THE GALLOPING MAJOR [1951 / 2022] [Vintage Classics] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Fairy Tale About Horse – Racing!
This brand-new restoration of the 1951 British comedy ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ directed by Henry Cornelius and is based on an idea by actor Basil Radford.
After a successful day at the races, Major Arthur Hill [Basil Radford] and Harold Temple [Hugh Griffith] decide to raise a £300 syndicate to buy a certain racehorse. With excited help from their friends Bill Collins [Jimmy Hanley], Susan Hill [Janette Scott], Sir Robert Medleigh [A. E. Matthews], Pam Riley [Rene Ray and Maggie [Joyce Grenfell] and they get the money, but things don't go so smoothly from here. First, they accidently buy the wrong horse which proves to have more of an affinity for jumping than racing. They then decide to train it themselves as a jumper under the new name “The Galloping Major.” However, on the night before the Grand National, the horse mysteriously disappears...
FILM FACT: The title of the film is taken from the song “The Galloping Major,” is a British popular song written by Fred W. Leigh and composed by George Bastow. It was first published in London in 1906 by Francis, Day and Hunter. It was first sung by George Bastow, and first recorded by Harry Graham, also in 1906. The film was made as an independent production, backed by the Woolf Brothers. It proved profitable at the box office, but producer Monja Danischewsky quit independent production afterwards to return to work at Ealing Studios. It has been noted as being similar in style to the Ealing comedies of the same era. It features appearances by several figures well known at the time, including the jockey Charlie Smirke and the radio commentators Raymond Glendenning and Bruce Belfrage.
Cast: Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley, Janette Scott, A.E. Matthews, Rene Ray, Hugh Griffith, Joyce Grenfell, Charles Victor, Sydney Tafler, Julien Mitchell, Charles Lamb, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Evans, Alfie Bass, Sidney James, Kenneth More, Stuart Latham, Gilbert Davis, Ellen Pollock, Tom Walls Jr., Duncan Lamont, Joey Carr, Roy Carr, Bobbie [The Galloping Major], Charlie Smirke, Raymond Glendenning [Aintree Announcer], Bruce Belfrage [BBC Announcer], Marion Harris Jr. [Actress Playing Queen Elizabeth II], Chris Adcock (uncredited), Andy Alston (uncredited), Jack Armstrong (uncredited), Charlie Bird (uncredited), Eddie Boyce (uncredited), Daniel Brown (uncredited), Joe E. Carr (uncredited), Clifford Cobbe (uncredited), Michael Corcoran (uncredited), Dick Courtenay (uncredited), Harold Coyne (uncredited), Desmond Davis (uncredited), Joe Day (uncredited), Arthur Denton (uncredited), Arthur Dibbs (uncredited), E.V.H. Emmett (uncredited), Derek Ensor (uncredited), Mabel Etherington (uncredited), Alec Finter (uncredited), Harold Goodwin (uncredited), Robert Gregory (uncredited), Fred Haggerty (uncredited), Charles Hammond (uncredited), George Hilsdon (uncredited), Thora Hird (uncredited), Barbara Joss (uncredited), Gerry Judge (uncredited), Sam Kydd (uncredited), James Lomas (uncredited), Arthur Lovegrove (uncredited), Dan Malvern (uncredited), Edie Martin (uncredited), Mary Matthews (uncredited), Jacqueline Maude (uncredited), Gordon McLeod (uncredited), Ernest Metcalfe (uncredited), Arthur Mullard (uncredited), Leslie Phillips (uncredited), Ernie Rice (uncredited), Raymond Rollett (uncredited), Billy Russell (uncredited), Pat Ryan (uncredited), Paddy Smith (uncredited), George Spence (uncredited), Michael Trubshawe (uncredited), Robert Vossler (uncredited), Michael Ward (uncredited), Joseph Warwick (uncredited), Ben Williams (uncredited), Billy Wilmot (uncredited), Donovan Winter (uncredited) and Charles Wood (uncredited)
Director: Henry Cornelius
Producers: James Woolf (uncredited), John Woolf (uncredited) and Monja Danischewsky (producer)
Screenplay: Basil Radford (based on an idea), Henry Cornelius (screenplay) and Monja Danischewsky (screenplay)
Composer: Georges Auric
Costumes: Joan Ellacott
Cinematography: Stanley Pavey, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 82 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Ramus Films / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ [1951] is all about the members of a small London village called Lambs Green who follow the madcap plan of pet shop owner Major Arthur Hill [Basil Radford], who wants to buy a racehorse but doesn’t have the capital. After seeing one horse in action, he convinces 300 of the townspeople to put in a pound so they can buy the animal. However, everyone is so caught up in the excitement that they miss the prized horse and accidentally buy one that isn’t so great.
