Leaburn O
A classic from British cinema having made the BFI top 100. Not the best in the list, it seems a hatchet job on unions at a time of real hysteria towards communism. Whilst it also shines business in a bad light, it's ultimately unclear what the film is trying to achieve.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
07/27/23
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William L
Oh wow, a comedy based on the politics of postwar British trade unions, I'm sure that will age well. I'm sure many of the period found the humor prescient and witty, but today it falls rather flat, and what isn't political is rather dated. Some of the jokes seem like excessively dated takes on Chaplin humor - early on, Carmichael's Stanley Windrush is given a tour during an interview for a job at a candy factory, only to be presented with excessive amounts of sweets that he is too polite to turn down, and subsequently throws up. What a knee slapper. Alongside that scene, in a joke that really evokes Modern Tmes, Windrush accidentally places his hat on a conveyer, only to see it emerge on the other side covered in candy coating. This sort of '30s slapstick is certainly strange to pair alongside with caricatures of British industrial concerns. Just for flavor I guess, there are moments of very poorly aged racism, with comedy great Peter Sellers angrily alleging, "the next thing you know we'll have the blacks doing our jobs like they do on the buses in Birmingham". So what we've got is a film with domestically targeted political humor over a half century old, practical humor that was antique when filmed, and a few nice sprinkles of rough racial commentary. I can see the appeal at the time, but this one can hardly be called a classic in the modern day. (2/5)
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
11/28/20
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william paul s
One of the very best British comedies, despite appearing dated. In a-black-and-white film depicting bleak post-war Britain, with pre-sixties woollen clothes, old-fashioned accents and unbelievably ancient-looking cars and interiors, 1959 can seem little different from the middle ages, so much has changed. There are some brilliant lines in it. Sellers as the union leader utters the ironic gem " I'd like to go to Russia; all those cornfields and ballet in the evenings". Great character studies from Irene Handl and Liz Fraser as well as Sellers, Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Attenborough. One of my absolute favourite films, despite Britain, and the world now looking an entirely different place - but the themes and issues are as fresh as daisies . . .
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
A surprisingly even handed satire on corruption at all levels. Sellers is excellent as the labor union boss - one of those strong convictions but no social prowess types. I especially liked his deer in headlights moment on the television round table. Wish there had been more laughs in general though.
The final scene with a group of naked women chasing Carmichael must have been a Monty Python influence.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting (Brighton Rock (1947), The Family Way (1966) and Twisted Nerve (1968), and based on the novel Private Life by Alan Hackney, who also wrote the screenplay with the Boultings. This is a sequel to Private's Progress (1956), which the Boultings directed and it shared a lot of the same cast. This is a very funny film with some very observant jokes. Undergraduate Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) has left the army, and is looking to find employment, but he always struggles at the interview stage. However, Stanley's uncle Bertram Tracepurcel (Dennis Price) helps him get employment at the missile factory he owns, and Stanley's bumbling actions grab the attention of personnel manager personnel manager Major Hitchcock (Terry-Thomas), but it's communist steward and union leader Fred Kite (Peter Sellers) who is most interested in Stanley. After Hitchcock sneakily employs time and motion man Waters (John Le Mesurier) to study Stanley working fast. It causes a small strike which becomes nationwide. It's a good little comedy, although you can't believe it gets away with a lot of things that seemed innocent and everyday back then, like attitudes to foreigners and union activities. But it also makes use of nudist camp gags and even vomiting jokes, which seem commonplace now. However, this is worth it for the brilliant cast.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Good old British satirical social comedy poking some fun at industrial labour/management, unions, and employment class. Clever and amusing. I did have a harder time connecting with it as I grew up in an entirely different era (like half a century). Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it , and recognize it's greatness. 7.5/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
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