THE EALING STUDIOS COLLECTION VOLUME 1 [1949 / 1951 / 1951 / 2014] [Blu-ray] A Hilarious Study of the Gentle Art of British Comedy! The Classic Ealing Comedy Films – Spotlessly Restored!
Ealing Studios’ output from the 1940s and the 1950s helped define what was arguably the golden age for British cinema. This Blu-ray collection brings together three much loved comedy classics, directed by Ealing stalwarts Robert Hamer, Charles Crichton and Alexander Mackendrick, and starring the great Sir Alec Guinness in some of his most memorable roles.
FILM FACT No.1: ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is listed in the Time magazine's top 100 and also in the BFI [British Film Institute] Top 100 British films. In 2011 the film was digitally restored and re-released in selected British cinemas.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ title refers to Lavender Hill, a street in Battersea, a district of South London, in the postcode district SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station. Audrey Hepburn makes an early film appearance in a small role as Chiquita near the start of the film. Robert Shaw also made his first film appearance, playing a police laboratory technician towards the end of the film. English actress Patricia Garwood made her first film appearance in this film at the age of nine. British 1960s children's television icon Valerie Singleton also had an uncredited part in the film.
FILM FACT No.3: ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT’ followed an Ealing Studios theme of the “common man” against the Establishment. In this instance the hero falls foul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his invention. It was one of the most popular films of the year in Britain. The British Film Institute named it the 58th greatest British film of all time. In 2014 The Guardian included it as one of the 20 best British science fiction films.
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KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS Cast: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Sir Alec Guinness, Audrey Fildes, Miles Malleson, Clive Morton, John Penrose, Cecil Ramage, Hugh Griffith, John Salew, Eric Messiter, Lyn Evans, Barbara Leake, Peggy Ann Clifford, Anne Valery, Arthur Lowe, Stanley Beard (uncredited), Maxwell Foster (uncredited), Peter Gawthorne (uncredited), Molly Hamley-Clifford (uncredited), Leslie Handford (uncredited), Nicholas Hill (uncredited), Fletcher Lightfoot (uncredited), Cavan Malone (uncredited), Laurence Naismith (uncredited), Gordon Phillott (uncredited), Jeremy Spenser (uncredited), Ivan Staff (uncredited), Richard Wattis (uncredited), Carol White (uncredited) and Harold Young (uncredited)
Director: Robert Hamer
Producers: Michael Balcon and Michael Relph
Screenplay: Roy Horniman (novel), John Dighton (screenplay), Robert Hamer (screenplay) and Nancy Mitford (screenplay revisions) (uncredited)
Composer: Ernest Irving (uncredited)
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe B.S.C., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
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THE LAVENDER HILL MOB Cast: Sir Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie Fielding, Edie Martin, John Salew, Ronald Adam, Arthur Hambling, Gibb McLaughlin, John Gregson, Clive Morton, Sydney Tafler, Marie Burke, Audrey Hepburn, William Fox, Michael Trubshawe, Ann Heffernan, Jacques B. Brunius, Eugene Deckers, Paul Demel, Andreas Malandrinos, Cyril Chamberlain, Tony Quinn, Moultrie Kelsall, Christopher Hewett, Meredith Edwards, Patrick Barr, David Davies, Ernest Blyth (uncredited), Alanna Boyce (uncredited), Johnny Briggs (uncredited), Daniel Brown (uncredited), Peter Bull (uncredited), Jacques Cey (uncredited), Joe Clarke (uncredited), Robert Coote (uncredited), Jacqueline Curtis (uncredited), Richard Davies (uncredited), Patric Doonan (uncredited), Archie Duncan (uncredited), Frank Forsyth (uncredited), Patricia Garwood (uncredited), Fred Griffiths (uncredited), Charles Lamb (uncredited), Desmond Llewelyn (uncredited), Arthur Mullard (uncredited), Marie Ney (uncredited), Jim O'Brady (uncredited), Frederick Piper (uncredited), Ernie Rice (uncredited), Johnny Rossi (uncredited), Robert Shaw (uncredited), Valerie Singleton (uncredited), George Spence (uncredited), John Warwick (uncredited), Richard Wattis (uncredited) and Neil Wilson (uncredited)
Director: Charles Crichton
