The March Hare | |
---|---|
Directed by | George More O'Ferrall |
Written by |
|
Based on | the novel Gamblers Sometimes Win by T.H. Bird [1] |
Produced by |
|
Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
Edited by | Gordon Pilkington |
Music by | Philip Green |
Production company | B & A Productions (as Achilles) |
Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | UK |
Language | English |
The March Hare is a 1956 British comedy film directed by George More O'Ferrall and starring Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Martita Hunt and Cyril Cusack. [2] The film follows the efforts in Ireland to turn a seemingly useless racing horse, called The March Hare, into a Derby-winner. [3]
The film begins at Royal Ascot. Sir Charles Hare (Terence Morgan) is an Irish baronet who loses his ancestral home and its racing stables after someone fixes a race that Hare has gambled on. Forced to sell his estate, he decides to stay on when the new American owner's attractive daughter Pat (Peggy Cummins) mistakes him for a groom. Playing along with her mistake, romance develops between the two.
Meanwhile, Hare's aunt Lady Anne (Martita Hunt) and his friend Col Keene (Wilfrid Hyde-White), save one colt from the sale, and rear it with the help of Mangan (Cyril Cusack), who is invariably drunk but has strong control over the horse by invoking the power of the fairies. Hare names the colt "The March Hare".
We jump two years to a racecourse where Peggy discovers Sir Charles's true identity and "The March Hare" only manages to race after Mangan calms the horse using fairy words. Hare and Pat go for a date in London. After Mangan falls ill, he becomes teetotal, which restores his health but means he can no longer remember the fairy words.
Derby Day arrives and Hare needs to track down Mangan... Lady Anne has got him drunk in the pub in the hope that it will restore his memory of the fairy words. They get him to the track in time to whisper his magic words to the horse. As the race starts March Hare lags behind: it appears that someone has sabotaged the race again, but March Hare forges forward and wins.
Sir Charles is rich again and Pat is happy to marry him.
In the Radio Times , Tony Sloman gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote, "Best remembered (if at all) for Philip Green's jaunty theme music, this British Lion horse-racing romp gains from the fact that it was photographed in colour and CinemaScope by the great Jack Hildyard. It also has good-looking leads in handsome Terence Morgan and sultry Peggy Cummins who, together with a sly performance from Cyril Cusack, keep the whole thing a good deal more watchable than it deserves to be. Comedy fans might care to note the pre-Carry On casting of Charles Hawtrey, while Wilfrid Hyde White also puts in an appearance." [4]
The League of Gentlemen is a 1960 British heist action comedy film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Roger Livesey, and Richard Attenborough. It is based on the 1958 novel The League of Gentlemen by John Boland and adapted by Bryan Forbes, who also starred in the film.
Sir Charles Henry Hawtrey was an English actor, director, producer and manager. He pursued a successful career as an actor-manager, specialising in debonair, often disreputable, parts in popular comedies. He occasionally played in Sheridan and other classics, but was generally associated with new works by writers including Oscar Wilde and Somerset Maugham.
George Frederick Joffre Hartree, known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English actor, comedian, singer, pianist and theatre director.
Wilfrid Hyde-White was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical My Fair Lady (1964).
Peggy Cummins was an Irish actress, born in Wales, who is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis's Gun Crazy (1950), playing a trigger-happyfemme fatale, who robs banks with her lover. In 2020, she was listed at number 16 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Carry On Nurse is a 1959 British comedy film, the second in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale. It was the top-grossing film of 1959 in the United Kingdom and, with an audience of 10.4 million, had the highest cinema viewing of any of the "Carry On" films. Perhaps surprisingly, it was also highly successful in the United States, where it was reported that it played at some cinemas for three years.
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical adventure series Sir Francis Drake.
Carry On Cabby is a 1963 British comedy film, the seventh in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Released on 7 November 1963, it was the first to have a screenplay written by Talbot Rothwell from a story by Dick Hills and Sid Green. Regulars Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey are all present. Liz Fraser makes her third appearance and both Bill Owen and Esma Cannon make their final appearances. This was the first film in the series to feature Carry On regular Jim Dale, and the first not to feature Kenneth Williams in the cast. Williams turned down the role of Allbright due to what he considered an inferior script. The part was scaled down, and given to Norman Chappell.
Good Morning, Boys! is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and featuring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt, Martita Hunt, Lilli Palmer and Peter Gawthorne. It was made at the Gainsborough Studios in Islington.
Stephen James Mangan is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Seán Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups, Andrew in Bliss (2018), and Nathan Stern in The Split (2018–2022).
Sir Peter O'Sullevan was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the Daily Express, and Today. He was the BBC's leading horse racing commentator from 1947 to 1997, during which time he described some of the greatest moments in the history of the Grand National.
The Plank is a 30-minute, British slapstick comedy film for television from 1979, which was written and directed by Eric Sykes. This version, which is a remake of the 1967 film The Plank, also written and directed by Sykes, was produced by Thames Television and broadcast on the ITV network.
Green Grass of Wyoming is a 1948 American Western film, directed by Louis King, starring Peggy Cummins, Charles Coburn and Robert Arthur.
The Galloping Major is a 1951 British comedy sports film, starring Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley and Janette Scott. It also featured Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Joyce Grenfell in supporting roles. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and made at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The film's sets were designed by Norman Arnold.
Street Corner is a 1953 British drama film. It was written by Muriel and Sydney Box and directed by Muriel. It was marketed as Both Sides of the Law in the United States. While not quite a documentary, the film depicts the daily routine of women in the police force from three different angles. It was conceived as a female version of the 1950 film The Blue Lamp.
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.
Escape is a 1948 British-American thriller film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It follows a Royal Air Force World War II veteran who goes to prison and then escapes and meets a woman who persuades him to surrender. The screenplay by Philip Dunne was based on the 1926 play Escape by John Galsworthy, which had previously been filmed in 1930.
To Dorothy a Son is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Shelley Winters, John Gregson and Peggy Cummins. Known in the U.S. as Cash on Delivery, it is based on the 1950 play To Dorothy, a Son by Roger MacDougall which had enjoyed a lengthy run in the West End. It was shot at Elstree Studios near London with sets designed by the art director George Provis. It was distributed in America by RKO Pictures in January 1956.
That Dangerous Age is a 1949 British romance film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Myrna Loy, Roger Livesey and Peggy Cummins. It was adapted from the play Autumn by Margaret Kennedy and Ilya Surguchev. The film was released under the alternative title of If This Be Sin in the United States. It was shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in London and Capri. The film's sets were designed by the art director Andrej Andrejew.