Mubi Monday: The Man In The White Suit (1951)

There are certain breakthroughs that you suspect just wouldn't be allowed to happen. Society runs in a certain way, capitalism needs continuous meat put into the machine to make the sausages, and contentment and sustainability often get in the way of that. It's why there's so much money to be made in medicine, why so many struggle to get paid a living wage, and why, as The Man In The White Suit tells us, nobody wants a fabric that is indestructible and never needs cleaned.

Alec Guinness plays Sidney Stratton, a determined young scientist who keeps trying a variety of experiments and formulae in his quest to create a brand new fabric. Some view him as a liability, especially when his presence in any workplace increases the chance of a random explosion, but some see him as a brilliantly progressive thinker who just needs some time and space to turn his theories into a reality. The closer he gets, however, the more people start to think of him as a serious threat to the status quo. Because dirty and damage clothing ensures that people are repeat customers, not to mention the laundry and repair services that rely on such wear and tear.

Another Ealing comedy from director Alexander Mackendrick, who also worked on the screenplay with John Dighton and Roger MacDougall (creator of the original play), this is a slightly lesser, but no less enjoyable, title that often feels unfairly forgotten in the shadow of some films that have retained their status as being some of the very best of British cinema. There's less focus on quirky characters here, although our lead is amusingly nervy and naive throughout, and more time spent hammering home a commentary on the battle between scientific progress and ongoing business interests.

Guinness delivers another effortlessly wonderful performance, doing enough to hold your attention at all times as he turns from a minor inconvenience to a much sought after commodity. Joan Greenwood is a delight as the young woman who takes an interest in him, although her character also happens to be the daughter of a powerful factory owner (played by Cecil Parker), and both Michael Gough and Vida Hope stand out as two individuals on either side of the employer/employee divide.

Although it will be 75 years old next year, it's sad to think of just how insightful this remains. We just need to look around us to see how many of the super-rich are desperate to stop people from latching on to an idea that will save them both money and resources, from sustainable fashion items to methods of generating electricity, to name just a couple of main examples. The Man In The White Suit remains slightly far-fetched when it comes to the central invention, but it remains all too realistic and depressing when it comes to how the rich and the powerful would want to handle such a thing.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing, and ALL of the links you need are here - https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Mubi Monday: Whisky Galore! (1949)

Known as the film about the little Scottish island that ends up receiving an unexpected windfall of whisky, hence the title, Whisky Galore! holds a place in the hearts of many who have seen it in the intervening decades since it was first release. Like many other Ealing Studios films, it taps into a particularly sweet vein of Britishness, mixed with great comedy and a dash of pathos. But it also has a bunch of Scottish people doing whatever it takes to keep hold of a surprise "delivery" of precious whisky.

The small island of Todday doesn't have too much going on. That doesn't stop Captain Waggett (Basil Radford), commander of the local Home Guard, from trying to keep everything done by the letter of the law. Military maneuvres are practiced, and everyone needs to be ready to do their bit for the greater good. It turns out that Captain Waggett and the islanders have very different ideas of what conssitutes the greater good when a ship containing 50,000 cases of whisky crashes near the island. Waggett wants that cargo kept safe, but everyone else wants to enjoy drinking it.

Based on a real-life incident that happened on the island of Eriskay, Whisky Galore! benefits from a great cast, solid direction from Alexander Mackendrick, and a wonderfully warm and witty screenplay by Compton Mackenzie (adapting his own novel) and Angus MacPhail. It has a brief 82-minute runtime, and brilliantly establishes a large selection of main characters who all end up playing vital roles in the third act set-piece that shows people finding imaginative hiding places for their whisky bottles.

Although he's mainly the villain of the piece, Radford is quite a delight in the role of Waggett. He's all about the precision and standards, no matter how unpopular that makes him on the island. Wylie Watson is also very good as Joseph Macroon, the father of two daughters, Peggy (Joan Greenwood) and Catriona (Gabrielle Blunt), who have caught the hearts of Sergeant Odd (Bruce Seton) and George Campbell (Gordon Jackson), respectively. Greenwood and Blunt light up the screen, Seton gets to break away from the stiffness of his character as he sides with the islanders, due to being compromised by his feelings, and Jackson is fantastic as a man living in fear of his domineering mother (Jean Cadell, delivering one unforgettable matriarchal turn).

There's a wonderful score, an occasional blast of the bagpipes, some traditional dancing, and some trickery employed to try and make the sinking ship and precious cargo seem as real as possible. The comedy is gentle, but there's no real tension (although that may be down to familiarity with the material). It doesn't matter though. You get to spend time with a great assortment of characters that you want to see achieve a small, but meaningful, victory for "the little man". Sometimes you need one stroke of good luck to turn your fortunes around. Sometimes you need much more than that. And sometimes you just need a wee dram.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing, and ALL of the links you need are here - https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949)

Oh, how embarrassing it is when the chance comes along to finally view a movie recommended by many, many others over the years and it turns out to be an easy favourite because, guess what, everyone has been recommending it with good reason. Kind Hearts And Coronets is that film for today and I am that person who put off viewing this masterpiece for far too long. Shame on me.

Dennis Price stars as Louis Mazzini, the child of a woman who was deemed by her family to have married beneath her. Due to the judgment made by the rest of the family, Louis and his mother are left to make their own way in life and when his mother dies with no display of remorse or warmth from her estranged family, Louis decides to take matters into his own hands. He sets out to take his rightful place in the family tree and to pull himself up to the higher strata of society. This will involve killing every one of his main relatives (all played by Alec Guinness) until he is left, the sole heir to the family fortune and title.

I'd heard SO much about Kind Hearts And Coronets over the years that I must admit to being a little worried when I didn't love it from the very opening second. People had praised it sky high and I may have been expecting too much.

Balderdash.

Within minutes I was relishing each and every perfectly formed line of dialogue (written for the screen by director Robert Hamer and John Dighton, from the book by Roy Horniman) and dying to find out just what would happen to each character populating the movie.

Dennis Price is superb in the lead role and he's able to play off two very different women, one being the ambitious and manipulative Sibella Holland, played by Joan Greenwood, and the other being the beautiful and gracious Edith D'Ascoyne, played by Valerie Hobson. Audrey Fildes, Clive Morton, Miles Malleson and John Penrose all do fine work in their roles, small or large, but everyone on-screen plays second fiddle to the versatile and hilarious Alec Guinness. Whether he's playing an arrogant cad, a priest with a love for an occasional tipple or even a female heavily involved in the suffragette movement, Guinness is never less than absolutely brilliant.

Hamer, in his directorial role, keeps everything mixed just perfectly. Most importantly, he manages to keep the black comedy throughout without it ever feeling too mean-spirited or just downright grim. This is helped by the casting - despite Guinness doing such sterling work, let's not deny how likable Price is in the lead role - but it's really the result of every single component being put together perfectly.

If you haven't seen Kind Hearts And Coronets then reschedule whatever you had planned and watch it right now. Don't make the same mistake of leaving it as long as I did.

10/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Mysterious Island (1961)

Another great adventure movie featuring the work of Ray Harryhausen, Mysterious Island is yet another movie that I can't view without a warm cloak of nostalgia draping itself around me. These movies make up the main threads, the strongest ones, that hold together the patchwork of movie memories from my childhood. Even after trying to wipe the rose tinting from my glasses, figuratively speaking, I can't help but still view these as really good films. People may accuse me of being unable to look at the films subjectively nowadays. Or there's a chance that, y'know, maybe many of these films that made use of Harryhausen's creations are just really good films.

Set during the American Civil War, the plot sees some POWs grabbing hostages and escaping from their prison in a hot air balloon. They then find themselves at the mercy of the elements until eventually landing near to the titular island. Working together to survive, the men find themselves in unexpected danger from a giant crab, some huge bees, pirates and more. Thankfully, they also welcome a couple of women into their group after they are washed up on the shore, and they seem to receive a helping hand from someone else who chooses not to show himself.

Based (VERY loosely) on the novel by Jules Verne, Mysterious Island has a decent script from John Prebble, Daniel B. Ullman and Crane Wilbur, and solid direction from Cy Endfield. The cast - Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom et al - also do a good job. Whether they're battling that aforementioned giant crab or being terrified by a huge chicken monster beastie (to use the technical term), they react appropriately and somewhat convincingly. They may also, for the most part, be a group of people rather than memorable individuals, but one or two main characters (including, of course, a certain Captain Nemo) just manage to do enough to stand out. Just.

While this is, obviously, a better movie for those wanting to see some more work from Harryhausen, the fact that it has many enjoyable moments without any creatures involved makes it a more wholly satisfying experience than some of his other outings. Lovers of the book may take offence at the numerous changes, but they work well in terms of making the whole tale more exciting and cinematic.

Not one of the absolute classics, but a very, very good film.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mysterious-Island-DVD-Michael-Craig/dp/B000071WJ1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368552106&sr=8-1&keywords=mysterious+island