Britcomedy Digest, Part 2/4. ============================ ================================ THE EALING COMEDIES by Ricky Fluke (ad110@rgfn.epcc.edu) ================================ Who wouldn't have loved to work at Ealing in the forties and fifties? Lindsay Anderson described it as being "Discreet behind a little stone wall, a clump of green and a semicircular strip of grass, the "Front Office" resembles a private house; its whitewashed walls are unadorned, its front door is sheltered by a neat, columned portico...Walking down the bottleneck which leads from the road to the studio proper, you pass on your left a row of domesticated pines, a lawn with flower beds, and a pair of beehives. Within, there is an absence of vast perspectives; the sound stages do not loom, the decor is comfortable rather than spectacular..." The movies that tumbled out of this unpretentious little factory lured British audiences into the cinema for over two decades. Among the Ealing output were a couple of dozen comedies that to this day evoke simultaneous tears of laughter and nostalgia among elder Britons, as well as the more discerning of the younger generations. Even Terry Gilliam once admitted to an interviewer that he was an Anglophile mainly because of the Ealing comedies. In this article I'll you a guided tour of six of the best Ealing comedies, followed by a historical overview. -------->Passport To Pimlico (1949) When a leftover bomb explodes in Miramont Place, a heretofore quiet district in the London borough of Pimlico, a tunnel falls opens, revealing valuable artifacts and an old document ceding the area to the Duchy of Burgundy. The Miramontians soon realize that the treasure and document free them from postwar austerity, and it's party time in Pimlico. Rationing is lifted, licensing laws are suspended, free trade flourishes, the present Duke of Burgundy pops over from France, and newspapers headline the story worldwide. But soon, black marketeers arrive to undercut Miramont merchants, and British authorities set up checkpoints keeping the ersatz Burgundians from leaving their neighborhood. To retaliate, the Miramont/Burgundy leaders set up their own checkpoints, stopping subway cars at Victoria Station to check passports and confiscate illegal imports. The Neo-Burgundians remain defiant ("We'll fight them on the tramlines, we'll fight them in the local"), even as Whitehall demands the surrender of the treasure in the tunnel. The British government tries to end the stalemate by cutting off Miramont's water supply, but the crafty Burgundians run firehoses across the barbed-wire border at night, and by sunrise the bomb crater is flooded. It's a Pyrrhic victory, though; excess water pours into the cellar containing Miramont's entire food supply. When news of the Burgundian's plight gets out, thousands of sympathetic Londoners toss food over the barbed wire. Yet ultimately, the Burgundians realize that independence is easier won than done. They voluntarily sign a treaty returning Miramont Place to England as well as rationing and licensing. The final shot, representing the moment of reunification, shows a thermometer plummeting as a rainstorm welcomes the renegades back to Britain. Written by T.E.B. Clarke Directed by Henry Cornelius Cast: Stanley Holloway.....Arthur Pemberton Betty Warren.....Connie Pemberton Barbara Murray.....Shirley Pemberton Paul Dupuis.....Duke of Burgundy John Slater....Frank Huggins Jane Hylton.....Molly Raymond Huntley.....Mr. Wix Despite outstanding individual performances, the "hero" of the story is the Miramont community. Anyone who's ever gotten satisfaction out of challenging authority (including, I suspect, most "Britcomedy Digest" readers) will enjoy this movie. Like the other Ealing comedies it contains few if any belly-laughs, and lacks the surreal absurdities of the Pythons, et al; but it's so much damn fun to watch you'll recommend it to your friends and maybe even acquire your own personal copy. (Ealing comedies are available from Thorn/EMI Video). -------->Whisky Galore (1949) (US title: Tight Little Island) In 1943, a ship loaded with whisky runs aground at the Isle of Todday in the Scottish Hebrides. The Todday Islanders, thirsty for their favorite beverage in the midst of wartime shortages, scheme to rescue the cargo before it sinks into the Atlantic. They're opposed by Captain Waggett, an Englishman commander of the local Home Guard, who insists on law