Folly to Be Wise | |
---|---|
Directed by | Frank Launder |
Written by | James Bridie (play) John Dighton Frank Launder |
Produced by | Sidney Gilliat |
Starring | Alastair Sim Elizabeth Allan Roland Culver Edward Chapman Martita Hunt |
Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
Edited by | Thelma Connell |
Music by | Temple Abady |
Production company | |
Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Folly to Be Wise is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, Martita Hunt and Edward Chapman. It is based on the play It Depends What You Mean by James Bridie. [1] The film follows the efforts of a British Army chaplain attempting to recruit entertainment acts to perform for the troops and the complications that ensue when he does. [2] The title is taken from the line by Thomas Gray "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise".
Having recently taken over the role of Entertainments Officer at an army camp, the army chaplain Captain William Paris (Sim) is disheartened that so few of the troops turn out for an evening of classical music. He visits a local pub, "The Rose and Crown", and finds the place packed with soldiers, including his own driver. He resolves to try and secure something more entertaining for the troops and decides to copy the idea of a brains trust, as in a popular BBC radio programme, where panellists answer questions from the audience.
With the help of Lady Dodds, Paris manages to gather together a group of local notables. These individuals each prove to be mildly eccentric. The group includes the opinionated Professor Mutch, who is a popular radio personality on BBC radio, and his friend the oil painter George Prout and his wife Angela. Arriving at the Prout's house, Paris interrupts Mutch and Mrs Prout who are about to embrace. Then meeting Mr Prout, he soon finds him a cold man who verbally abuses his wife. The 'brains trust' panel is rounded out by the hard-of-hearing Doctor McAdam and the chippy local Labour MP Joseph Byres.
With the help of his secretary, Private Jessie Killigrew, the chaplain manages to organise the event. The hall is relatively well filled. Trying to avoid anything controversial, Paris forbids any discussion of politics or religion and begins with some innocuous questions about cows chasing after trains and if the Moon is inhabited. Things soon become heated when Mr Byres, the local MP, takes offence at comments directed at him and threatens to start a fight. Having only just averted this, a question about marriage from Killigrew reveals the fragility of the Prouts' marriage. Fearing any controversy, Paris quickly announces that it is time for the interval.
As word spreads around the camp of the goings-on, the second half begins with the room completely packed. Paris tries to steer the debate back to harmless questions about bluebottles, but Killigrew interrupts and demands an answer to her earlier question about marriage. As the Prouts begin arguing once again, Mrs Prout admits that the Professor is her "lover". At this, the whole event threatens to descend into anarchy despite Paris' attempts to maintain order. Desperate to restore a sense of propriety, he draws the proceedings to a close, and announces that next week they will return to classical music with a string quartet. A soldier stands up and thanks the chaplain for providing such entertainment and asking if the 'brains trust' can be made a regular feature, to rapturous applause.
Worried about Mr Prout, who has disappeared and has been drinking heavily, the others follow him back to his house, where they mistakenly come to believe that he is going to throw himself over the cliffs, whereas he is merely planning a bit of quiet painting. Meanwhile, the Professor has revealed himself to be an inherently selfish man, while Mr Prout is suddenly far more reasonable. He and Mrs Prout soon resolve their differences, and he tries to be a little more considerate to her.
The film ends with the string quartet playing once more and Paris sitting in an almost empty theatre.
The film was shot at Shepperton Studios and made by the British Lion Film Corporation. James Bridie wrote the screenplay, adapting it from his own play. Alastair Sim had previously produced the play in a 1944 run at the Westminster Theatre and was a driving force behind bringing it to the screen. [4] Launder was encouraged to make the film by Alexander Korda. [5]
The play was broadcast live by BBC Television on 25 June 1946. [6]
A contemporary New York Times review described the film as a "cheerful British import". While noting that the film did not "succeed in building into towering proportions the fragile theme of what makes a marriage tick" the cast had made it "all worth while". The review praised the performance by Alastair Sim in particular. [7]
Sim was nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA for his role as Captain Paris, but lost to Ralph Richardson for his performance in The Sound Barrier . [8]
Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his death in 1976. Starting in 1935, he also appeared in more than fifty British films, including an iconic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol, released in 1951 as Scrooge in Great Britain and as A Christmas Carol in the United States. Though an accomplished dramatic actor, he is often remembered for his comically sinister performances.
