilous venture.

The spectacular cinematic depictions of these events include countless extras in explosive battle action, ships filled with escapees being bombed and sunk, and other cinematic wonders.  Ultimately, however, it's the heroism of both soldiers and civilians that is honored by the makers of DUNKIRK. 


THE DAM BUSTERS (1955)

Back in the early days of WWII a man named Dr. Wallis (Michael Redgrave) comes up with a way for a squadron of bomber planes, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd), to cause chaos to German industry by blowing up some of that country's biggest dams.

THE DAM BUSTERS (1955) is the story of that incredible real-life mission which, despite a heavy death toll among its valiant participants, was a spectacular success.

It doesn't seem so at first, however, and much of the story tells of Dr. Wallis' difficulty in selling the idea--which involves releasing huge bombs over the water at extremely low altitudes and under heavy fire so that they skip across the surface of the water like stones until they collide with the dam--to the military brass.

Directed by Michael Anderson, the film proceeds slowly, methodically, almost like a detective yarn in which the mystery to be solved is how to make Dr. Wallis' seemingly fantastic idea come to pass in practical terms amidst skepticism and technical glitches.

During the slow buildup we get to know Commander Gibson and the men of his ace flying squadron as they prepare themselves for what may be a suicidal and ultimately fruitless mission.

Low-key and utterly lacking in flash and sensationalism, this is a quietly engrossing, impeccably rendered story which finally evolves into one of the most thrilling, nailbiting war thrillers to come out of the British film industry.

So exciting and well-mounted is the sustained final dam-busting sequence, in fact, that George Lucas used much of it as the inspiration for the Death Star attack in STAR WARS. 

Here, the cinematic potential of the event is fully and brilliantly explored, with special effects that are amazing for the time. This includes some beautiful miniatures, matte shots, and even cel animation to augment the live action footage. In addition, the crisp black and white photography is consistently good throughout the film.

The cast features some familiar faces in minor roles (including a young Robert Shaw of JAWS) as well as lead stars Michael Redgrave, whose Dr. Wallis is likably mild-mannered and earnest, and Richard Todd, a fearless yet human hero whose love for his ever-present canine companion (in a heart-tugging subplot) humanizes him.

From a book by Paul Brickhill (THE GREAT ESCAPE), adapted by R.C. Sherriff (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, OLD DARK HOUSE, THE INVISIBLE MAN), THE DAM BUSTERS is a literate, satisfying film that brings these thrilling true events to life without sensationalism but with a subtle, human touch.


ICE COLD IN ALEX (1958)

A ragtag group of British army soldiers and nurses in a beat-up ambulance must undertake a hazardous desert crossing in Northern Africa to escape a beseiged Tobruk in this WWII thriller, ICE COLD IN ALEX (1958).

The group is led by a battle-weary alcoholic named Captain Anson (John Mills in fine form) and also includes stalwart Sergeant Major Pugh (an equally good Harry Andrews), dedicated nurse Sister Diana Murdoch (the lovely Sylvia Syms) and her nerve-wracked companion Sister Denise Norton (Diane Clare).

Along the way they pick up stranded South African officer Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle), a brawny, overbearing fellow who never lets his backpack out of his sight. This arouses the suspicion of the others, who suspect him of being a German spy.

What follows is one of those grueling, tensely-absorbing cinematic ordeals that manages to keep us on edge even in the story's quieter moments.  The harsh, arid desert not only drains them physically but also contains such perils as a deadly minefield, a bog of quicksand, and the occasional unit of German soldiers. 

We're also constantly worried about the dire condition of their vehicle, which threatens to give out on them at any moment. This is especially daunting when the group is forced to make their way into the worst stretch of desert imaginable with little hope of reaching the other side.

Character interactions are nicely done, with fine performances by all. (Familiar faces in minor roles include Liam Redmond and Walter Gotell.) The film also boasts fine black and white photography and a rousing musical score.

Direction is by J. Lee Thompson, whose career included such widely-varied films as THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, MACKENNA'S GOLD, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN.

The human element of the story (including an unlikely hint of romance) comes to a satisfying end during a final reckoning with Captain van der Poel. After all the action, adventure, and suspense that has come before, this memorable resolution is ultimately what makes ICE COLD IN ALEX such a rewarding experience.


