It's a Grand Life

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It's a Grand Life
"It's a Grand Life" (1953).jpg
British theatrical poster
Directed by John E. Blakeley
Written by H. F. Maltby
Frank Randle
Produced by John E. Blakeley
Starring Frank Randle
Diana Dors
Cinematography Ernest Palmer
Edited byDorothy Stimson
Distributed by Mancunian Films
Release date
  • November 1953 (1953-11)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

It's a Grand Life, also known as As You Were, is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Frank Randle and Diana Dors. [1]

Contents

Music hall comedian Randle stars as an accident-prone Private in his final film appearance. He had previously starred in a series of World War II army comedies: Somewhere in England (1940), Somewhere in Camp (1942), Somewhere on Leave (1942), Somewhere in Civvies (1943) and Somewhere in Politics (1948)).

The film also features the professional wrestler Jack Pye and the popular pianist Winifred Atwell.

Plot

The film is described in its opening titles as a comedy burlesque and is not meant to be derogatory to the army. Rather than having a conventional plot, the film is a series of sketches set against army life in the Essex Regiment in the post World War II era mostly involving an old private. One of the sub plots involves a glamorous Women's Royal Army Corps Corporal being pursued and sexually harassed by her Company Sergeant Major. Other set pieces include a wrestling match with Jack Pye and a drill sequence.

Cast

Production

It was one of several low-budget comedies Dors made around this time. [2] She was paid £1,000 for five weeks work, the fee she had been paid for on Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953). She said "I loathed the script and everything about it" but her then manager, husband Dennis Hamilton, insisted. [3]

The film was shot in Manchester. Dors said she got along with Randle, but that his drinking and temperament held up production. [4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The slight story is no more than a peg on which to hang a series of music-hall sketches, which will be recognised by those who are familiar with Randle's stage work. They have a certain rustic humour, but most of the gags and business have worn rather thin with the years, though they may still be appreciated by less sophisticated audiences. Winifred Attwell makes a guest appearance." [5]

In the Radio Times , Tony Sloman called it a "quaint and cheap army caper," and wrote of Randle, "If you've never seen him, give this a chance you might find he'll tickle your fancy. But if you have an aversion to music-hall stars on celluloid, give up, for Randle has neither the wit of George Formby nor the warmth of Gracie Fields, and by the time this movie was made he was looking tired and rather grubby." [6]

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References

Note (6 Jan 2024): References [3] and [4] to "Dors" are incomplete. It is possible they may refer to Dors' 1960 autobiography Swingin' Dors (WDL books).

  1. "It's a Grand Life". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. Dors 1960 p 85
  4. Dors 1960 p 87
  5. "It's a Grand Life". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 21 (240): 9. 1 January 1954 via ProQuest.
  6. Sloman, Tony. "It's a Grand Life (1953)". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2022.