John Francis Junkin was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy.
George Edward Cole OBE was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show Minder and Flash Harry in the early St Trinian's films.
Martita Edith Hunt was an Argentine-born British theatre and film actress. She had a dominant stage presence and played a wide range of powerful characters. She is best remembered for her performance as Miss Havisham in David Lean's Great Expectations (1946).
Bonjour Tristesse is a 1958 British-American Technicolor film in CinemaScope, directed and produced by Otto Preminger from a screenplay by Arthur Laurents based on the novel of the same name by Françoise Sagan. The film stars Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg, Mylène Demongeot and Geoffrey Horne, and features Juliette Gréco, Walter Chiari, Martita Hunt and Roland Culver. It was released by Columbia Pictures. This film had color and black-and-white sequences, a technique unusual for the 1950s, but widely used in silent movies and early sound movies.
Wilfrid Hyde-White was an English actor. Described by Philip French as a "classic British film archetype", Hyde-White often portrayed droll and urbane upper-class characters. He had an extensive stage and screen career in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and portrayed over 160 film and television roles between 1935 and 1987. He was twice nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, in 1957 for The Reluctant Debutante and in 1973 for The Jockey Club Stakes.
Colin Gordon was a British actor. Although primarily a stage actor he made numerous appearances on television and in cinema films, generally in comedies. His stage career was mainly in the West End, but he was seen in the provinces in some touring productions.
James Bridie was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor. He took his pen-name from his paternal grandfather's first name and his grandmother's maiden name.
Mr. Topaze is a 1961 British film directed by Peter Sellers and starring Sellers, Nadia Gray, Leo McKern, and Herbert Lom. It was Sellers' directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Pierre Rouve based on the 1928 playTopaze by Marcel Pagnol.
Laughter in Paradise is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, starring Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, George Cole, and Guy Middleton. The film was remade as Some Will, Some Won't in 1970.
Maurice Elvey was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He also produced more than fifty films – his own as well as films directed by others.
The 6th British Academy Film Awards, retroactively known as the British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in 1953, honoured the best films of 1952. The Sound Barrier won the award for Best Film.
A Pair of Briefs is a 1962 black and white British courtroom comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Mary Peach, Brenda De Banzie and James Robertson Justice. The screenplay was written by Nicholas Phipps based on the 1960 play How Say You? by Harold Brooke and Kay Bannerman.
Quiet Wedding is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Margaret Lockwood, Derek Farr and Marjorie Fielding. The screenplay was written by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald based on the play Quiet Wedding by Esther McCracken. The film was remade in 1958 as Happy Is the Bride.
Pot Luck is a 1936 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. The screenplay is by Ben Travers based loosely on his 1930 stage play A Night Like This. It also featured Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Diana Churchill and Martita Hunt. The cast included members of the regular Aldwych Farce company.
Seven Keys is a 1961 British second feature crime thriller directed by Pat Jackson and starring Alan Dobie. The screenplay was by Jack Davies and Henry Blyth.
Left Right and Centre is a 1959 British satirical comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Ian Carmichael, Patricia Bredin, Richard Wattis, Eric Barker and Alastair Sim. It was produced by Frank Launder. A political comedy, it follows the events of a by-election in a small English town.
Treasure Hunt is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Martita Hunt, Jimmy Edwards, Naunton Wayne and Athene Seyler. It was written by Rita Davison and Anatole de Grunwald based on the 1949 play Treasure Hunt by Molly Keane and John Perry.
Dear Mr. Prohack is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde. It is a modern-day version of Arnold Bennett's 1922 novel Mr Prohack, as adapted in the play by Edward Knoblock.
The Scottish actor Alastair Sim (1900–1976) performed in many media of light entertainment, including theatre, film and television. His career spanned from 1930 until his death. During that time he was a "memorable character player of faded Anglo-Scottish gentility, whimsically put-upon countenance, and sepulchral, sometimes minatory, laugh".