THE COLDITZ STORY (1955)

Stalwart British screen mainstay John Mills leads the cast once again in THE COLDITZ STORY (1955), based on the true account of Colditz Castle escapee Major Pat Reid.

This medieval fortress in the frosty wilderness of Saxony, with its high stone walls and ancient parapets, provides a unique backdrop for a WWII Allied prisoner-of-war drama in comparison to the familiar setting of big wooden barracks in the middle of a forest.

With the exquisite black and white photography common to such 1950s-era British war films, director Guy Hamilton--who would later helm such James Bond films as GOLDFINGER and LIVE AND LET DIE--has fashioned a gripping tale of men from various countries such as England, Poland, and France all banding together to constantly try and escape the clutches of their ever-wary German captors.

Where the later prison-camp epic THE GREAT ESCAPE spent much time following the progress of its heroes as they tunnelled their way to freedom, THE COLDITZ STORY opens with its characters already in the midst of tunneling, to the point where two competing tunnels, each unaware of the other, inadvertently merge with each other beneath the floorboards of the castle.

The rest of the film recounts several different escape attempts in episodic fashion, even down to individual men scrambling over the barbed wire for a mad dash toward the surrounding woods, until finally there's a unified plan to get several men out dressed as German officers.

This takes up much of the film's latter half and keeps the viewer on edge as the attempt plays out under the cover of a variety performance in the prisoners' theater hall which is attended by German officers and guards.

Despite some grim elements, much of the story is in a rather lighthearted vein, especially when the Allies manage to get the better of their captors in small ways that usually end with some stuffy German officer suffering the derisive laughter of the prisoners.

The more dramatic scenes involve such confrontations as the Allied commander ordering a man not to attempt an escape disguised as a German officer because his unusual height, the discovery of an informant whose family has been threatened if he doesn't cooperate, and other more sobering developments.

The cast is superb, with John Mills giving his usual fine performance along with such familiar faces as Theodore Bikel, a likable and startlingly young Lionel Jeffries, and the great Anton Diffring, who was practically born to play WWII German officers.

A bit unfocused at first with its various subplots and detours into humor, as well as a musical score so bombastic it makes Albert Glasser sound subtle, THE COLDITZ STORY eventually comes together into a gripping suspense tale which stands as one of the superior WWII prisoner-of-war films of the 1950s.



WENT THE DAY WELL? (1942)

I've seen several classic British WWII films of the 40s and 50s recently, but Ealing Studios, known mainly for such dryly amusing post-WWII British comedies as WHISKY GALORE!, THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT, and PASSPORT TO PIMLICO, surprises by delivering what may be the most entertaining and gripping war thriller of the bunch.

WENT THE DAY WELL? (1942) is utterly novel in that it begins just like one of Ealing's easygoing pastoral comedies, taking us to the secluded English village of Bramley End and introducing us to its tightly-knit community of endearingly eccentric inhabitants.

Here, they're getting on with their leisurely-paced lives even as the war in Europe rages across the channel, always mindful of their own loved ones fighting in it (as well as those in the local guard) and ready to defend their own shores if the need arise.

This comes sooner than expected when the garrison of Royal Engineers entering their village and warmly welcomed by its people turn out to be undercover German paratroopers paving the way for an invasion.

Their takeover is sudden and brutal, their rule backed by violence and terror while the first escape attempt is punished by having five of their children condemned to be shot.

The idea of the usual Ealing comedy suddenly taking a sharp turn into gritty, savage realism is, to say the least, jarring, especially when we see certain warmly endearing characters shot or bayoneted for standing up to their captors in the defense of their country and their fellow villagers.

Suspense builds as the Germans' harsh methods drive the people to take decisive action while a company of British soldiers is still en route to rescue them, resulting in a sustained battle sequence which, taking place in ordinary settings and involving the most ordinary of country folk, is unique in the annals of war thrillers.

The cast is superb, including Hitchcock veteran Leslie Banks as a trusted villager who turns out to be a German spy and is thus one of the film's most despicable villains.  Alberto Cavalcanti's direction of the story by Graham Greene is unerringly precise, with Ealing's usual impeccable black and white photography.

It may be the fact that I'm still flush with excitement after having just watched it, but I'm moved to proclaim WENT THE DAY WELL? as one of the finest and most edge-of-the-seat thrilling war films I've ever seen. It's certainly unique in my experience, as well as deeply resonant on a purely emotional level.