and order. When a Home Guard sergeant -- under Waggett's command but in love with Todday postmaster's daughter -- switches his allegiance, the islanders retrieve the whisky and hide it from Waggett and the customs officials. At the end of the movie, the Todday community celebrates its victory with a festive dance, while Waggett is summoned back to the mainland to face charges for, off all things, smuggling whisky. Written by Compton MacKenzie and Angus MacPhail Directed by Alexander Mackendrick Cast: Basil Radford.....Captain Paul Waggett Catherine Lacey.....Mrs. Waggett Bruce Seton.....Sergeant Odd Joan Greenwood.....Peggy Macroon Wylie Watson.....Joseph Macroon Gabrielle Blunt.....Catriona Macroon Gordon Jackson.....George Campbell The plot of "Whisky Galore" bears similarities to "Passport To Pimlico" since it also has a community heroically defying British authority in a time of strict rationing. It also might be compared to the recent "An Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain," i.e., a Celtic community in the boondocks of the United Kingdom resists the interference of a visiting Englishman and eventually outsmarts him. -------->Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) Five years before his birth, Louis Mazzini's aristocratic mother gets herself thrown out of the D'Ascoyne family by marrying a poor Italian tenor. His father's death throws Louis and his mother deeper into poverty. On his mother's grave, Louis vows to avenge her mistreatment by her own relatives. For several years, the vow is no more than a fantasy, until one day a young scion of the D'Ascoyne family walks into the draper's shop where Louis works for two pounds a week, insults Louis, and threatens to have him sacked. The fate of all the D'Ascoynes is now sealed, as Louis decides to murder his way to the Duchy of Chalmont. His victims are: 1.) Young Ascoyne D'Ascoyne. Louis cuts a mooring rope, sending Ascoyne over a waterfall in a flimsy boat. 2.) Henry D'Ascoyne, an amateur photographer, blown up after Louis substitutes petrol for paraffin in a darkroom lantern. 3.) The Reverend Lord Henry D'Ascoyne expires when Louis slips poison into his wine. 4.) Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne, a suffragette, drops leaflets from a hot- air balloon until Louis "Put an arrow into the air / She fell to earth in Berkeley Square." 5.) General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne, blown up by an explosive pot of caviar, sent anonymously by Louis. 6/) Ethelred, Eigth Duke of Chalmont, killed with a point-blank shotgun blast delivered by Louis. To all the excitement, add two significant characters: Sibella, Louis's childhood sweetheart; and Edith, the widow of Henry the photographer. After Henry's death, Louis courts and eventually wins the hand of Edith, while maintaining a long-standing dalliance with Sibella, now married to Lionel, " the most boring man in Europe." Ironically, within minutes of Louis's announcement of his engagement to Edith, he is arrested for the murder of Lionel, who had in fact committed suicide after the failure of his business. In prison, the cunning Sibella offer Louis a deal: she'll produce Lionel's suicide note if Louis will murder Edith and marry her. All but the prison scenes are played in flashback, representing Louis's memoirs, written during his long last night in prison. In the closing sequence, Louis, acquitted on the strength of the suicide note, leaves the prison, where he finds Edith waiting for him in one carriage and Sibella in another. The Lady or the Tiger? Or in this case, Option C: a reporter approaches Louis and requests his memoirs. Only then does Louis remember that he has left his memoirs, which amount to a full, signed confession, in his cell. The End. Written by John Dighton and Robert Hamer Directed by Robert Hamer Cast: Dennis Price.....Louis Mazzini/Mazzini Sr. Valerie Hobson.....Edith Joan Greenwood.....Sibella Alec Guinness.....The D'Ascoyne Family The plot is complex, but "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is not difficult or confusing to watch. It is a stroke of genius on the part of all its creators to make a film so rich, so detailed, so entertaining, and so understandable. Indeed, it has been called "an unfaded masterpiece and a prime example of British comedy at its cleverest." But a black, black comedy it is. In addition to Louis's six murder victims, others who join the choir