I had seemingly 'run out of titles' to rent at Netflix some months ago, having thought I'd seen nearly everything that would interest me. Then I stumbled upon 'ODD MAN OUT', by Carol Reed and was amazed at how wrong I was about thinking I'd reached the bottom of the barrel. Since then, I've discovered some very old British Comedies from the 40's and 50's that I'd never heard of, Directors such as Basil Dearden and Henry Cornelius, and Ealing Studios. 'GENEVIEVE' from the early 50's I'd never seen, and had been nominated for a few Oscars including it's Music so I checked it out. Absolutely HILARIOUS and incredibly charming. It's available on Blu-ray and the Color Cinematography (by Christopher Challis) is gorgeous. This was the Cinematographer who filmed 'Mary Queen of Scots' in 1971; I'd no idea. Other titles I've found available at Netflix to rent are, 'THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT', 'PASSPORT TO PIMLICO', (which has a Long Wait, a good sign!) and 'THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH'. 'SMALLEST SHOW' is a film I've had since DVD'S first came out, I enjoy this cast of Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Margaret Rutherford and a very young Peter Sellers. There are wait times for 'Titfield' and 'Pimlico', so I'll be patient. However, are there any other titles along these lines you could recommend? Thanks!
I always liked those amusing Rank Organization "Doctor" films starring either Dirk Bogarde, Michael Craig or Leslie Phillips.
Doctor at Sea (1955) — with Bogarde Doctor at Large (1957) — with Bogarde Doctor in Love (1960) — with Michael Craig Doctor in Distress (1963) — with Bogarde Doctor in Clover (1966) — with Phillips Doctor in Trouble (1970) — with Phillips
However, are there any other titles along these lines you could recommend? Thanks!
Certainly, yes, there exist other similar pictures ... a surfeit of them, I'd say. Comedies are never priorities with me, but I've acquainted myself with many 'golden' British productions because lots of them were scored by composers whose music I follow: Benjamin Frankel, Malcolm Arnold, William Alwyn, etc.
I'll post some titles here from memory (not comprehensive, but without doubt items off the beaten path).
I love this period and style of film, though only know some of these mentioned (thanks especially to Zardoz for naming some I don't know).
We recently watched the original Whisky Galore (remake with Eddie Izzard came out this year) and found it utterly charming.
And my favorites among those not yet mentioned are two with Alec Guinness: The Man in the White Suit, and most especially The Horse's Mouth - a wonderful film about an outrageous artist - which for me and wife is simply a masterpiece.
I think Ealing studios ceased film production in 1956 or '57. The 1956 Private's Progress was not Ealing but from the Boulting Brothers & British Lion. As School for Scoundrels was from 1960, it wasn't Ealing.
Bear in mind that Ealing Studios produced more than comedies - just as Hammer Films did not produce horror exclusively and was making multiple genre items simultaneously [anybody ever see Shirley Eaton in a 1961 Hammer called A Weekend with Lulu?]
Thanks zardoz, if not actually bonafide ealing comedies, im still recommending them to the TS in the spirit of the thread coz theyre hilarious and superb!
Thanks zardoz, if not actually bonafide ealing comedies, im still recommending them to the TS in the spirit of the thread coz theyre hilarious and superb!
I found one of those Searle main titles this morning on youtube when I was looking into your list, Zardoz. It was fun to hear him in that mode, since I'm more familiar with his serial style in his symphonies, The Haunting, etc.
