GENEVIEVE [1953 / 2011] [The Rank Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
She’ll Have You Rolling Down The British Isles!
A simply delightful romp, and easily one of the best-loved and most inventive British comedies of the post war era, which follows the exploits and misfortunes of two highly competitive friends, as they race against each other in the famous London to Brighton car rally. Alan McKim [John Gregson] stars as a stiff-shirted lawyer, who gets baited by his boisterous friend Ambrose Claverhouse [Kenneth More] to wager a bet on who will win the race. For support, the two car enthusiasts enlist the aid of John Gregson’s wife Wendy McKim [Dinah Sheridan] and Kenneth More’s companion is Rosalind Peters [Kay Kendall] who provides the glamour and much of the comic sparkle. Gorgeous Technicolour photography makes the beauty of the town and country scenes come to life and a wonderfully inventive harmonica soundtrack by Larry Adler, keeps the films pace and everyone’s spirits in high gear!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1954 BAFTA Awards: Win: BAFTA Film Award for Best British Film. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best British Actor for Kenneth More. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Film from any Source. 1954 National Board of Review, USA: Win: NBR Award for Top Foreign Films. 1955 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay for William Rose. Nominated: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture for Larry Adler. 1955 Golden Globes: Win: Best Foreign Film.
FILM FACT No.2: Composer Graham Whettam was commissioned to write the orchestral score incorporating Larry Adler's tune. Dance numbers were added by Eric Rogers. The comedic tone of the film ‘GENEVIEVE’ was established by the following disclaimer at the end of the opening credits: For their patient co-operation the makers of this film express their thanks to the officers and members of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain. Any resemblance between the deportment of our characters and any club members is emphatically denied — by the Club. This was meant to underscore the fact that the actual event portrayed in the film was, as stated in its Official Entry Regulations, “NOT A RACE.” ‘GENEVIEVE’ Filming Locations were in Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire; Kensington, London; Lambeth, London; Batchworth Heath, Hertfordshire; Brighton, East Sussex; Burnham, Buckinghamshire; Fulmer, Buckinghamshire; Holborn, London; Hyde Park Corner, London; Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire; Brighton, East Sussex; Metropole Hotel, Brighton; Palace Pier, Brighton; Moor Park Golf Club, Batchworth Heath, Hertfordshire; Royal Courts of Justice, London; Strand, London; West Drayton, Middlesex; Uxbridge, Middlesex; Westminster Bridge, London and Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire.
Cast: Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen, Reginald Beckwith, Arthur Wontner, Joyce Grenfell, Leslie Mitchell, Michael Balfour (uncredited), Ernest Blyth (uncredited), Daniel Brown (uncredited), Joey Carr (uncredited), Lesley Dudley (uncredited), Stanley Escane (uncredited), Fred Griffiths (uncredited), Charles Lamb (uncredited), Charles Lamb (uncredited), Aileen Lewis (uncredited), Arthur Lovegrove (uncredited), Edward Malin (uncredited), Edie Martin (uncredited), Michael Medwin (uncredited), Fred Nicholas (uncredited), Frank Schock (uncredited), Harold Siddons (uncredited), Christopher Warbey (uncredited) and Patrick Westwood (uncredited)
Director: Henry Cornelius
Producers: Earl St. John and Henry Cornelius (uncredited)
Screenplay: William Rose (story/screenplay)
Composers: Eric Rogers (dance numbers), Graham Whettam (orchestral score) and Larry Adler (musical score)
Cinematography: Christopher Challis (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 5.1 LPCM Enhanced Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 86 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Rank Organisation / VCI Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: British comedy films of the 1950's are usually synonymous with the Ealing Studios, but one of the most charming of these is the 1953 comedy ‘GENEVIEVE’ a gentle comedy which ambles about genially without ever quite reaching the lunatic heights of the best Ealing comedy outings. Director Henry Cornelius and especially screenwriter William Rose, who funnily enough being an American, and one with a fairly inerrant eye and ear for what struck Brits as being really funny. ‘GENEVIEVE’ is the story of two long-time friends who each have a fascination with vintage cars and they both engage in an annual road trip from London to Brighton and back. “Genevieve” in case you haven't guessed, is the name of the Alan McKim's car, a beautiful “Darracq” that has nonetheless seen better days and chooses the most inopportune moments to completely break down. Ambrose Claverhouse, as is perhaps his wont, drives the slightly sportier “Spyker” which he relishes in zooming past the hapless Alan McKim and Wendy McKim in any of their many “rest stops” for repairs along the way.
One of the most beloved British comedies of all time, ‘GENEVIEVE’ [1953] is a whimsical tale of two couples who drive the London-to-Brighton Vintage Car Rally, and their adventures along the way. Typical of the whimsy is the title which refers not to one of the female characters, but one of the cars, a 1904 French-made “Darracq” and driven by Alan McKim and Wendy McKim [John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan]. Their friend Ambrose Claverhouse [Kenneth More CBE] brings along a model he's pursuing Rosalind Peterson [Kay Kendall], and the rivalry between the two couples escalates from friendly to manic.