Hilarity ensues as they decide to train the horse and discover it’s a better jumper than runner – hence the villagers renaming it to “The Galloping Major” – and end up entering it into the Grand National. Here it turns into a little bit like the film ‘One of Our Racehorses is Missing,’ and you can imagine how it ends. Of course, it’s going to end that way, and damn well it should too.
However, a series of misunderstandings leads the gang to buy the wrong horse, one that is far from the Thoroughbred they had expected. This horse has more of a desire to jump than race, and it’s no Not to be deterred, and with all their collective money invested, the syndicate trains the horse themselves, or at the very least tries to. Released in cinemas in 1951, this is the farce-based shenanigans that British cinema was famed for in its heyday.
Interesting look at a bygone era of the early 1950's in the London district of Lambs Green. But today we still love the GG's just like then. Some things never change. I was amazed at the way the bookies communicated with their colleagues in the stands. The film also shows them communicating odds with arm movements – fascinating, I've no idea what they were “saying.” Seeing the old double decker buses brings back memories. They also had some real old buses that looked pre-war as well.
It’s a lot of fun, and much of this comes from the lead performance of Basil Radford as Major Arthur Hill who is an eccentric person, owning a rather ragged pet shop yet with delusions of grandeur that likely come from his stature as a military officer, but he’s a lovely man that lives with his young daughter Susan Hill [Janette Scott] who inspires the idea of the horse syndicate after she and 29 of her friends club together to buy a shiny new bicycle. A sign of his generosity is that he ends up taking in a bailiff who turns up at the beginning asking him to pay his debts.
The majority of racing scenes were filmed at Alexandra Park racecourse (1868 – 1970) also known as “Ally Pally” which used to be situated right in front of Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill. The course was also called the “Frying Pan” due to its unique design with a straight run in and a pear shaped loop at one end – in some races the horses used to start at the finish line, run up the straight around the oval and back down the straight - similar to longer races at Salisbury and Hamilton today but with much tighter bends. The final scenes in the film used real footage from one of the Aintree Grand Nationals around the time with thrills and spills a plenty – luckily the race has been made a lot safer these days! The Grand National footage was interspersed with comical footage of Major Arthur Hill on board “The Galloping Major” which fondly reminded me of the Harry Enfield jockey sketches.
It’s a film which heavily features the working class but never looks down on them, and instead lets them have as much fun as they want, with no moral quandary placed on them. The film is well-supported with performances by Jimmy Hanley as a bus driver and Joyce Grenfell as the gossiping owner of a milk bar.
Lots of familiar British actors like Basil Radford playing the Major Arthur Hill and Joyce Grenville and Jimmy Hanley. Not a laugh out loud comedy more a comical drama post- Ealing production that apparently was based on an idea by the actor playing the Major. You can also catch sight of the 'Carry On' star Charles Hawtrey in a bit part. This film runs the gauntlet of emotions when bets of all sorts are involved. Just enjoy the ride and races.
While it may contain all the hallmarks of an Ealing comedy, ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ isn’t from the iconic London Studio that made ‘The Ladykillers,’ ‘Passport To Pimlico,’ or ‘The Man in the White Suit’ and so many more. Yet it still encapsulates the endearing spirit of an era of British filmmaking that produced many comedy classics. The stunning restoration gives this senior citizen-aged movie a new lease of life and is another worthy addition to the vintage classics range from StudioCanal. I found this a very entertaining movie with a great British cast and great filming locations, especially Ally Pally, but the story line to some quite weak and had a totally unbelievable ending. ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ makes me realise why I love British cinema and especially is a short sharp reminder of a bygone era of vintage hilarious righteous comedy.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Ramus Films and StudioCanal presents us the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ with a stunning 1080p black-and-white image and shown in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio and it is totally superb as always and the entire cast are extremely enjoyable to watch and really encapsulates the endearing spirit of an era of British filmmaking that produced many comedy classics. We are informed that StudioCanal went back to the original camera negative which was scanned and restored in 4K to produce a brand new HD master. 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 – Ramus Films and StudioCanal brings us the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ with a wonderful 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience which really sounds great and especially all the actors speak really clearly and the composed music by Georges Auric is also really great audio performance and makes watching this wonderful Vintage Classics 1951 film a really enjoyable experience.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: BETTING ON SUCCESS – Matthew Sweet on ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [22:22] With this featurette, here Matthew Sweet [Author and Cultural Historian] is here to talk about the iconic and very funny 1951 film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ and says that to make a case for this “L'Autre” film and feels the L'Autre is the actor Basil Radford who is at the heart of this British picture and gives great heart to his wonderful performance and was also the person who was the originator of the outline story, as we saw at the start of the film with his name plastered and credited on the London double decker bus . But it was two men who realised the potential of the film from the person who came up with the idea for the film and they were Henry Cornelius [Director] and Monja Danischewsky [Screenplay] and was really Ealing Studios head of publicity, but also a producer and both were very interesting figures, because Henry Cornelius was originally from South Africa and was very young when he moved to the UK, but was also very talented, as well as very artistically engaged, but as for Monja Danischewsky he originally was a Russian refuges and was an extremely eccentric character and wrote some memoirs like “White Russian, Red Face” (1966), “Out of My Mind” (1972) and a short memoir “Barnett Freedman, who a British painter, commercial designer, book illustrator, typographer, and lithographer. Monja Danischewsky had a real gift for publicity and you saw this with his name was also plastered and credited on the London double decker bus at the start of the film, but on top of all that Monja Danischewsky was very fond of animals, which fits the environment of the scenario of the picture. Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky both worked on the now famous British film ‘Passport to Pimlico’ and both felt pretty pleased with themselves, because of the film’s great success, as well as the film ‘Whisky Galore!’ and both Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky and both of them were in the vanguard of the success of Ealing Studios comedies. Matthew Sweet says that Michael Balcon who was an English film producer known for his leadership at Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955, hated and detested anyone who wanted to make any independent films outside the confines of the Ealing Studios and if he found out this had happened, they would be kicked out of Ealing Studios, and when Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky came to Michael Balcon to ask to do some freelance independent filming and was met with some furious hostility from Michael Balcon, and when he heard that Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky were talking to supporters behind his back, was again totally furious and went into a mental rage. So Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky left Ealing Studios to pursue other projects, especially over the totally negative attitude of Michael Balcon, and so Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky set up their own production company entitled Sirius, but in doing this, had to then go out to raise considerable amount of money to start filming their own projects, and of course the idea for ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ film was brought to them by the actor Basil Radford, who of course is the leading actor in that film, who also appeared in the film ‘Whiskey Galore!’ To raise the money for ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR,’ they first contacted Alexander Korda [British film director], but unfortunately was himself in a great deal of serious financial problems, because he had spent a lot of other people’s money on some dodgy projects, but out of some generosity, Alexander Korda gave Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky £1,000 of his own money to get them started on their own project and said that he did not want any return on his money he gave them, but if the film was a box office success and makes a big profit, then he will be very happy to receive the £1,000 back and no interest. So Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky then got a coalition together of a few people and asked them to defer their money back until the film was a great big box office success, and eventually they finally received their last £3,000 to finally start filming ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR.’ When eventually ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ was finally released in the cinemas in 1951, and when the critics was finally reviewed, it was got very good reviews and the critics thought it was a quintessential very English picture, and that is one question you have to ask yourself, especially the film is watch by a modern audience today and what the film projects to a modern audience, and although ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ was not an official Ealing Studios comedy film, it was felt that it was a 100% Ealing Studios comedy film. On top of all that, Monja Danischewsky really understood the English quirky comedy culture, because it was a very idealised type of film, as well as very self-regarding and very congratulatory, and definitely a very ironic idea of what “English” really means, especially with it all set up in LAMBS GREEN NW3 area of London, and a great parody of a picture of pastoral England, and just like the information films from the UK Government at that time period, informing oversea people who were thinking of coming to the United Kingdom. Matthew Sweet feels ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ film is not at all snooty about working class pleasures and there is no question about all those people in the film about handing over their own money to invest in a racing horse and there is no moral dilemma problem, it is just about people enjoying themselves and nothing is going to spoil their fun, especially with a totally fun loving attitude. Matthew Sweet also says about the film, that we are getting a portrait, that is slightly ironic portrait of England, but with all of its conflicts, all of these people totally disagreeing with each other and a cast of characters straight out of imagining what England was like in 1951, especially with all of the classic and well known English actors, but in a very concentrated form. Also, Matthew Sweet feels that if Michael Balcon had made the film, it would not have any kind of smutty jokes and very naughty innuendo, and feels that is why the film was a massive box office success, because it was independently made. Matthew Sweet also says the actor Basil Radford was pivotal to the success of the film, because he was the one that suggested the film to both Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky who were keen to make the film, and on top of all that, Basil Radford was born in Chester, England, on the 25th June, 1897. Basil Radford was a commissioned officer in the British South Staffordshire Regiment in the First World War, in 1918 transferring into the Royal Air Force, ending the war as a subaltern when he was demobilised in 1920. Basil Radford had a crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek from a wound sustained during his time in the trenches. Depending on the lighting and camera angle it varied from barely perceptible to prominent. Basil Radford was probably best remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne as two cricket-obsessed Englishmen in several films from 1938 to 1949. Basil Radford was the son of a Clergyman; he collected china bulls, and really wanted to play Henry VIII, but sadly it never happened, and after his success in a string several films like ‘Crook's Tour’ (1941), ‘The Next of Kin’ (1942), ‘Millions Like Us’ (1943), ‘Dead of Night’ (1945), ‘Quartet’ (1948), ‘It's Not Cricket’ (1949), ‘Stop Press Girl’ (1949), and ‘Passport to Pimlico’ (1949). Basil Radford was slowly coming to the end of his career and sadly his health began seriously to fail in the summer of 1951, forcing him to take a long break from acting. Basil Radford died at St George's Hospital, Westminster, London, on the 20th October 1952, from liver failure due to cirrhosis of the liver and Matthew Sweet feels we was watching an actors in his 50’s who sadly died far too soon, and watching him in this film, depicted someone who was a true Englishman, and definitely slightly out of his comfort zone running the shabby pet shop in ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ film and giving a post-war vibe of England, and so Matthew Sweet feels THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ film is a fitting tribute to the marvellous actor Basil Radford, and also seeing that actor actually riding “The Galloping Major” horse to victory and almost falling off that horse and actually staggering to the finish line to an unlikely victory in British cinema history, and at that point , this featurette ends, but as am added bonus we get to view lots of clips from the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR.’
