More Classic British Movies

British Film Institute Honours LIfe and Death of Colonel Blimp, More

Aug 16, 2008

These motion pictures from the golden age of British film production are all on the BFI's list of Top 100 British Movies.

Fourteen non-documentary movies from the 1940s made the British Film Institute’s list of Top 100 British movies. Five made the top ten and another five had rankings in the top fifty. Here are the final four from that decade rated from #45 to #92.

One film is from the directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; one is from Ealing Studios which is primarily known today for its excellent comedies of the 1940s and 1950s; the third became the first non-American production to win a best picture Oscar; and, the last was a collaboration between the noted playwright and actor, Noel Coward, and a young director named David Lean.

The movie traces the fictional military career of Clive Wynne-Candy from his days as a young officer in the Boer War to his days in the Home Guard in 1942. Roger Livesey is excellent as the loyal and patriotic, but sometimes buffoonish, Candy. A young Deborah Kerr is also very good, portraying the three different women in Candy's life.

Alternating between satire, comedy, whimsy, sentimentality and drama, the film was almost not released due to the efforts of Winston Church who felt (wrongly) that it belittled the British officer corps. Churchill may also have been upset about another of the movie’s themes -- Candy’s forty-year friendship with a German officer.

Shortly after World War II, a document is discovered that shows that the inner-London district of Pimlico is actually a part of the old Duchy of Burgundy. The residents are delighted and soon take advantage of their “independence” by establishing a government and welcoming “foreigners” to their new country. However, the British government has different ideas and soon barricades the “frontiers.”

Pimlico is a classic satire that examines what it means to be British. This theme is best summed by one of the characters, "We always were English and we always will be English and it's because we are English that we're sticking up for our rights to be Burgundians."

Laurence Olivier’s version of Shakespeare’s famed play may not be liked by all, particularly some of the Bard’s most devoted fans. Some characters have been omitted while others have their roles expanded or defined in non-traditional ways. The same is also true of the various story lines .

However, the overall result is a film which has been regarded by some, such as critic Leonard Maltin, as the finest Hamlet ever made. It is fast paced with tightened dialogue that makes the story easier to follow and features excellent black and white photography. Hamlet won an Oscar for best picture as did Olivier for best actor.

A British destroyer is attacked by German dive bombers during the Battle of Crete. As the survivors cling to their rubber raft, three of them (Coward, Miles, Mills), in a series of flashbacks, recall their wives and families at home. Throughout the film there runs a non-blatant theme of patriotism that is enhanced by fine performances from the entire cast.

Although the movie is definitely propaganda, it has not become as dated as other similar films from that period. In part, this is because the grim story is told in stoic, understated, British fashion. The film was nominated for best picture and Noel Coward for best screenplay. Neither won, but Coward received an honorary award. It was David Lean’s first directing credit.

The copyright of the article More Classic British Movies in British Films is owned by John K. Davis. Permission to republish More Classic British Movies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.