Buy it from Film Movement Classics


Blu-ray Features

The Colditz Story:
Colditz Revealed documentary
Restoration Comparison
The Dam Busters:
The Making of The Dam Busters
Sir Barnes Wallis Documentary
617 Squadron Remembers
Footage of the Bomb Tests
The Dam Busters Royal Premiere
Restoration of a Classic
The Dam Busters TrailerDunkirk:
Dunkirk Operation Dynamo Newsreel
Young Veteran Ealing Short
Interview with actor Sean Barrett
John Mills home movie footageIce Cold In Alex:
Extended Clip from A Very British War Movie Documentary
John Mills Home Video Footage
Interview with Melanie Williams
Steve Chibnall on J. Lee Thompson
Interview with Sylvia Syms

24-page booklet with essay by film writer and curator Cullen Gallagher

Sound: Mono
Discs: 5
Available 3/31/20

THEIR FINEST HOUR: FIVE BRITISH WWII CLASSICS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

WHISKY GALORE! & THE MAGGIE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(WHISKY GALORE! & THE MAGGIE is a 2-disc set from Film Movement Classics, available in both Blu-ray and DVD.)


WHISKEY GALORE! (1949)

From Ealing Studios, who produced a number of beloved post-WWII British comedies about small, closely-knit rural communities facing adversary in endearingly humorous ways, comes the gleefully booze-soaked entry WHISKEY GALORE! (Film Movement Classics, 1949).

Loosely based on a true story, it's about a small Scottish isle that has run out of whiskey, to the profound consternation of its citizenry who are getting drier, and thirstier, by the minute.

As the pub collects dust bunnies, we get to know the (mostly) likable villagers including George Campbell (a very young Gordon Jackson of THE GREAT ESCAPE) who's so dominated by his stern mother that even his local militia officer can't override her banishment of George to his room for announcing his engagement to what mother considers to be the wrong girl.

The stiff-necked officer himself, Captain Paul Waggett (Basil Radford), has a fit when he learns that a cargo ship carrying thousands of cases of whisky has wrecked just offshore and that the townspeople have relieved it of a few tons of the stuff and stored it away somewhere.

Needless to say, the whole town gets a lot happier real quick while Captain Waggett fumes and plots to locate and confiscate the potent contraband. 

With its folksy cast of characters, including the lovely Joan Greenwood (KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS, THE MOON-SPINNERS, FRENZY) and other familiar faces of the era, WHISKY GALORE! has a downhome, countrified appeal that makes it a pleasant place for the viewer to hang out for awhile.

This is helped immeasurably by Ealing's usual eye-pleasing photography, done in a crisply austere black-and-white that has its own special aesthetic beauty and atmosphere.

In his debut effort, director Alexander Mackendrick (SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, THE LADYKILLERS, DON'T MAKE WAVES) makes the most of the subtle and not-so-subtle comedy potential of the screenplay by Angus MacPhail and the original novel's author Compton MacKenzie.

 

(An especially clever touch is to have the voiceover narrator sound progressively tipsy after the discovery of the whisky.)

Mackendrick also manages to make the later scenes in which Waggett and his men inexorably close in on the precious whisky play like a tensely-paced thriller (albeit in a deadpan comedy vein), keeping us in suspense as the villagers scramble to stay one step ahead of their dogged pursuers.

WHISKY GALORE!, like most Ealing comedies, has a knack for mixing feelgood sentiment and whimsy with a certain world-weary realism, with characters who haven't quite shaken off the hardships of a traumatic war. It's a fun story, and it's cathartic to experience their giddy delight when a little taste of heaven runs aground on their humble shore.


THE MAGGIE

The year 1954 saw England's Ealing Studios still doing what they did best, which was making sassy yet gently sentimental comedies celebrating traditional British values and the common man.

With THE MAGGIE, aka "High and Dry" (Film Movement Classics), they turned their attention to the humble coal-burning cargo boats known as "puffers" that made their way along the English coastlines and were often helmed by crusty old fellows who were born to the sea and made it their lives.

But the grizzled skipper of the "Maggie", Captain MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie, KIDNAPPED, THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA) is about to lose his beloved puffer and the only way to keep it is to trick a wealthy American businessman named Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, CLASH BY NIGHT, THE GAMMA PEOPLE) into hiring him to transport a boatload of valuable cargo by making him believe he owns the big, fancy vessel moored next to his.

