The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's
post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
spirit,
the most celebrated films in the sequence include ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...
'' (1949), ''
Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'' (1951), ''
The Man in the White Suit
''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 British satirical science fiction comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It stars Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The film was nominated for an ...
'' (1951) and ''
The Ladykillers'' (1955). ''
Hue and Cry
In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime.
History
By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. 1. St. 2. c. ...
'' (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and ''
Barnacle Bill'' (1957) the last, although some sources list ''
Davy'' (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, and they also received international acclaim.
History
Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. The 1939 film ''
Cheer Boys Cheer'', featuring the rivalry between two brewing companies, one big and modernist, the other small and traditional, has been characterised as a prototype of later films. One of the few other films that can be seen as a direct precursor to the Ealing comedies is ''
Saloon Bar'' (1940), in which the regulars of a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
join forces to clear the name of the barmaid's boyfriend who has been accused of murder. Other wartime comedies featuring actors such as
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by Cultural history, cultural historian Matthew Sweet (writer), Matthew Sweet as "a cocky ...
,
Will Hay and
George Formby
George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...
were generally in a broader
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
tradition and had little in common with the later Ealing comedy films. Ealing made no comedy films at all in 1945 and 1946.
[Murphy p.211]
Comedies
T. E. B. Clarke wrote the screenplay for ''
Hue and Cry
In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime.
History
By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. 1. St. 2. c. ...
'' (1947), about a group of schoolboys who confront a criminal gang, which proved to be a critical and commercial success.
It was followed by three films with
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
themes: ''
Another Shore'' (1948), about the fantasies of a bored
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
customs official, ''
A Run for Your Money'' (1949), depicting the adventures of two inexperienced Welshmen in London for an important
rugby international, and ''
Whisky Galore!'', (1949) about
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
islanders during the Second World War who discover that a freighter with a large cargo of
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
has run aground.
''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...
'' (1949) is a
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
in which the son of an impoverished branch of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family murders eight other members, all of whom are played by
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
, in order to inherit the family dukedom and gain revenge on his snobbish relations. In ''
Passport to Pimlico
''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...
'' (1949), a newly uncovered mediaeval charter causes the inhabitants of the London neighbourhood of
Pimlico
Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...
to create their own independent
nation state
A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...
and end
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...
, leading to a variety of unexpected problems and
diplomatic incidents with the British government.
''
The Magnet
''The Magnet'' was a British weekly boys' story paper published by Amalgamated Press. It ran from 1908 to 1940, publishing a total of 1,683 issues.
Each issue contained a long school story about the boys of Greyfriars School, a fictional publ ...
'' (1950), set in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, is about a boy whose acquisition of a
magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
leads to a series of adventures in the city. In ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'' (1951) a timid
bank clerk
A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. T ...
gets together an unlikely gang of accomplices to snatch a delivery of
gold bullion
A gold bar, also known as gold bullion or a gold ingot, is a quantity of refining, refined metallic gold that can be shaped in various forms, produced under standardized conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record-keeping. Larger varietie ...
. The
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...
proves surprisingly successful, but things start to go wrong when they attempt to melt down their haul into model
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.
Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
s. ''
The Man in the White Suit
''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 British satirical science fiction comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It stars Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The film was nominated for an ...
'' (1951) features the efforts of a zealous young scientist to create a new kind of clothing material that will never get dirty and never wear out – an invention that threatens the livelihoods of both
big business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
and the
trade unions
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
who join forces to try to prevent the publication of this new discovery.
''
The Titfield Thunderbolt
''The Titfield Thunderbolt'' is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, George Relph and John Gregson. The screenplay concerns a group of villagers trying to keep their branch line ...
'' (1953) echoes the theme of ''Passport to Pimlico'', switched to a rural setting, with a small community standing up for their local interests when their
branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
is threatened with closure by
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...
in a forerunner of the
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
a decade later. The villagers join forces to keep their railway running, but face competition and sabotage from a rival
bus company.
''
Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) follows a
television set
A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...
as it is passed on from one owner to another, causing dissatisfaction wherever it goes. The film serves as a warning about the effects of rapidly expanding television use.
''
The Love Lottery'' (1954) sees a
matinee idol Hollywood star, played by
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...
, agree to take part in a "love
lottery
A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
". ''
The Maggie
''The 'Maggie (U.S. title: ''High and Dry''; also known as ''Highland Fling'') is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie and James Copeland. It was written by William Rose and ...
'' (1954) features a clash of culture and wills between a wily Scottish boat captain and a vigorous American business tycoon who has mistakenly contracted the boat to carry a cargo for him. In ''
The Ladykillers'' (1955) a gang of criminals rent a room from the elderly Mrs Wilberforce while they're pretending to be a
string quintet
A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...
looking for a space to practice. They plan to use the house to stage a robbery at nearby
King's Cross railway station. On the brink of escape, they are thwarted by Mrs Wilberforce who discovers their true purpose. The gang agree that she has to be murdered before she can go to the police, but prove incapable of doing this, and begin turning on each other instead.