Made on a shoestring, ‘GENEVIEVE’ was nearly shelved by Rank studio executives who thought it was too bad to release. But it became a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and was one of the most profitable films in the studio's history. The British Film Institute calls the film ‘GENEVIEVE’ “the best Ealing comedy that never was,” not only because the film's irreverent humour is reminiscent of the eccentric comedies produced by the British Ealing Studio in the 1940s and 1950s, but also because of the Ealing Studio connections of Genevieve's creators. Director Henry Cornelius had worked as an editor for French director Rene Clair, and in his native South Africa, before joining the Ealing Studio in 1944 as a producer. Cornelius' first film as director was ‘Passport to Pimlico’ [1949], after which he left Ealing to become an independent producer and director. American screenwriter William Rose would later write one of the best Ealing comedies, ‘The Ladykillers’ [1955]. Henry Cornelius even offered ‘GENEVIEVE’ to his former Ealing Studio bosses, but was turned down.
‘GENEVIEVE’ is not a rip-roaring comedy by any stretch of the imagination, and its very quietness may make it less appealing to those who like their British comedy loud, brash and totally manic. Instead this is a fairly placid look at four people who are involved in an unusual activity. The bulk of the film is focused rather squarely on Alan McKim [John Gregson] and Wendy McKim [Dinah Sheridan] and it is their sparring relationship that drives the film and gives it its humorous energy. Dinah Sheridan and John Gregson have an easy rapport with each other and it's easy to accept them as a long married couple, who have their differences, but who manage to still find the humour in their many predicaments. The “other” couple of Ambrose Claverhouse [Kenneth More] and Rosalind Peterson [Kay Kendall] is more sporadically looked at and is there mostly as counterweight to our married “heroes.”
‘GENEVIEVE’ perhaps is too gentle for today's younger [mobile phone obsession] audiences, but it harkens back to a time, especially in the then still recovering British film industry, which had been devastated first by World War II and then by a post-War depression, when simpler joys were more appreciated. But if you take the film on its own kinder, quieter terms, it's a lovely escape to a much simpler times when watching a few misadventures was enough to satisfy most audiences still weary from the calamities which had only then recently subsided.
The film ‘GENEVIEVE’ has loads of manifold pleasures to recommend it, however, despite its small scale approach and less than insistent approach to humour. The performances are all top notch, and including a wonderful comic cameo performance by Joyce Grenfell as the Hotel Proprietor of a dowdy run-down bed and breakfast hotel that Alan McKim and Wendy McKim unfortunately end up staying the night, with dire consequences. Joyce Grenfell is best remembered for her one-woman shows and monologues, in which Joyce Grenfell invented roles including a harassed nursery teacher, who famously said, “George, don't do that.” Joyce Grenfell also gained additional popularity as a result of her frequent appearances on the British Television BBC TV classical music quiz show ‘Face the Music.’ Although Joyce Grenfell’s humour appeared light and fluffy on the surface, there was often a serious point to be made as well, though Joyce Grenfell did have quite a few film roles to her credit as well, but most of all was very well loved by all age groups and her shows were always a sell-out.
Stand-out moments have to include Rosalind Peters trumpet solo in the club, where she says, “I'll show them how to tray the plumpet!” which was actually played by Trumpeter Michael Balfour and the wonderful cameo by Joyce Grenfell as the hotel receptionist, Ambrose Claverhouse's raucous “Woody Woodpecker” style laugh and the heart-warming finale seeing the car “Genevieve” rolling off under her own magical steam towards the end. The ridiculous size of Suzie the St. Bernard dog, and the 'flask' incident, which was filmed by the BBC, and of course the ringing of the clock tower bell are all wonderful highlights and of course the brilliant music score by harmonica supremo Larry Adler, does wonders to enhance this beautiful sentimental journey of the film, with the jostling waltz theme and the lyrical ballad interludes.
All in all the film ‘GENEVIEVE’ requires a modern day audience to take a deep breath and cast away all worldly worries and not “in your face” requirements in order to fully appreciate it. Never loud, never obnoxious, but always charming and quietly humorous, and ‘Genevieve,’ much like its titled car, may be slightly out of date, but for a certain kind of aficionado, that only increases its considerable allure.
