''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

written, produced and directed by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars

Roger Livesey Roger Livesey (25 June 1906 – 4 February 1976) was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'', '' ...

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a ...

and

Anton Walbrook Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück (19 November 18969 August 1967) was an Austrian actor who settled in the United Kingdom under the name Anton Walbrook. A popular performer in Austria and pre-war Germany, he left in 1936 out of concerns for his o ...

. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David Low, but the story itself is original. Some regard the film as the greatest British movie ever made and it is renowned for its sophistication and directorial brilliance as well as for its script, the performances of its large cast and for its pioneering

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

cinematography. Among its distinguished company of actors, particular praise has been reserved for Livesey, Walbrook, and Kerr.

Plot

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Clive Wynne-Candy (

) is a senior commander in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Before a training exercise, he is "captured" in a

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

by soldiers led by Lieutenant "Spud" Wilson, who has struck pre-emptively. He ignores Candy's outraged protests that "War starts at midnight!" They scuffle and fall into a bathing pool. An extended flashback ensues. Boer War
In 1902, Lieutenant Candy is on leave from the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. He receives a letter from Edith Hunter (

), who is working in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. She complains that a German named Kaunitz is spreading anti-British propaganda, and she wants the British embassy to intervene. When Candy brings this to his superiors' attention, they refuse him permission to go to Berlin, but he goes anyway. In Berlin, Candy and Edith go to a café, where he confronts Kaunitz. Provoked, Candy inadvertently insults the Imperial German Army officer corps. The Germans insist he fight a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

with an officer chosen by lot: Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff (

). Candy and Theo become friends while recuperating from their wounds in the same nursing home. Edith visits them regularly and, although it is implied that she has feelings for Clive, she becomes engaged to Theo. Candy is delighted, but soon realises that he loves her himself. First World War
In

November 1918 The following events occurred in November 1918: November 1, 1918 (Friday) * Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro – The Serbian First Army under command of Petar Bojović liberated Belgrade from the control of the Central ...

Candy, now a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

, believes that the Allies won the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

because "right is might". While in France, he meets nurse Barbara Wynne (Kerr again). She bears a striking resemblance to Edith. Back in England, he courts and marries her despite their twenty-year age difference. In July 1919 Candy tracks Theo down at a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

camp in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. Candy greets him as if nothing has changed, but Theo snubs him. On 26 August about to be repatriated to Germany, Theo apologises and accepts an invitation to Clive's house. He remains sceptical that his country will be treated fairly. Barbara dies in August 1926, and Candy retires in 1935. Second World War
In November 1939, Theo relates to a British Immigration official how he was estranged from his children when they became Nazis. Before the war, he refused to move to England when Edith wanted to; by the time he was ready, she had died. Candy vouches for Theo. Candy reveals to Theo that he loved Edith and only realised it after it was too late. He admits that he never got over it. Theo meets Candy's MTC driver, Angela "Johnny" Cannon (Kerr again), personally chosen by the Englishman; Theo is struck by her resemblance to Barbara and Edith. Candy, restored to the active list as a major-general, is to give a BBC radio talk regarding the retreat from Dunkirk. Candy plans to say he would rather lose the war than win it using the methods employed by the Nazis: his talk is cancelled. Theo urges his friend to accept the need to fight and win by whatever means are necessary, because the consequences of losing are so dire. Candy is again retired, but, at Theo's and Angela's urging, turns his energy to the

. Candy, now a general, is instrumental in building up the Home Guard. His house is bombed in

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and replaced by an emergency water supply cistern. He moves to his club, where he relaxes in a Turkish bath before a training exercise he has arranged. The brash young lieutenant who captures Candy is Angela's boyfriend, who used her to learn about Candy's plans and location. She tries to warn Candy, but is too late. Theo and Angela find Candy sitting across the street from where his house stood. He recalls that after being given a severe dressing down by his superior for causing the diplomatic incident, he declined the man's invitation to dinner, and often regretted doing so. He tells Angela to invite her boyfriend to dine with him. Years before, Clive promised Barbara that he would "never change" until his house was flooded and "this is a lake". Seeing the cistern, he realises that "here is the lake and I still haven't changed". Candy salutes the new guard as it passes by.