This is just the spark that lights the fuse on roughly ninety minutes of dry, understated comedy--beginning with Marshall's comically harried assistant Mr. Pusey's attempts to retrieve the boat and cargo which somehow end him up in the slammer for poaching--mixed with some almost solemn scenes of the initially hostile Marshall eventually softening his attitude toward these well-meaning commoners after sharing some genuinely moving moments with them.

Till then, however, Paul Douglas' blustery performance is pitch perfect and entirely believable despite some pretty exaggerated situations during the Maggie's turbulent journey.  Mackenzie makes a likable skipper who ably conveys his love for his craft and his life on the sea, and among the sturdy performers playing his crew is a remarkable young actor, Tommy Kearins, as "Wee Boy", whose only desire is to be a skipper someday himself. (Look for a young Andrew Kier as a reporter.)

Those who love good black and white photography will find this well up to the usual Ealing standards, while Alexander Mackendrick (WHISKEY GALORE!, THE LADYKILLERS, DON'T MAKE WAVES) handles the direction with taste and skill. 

Hardly a comedy designed for the ANIMAL HOUSE crowd, this is more like that old "Andy Griffith Show" episode about the impatient businessman who gets stranded in Mayberry and begrudingly begins to appreciate their simple, easygoing lifestyle. 

Neither too raucous nor too maudlin, THE MAGGIE has a kind of tranquilizing, contemplative nostalgia as well as a gritty edge which keeps it relatably real.


Buy it from Film Movement Classics

DVD Features

Film commentary by British film expert John Ellis
Distilling Whisky Galore! 52-minute documentary
The Real Whisky Galore! featurette
Discs: 2

Blu-ray Features

Film commentary by British film expert John Ellis
Distilling Whisky Galore! (52-minute documentary)
The Real Whisky Galore! featurette
Booklet with new essay written by film scholar Ronald Bergen
Sound: Mono
Discs: 2

New Digital Restorations

WHISKY GALORE! & THE MAGGIE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

In 1953 England's Ealing Studios, specialists in folksy feelgood comedies, released their first Technicolor film THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (Film Movement Classics). And in keeping with that colorful milestone, it's one of their most cheerful, exhilarating comedies ever.

Titfield is one of those small English villages that's right out of a storybook, with an easygoing, tightly-knit citizenry to match.  When the powers-that-be threaten to close down their little railroad between Titfield and an adjacent town, leaving the transport business wide open for an unscrupulous pair of bus operators, some of the plucky leading citizens of the town get together to acquire the railway themselves and keep it running.

These include the railway founder's grandson, Gordon (John Gregson, THE LONGEST DAY, SOS PACIFIC) and elderly vicar Sam (George Relph), a die-hard train enthusiast, who persuade well-to-do pub owner Mr. Valentine (Stanley Holloway, PASSPORT TO PIMLICO, IN HARM'S WAY) to finance the endeavor with the promise that he can operate a traveling bar on the train that can stay open all hours of the day and night.

But even with the financing and resources all settled, there's still the matter of getting approval from the railway authorities, who will be sending an inspector in one month's time to assess the train's worthiness.

This gives bus owners Alec Pearce (Ewan Roberts) and Vernon Crump (Jack MacGowran) time to pull every dastardly trick in the book to wreck the budding railway's chances, even if it means wrecking the train itself.

Thus, the stage is set for one of the liveliest and most action-packed comedies to come out of England in the 50s.  Some of the bits of business in and around the Thunderbolt are worthy of Buster Keaton, at least in terms of cinematic enthusiasm and a sense of unbridled ebullience. 

We get some good old "will they make it there in time" suspense during the exciting climax in which everything seems to go wrong while the inspector is aboard, thanks to the never-ending attempts at sabotage from Pearce and Crump.

Not only that, but we're also treated to a few stunning setpieces including a runaway locomotive steaming through the streets of town and a thrilling derailment in which the model work is first class.

Enriching the experience even more is a top-notch cast giving very likable performances, including Hugh Griffith (WHAT?, BEN-HUR, EXODUS) as a crusty old former engineer constantly jostling with vicar Sam to see who gets to drive the train. 