Producers: Michael Balcon and Michael Truman
Screenplay: T.E.B. Clarke (original screenplay)
Composer: Georges Auric
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe B.S.C., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
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THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT Cast: Sir Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Vida Hope, Patric Doonan, Duncan Lamont, Harold Goodwin, Colin Gordon, Joan Harben, Arthur Howard, Roddy Hughes, Stuart Latham, Miles Malleson, Edie Martin, Mandy Miller, Charlotte Mitchell, Olaf Olsen, Desmond Roberts, Ewan Roberts, John Rudling, Charles Saynor, Russell Waters, Brian Worth, George Benson, Frank Atkinson, Charles Cullum, F.B.J. Sharp, Scott Harrold, Jack Howarth, Jack McNaughton, Judith Furse, Billy Russell, David Boyd (uncredited), Alan Haines (uncredited), Arthur Mullard (uncredited) and Carol Wolveridge (uncredited)
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Producers: Michael Balcon and Sidney Cole
Screenplay: Roger MacDougall (play), Alexander Mackendrick (screenplay), John Dighton (screenplay) and Roger MacDougall (screenplay
Composer: Benjamin Frankel
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe B.S.C., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SHD
Running Times: 106 minutes, 81 minutes and 85 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 3
Studio: STUDIOCANAL / Optimum Release
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: The Ealing Studios’ comedies are so wonderful aren’t they? They transport us back to post-war Britain at a time when it seemed much easier to mix darkness and comedy. This collection of three films, each starring Sir Alec Guinness, one of which stars him 8 times, is a reminder of the incredible talent and unique tone that British films once possessed. Not only does each film deliver the laughs and the more sinister plotlines, but they also make interesting observations on society.
Michael Balcon ran Ealing Studios from 1938 until the studio closed down 19 years later. Although in his early days there were numerous comedies featuring established music hall stars, the anarchic, character-driven, “tight little island” films dubbed Ealing comedies really began in 1947 with Charles Crichton's ‘Hue and Cry’ [1947] after the patriotic Second World War pictures that made the studio's reputation. The series, a reflection of the anxieties attending the 1940s age of austerity and the difficult birth of the welfare state, ended with a whimper when Alec Guinness played all the members of the same English family in Barnacle Bill, a long forgotten disaster that brought Ealing to a sad end in 1957. Not to be confused with the protean Guinness's dazzling 1949 Ealing debut in ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’
In fact you could count the genuine classic Ealing comedies on six or seven fingers, four starring Sir Alec Guinness, and three of them in this Blu-ray Box Set, which includes Robert Hamer's ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949], ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ [1951] and ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT’ [1951], all immaculately restored in Blu-ray that does justice to the crisp black-and-white images of the versatile cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, still alive at 102. All are subtly subversive in different ways, with Sir Alec Guinness in each case given a great supporting cast, as indeed he was in his even bleaker with the Ealing Comedy triumph, ‘The Ladykillers’ [1955], the Ealing Studio's last great comedy another “state of the nation” allegory.
In ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949] Sees a man kill his way through his estranged family in order to inherit the family title and see his mother buried in the family graveyard. Dennis Price takes the lead as the sociopathic and righteous Louis whose chilling apathy towards his crimes could have easily hailed this as an early slasher film. The ingenuity with which Louis disposes of his kin is praise worthy and absolutely terrifying. It is Sir Alec Guinness though who truly makes the film as he takes on 8 different roles of many ages and both sexes. Although not completely unrecognisable, there’s a comedic charm to his doomed portrayals, and it is an incredible feet for any actor of his standing and calibre.
In ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ [1951] Sees Sir Alec Guinness plays Henry Holland, a bank clerk in charge of refining and delivering gold bullion. One day a frustrated artist, Alfred Pendlebury [Stanley Holloway] moves in to Henry Holland's rooming house. Alfred Pendlebury would like to be an artist, but instead he has a less inspiring business making tourist trinkets — including lead paperweights shaped like the Eiffel Tower. Holland, seeing that Pendlebury has smelting equipment just like the bank does, hits on the idea of stealing the bullion from his bank, smelting it into Eiffel Tower figurines, and shipping said figurines out of England to be sold on the black market. Of course, something of course goes horribly wrong. Everything here is executed with silver tongues and subtlety with a gang you really want to see succeed.
In ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT’ [1951] This is the most relevant film of today, looking at the greed of corporations and the reliance on a strong economic backbone. Sir Alec Guinness this time plays Sidney Stratton, a scientist who discovers how to synthesise a fabric that never gets dirty and never tears. At first Sidney Stratton is hailed as a genius, but fearing a world that doesn’t need replacement clothes, the corporations start putting the squeeze on Sidney Stratton, as do the unions, who believe they’ll soon be out of work. Despite being very funny, the film is a tragedy in many ways, as even Sidney Stratton’s close friends turn against him.
If asked to the secret of the Ealing Studios success, you could do worse than highlight the films Guinness made for them, and in particular the three STUDIOCANAL have chosen for their first Ealing Blu-ray collection. These delights of British cinema epitomise everything good about the studio and, some would say, an age of this country's history now sadly long gone. The public were looking for escapism during the years immediately following the Second World War and Ealing Studios gave it to them. In films like ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ and ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT,’ shows us the underdog as well as an all working-class heroes, in two cases played by Sir Alec Guinness, but in ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ the role went to Dennis Price and always comes out on top.
The three films transcend their times but are only fully appreciated in the context of the complex social and political post-war years in which they were created. They are accompanied by interesting extras, the most notable figuring on the ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ disc. These include the alternative ending for the American version which presumably either to satisfy the puritanical audience or to conform to the strict Hollywood Production Code had to send Dennis Price to the gallows.
Blu-ray Image Quality – All Three Blu-ray Discs are brought to you in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio. But all Three Blu-ray Discs have a really stunning 1080p black-and-white beautiful encoded transfer that has been done with a 2K definition. The black-and-white images was restored using the Film Master D.V.O restoration tools and PFClean software systems, removing dirt, scratches, warps, torn or replacing torn or missing frames and improving stability issues. The sound was also improved, with instances of pops; clicks; hiss and distortion minimised or removed. This is of course yet another very impressive addition to STUDIOCANAL catalogue of classic Ealing Studios films. Plus of course the option of only English SDH subtitles for the main feature films. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – All Three Blu-ray Discs have only one audio track and that is 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio. The audio has been optimised as best as possible. I did not detect any pops, cracks, and excessive hiss to report in this review. So all in all STUDIOCANAL have done a really superb job restoring to its full glory and the audio quality is even better than when the film was first seen in the cinema and have given these three Blu-ray discs and the films a new lease of life for future generaions.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS Extras:
Audio Commentary with film critic Peter Bradshaw, director Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness: This is totally fascinating and well worth listening to and we get a totally engaging audio commentary from film critic Peter Bradshaw, director Terrence Davies, who can barely control his enthusiasm for the picture and of course Matthew Guinness is the son of Sir Alec Guinness. One thing is very clear with the three commentators that they think the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is one of the greatest comedy ever made and comment several times that the film looks “gorgeous” film critic Peter Bradshaw is of a similar opinion, and at the same time with this audio commentary give a lot of appreciation for the film, but tend not to give a great deal of information. Matthew Guinness tends to be overshadowed by the other two commentators, in not getting a lot his own personal comments about the film and especially about his father, but does contribute some nice anecdotes, for example, when his father filmed Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne's going down with his ship, the crew finished for the day without realising that Sir Alec Guinness was still underwater, I can imaging he was mightily upset. So all in all, this audio commentary is well worth a listen.