invisible during the course of the film include his father, who dies of shock upon his first glimpse of the newborn Louis; his mother (run down by a trolley); Ethelred's wife Mary and her twin sons (diphtheria epidemic); Young Ascoyne's lady companion in the boat (drowns with Ascoyne); Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne (goes down with his sinking ship a the result of his own incompetence and obstinacy, thus generously saving Louis the trouble of a seventh murder); Old Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, who suffers a stroke, then dies of shock upon learning that he's inherited Ethelred's title; Lionel, Sibella's boring husband (suicide); and several other D'Ascoynes, unnamed, but methodically crossed off the family tree Louis keeps hidden behind a watercolor of Castle Chalmont. An article as least as long as this one could be written about Alec Guinness's masterly sketches of the D'Ascoynes in what was only his third film. His old men could pass for Obi Wan Kenobi's senile uncles; his lady Agatha is a menace in drag; Ascoyne is an insufferable young snob; while Henry, the photographer, is actually a modest, likable fellow whom Louis kills reluctantly. Guiness remarked "Somehow, I should have loved and hated them all. The only one I really loved, though, was the old Vicar, and I did him best." Guinness's exuberant D'Ascoynes make it easy to forget that Dennis Price also played multiple roles as Louis, Louis's father, and also very convincingly disguised as a country bishop. My own favorite scene takes place in Henry and Edith's garden, when the darkroom explodes. However, I've put enough "spoilers" in already, and will let first-time "Kind Hearts and Coronets" viewers discover this and hundreds of other treats on their own. -------->The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) Reliable Henry Holland supervises shipments of gold bullion for a London bank. For years, he daydreams about stealing a load of the treasure and living a life of comfort. But he can't figure out how to get the gold safely out of England. Then a Mr. Pendlebury takes lodgings in Holland's boarding house. Pendlebury works at a foundry, making cheap Eiffel Towers for export to French souvenir stands; Holland sees the solution to his own export problem. "It's a good job," he tells Pendlebury. "We're both honest men." Holland's record of reputable service at the bank backfires: he's given a promotion and can't refuse without raising suspicion. The new job starts in a week; his next bullion transfer will be his last. He and Pendlebury have got to act fast. They need expert help, but how to find it on such short notice? They devise a rat-trap: on a journey across London via bus and subway, and also at the racetrack, Pendlebury complains loudly to Holland that the safe at his factory is broken, and won't be repaired until the next day. What a shame to leave all that cash lying around for someone to steal! That night expert burglars Lackery and Shorty try. By daybreak, the Lavender Hill Mob is open for business. They pull off the heist with few glitches, melt the gold into Eiffel Towers, and ship them to Paris in crates marked "R" for "Reserve." Holland and Pendlebury go to the souvenir stand atop the Eiffel Tower to claim their prize. But the telephone instructions were misunderstood. In French, "R" is pronounced something like "air." Already, several gold towers have been purchased by a group of English schoolgirls. Leaving the rest of their booty in France, the unlucky crooks return to England and find the school. They appeal to the girls to exchange their Eiffel Towers ("experimental models") for ordinary bronze ones. One girl refuses. Holland and Pendlebury follow her after school straight into a Metropolitan Police exhibition. The girl gives her tower to a friend. a police constable. Holland snatches it and dashes away. After a hilarious chase sequence, Pendlebury get nabbed, but he encourages Holland to make a run for it. Here ends the flashback portion, told by Holland to an English visitor at a tropical hotel. As they finish their drinks and leave, we see Holland handcuffed to the other man, sent to bring him back to British justice. Written by T.E.B. Clarke Directed by Charles Crichton Cast: Alec Guinness.....Henry Holland Stanley Holloway.....Pendlebury Sidney James.....Lackery Alfie Bass.....Shorty An excellent caper movie. Thirty-something years later