Cast

Cast notes: *Making their second appearance in ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' were director

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

's golden cocker spaniels, Erik and Spangle, who had previously appeared in ''

Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

'' (1940), and went on to be seen in the

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

films '' I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945) and '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (US: ''Stairway to Heaven'', 1946).

Production

According to the directors, the idea for the film did not come from the newspaper comic strip by David Low but from a scene cut from their previous film, ''

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing ''One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (stylized onscreen as ''......one of our aircraft is missing'') is a 1942 British black-and-white war film, mainly set in the German-occupied Netherlands. It was the fourth collaboration between the British writ ...

'', in which an elderly member of the crew tells a younger one, "You don't know what it's like to be old." Powell has stated that the idea was actually suggested by

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

(then an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

) who, when removing the scene from the film, mentioned that the premise of the conversation was worthy of a film in its own right. Powell wanted

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

(who had previously appeared in Powell and Pressburger's '' 49th Parallel'' and '' The Volunteer'') to play Candy. However, the Ministry of Information refused to release Olivier—who was serving in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

—from active service, telling Powell and Pressburger, "...we advise you not to make it and you can't have Laurence Olivier because he's in the Fleet Air Arm and we're not going to release him to play your Colonel Blimp". Powell wanted

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

to play Kerr's parts but she pulled out due to pregnancy. The character of Frau von Kalteneck, a friend of Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff, was played by Roger Livesey's wife

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

. Although they often appeared on stage together, this was their only appearance together in a film. Further problems were caused by Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, who, prompted by objections from

James Grigg Sir Percy James Grigg, KCB, KCSI, PC (16 December 18905 May 1964), better known as Sir James Grigg, was a British civil servant who was unexpectedly moved, at the behest of then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, from being the Permanent Under ...

, his secretary of state for war, sent a memo suggesting the production be stopped. Grigg warned that the public's belief in the "Blimp conception of the Army officer" would be given "a new lease of life". After Ministry of Information and

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

officials had viewed a

rough cut In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The term originates from the early days of filmmaking when film stock was physically cut and reassembled, but is still used to describe projects that are recorded and ...

, objections were withdrawn in May 1943. Churchill's disapproval remained, however, and at his insistence an export ban, much exploited in advertising by the British distributors, remained in place until August of that year. The film was shot in four months at

Denham Film Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's ''Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s th ...

and on location in and around London, and at Denton Hall in Yorkshire. Filming was made difficult by the wartime shortages and by Churchill's objections leading to a ban on the production crew having access to any military personnel or equipment. But they still managed to "find" quite a few Army vehicles and plenty of uniforms. Michael Powell once said of ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' that it is At other times he also pointed out that the designer was German, and the leads included Austrian and Scottish actors. The

military advisor Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...

for the film was

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir Douglas Brownrigg (1886–1946) whose own career was rather similar to Wynne-Candy's, as he had served with distinction in the First World War, was retired after Dunkirk and then took a senior role in the Home Guard.

Original release and contemporary reception

The film was released in the UK in 1943. The première, organised by Lady Margaret Alexander, took place on 10 June at the Odeon cinema, Leicester Square, London, with all proceeds donated to the Odeon Services and Seamen's Fund. The film was heavily attacked on release mainly because of its sympathetic presentation of a German officer, albeit an anti-Nazi one, who is more down-to-earth and realistic than the central British character. Sympathetic German characters had previously appeared in the films of Powell and Pressburger, for example ''

The Spy in Black ''The Spy in Black'' (US: ''U-Boat 29'') is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thril ...

'' and ''49th Parallel'', the latter of which was also made during the war. The film provoked an extremist pamphlet, ''The Shame and Disgrace of Colonel Blimp'', by "right-wing sociologists E. W. and M. M. Robson", members of the obscure Sidneyan Society, which proclaimed it "A highly elaborate, flashy, flabby and costly film, the most disgraceful production that has ever emanated from a British film studio." The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1943, after ''

In Which We Serve ''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The scree ...

'' and ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

''. Due to the British government's disapproval of the film, it was not released in the United States until 1945 and then in a modified form, in black and white as ''The Adventures of Colonel Blimp'' or simply ''Colonel Blimp''. The original cut was 163 minutes. It was reduced to a 150-minute version, then later to 90 minutes for television, both in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. One of the crucial changes made to the shortened versions was the removal of the film's flashback structure.

