''The Card'' is a 1952 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

version of the 1911 novel by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

. In America, the film was titled ''The Promoter''. It was adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by

Ronald Neame Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film '' One of Our Aircraft Is Miss ...

. It stars Alec Guinness,

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

, Valerie Hobson, and

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

. The film was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Sound The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most euphonic sound mixing, recording, sound design, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it ...

. It is mainly faithful to the novel, omitting some minor incidents.

Plot

The film follows the adventures and misadventures of Edward Henry (Denry) Machin, an ambitious young man from a poor background. Denry surreptitiously changes his poor grades to qualify for entry to a "school for the sons of gentlemen". At the age of 16, he becomes a junior clerk to Mr. Duncalf, the town clerk and a solicitor. He meets the charming and socially well-connected Countess of Chell, a client of Duncalf's, and is given the job of sending out invitations to a grand municipal ball. He "invites" himself, and wins a £5 bet that he will ask the countess to dance. This earns him the reputation of a "card" (a "character", someone able to set tongues wagging)—a reputation he is determined to cement, but the next day, Duncalf angrily sacks Denry. Denry offers his services as a rent collector to a dissatisfied client of Duncalf's, Mrs Codleyn. His reputation as an efficient and no-nonsense collector brings the business of Mr Calvert. Denry quickly realises, though, that he can make more money by advancing loans, at a highly profitable interest rate, to the many tenants who are in arrears. He also discovers that Ruth Earp, the dancing teacher who is attracted to Denry, is herself heavily in arrears to Mr. Calvert. Despite this, Ruth and he become engaged. While on holiday in Llandudno with Ruth (accompanied by her friend Nellie Cotterill as chaperone), he witnesses a shipwreck and the rescue of the sailors—an event that he turns to his financial advantage. He also realises Ruth's spendthrift nature, and they part on bitter terms. Denry starts up the Five Towns Universal Thrift Club, a bold venture that allows members to purchase goods on credit. This increases Denry's wealth and reputation, and he is able to expand further, due to the patronage of the countess. Denry's social ambitions expand. He becomes a town councillor, and he purchases the rights to locally born Callear, the "greatest centre forward in England", for the failing local football club. Ruth reappears, now the widow of a rich, older, titled man. He considers renewing their relationship, but is unsure of his (and her) feelings. Nellie's father, a builder, is bankrupt (again), and the family decides to migrate to Canada. As they are boarding the ocean liner at Liverpool, Denry realises that Nellie is devastated at her potential loss, and that he really loves only her. Ruth, who is also present, is furious, but quickly starts a fresh relationship with another older, titled gentleman. Nellie and Denry marry. Denry becomes the youngest mayor in the history of Bursley.

Cast

* Alec Guinness as Denry Machin *

as Ruth Earp * Valerie Hobson as Countess of Chell *

as Nellie Cotterill * Edward Chapman as Herbert Duncalf * Veronica Turleigh as Mrs Machin * George Devine as Herbert Calvert *

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number ...

as Mrs Codleyn * Frank Pettingell as Police Superintendent *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...

as Emery * Henry Edwards as Mr. Cotterill * Alison Leggatt as Mrs. Cotterill * Harold Goodwin as John * Cameron Hall as Mr. Crain *

Ann Lancaster Ann A Lancaster (5 May 1920 – 31 October 1970) was a well-known character actress who appeared in many British films, television shows and in theatre. Lancaster specialised in comic roles and had a talent for voices which she often used on ra ...

as Miriam *

Peter Copley Peter Copley (20 May 1915 – 7 October 2008) was an English television, film and stage actor. Biography Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain. After changing his mind about joining ...

as Shillitoe * Lyn Evans as Cregeen * Mark Daly as Mayor (uncredited) * Deidre Doyle as Widow Hullins * Frank Tickle as Mr. Bostock * Norman MacOwan as Simeon * Tom Gill as Miriam's Young Man * Michael Trubshawe as Yeomanry Officer *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Bank Manager *

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

as Lord at Liverpool dock * Brian Roper as Newsboy at Football Stadium * Raymond Rollett as Works Bandmaster *

Ewen Solon Peter Ewen Solon (7 September 1917 – 7 July 1985) was a New Zealand-born actor, who worked extensively in both the United Kingdom and Australia. At the outbreak of World War II, Solon became a member of the First Echelon, 2nd NZEF that sa ...

as Bookstall Attendant

Production

The film was made at Pinewood Studios near

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place largely in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. ...

in Stoke-on-Trent, the basis for the fictional location of Bursley, and in the

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

resort Llandudno. For Guinness, playing the romantic lead was a departure from his previously comic roles. The film was one of the first adult screen roles for Clark, who received her first screen kiss. Clark recorded a vocal version of the film's theme, with lyrics by her long-term accompanist, Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson.

Reception

A critic in ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote that "Guinness appears to take only a perfunctory interest in 'Denry.' He plays him much too quietly", and that the film "never quite takes wings of fancy." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

gave the film a mixed review, writing "the script Eric Ambler has adapted from Arnold Bennett's old novel, ''The Card'', is provokingly uninfested with dramatic compulsion or push. It just ambles along very gently from one situation to the next ... ''The Promoter'', while vastly amusing in spots, is not a first-rate Guinness show." In the '' New York Daily News'', reviewer Kate Cameron called the film "delightfully amusing", awarding it three-and-a-half out of four stars.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Card, The 1952 films 1952 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films Films based on works by Arnold Bennett Films directed by Ronald Neame Films scored by William Alwyn Films set in Staffordshire Films shot at Pinewood Studios 1950s English-language films 1950s British films