Editor’s Note: Our resident cinephile and move critic Mike Fried, author of the Mike At the Movies column, takes a look back at some classics from one of Britain’s most prestigious movie studios … and the contributions of the late, great Alec Guinness.
By MIKE FRIED
Ealing Studios was one of Britain’s premiere movie studios having been founded in the early 1900s. There were some golden nuggets, but the studio really engendered its cachet in the post war years when producer Michael Balcom focused on comedies in order to lift Britain out of its doldrums. It should be noted that A Fish Called Wanda was a throwback to the Ealing comedies of the late 1940s to the mid 1950s and was directed by one of the the Studio’s most prescient directors, Charle Crichton.
Alec Guinness is a name most of you need not ask about, but he had a career before becoming Obi-Wan Kenobi. After a stint on stage he made his screen debut in a supporting role in Great Expectations and followed that up with Oliver Twist playing the lead Fagin. Both of these films were made by David Lean, with whom he would make four more films (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India).
In the BFI listing of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, he was the single most noted actor, represented across 9 films — 6 in starring roles and 3 in supporting roles — including 5 directed by David Lean and 5 from Ealing Studios. We are concerned with these four.
Owned by the Rank Organisation since the mid-1940s, Ealing Studios was defined by its association with Alec Guinness, who made 6 films with the studio.
Kino Lorber has just issued a set of 4 of Guinness’ very best films: The Man in the White Suit, The Lavender Hill Mob, Kind Hearts and Coronets and, my personal favorite, The Ladykillers.
The Alec Guinness Masterpiece Collection contains all 4 films immaculately restored in 4k. The work that was done on the films is impeccable. Gone are the scratches that plagued older copies and presented in HDR with each film presented on a triple layer UHD100 disc. The sound restoration is equally impressive. At $60 it’s a bit pricey for this retiree, but thankfully the library had it so I was able to enjoy it. And I hope you do as well.
And all of these films have the same thing in common — everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
So settle in and enjoy.
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS
****
When the movie begins, we find out that Louis D’Ascoyne, the 10th Duke of Chalfont, is set for execution the following morning at 8 am. He writes his memoir in prison and we are treated to his biography and what led him to his date with the gallows.
You see that Louis’ mother — the youngest daughter of a Duke — married an Italian opera singer and was disowned by her family. When the mother dies, Louis is rebuffed in having her buried in the family crypt. After being fired from his job by a D’Ascoyne, Louis seeks revenge.
This is a delicious comedy of manners, set in Edwardian England. Dennis Price, generally a supporting player, has a fun time as Louis. He is so scheming he has a painting of the family tree tucked away behind a painting. When a D’Ascoyne dies, he crosses them off the list. Unfortunately, when new D’Ascoynes are born, he must add them.
He even expresses regret at offing the youngest D’Ascoyne as he seemed like a “rather fine fellow.” Portraying a revered figure from Matabeleland in Zimbabwe to get close to the elderly reverend D’Ascoyne, he is asked to translate “Daniel into the lion’s den” and the results are nothing short of hysterical. Price holds his own against Alec Guinness, no small achievement. It’s a shame that his alcoholism prevented him from rising to his full potential.
It is far darker than many of the other Ealing Studios films. But what it does is introduce Ealing Studios to Alec Guinness. And he started with a bang, playing all 8 members of the D’Ascoyne clan. Producer Michael Balcom only wanted Guinness to play 4 roles, but Guinness insisted on playing all 8. And he goes deep. His portrayals of all 8 members of the D’Ascoyne family who ranged in age from mid-20s to the late-80s is so particularly nuanced, showing why he was one of the best actors of all time. It’s not just Alec Guinness in makeup. He actually makes each character seem different.
And what follows is Louis’ almost Rube Goldbergian creativity in killing off the D’Ascoyne family members.
Robert Hamer’s direction of his script, co-written with John Dighton, is pitch- perfect.
