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. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's
post-war spirit,
the most celebrated films in the sequence include ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...
'' (1949), ''
Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 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 to Lavend ...
'' (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 A ...
'' (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. I statute 2. c ...
'' (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and ''
Barnacle Bill'' (1957) the last, although some sources list ''
Davy
Davy may refer to:
* Davy (given name)
* Davy (surname)
* Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen
* Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town
* Davy Sound, Greenland
* Davy (crater), a crater on the moon
...
'' (1958) as the final Ealing comedy.
History
Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. The 1939 film ''
Cheer Boys Cheer
''Cheer Boys Cheer'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Nova Pilbeam, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy O'Dea, Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott and Peter Coke.
Plot
Edward Ironside (Edmund Gwenn), the head of Ironside Brewer ...
'', 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
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (un ...
'' (1940), in which the regulars of a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
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,
Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''Oh ...
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 s ...
were generally in a broader
music hall 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. I statute 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 themes: ''
Another Shore
''Another Shore'' is a 1948 Ealing Studios comedy film directed by Charles Crichton. It stars Robert Beatty as Gulliver Shields, an Irish customs official who dreams of living on a South Sea island; particularly Rarotonga. It is based on the 1 ...
'' (1948), about the fantasies of a bored
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
customs official, ''
A Run for Your Money
''A Run for Your Money'' is a 1949 Ealing Studios comedy film starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards as two Welshmen visiting London for the first time. The supporting cast includes Alec Guinness, Moira Lister and Hugh Griffith.
Plot
T ...
'' (1949), depicting the adventures of two inexperienced Welshman in London for an important
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
international, and ''
Whisky Galore!'', (1949) about
Scottish islanders during the Second World War who discover that a freighter with a large cargo of
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...
has run aground.
''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...
'' (1949) is a
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
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, 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 u ...
'' (1949) the inhabitants of the London neighbourhood of
Pimlico attempt to create their own independent
nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
and end
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of 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 resources being distributed on a particular ...
, 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 cost a halfpenny and contained a long school story about the boys of Greyfriars S ...
'' (1950), set in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, 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, nicke ...
leads to a series of adventures in the city. In ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 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 to Lavend ...
'' (1951) a timid
bank clerk
''The Bank Clerk'' is a 1919 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. The film is considered to be lost.
Cast
* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
* Molly Malone
See also
* List of American films of 1919
* Fatty Arbuckle fil ...
gets together an unlikely gang of accomplices to snatch a delivery of
gold bullion. The
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
proves surprisingly successful, but things start to go wrong when they attempt to melt down their haul into model
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) 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.
Locally nicknamed "' ...
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 A ...
'' (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 (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
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 l ...
'' (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 phrase used in railway terminology to denote 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.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
is threatened with closure by
British Railways in a forerunner of the
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...
a decade later. The villagers join forces to keep their railway running, but face competition and sabotage from a rival
bus company
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...
.
''
Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) follows a
television set
A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...
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
''The Love Lottery'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon and Herbert Lom. Produced by Ealing Studios it was one of several Ealing Comedies that veered away from the stan ...
'' (1954) sees a
matinee idol Hollywood star, played by
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
, agree to take part in a "love
lottery". ''
The Maggie
''The 'Maggie (released in the U.S.A. as ''High and Dry'') is a 1954 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving Am ...
'' (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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. It parodies
after receiving a windfall of £100. His confused efforts to solve a crime lead to his becoming entangled in
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
. ''
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
to go on cruises. In ''
'' (1958) a promising entertainer tries to decide whether to strike out on his own, or stay with his family's struggling
act. No further comedies were made by Ealing, and after the thriller ''
'', but its production was unconnected with Ealing.
group of actors, screenwriters, directors and technicians. Directors were
. Notable actors who became prolific in these films included
. A number of actors also appeared frequently in smaller roles such as
.
Though Ealing Studios has come to be remembered for its comedies, they were only a tenth of its productions.
though it also produced many comedies.
''The Ealing Comedies'', a documentary examining the films and featuring interviews with many key players, was screened as part of
's Tuesday Documentary strand in April 1971.
.
* 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