Special Feature: Locations Featurette with Historian Richard Dacre [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [17:47] With this featurette, Richard Dacre gives us a grand tour of all the locations that is featured in the film THE GALLOPING MAJOR,’ and starts his tour on the edge of the River Thames in the Hammersmith and is a district of West London, England, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross and behind him high up the wall is a blue plaque for the site of Riverside Studios and where a lot of the interior scenes of ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ were filmed. The next location Richard takes us to is YELDHAM ROAD W6 which is in Fulham, South West London and the surrounding area was used mainly for the major location filming for ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR,’ and Richard Dacre feels that this particular road is where you get to see the double decker buses at that start of the film and also feels it has not changed very much in all that time since 1951. The next location Richard Dacre takes us to the street they renamed LAMBS GREEN NW3 was filmed, and is now actually called DISTILLERY TOAD W6 where at the time of the film was the actual location of the Hammersmith Distillery, but of course has since been demolished. Richard Dacre’s next location is BELSIZE CRESCENT NW3 in Belsize Park, North West London where the pet shop was that was owned by actor Basil Radford and of course you saw the famous red telephone box was located near the pet shop, but of course it was just a prop, not a real one. Richard Dacre’s next location is BELSIZE PARK MEWS NW3 in Belsize Park, North West London and it was where the stables were for the horses in the film, but of course it is now a residential area. Richard Dacre’s next location is Alexandra Palace which is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey, which was used for the racing scene in the film where they have the auction and where they bid for the wrong horse. When you see them putting “The Galloping Major” horse through its paces, it was filmed on Wandsworth Common, which is a public common in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London and another location you see them putting the horse through its paces was in Hyde Park, which one of London's eight Royal Parks, home to a large wetland area, gardens, children's playgrounds, sports facilities and historic treasures. Then Richard Dacre gets round to talking about the end of the film with the Grand National race, which is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England since 1839, which for the film they used archival footage of the race to give the film a bit of authenticity and of course at the end of the dramatic race we get to see the actor Basil Radford on the horse getting to the finish line and of course “The Galloping Major” horse wins the race and the outright winner and of course the only horse to finish the race. Richard Dacre says that the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ is a sort of iconic Ealing Studios comedy film genre, and despite the film being a big box office hit, Monja Danischewsky sold his half of the shares in the production company Sirius and returned to Ealing Studios, but on the other hand, Henry Cornelius was not welcomed back to Ealing Studios, but he had the last laugh, as his next box office success was the iconic ‘Genevieve 1953 British comedy film, which Ealing Studios turned down, and at that point in this featurette, finishes. Once again, as an added bonus, once again we get to view lots of clips from the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR.’
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [1951] [1080p] [1.37:1] [1:00] With this featurette, we get to see a plethora of wonderful black-and-white images from the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR,’ and at the start of this featurette we get a short burst from the composed music for the film ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR.’
Finally, ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ [1951] is an Ealing Studios comedy in all but name. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by Henry Cornelius and Monja Danischewsky, both of whom worked on pictures for Ealing Studios, and despite being an independent production was still seen as a kind of spiritual production from the famous stable, even if it didn’t have the name on it. It definitely has the Ealing Studios feel to it, even if some of it is a bit edgier than was expected from the studio and certainly its owners. It also has a sense of ingenuity, including the fantastic opening titles that include the credits swooshing by as banners on the side of London buses. ‘THE GALLOPING MAJOR’ is a fun, silly adventure about bringing people together and holding out hope, even when the odds are stacked against you. Basil Radford is superb as always and the entire cast are extremely enjoyable to watch. It’s just the right amount of unbelievable though it does slow down a touch too much in its final scenes to do itself justice. It’s sweet and funny in exactly the ways you think it’s going to be, it may not hold a lot of surprises but that doesn’t change the fact that it is very entertaining, very funny and full of hope. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