And, of course, that means — in the context of an Ealing comedy — whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
If I had one complaint about the film is that until the last half hour the film is paced very slow and is a longer length than needed. But the ending is Ealing perfection.
Still, a MUST WATCH!
THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT
****
When there is all this talk about Artificial Intelligence replacing jobs, my thoughts always move toward this film, as progress proves to be the bane of existence for everyone.
Sidney Stratton is a socially awkward but very brilliant inventor. He has been fired from job after job because of his demands for high end equipment. He creates an indestructible polymer for clothing fabric. And he carries out his experiments and actually creates a white suit that cannot get dirty or be wrinkled. The fabric can’t even be cut with scissors — it needs a blowtorch. And it glows.
What happens next is that this invention upends the textile market and has the potential to result in layoffs because if indestructible clothing can be made, who needs workers. The trade unions as well as mill manufacturers are up in arms.
Alec Guinness is superb as the socially backward Stratton. Because he has been fired from job after job he finds himself working the loading dock. He has a socially superior attitude and yet he does not achieve success without chicanery. He does not hesitate to steal materials from other co-workers.
This really is one of the first science fiction movies wrapped nearly in a screwball comedy of social commentary. It is brilliantly directed by Alexander Mackendrick who would later draft Guinness and costar Cecil Parker into the 1955 masterpiece The Ladykillers.
And it’s terribly funny. Stratton’s chemical machinery exhibits a “Guggle Glub Gurgle” sound that is constantly playing in the background and which was sampled into the score for the film.
Much of the humor comes from the supporting cast of Joan Greenwood as Stratton’s love interest and Cecil Parker as her father, the mill owner. She believes in Sidney. And he finally gives Stratton the lab he wants. Parker’s stuffiness and stiff British upper lip goes a long way toward generating the humor in the film.
Ernest Theisiger, best known as Dr. Praetorious in The Bride of Frankenstein, is delightfully on hand as the evil head of the textile industry conglomerate.
The film was nominated for a screenplay Oscar and received a BAFTA Award for best screenplay and it was rated as not only one of the 100 best British films but also one of the best British science fiction films. It inspired the Genesis device in Star Trek III and the thematic element that “for every great advance, you pay a price.”
And, of course, that means — in the context of an Ealing comedy — whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Especially as the film goes to its tense, realistic and of course comic conclusion.
After the lab explodes, Stratton remarks “shouldn’t have done that.”
Well, I’m glad Ealing and Mackendrick did.
It is great fun.
There’s no Colonel Nicholson moment with a “What have I done?” but rather a gleefully delightful “I see!”
WATCH IT!
THE LAVENDER HILL MOB
*****
When we first meet Henry “Dutch” Holland, he is sitting in a bar in Rio de Janeiro. He is regaling his dinner companion with his tale of going from being a clerk to masterminding the theft of gold bullion from the bank.
Oh, he didn’t really start that way. He was an honest bloke who, when molten gold dripped on his shoe, he would pick the flake up and put it with the rest of the gold. He has a plan for a heist but he is unable to carry out his plans due to timidity and inability to carry them out. But then he meets Alfred Pendlebury, an artist who has a foundry and a plan takes form.
This is one of the very best Ealing Studios comedies — only second, in my opinion, to the classic film The Ladykillers. Directed by Charles Crichton, whose final theatrical film was A Fish Called Wanda, this movie hits all of the right notes because of Tibby Clarke’s wonderfully droll screenplay, which won an Academy Award. What’s quite remarkable is that Ealing Studios actually asked the Bank of England how they would do the heist and what is done in the movie was their idea.
One of the funniest sight gags in movie history is when Holland and Pendlebury set the stage for real criminals to come rob that latter’s safe since the two are not real criminals. Alfie Bass — who plays Shorty — is first seen in a huge silhouette, only to be revealed to be only 5 foot 3 inches. And the scene at the port in Calais is absolute comedic brilliance.
