Comedy > 1949 Comedy

Och Aye

Advantages: Great characters and a good cast, amusing story and film, ealing classic
Disadvantages: Very dated

Whiskey Galore is one of those charming Black and White Ealing comedies that is highly enjoyable but is so out of touch with today, that it may as well be set on the planet Zog. Released in 1949 one can see why it is out of touch to say the least. Let's face it that is almost 60 years ago. However it still appears on the small screen, from time to time, and is available on DVD for collectors of classic films, as yes that is what it is. On a remote ...
...island has nearly run dry. Dry of whiskey that is. It is the second world war and rationing is taking it's toll. Then, as if sent by God, a cargo ship full to the brim with whiskey runs aground on the rocks around Todday. 50,000 cases of Whiskey are there for the taking but will it be that easy? There are many pitfalls, some of which will seem ludicrous today, such as the issue of handling the ill-gotten gains on a Sunday. The authorities seem to ...

grafter123 13.02.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Whisky Galore! (DVD)

Bittersweet revenge

Advantages: Classic, stylish black comedy, great performances, nice twist
Disadvantages: None for me, but perthaps dated and too gentle for some.

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grafter123 25.11.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Kind Hearts And Coronets (DVD)

Foreigners in their own country

Advantages: Gentle comedy, great characters and actors, Ealing Comedy
Disadvantages: Outdated for some

...a borough of London. Passport to Pimlico is one of the now classic comedies which came out of the Ealing Studios, during their prime in the 1940's and 1950's. This gentle comedy is set in the era, just after the Second World War, when rationing is still very much in operation. During a long hot summer, the discovery of an unexploded bomb eventually leads to an exciting discvery, which may lead the citizens of Pimlico to an apparent means of solving ...
...a set which was erected on a cleared bomb site in London. This film has delightful characters and a wealth of those actors and actresses, who were my favourites during my childhood. It is filmed in black and white which certainly fits the time. The post war years were quite austere and houses and the environment of cities and towns tended to be rather grey. For younger viewers, the setting may seem a little strange. However for myself, and others ...

grafter123 28.11.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Passport To Pimlico (DVD)

The Rib's lib....

Advantages: Fantastic, intelligent, witty, ironic, well-acted comedy
Disadvantages: Not a one

When I was a about 8 years of age and growing up in Ireland, the state broadcaster RTE, for reasons best known to themselves spent two weeks showing a Spencer Tracey film every night. Perhaps it was because he was a Catholic actor and therefore on the ‘approved list’, perhaps it was because all his films had come out of copyright and could be shown without having to pay royalties or perhaps it was because someone in the broadcasting department was ...
...stay up for the first time in my life until 10.30 every night (but only because it was the Summer holidays) and so I got to see ten of these magical films. They taught me a lot, that love takes work, that conventionally handsome men can be a little vapid and empty and that Spencer Tracey when teamed with Katherine Hepburn was the most magical combination of actors that a genius producer could put together. Think of famous ‘screen couples’ now and ...

ElizaF 09.06.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Adam's Rib (DVD)

"Blimey! I'm a foreigner!" - Passport To Pimlico DVD

Advantages: Great one-liners, great idea for a film, love it!
Disadvantages: None

One of my favourite films, Passport to Pimlico was a film I first saw when I was a child, and the concept of it really appealed to me. It came out in 1949, and is set a in post second world war London, Pimlico to be precise (funny that!). It stars Stanley Holloway (also in The Lavender Hill Mob, My Fair Lady and much more), Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple), and a very early appearance from Charles Hawtry (Carry On films). To summarise slightly, ...
...besides, it is definitely a comedy worth seeing, there is an unexploded bomb, some kids are playing and accidentally(?) kick a tyre down the hole, which sets off the bomb, to reveal a hole (which I gather was a buried cellar) containing among jewels, coins etc, a set of important documents revealing to the inhabitants that Pimlico is in fact legally a part of Burgundy, France! There are some terrific one-liners in this film, one of my favvourites ...

razielle 27.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Passport To Pimlico (DVD)