Special Feature: Introduction [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:00] Here we have a short introduction to ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ by director John Landis. Here John Landis says that it is one of his favourite films and his enthusiasm is very clear, but this isn't anything more than a basic introduction, with the brief running time made briefer by two extracts from the film being included.
Special Feature: Dennis Price: Those British Faces [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [26:00] With this special feature we get a short profile of the actor made for Channel 4 in 1993 Richard Todd narrates this documentary, made up of plentiful clips from Price's films. It's a sad story of a decline mostly due to money troubles according to Dennis Price, gambling debts; according to others, blackmail due to his homosexuality, which of course was illegal at the time and a career of Dennis Price that ended in what the narration describes as “the cheapest horror films.” They conclude that Dennis Price was working right up until the end, his death in 1973 at the age of fifty-eight. This documentary was written and produced by John Ellis. This is a really wonderful and special tribute to the great British Actor Dennis Price. The documentary contains plenty of clips from many of the actor's best films.
Special Feature: BBC Radio 3 Essay [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [14:58] Presented by Simon Heffer and is an unique audio radio essay that is number four in the series British Cinema of the 1940s and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 3 on the 16th September, 2010. Simon Heffer discusses the original novel and its transformation into what he describes as the most subversive film ever made in the British cinema – something less easy to do in an era of post-war austerity than in a time of social change. Simon Heffer also talks about the altered ending of the American version of the film, put in to appease the Production Code Administration, which of course you will see in great detail with the next special feature.
Special Feature: Alternative American Ending [1949] [1080p] [1.37:1] [3:00] The ending of the US version was extended to show the guards discovering Louis Mazzini's written memoirs/confessions to make it clear to the audience that he did not get away with the murders of his relatives, whilst the UK version remains ambiguous on the subject. This of course makes the film slightly longer but definitely less effective ending.
Special Feature: Restoration Comparison [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:11] Here we have a look at ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ before and after its restoration and a massive improvement over the previous inferior DVD release. This is without sound.
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [1949] [1080p] [1.78:1] Here we have some rare collection of fascinating behind-the-scenes stills and to view all the images you have to press the next button on your remote control.
Special Feature: Excerpt from BECTU Archive: Interview with Douglas Slocombe [1998] [1080p] [1.78:1] [29:00] Here we have excerpts from the BECTU History Project interview with Douglas Slocombe (Cinematographer). This was conducted by Sidney Cole and was recorded on the 22nd November, 1998. These extracts feature a nervous-sounding “Dougie” talking about how he became a cameraman from a background in documentary, with some discussion of ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’ This item is audio-only, accompanied by a still of the man himself on the set of that film. At the time of the recording Douglas Slocombe was aged ninety-eight years old.
Theatrical Trailer [1949] [1080p] [1.37:1] [2:51] This is the Original British Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’
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THE LAVENDER HILL MOB Extras:
Special Feature: Introduction [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:00] This is a short introduction by director Martin Scorsese, who you can tell is a massive big fan of the film ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB.’ Following in the tradition that it takes one particular American champion of great British cinema to lend some weight to the appreciation of our past classics, here cinephile Martin Scorsese to ease us in to the film. It's obviously a favourite of his although his pronunciation of the word “bullion” makes you sit up and go "Huh?"