Alec Guinness is pitch perfect as Holland, a man who is of good cheer all the while trying to figure out how to make the score. He has a beaming smile, but it’s false, and his eyeballs move around with the alacrity of a kid on Christmas morning. And you can see his mind working in overdrive after he is told that he is being promoted and won’t have to ride in the gold truck anymore. His nomination for best actor at the academy awards was well-deserved. But he wasn’t going to beat Gary Cooper!
Stanley Holloway as Pendlebury gives a characteristically boisterously jovial performance. He seems consistently worried about the events transpiring to the point where he walks away with a cheap painting from a street artist and is almost pinched by the cops. He has a purely comic timing that can’t even be matched by Guinness’ droll mannerisms and delivery.
But, as with any good heist movie, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
And this movie does not disappoint. Look for an early Audrey Hepburn in her first major film role even if a big part and Robert Shaw in his screen debut in a blink and you’ll miss him role. Even Desmond Llewelyn, James Bond’s Q, has a small uncredited role as a customs inspector.
And it has an ending that is a standard bearer of Ealing Studios. And it’s all punctuated by a jaunty score by Georges Auric.
A true delight.
WATCH IT!
THE LADYKILLERS
****** (out of 5!)
Professor Marcus is a master criminal. Along with his accomplices, Harry, Louis, Claude and One-Round, they plan and execute a daring daytime robbery. The plan is flawless except for one thing: Marcus rents a room from frail, little old lady Mrs. Wilberforce under the pretext that he and his accomplices are members of an amateur string quartet. But Mrs. Wilberforce has a way of mucking everything up just by being a kindly old lady. They decide they must kill this nice old lady. What happens from there is the stuff of film legend. (NO SPOILERS!)
For those of you who don’t know, Ealing Studios in Britain produced some of the best comedies of the 1950s. This one was its very best. In fact, BFI ranked this as the 13th best British film of all time.
With a sly, a nod and a wink’ll do you, script by William Rose (who also wrote It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World) comedy hasn’t been funnier. Rose was nominated for an Academy Award for his efforts and it should have won (The winner, The Red Balloon, my butt!) although it did win the BAFTA screenplay award.
Alec Guinness with a false set of front teeth and parted hair is absolutely slimy as the Professor. Guinness modeled his Professor Marcus after his idol, Alastair Sim. A porky Peter Sellers playing Harry seems to find the humor in the entire situation (he also voiced Mrs. Wilberforce’s birds). Herbert Lom brings the real criminal psychopathology to the proceedings as Louis.
But this movie would not have worked without Katie Johnson as the naive and gullible Mrs. Wilberforce. She brings such a genteel quiet personality to this role that when she is forced to act out of character by the bandits, telling a police officer to “buzz off”; it’s nothing short of miraculous. After a career of minor roles, Johnson won the Best Actress BAFTA award for her efforts, just two years before she passed away. The producers originally rejected director Alexander Mackendrick’s choice of Katie Johnson for the role of Mrs. Wilberforce on the grounds that she might be too frail for the project, and so they cast a younger actress who died before filming began!!!
And she drives the film. Having discovered that she is a dupe and has enabled the robbery, she tells the gang quite simply that they must accompany her to the police.
The final shot of Katie Johnson walking is every bit as good as the final shot in The Third Man.
This is a delicious black comedy where everything that can go wrong will go wrong.
WATCH IT!
Michael Fried has no formal training in movies, except having watched over 26,000+ movies — if not more — in his 60-plus years on this planet, starting with Goldfinger as his first cinema experience. He knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn’t like, and it’s quite often different from the conventional wisdom. He knows that the best franchise is Godzilla and he loves action movies and comedies. He has not been nominated for any awards except some boring insurance awards which has no applicability to movies (with the possible exceptions of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and John Cassavettes’ Big Trouble). He is part of a team that won the 1980 SUNY Albany Trivia content by correctly guessing the question, “Who played the president of Klopstockia in Million Dollar Legs?” So he has that going for him, which is nice.
Contact Mike at moviemike3@yahoo.com and mike.fried@yahoo.com.