Restorations

In 1983, the original cut was restored for a re-release, much to Emeric Pressburger's delight. Pressburger, as affirmed by his grandson Kevin Macdonald on a Carlton Region 2 DVD featurette, considered ''Blimp'' the best of his and Powell's works. Nearly thirty years later, ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' underwent another restoration similar to that performed on '' The Red Shoes''. The fundraising was spearheaded by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

and his long-time editor,

Thelma Schoonmaker Thelma Schoonmaker (; born January 3, 1940) is an American film editor, known for her over five decades of work with frequent director Martin Scorsese. She started working with Scorsese on his debut feature film '' Who's That Knocking at My Doo ...

, also Michael Powell's widow. Restoration work was completed by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in association with the BFI, ITV Studios Global Entertainment Ltd. (the current copyright holders), and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by The Material World Charitable Foundation, the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, Cinema per Roma Foundation, and The Film Foundation. The restored film was shown around the world.

Reputation and analysis

Although the film is strongly pro-British, it is a satire on the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, especially its leadership. It suggests that Britain faced the option of following traditional notions of honourable warfare or to "fight dirty" in the face of such an evil enemy as

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. There is also a certain similarity between Candy and Churchill and some historians have suggested that Churchill may have wanted the production stopped because he had mistaken the film for a parody of himself (he had himself served in the Boer War and the First World War). Churchill's exact reasons remain unclear, but he was acting only on a description of the planned film from his staff, not on a viewing of the film itself. Since the highly successful re-release of the film in the 1980s, ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' has been re-evaluated. The film is praised for its dazzling Technicolor cinematography, the performances by the lead actors as well as for transforming, in

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

's words, "a blustering, pigheaded caricature into one of the most loved of all movie characters".

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

has written: "My idea of perfection is Roger Livesey (my favorite actor) in ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (my favorite film) about to fight Anton Walbrook (my other favorite actor)."

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

saw the film as addressing "what it means to be English", and praised it for the bravery of taking a "longer view of history" in 1943.

Anthony Lane Anthony Lane is a British journalist who is a film critic for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. Career Education and early career Lane attended Sherborne School and graduated with a degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he also ...

of the ''New Yorker'' said in 1995 that the film "may be the greatest English film ever made, not least because it looks so closely at the incurable condition of being English". The film appears in ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

''s list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time at number 80.

References

Bibliography

*Chapman, James.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp: reconsidered.
''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'' 03/95 15(1) pp. 19–36. * Christie, Ian. "The Colonel Blimp File." ''

Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'', 48. 1978 :Includes the contents of Public Record Office file on the film * Christie, Ian. ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (script) by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger''. London: Faber & Faber, 1994. . :Includes the contents of Public Record Office file on the film, memos to & from Churchill and the script showing the difference between the original and final versions * Kennedy, A.L. ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp''. London: BFI Film Classics, 1997. . * Powell, Michael. ''A Life in Movies: An Autobiography''. London: Heinemann, 1986. . * Powell, Michael. ''Million Dollar Movie''. London: Heinemann, 1992. . * Vermilye, Jerry. ''The Great British Films''. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1978. pp66–68. .

External links

* * * * * . Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).
BFI's Top Fifty (British) Films

at the Powell & Pressburger Appreciation Society
BBC Radio 4 programme on the film
with contributions by

, Kevin Macdonald, and Ian Christie.
The Shame and Disgrace of Colonel Blimp''The Life and Death and Life of Colonel Blimp''
an essay by

Molly Haskell Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American feminist film critic and author. She contributed to '' The Village Voice''—fir ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

;DVD reviews :Region 2 UK – Carlton DVD
Various short reviews

TheCritic review
:Region 2 France – Warner Home Vidéo
L'Institut Lumière

Review
by John White at DVD Times (UK) :Region 1 USA –

DVD Savant

Roger Ebert

DVD Journal
;DVD comparisons

comparison of Carlton & Criterion releases

comparison of Carlton & Criterion releases {{DEFAULTSORT:Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp 1943 films 1943 romantic drama films 1940s British films 1940s English-language films 1940s war drama films British romantic drama films British war drama films War romance films Western Front (World War I) films Films set on the United Kingdom home front during World War I World War II films made in wartime Films set in Berlin Films set in England Films shot at Denham Film Studios Films by Powell and Pressburger Films about the British Army