Special Feature: Excerpt from BECTU Archive: Interview with Charles Crichton [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [121] Here is another audio only excerpts from the BECTU history project interview with director Charles Crichton and the interview was conducted by Sidney Cole on 15th December, 1988. There is a lot of low end audio rumble which make Charles Crichton's speech difficult to hear properly. We hear that Charles Crichton started in the cutting room and was given three weeks doing absolutely nothing to prove his worth. The director of the film Went The Day Well? and employed Charles Crichton as an editor. Another fascinating revelation was that director Alexander Mackendrick often made co-workers do the opposite to what they had intended to do in order to have them clarify their own thinking. So all in all, this is quite a nice little special feature and we hear some fascinating facts about Charles Crichton at his time at Ealing Studios.
Special Feature: Good Afternoon with Mavis Nicholson: Interview with writer T.E.B Clark [1972] [1080p] [1.78:1] [24:41] Here is a truly wonderful, and very informative interview with writer T.E.B. Clarke, who wrote the script for the ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ and a number of other Ealing Studios films and produced for a Thames TV Presentation. The fashion seems right for the year but then T.E.B Clark is wearing one of those suits that in broadcast standard definition is a slightly dour striped suit into a multi-coloured affair. Nicknamed Tibby, and talks and informs us us of his Oscar success, how scripts are written and the bravery of Ealing producer Michael Balcon in taking chances on untested talent. Mavis Nicholson seems amazingly naïve, and asks if "there is dialogue in the script?" The film was such a closed and secret industry in the “old days,” and I suppose a screenplay of this nature would look like a coded transcript for an actual gold bullion raid and this is priceless.
Special Feature: Restoration Comparison [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1.78:1] [4:11] Here we take a look at ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB’ before and after its restoration and is without sound. The original negative is shown to be wildly far up the light end of the contrast ratio. It's dirty with both sparkle and scratches. The blacks are milky grey. The restored version corrects the blacks but there is still some white burn out a little.
Special Feature: Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:06] Here we have a stunning gallery of 13 stills from the shooting of the ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB.’ This is definitely well worth viewing.
Theatrical Trailer [1951] [1080p] [2:31] Here we have a beautifully newly restored trailer for the film ‘THE LAVENDER HILL MOB.’ It's almost sublimely Pythonesque and comes to an abrupt end but there's a great deal to enjoy in the two and half minutes. It proclaims that we've all heard of the bad men, Dillinger, Dalton, Jesse James... but there are others who "blast other bad men off the screen..." Totally Marvellous!
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THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT Extras:
Special Feature: Revisiting ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT’ [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [14:00] In this special feature, we hear from director Stephen Frears of ‘The Grifters’ and ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ Film historian Ian Christie, and author and British film historian Richard Dacre discuss the unique qualities of ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT’ as well as the legacy of its director, Alexander Mackendrick. This is totally fascinating stuff and so informative.
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] Here we have a collection of rare stills from the shooting of the film and it is a fascinating look.
Special Feature: Restoration Comparison [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:00] Here once again we get a short demonstration for STUDIOCANAL's restoration of ‘THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT.’ This is without sound. Once again we get to see how much has been improved over what was previously released, especially on an inferior DVD release.
Finally, Ealing Studio comedy films have stayed fresh even after half a century and more in the public eye, their themes eternal and their humour is still and rightly so unmistakeably very British. They have been rediscovered and enjoyed by each new generation of film-lovers and found themselves equally at home, in cinemas, on television, and now on stunning Blu-Ray discs. Virtually every Ealing Studio comedy films that was made in Britain, has been loved by the public. But then what can compare with the Ealing Studio comedies, as they are among the most loved British comedy films of all time. STUIOCANAL and Optimum Release have done a really fantastic tremendous job with the Ealing Studio Blu-ray comedies. All but one of the restorations that have come out of Ealing Studios have been absolutely outstanding and the best yet. And the Ealing Comedy films are easily one of the best to come out of the Ealing Studio Catalogue and all were very well scripted, entertaining and thought-provoking. If you have not seen any of the films from STUDIOCANAL's Classics Blu-ray Collection, then I urge you to do so as soon as possible, as they are absolutely fantastic and fun to watch over and over again. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