The lush, verdant, pastoral setting and relaxed atmosphere of Titfield mirrors that of John Ford's similar-looking THE QUIET MAN, released a year earlier, with happy villagers evincing a sense of solidarity and togetherness which extends to their cooperative efforts to help keep their beloved railway going themselves.

The presence of Jack MacGowran playing yet another simpering toady is an even further tie to Ford's film, in which he served the same role (as "Ignatius Feeney") to Victor McLaglen's blustery bully. 

And the direction by Charles Crichton (A FISH CALLED WANDA, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB) and script by T.E.B. Clarke (PASSPORT TO PIMLICO, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB) suffer not a bit in comparison.

Most of all, THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT is an endearingly optimistic, benignly human story whose warmth and genuine humor are matched by a gorgeous, almost fairytale setting. And it will henceforth be on my short list of movies to reach for whenever I need a bit of cheering up.


Buy it from Film Movement


Tech Specs

1953
84 Minutes
United Kingdom
English
Comedy, Classics
Not Rated
Sound: Mono
Discs: 1

Blu-ray Features

Making The Titfield Thunderbolt featurette
Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe Home Movie Footage
The Lion Locomotive featurette
Locations featurette
Douglas Slocombe on Charles Crichton audio interview
The Titfield Thunderbolt original trailer
Stills gallery

THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

PASSPORT TO PIMLICO -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

In the post-World War II years the small English studio Ealing Films was known for its popular comedies extolling the virtues of British nationalism and community spirit, qualities still strong after the solidarity and hardships experienced throughout their prolonged resistance to Germany's attacks.

It's that spirit which infuses the folksy Ealing comedy PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (Film Movement Classics, 1949), in which a heretofore unexploded bomb goes off under the streets of the small titular community and unearths a treasure as well as some very old documents proving that the surrounding land is actually the property of the Duke of Burgundy.

Being citizens of a foreign land suddenly exempts the Pimlicans from British rule including oppressive rationing, bringing on a chaotic onslaught of black market selling in the streets as well as the disregard of all British laws governing alcohol consumption, business hours, various civic ordinances, and the like.

The script by T.E.B. Clarke (THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB) is alternately breezy and dry, with a likable cast of characters including a young (!) Hermione Badderly as local dress shop owner Edie Randall, Margaret Rutherford (the "Miss Marple" films) as learned historian Professor Hatton-Jones, and Stanley Holloway (IN HARM'S WAY) as the dry goods merchant Arthur Pemberton, who will become the tiny territory's prime minister when the current Duke of Burgundy shows up to serve as its benign leader.

A welcome sense of liberation ensues in which viewers of the time could vicariously cast off the shackles of post-war austerity and imagine the freedom of drinking and dancing all night and indulging in whatever material luxuries they could afford, which were suddenly available for easy purchase. 

Much is also made of the conflicts that naturally occur between the Pimlicans and the British government involving customs, border issues, and other concerns which come to a head when the underground railway is stopped at the border and anyone not carrying a passport is denied further progress. 

More solidarity and cheerful rebelliousness ensue when supplies and even water are cut off from the already drought-stricken town, forcing them to resort to desperate schemes even as the British public, sympathetic to their plight, begins to offer material aid as well.

This leads to a rousing scene in which the Brits happily toss foodstuffs over a barbed-wire barrier surrounding the town into their waiting arms.  The sequence brings home the film's feelgood atmosphere and sense of national spirit prevailing over bureaucratic entanglements.

Meanwhile, the story finds time to dwell on the endearing qualities of its main characters, simple folk just making the best of things and looking out for one another despite occasional differences. Romance also sneaks into the story as the Duke finds himself smitten with one of the town's young ladies who is already the object of a local boy's affections.

As you might guess, all is well by the time PASSPORT TO PIMLICO reaches its celebratory ending, and although I myself never got that drawn into it on a personal level, I found it quite pleasant and uplifting in its own homely sort of way. 


Buy it from Film Movement


Film Movement Classics

1949
84 Minutes
United Kingdom
English
Classics, Comedy
Not Rated
Sound: Mono
Discs: 1

Blu-ray Features

Interview with BFI Curator Mark Duguid
Locations Featurette with Film Historian Richard Dacre
Restoration comparison
Stills gallery

PASSPORT TO PIMLICO -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle