Ealing comedies

Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit,[1][2] the most celebrated films in the sequence include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore!

Hue and Cry (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and Barnacle Bill (1957) the last,[3] although some sources list Davy (1958) as the final Ealing comedy.

One of the few other films that can be seen as a direct precursor to the Ealing comedies is Saloon Bar (1940), in which the regulars of a public house join forces to clear the name of the barmaid's boyfriend who has been accused of murder.

[12] T. E. B. Clarke wrote the screenplay for Hue and Cry (1947), about a group of schoolboys who confront a criminal gang, which proved to be a critical and commercial success.

[12] It was followed by three films with Celtic themes: Another Shore (1948), about the fantasies of a bored Dublin customs official, A Run for Your Money (1949), depicting the adventures of two inexperienced Welshmen in London for an important rugby international, and Whisky Galore!, (1949) about Scottish islanders during the Second World War who discover that a freighter with a large cargo of whisky has run aground.

The armed robbery proves surprisingly successful, but things start to go wrong when they attempt to melt down their haul into model Eiffel Towers.

The Man in the White Suit (1951) features the efforts of a zealous young scientist to create a new kind of clothing material that will never get dirty and never wear out – an invention that threatens the livelihoods of both big business and the trade unions who join forces to try to prevent the publication of this new discovery.

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) echoes the theme of Passport to Pimlico, switched to a rural setting, with a small community standing up for their local interests when their branch line is threatened with closure by British Railways in a forerunner of the Beeching cuts a decade later.

Ambrose tries to revive the pier crossing swords with the local council who have a scheme to redevelop the entire seafront, personally enriching themselves while ruining him.

Ambrose battles them by severing his connection with the shore, registering his pier as a ship under a foreign flag, and marketing it as a tourist destination for those too seasick to go on cruises.

Notable actors who became prolific in these films included Stanley Holloway, Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Moira Lister and Peggy Cummins.

[8] Former North Korea leader Kim Jong Il was also said to have been a fan of Ealing comedies, inspired by their emphasis on team spirit and a mobilised proletariat.