Critics compared Kay Kendall's beauty and comedy skills to those of Carole Lombard, and Kendall, like Lombard, went on to a brilliant but tragically brief career. She sadly died of leukaemia in 1959, at the age of 32. Henry Cornelius also seemed poised for a major career, but he, too, suffered health problems, and made only three more films before his death in 1958, at the age of 44. In early 2005, it was announced that Roger Moore would star in a sequel, ‘Genevieve II,’ playing an aristocrat who takes part in the vintage car race from London to Brighton. Nothing has been heard of that proposed film since. And, no doubt, the many fans of the film ‘GENEVIEVE’ hope and pray nothing will come of it.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘GENEVIEVE’ is the latest in The Rank Collection title to arrive on Blu-ray from niche label VCI Entertainment, presented with an encoded image of 1080p and a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The opening scenes almost look like a colorized black and white film, not a luscious Technicolor film from the 1950's. The sky is white, the backgrounds are various grey scale tones and there's kind of an “applied” colour look to the people moving through the frame. Then when we get to Alan and Wendy's house, things perk up reasonably well, though Wendy's lipstick almost looks three dimensional, again slightly weird, though reds in the rest of the scene are solid. Finally once the main part of the race starts, we get something approaching a decent high definition image, though skies are still strangely white-grey a lot of the time, even though others blues in the image are very robust and well saturated. Some of this seems to be dependent on different lenses used in the original filming. Close-ups look sharpest and have at least acceptable fine detail, while midrange and far shots are noticeably softer and for some strange reason do not sport the same level of colour saturation, as does some fairly noticeable edge enhancement.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Never trust a cover insert or for that matter menus on the discs themselves, as I was ready to get very negative view towards VCI Entertainment for loss of a Dolby Digital audio options, until I utilised my display button on my remote and discovered that though the disc menu claimed Dolby Digital mixes, what we actually have is the original mono track delivered via a 2.0 LPCM mix, and an okay repurposed surround mix, courtesy of a 5.1 LPCM mix. My preference is to stick with the original mono audio track, which provides good fidelity and there seems very little damage or hiss. Others may want to opt for the occasional discrete channel effect which the 5.1 track does manage to convey. Larry Adler's brilliant composed score is slightly expanded as well, though it sounds like some of that was accomplished with artificial reverb added to the basic stems. One way or the other, the dialogue is very well presented in both of these audio tracks, and the overall sound mix in both of them is also very good as well.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: The Carlton Film Collection: A Profile of ‘GENEVIEVE’ [2011] [480i] [1.37:1] [24:04] This is a very worthwhile documentary on the making of the film ‘GENEVIEVE,’ which includes interviews with different people that were involved in the film. We get some great anecdotes about the director Henry Cornelius, what it was like shooting in the terrible unpredictable British weather, where it rained a lot, as well as other challenges faced by the production crew, but despite the difficulties, everyone loved working in this essential classic British comedy film. Plus we get to see both of the classic cars, that are still going strong today in Holland and it also shows us the guest appearances they do around the United Kingdom which the British people show a lot of affection and love for these classic cars and of course we get a selection if clips from the film and some behind-the-scene black-and-white promotional photographs. Contributors include: Dinah Sheridan [Actress], Clive Donner [Film Editor], Chris Challis [Director of Photography], Larry Adler [Composer/Musician], Rob Appels [Het National Automobile Museum] and Theo Vandelft [Autotron].
Special Feature: Photo Gallery [2011] [1080p] [1.37:1] [6:50] Here we have a very nice collection of film posters, studio images and film locations, as well as hand coloured Front of House stills from the film ‘GENEVIEVE.’ While viewing the images you get to hear the actual sound of the orchestra that you heard in the film, where Kay Kendall payed the trumpet, as well as other composed music from the film.
Special Feature: Promo Trailers [1080i] [1.78:1] [5:30] Here you get presented two Original Theatrical Trailers, which are ‘Campbell’s Kingdom’ [1957] and ‘Hot Enough For June!’ [1964]. This last film was cut by twenty minutes and retitled ‘Agent 8¾’ for the USA release by the American distributor Central Distributing. These titles are available on Blu-ray via the VCI Entertainment Company.
Finally, the film ‘GENEVIEVE’ is definitely a great British veteran car romp that trundles onto this beautiful looking Blu-ray disc with a very good looking 1080p encoded Technicolor image presentation. Chris Challis’s three strip Technicolor photography delivers rosy skin tones, verdant English countryside that look in great detail with very nice ambient Technicolor images. Larry Adler’s harmonica music is the star of the film with the 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio which carries the cleaned up original mono version and there is of course the optional 5.1 Dolby Digital enhanced sound track. Dialogue is very crisp and clear throughout. A nice ‘Making of’ documentary and Photo gallery helps to make this Blu-ray a nice package. The film itself is a ‘jolly good’ jaunt from London to Brighton and back with two fiercely competitive friendly couples, which simply exudes great period charm. While the real stars are two vintage cars, Kenneth More, John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan and Kay Kendall bicker and provide great amusement for the audience. That is why I have always loved this film from when I saw it released in the cinema and as soon as it was released on the DVD format, I had to purchase it. But now I have finally got the ultimate version on a beautiful Blu-ray disc and have now gone pride of place in my other VCI Entertainment Blu-ray Collection and you will be sadder to not own a copy, so don’t delay and go ahead and purchase this brilliant Blu-ray disc. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