Later comedies
''
Who Done It?'' (1956) was the final comedy made at Ealing Studios, before it was sold to the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. It parodies
detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...
with a young man setting himself up in business as a
private detective
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...
after receiving a windfall of £100. His confused efforts to solve a crime lead to his becoming entangled in
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
espionage. The film was closer in style to traditional 1930s comedy, rather than the type of films Ealing had become known for over the previous decade.
Two final comedies were released under the Ealing banner, but made at
Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...
. ''
Barnacle Bill'' (1957) follows Captain Ambrose who, after leaving the navy, buys a run-down
pier
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
on the English seaside. Ambrose tries to revive the pier crossing swords with the local council who have a scheme to redevelop the entire seafront, personally enriching themselves while ruining him. Ambrose battles them by severing his connection with the shore, registering his pier as a ship under a foreign flag, and marketing it as a tourist destination for those too
seasick to go on cruises. In ''
Davy'' (1958) a promising entertainer tries to decide whether to strike out on his own, or stay with his family's struggling
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
act. No further comedies were made by Ealing, and after the thriller ''
Siege of Pinchgut'' (1959), the brand was absorbed into the wider
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...
.
The previous year Rank had released ''
Rockets Galore!'', a sequel to ''
Whisky Galore!'', but its production was unconnected with Ealing.
Personnel
Many of the films were built around a
repertory
A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom ...
group of actors, screenwriters, directors and technicians. Directors were
Alexander Mackendrick
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born Scottish film director and screenwriter. He directed nine feature films between 1949 and 1967, before retiring from filmmaking to become an influential profess ...
,
Charles Crichton
Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor.
Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-yea ...
,
Robert Hamer,
Charles Frend
Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909, Pulborough, Sussex – 8 January 1977, London) was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for suc ...
,
Michael Relph
Michael Leighton George Relph (16 February 1915 – 30 September 2004) was an English film producer, art director, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of actor George Relph.
Films
Relph began his film career in 1933 as an assista ...
and
Henry Cornelius
Henry Cornelius (born Owen Henry Cornelius 18 August 1913 – 2 May 1958) was a South African-born film director, film producer, producer, screenwriter and film editor. He directed five films between 1949 and 1958. Biography
Born into a Ger ...
. Composers included
Ernest Irving and
Georges Auric. Notable actors who became prolific in these films included
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...
,
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
,
Joan Greenwood,
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe; 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1 ...
,
Moira Lister and
Peggy Cummins. A number of actors also appeared frequently in smaller roles such as
Edie Martin and
Philip Stainton
Philip Stainton (9 April 1908 – 1 August 1961) was an English actor. Stainton appeared in several Ealing comedies and major international movies. He specialized in playing friendly or exasperated uniformed policemen, but also appeared in ot ...
.
In what was his first major film role,
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
starred opposite Alec Guinness in ''The Ladykillers''. In ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' Guinness had played multiple roles (which Sellers would later emulate). Sellers stated that during filming he "used to watch Alec Guinness do everything, his rehearsals, his scenes, everything. He is my ideal... and my idol."
Legacy
Though Ealing Studios has come to be remembered for its comedies, they were only a tenth of its productions. Conversely,
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...
is associated with the
Gainsborough melodramas though it also produced many comedies.
Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, with ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...
'' ranked number 6, ''
The Ladykillers'' ranked number 13 and ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'' ranked number 17 (all three featuring
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
) in the
BFI Top 100 British films
In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were " culturally British ...
.
[''British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films''](_blank)
(1999). Retrieved 19 April 2023 These films were also an international success and received acclaim in the US. In 2005, ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' was included in ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''s list of the top 100 films since 1923. ''The Ladykillers'' won the
BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay
The BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay was a British Academy Film Award from 1954 to 1967. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, children's film ...
and was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
.
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' won the Academy Award for
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, the
BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and Guinness was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Actor in a Leading Role (his first Oscar nomination).
Former North Korea leader
Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...
was also said to have been a fan of Ealing comedies, inspired by their emphasis on team spirit and a mobilised proletariat.
''The Ealing Comedies'', a documentary examining the films and featuring interviews with many key players, was screened as part of
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
's Tuesday Documentary strand in April 1971.
Ealing comedies were adapted for radio and broadcast over
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' in 1990 starring
Robert Powell
Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...
and
Timothy Bateson
Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor.
Life and career
Born in London, the son of solicitor Dingwall Latham Bateson and the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson, he was educated at ...
and in 2007 starring
Michael Kitchen and
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', '' Harry Enfield & Chums'' and '' Harry & Paul'', across which he created ...
.
List of Ealing comedy films
References
Bibliography
* Burton, Alan & O'Sullivan, Tim. ''The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph''. Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
* Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48''. Routledge, 1992.
* Sweet, Matthew. ''Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema''. Faber and Faber, 2005.
{{Cinema of the United Kingdom
Film series introduced in 1947
Ealing Studios films
Comedy film series
Lists of British films
1940s in British cinema
1950s in British cinema