Comedy > 1951 Comedy

Greed equals wealth?

Advantages: Alec Guiness is fabulous, understated comedy
Disadvantages: None really

...clerk Henry Holland, who oversees the transportation of gold bullion, has always had a dream of stealing some and running away. However, he knows that he cannot do it without a partner. Then Alfred Pendlebury moves into his boarding house; Pendlebury makes metal Eiffel Towers for the export market. Before long, the two of them realise that they could stage a heist, steal the gold bullion, turn it into Eiffel Towers and smuggle it overseas. And with ...
...away with it, or is the plan doomed to failure? One of the most famous of the Ealing comedies, The Lavender Hill Mob was released in 1951, directed by Charles Crichton. Somewhat scarily, it is due to be remade in 2011 - as it is such a classic film, I really hope the remake does justice to the original. A very young Alec Guiness stars as Henry Holland in this version, as he did in many of the well-known Ealing comedies. He is completely convincing ...

sunmeilan 25.08.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Lavender Hill Mob (DVD)

Everlasting fabric?

Advantages: Quirky, amusing
Disadvantages: Not the best known Ealing comedy

...Stratton gets a job in the local mill as a cover for what he is really doing - inventing a type of fabric that is everlasting. When he finally succeeds, he thinks he is made, and, with the help of the mill owner's daughter, manages to convince the man at the top that he has hit on something well worth investigating further. But then the unions realise that everlasting fabric would eventually put them out of business and try to stop Stratton's plans. ...
...successful? And will he win the heart of the mill owner's daughter? Released in 1951 out of Ealing studios, this comedy is perhaps one of the least well-known Ealing comedies. Nevertheless, it is a quirky British comedy that has a lot of advantages; not least the inclusion of the wonderful Sir Alec Guinness as Sidney Stratton. A common face in Ealing comedies (I like him best of all in The Ladykillers), Guinness plays this role fairly straight, once ...

sunmeilan 30.08.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Man In The White Suit (DVD)

The future of fabric???

Advantages: Great Classic British Comedy
Disadvantages: No frills black and white may not appeal to some

The Man in The White Suit is a classic film from the Ealing Comedy Series - a black and white production from 1951. Background on Ealing Studios and Ealing Comedies = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Ealing studios were the first purpose build sound stage studios in Britain, based in Ealing Green in West London. They produced films from 1938 to 1957 and built up the film careers of people like George Formby, Margaret Lockwood ...
...demand for lighter relief in the media of cinema from the public and in 1947 Ealings comedy Hue and Cry became a huge success with audiences. By 1949 the Ealing Comedy era had begun with releases of Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore! And Kind Hearts and Coronets. The success continued up until 1957 with other films such as The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) and The Ladykillers (1955). ...

Zigpop 03.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Man In The White Suit (DVD)

One Man And A Piano

Advantages: fantastic comedy show
Disadvantages: some dodgy camera angles

...you would like. 1 Ready For This. This is the opening song for the show and Minchin comes onto the stage in a blaze of strobe lights and opens the show with a great little rock ditty where he manages to poke fun at himself while accompanied by a recording of him beatboxing with back up singers. 2 Prejudice In our modern free spoken society There is a word that we still hold taboo A word with a terrible history Of being used to ...
...to gingers, the playground taunt of choice. A hilarious song that manages to use more ginger puns than you thought existed! 3 America America is not a song but a stand up routine which discusses how forward Americans are compared to Australians and British people and are not afraid to shout about their achievements. Somehow the dialogue manages to veer onto the big bang and what will happen to a certain office block in Times Square in Manhattan ...

wigglylittleworm 30.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ready For This - Tim Minchin

A night you would want to remember!

Advantages: Funny, Famous cameo, Unpredictable
Disadvantages: slightly unbelievable at times.

Well I saw the Hangover in the cinema, and I plan on purchasing on DVD in the near future. I thought this film was hilarious - one of my friends more so as he decided to go to watch it in the cinema about 3 or 4 times! I personally felt the star of the show so to speak was Zach Galifianakis who played slightly odd soon to be brother in law Alan. I just thought his stupidity/twisted sense of humour was really funny, and entertained me all the way ...
...really, but at the same time quite amusing. I won't go into too much detail of what happens as I don't want to spoil any of the suprises during the film. Basically, the film is about a group of guys who go to Vegas for a bloke called Doug to have a stag night. Doug doesn't really feature in the film other than the beginning and end - as he goes missing - which is the point of the film. They wake up the morning after with a trashed hotel room, and ...

adz_mc 30.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Hangover (DVD)