Charles Crichton also directed "A Fish Called Wanda." Early in the movie watch for Audrey Hepburn's brief appearance as "Chiquita." -------->The Man In The White Suit (1951) Unassuming, near-invisible lab assistant Sidney Stratton has set up his own bubbling, gurgling equipment at the Northern garment factory where he works. When the boss finds out, Sidney gets the sack , but soon finds work as a laborer in Alan Birnley's competing garment factory. When Sidney delivers a new electron microscope to the Birnley laboratory, he astounds the technicians by showing them how to install, adjust, and operate the complex device. The lab supervisor get Stratton transferred to his department, where Sidney recreates the bubbling, gurgling device he'd had at Corland's. Soon Sidney's experiment bears fruit, and we learn for the first time what he's been working on: an indestructible fiber that can be used to make clothing that never gets dirty and never wears out. Sidney tries to share his discovery with the big boss, but can't get past Birnley's front door, because Birnley, upstairs meeting with his executives, has just discovered Sidney's unauthorized equipment purchases at his own factory. It takes Birnley's daughter Daphne to explain the significance of Sidney's discovery. Now Birnley does an about-face and orders full production of the new fabric, placing the entire laboratory at Sidney's disposal. After sometimes explosive delays, a prototype is created in the form of a white suit, tailored with blowtorches to fit its inventor. When young Corland, owner of the other factory and Daphne's fiancÈ, gets word of Birnley's plans, he calls in heavy artillery: Sir John Kierlaw, patriarch of the British garment industry. Kierlaw convinces Birnley that Sidney's fabric will wreck their business, since no one will ever need more than one suit of clothes. Birnley agrees that the invention must be suppressed. Sidney refuses their bribes and the seductive persuasions of Daphne, who has been forced by her father into a Mata Hari role. Daphne admires Sidney all the more for standing by his principles and she helps him escape from her father's house. Back on the streets, Sidney learns that his invention is unpopular with the working classes as well as the industrial bourgeoisie. His former coworkers threaten a strike if the miracle fabric is produced, on the grounds that it will put them all out of work. Sidney persists, until a chance encounter with his elderly landlady. "Without no washing up to do," she says, "how's poor folk like me supposed to make ends meet?" Sidney realizes his battle is lost. A few minutes later, trapped in a dark alley by an angry mob, Sidney watches helplessly as his white suit crumbles to shreds. The fiber is unstable; it's a short-lived miracle. The final shot shows Sidney, sacked from his factory, walking away into the sunset. But there's a bounce in his step and on the soundtrack we hear the bubbling, gurgling, mechanical leitmotif. Written by John Dighton, Roger Macdougall, and Alexander Mackendrick Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Cast: Alec Guinness.....Sidney Stratton Joan Greenwood.....Daphne Birnley Cecil Parker.....Alan Birnley Michael Gough.....Michael Corland As with several other superficially lighthearted Ealing comedies, this one also raises an interesting moral issue: To what extent should high-tech, labor-saving modern conveniences be allowed to increase unemployment? Where should the line be drawn and who should draw it? "The Man in the White Suit" precedes by several years other, inferior comedies about scientific innovation, e.g., the Disney "Flubber" movies. Alec Guinness went straight from "Lavender Hill" to "The Man in the White Suit" with scarcely a breath in between. The two movies were released a month apart in 1951. -------->The Ladykillers (1955) Old Mrs. Wilberforce amuses the St. Pancras police with bizarre stories about her neighbors. But she's lonely, and readily agrees to rent a room to eccentric Professor Marcus and his string quintet. Rejuvenated by her new lodgers and the classical melodies they send reverberating through the old house, Mrs. W. often interrupts rehearsals to offer refreshments. She doesn't suspect that the music comes from a gramophone. The quintet is actually a gang of thieves using her house as their headquarters. They even make her an unwitting accomplice after they hold up an armored car, by sending the booty in a steamer trunk to St. Pancras station, where Mrs. W. claims it, believing it to be the Professor's belongings. On her way home, she scolds a street vendor, causing a traffic jam and a near riot, after which she gets a police escort to deliver the trunk safely to her house. The thieves divide the spoils, and almost make it away, but oafish One-Round spills wads of cash onto Mrs. W.'s front porch just as her ladyfriends arrive for a tea party. Mrs. W. realizes the cash is stolen. The Professor tries to talk her out of blowing the whistle, but she's stubborn. However, she agrees not to report them upon their (phony) promise to turn themselves in. The gang decides to kill her, but none has the heart to do it. While she sleeps, the thieves argue, and one by one, by intent and accident, bump each other off. Mrs W. awakens to a house deserted except for herself, her parrots, and the loot. She tells the police about the five strange men who vanished and left all that money behind, but she's the Old Lady Who Cried Wolf. Patronizingly, the police tell her to keep the money and run along home. Which she does. Written by William Rose Directed by Alexander Mackendrick Cast: Alec Guinness.....Professor Marcus Cecil Parker.....Major Courteney Herbert Lom.....Louis Harvey Peter Sellers.....Harry Robinson Danny Green.....One-Round Lawson Jack Warner.....Police Superintendent Katie Johnson.....Mrs. Louisa Alexandra Wilberforce "The Ladykillers," which some consider the last of the great Ealing comedies, features virtuoso character actors, including Lom and Sellers. These two later teamed up very memorably in the "Pink Panther" movies. Sellers plays a slicked-back Teddyboy who, when helping Mrs. Wilberforce chase her escaped parrot, tells her "Don't you worry - I'm good with birds." So what are some of the defining characteristics of the Ealing movies, comedies and dramas alike? In his 1980 book "Ealing Studios," author Charles Barr explores many moral, political, and sociological commonalties but for now a few rather more mundane similarities can be mentioned: 1.) Tightly -written scripts, with original yet believable characters and intriguing stories. Script revisions proceeded even during principal photography. 2.) Careful attention to expenses; yet Ealing films could not be called "low budget." 3.) Casts and crews who were devoted to Ealing. 4.) Defiance of authority juxtaposed with reverence for the best of the English way of life. Also a defining factor in Ealing movies was one Sir Michael Balcon. Although Ealing wasn't his brainchild, when he took over in 1938 he became the most doting stepfather a movie studio ever had. Balcon's influence at Ealing was pervasive. --------> An Ealing Chronology 1914: Alec Guinness de Cuffe born April 2 in London 1929: Stage director Basil Dean creates Associated Talking Pictures (ATP) 1931: Construction completed on ATP's studio at Ealing Green, London 1934: Guinness's stage debut. 1938: Dean leaves ATP to return to the theatre; he is replaced by Michael Balcon. 1939: 'Good-bye Mr. Chips" released; produced by Balcon for MGM 1939: "Cheer Boys Cheer" among the initial crop of Balcon's Ealing comedies. 1946: Guinness's film debut in "Great Expectations," directed by David Lean. 1949: "Passport to Pimlico" released in April 1949: "Whisky Galore" released in June 1949: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" released in June 1951: "The Lavender Hill Mob" released in June 1951: "The Man in the White Suit" released in August 1952: "Making a Film" by Lindsay Anderson chronicles the making of "Secret People" at Ealing; movie and book released simultaneously 1955: Ealing Studios sold; Ealing Productions move to MGM- Borehamwood 1955: "The Ladykillers" released in December 1959: "The Siege of Pinchgut," the last Ealing picture, is released. In all, 95 pictures are produced by Balcon between 1939-1959. The legacy of the Ealing Studios can perhaps best be seen by prowling through the Internet Movie Database. Start with any film in this article and follow the links, to the past or to the future. Even those who have never seen an Ealing production will find dozens of direct connections to hundreds of other great movies and TV shows. One hint for starters: look up producer Sidney Cole. (Special thanks to the Media and Reference Departments at the Fort Worth Public Library's Central Branch.) ================================ End of May 1996 issue, Part 2/4.