View source for Ealing comedies

[[File:Ealing_Studios_logo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.30|right|The [[Ealing Studios]] logo as it appears in the opening credits of ''[[The Titfield Thunderbolt]]'' (1953)]]
The '''Ealing comedies''' is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based [[Ealing Studios]] during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's [[post-war]] spirit,<ref name="Thorpe">{{cite web |last1=Thorpe |first1=Vanessa |title=Ealing comedies remind us that life is many shades of grey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/29/ealing-comedies-remind-us-that-life-is-many-shades-of-grey |website=The Guardian |date=29 March 2020 |access-date=16 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="French">{{cite web |last1=French |first1=Philip |title=The Ealing Studios Collection Vol 1 review – Philip French on three immaculately restored Ealing classics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/10/ealing-studios-vol-1-philip-french-dvd-review-kind-hearts-lavender-man-white |website=The Guardian |date=9 August 2014 |access-date=16 May 2021}}</ref> the most celebrated films in the sequence include ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (1949), ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'' (1949), ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951), ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (1951) and ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955). ''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]'' (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and ''[[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|Barnacle Bill]]'' (1957) the last,<ref>Parkinson, David. ''Radio Times Guide to Films 2010'', BBC Worldwide, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-9555886-2-4}}</ref> although some sources list ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'' (1958) as the final Ealing comedy.<ref>http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/Ealing-Studios {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630155339/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/Ealing-Studios |date=30 June 2015 }} Ealing Studios Filmography</ref>

==History==
{{quotebox|width=30%|quote=In the immediate post-war years there was as yet no mood of cynicism: the bloodless revolution of 1945 had taken place, but I think our first desire was to get rid of as many wartime restrictions as possible and get going. The country was tired of regulations and regimentation, and there was a mild anarchy in the air. In a sense our comedies were a reflection of this mood, a safety valve for our more anti-social impulses.|source=Ealing Studios head [[Michael Balcon]], 1969<ref name="Balcon 69">{{cite journal |last1=Balcon |first1=Michael |title=Presenting Michael Balcon |journal=Birmingham Daily Post |date=8 March 1969 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19690308/253/0009 |access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref>}}
Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II.<ref>Murphy p.209</ref> The 1939 film ''[[Cheer Boys Cheer]]'', featuring the rivalry between two brewing companies, one big and modernist, the other small and traditional, has been characterised as a prototype of later films. 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.<ref>Murphy p.209-210</ref> Other wartime comedies featuring actors such as [[Tommy Trinder]], [[Will Hay]] and [[George Formby]] were generally in a broader [[music hall]] tradition and had little in common with the later Ealing comedy films. Ealing made no comedy films at all in 1945 and 1946.<ref name="auto">Murphy p.211</ref>

===Comedies===
[[T.E.B. Clarke]] wrote the screenplay for ''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]'' (1947), about a group of schoolboys who confront a criminal gang, which proved to be a critical and commercial success.<ref name="auto"/> It was followed by three films with [[Celtic nations|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 Welshman in London for an important [[rugby union|rugby]] international, and ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'', (1949) about [[Scotland|Scottish]] islanders during the Second World War who discover that a freighter with a large cargo of [[whisky]] has run aground.

''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (1949) is a [[dark comedy]] in which the son of an impoverished branch of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family murders eight other members, all of whom are played by [[Alec Guinness]], in order to inherit the family dukedom and gain revenge on his snobbish relations. In ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]'' (1949) the inhabitants of the London neighbourhood of [[Pimlico]] attempt to create their own independent [[nation state]] and end [[rationing]], leading to a variety of unexpected problems and [[diplomatic incident]]s with the British government.

''[[The Magnet (film)|The Magnet]]'' (1950), set in [[Liverpool]], is about a boy whose acquisition of a [[magnet]] leads to a series of adventures in the city. In ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951) a timid [[bank clerk]] gets together an unlikely gang of accomplices to snatch a delivery of [[gold bullion]]. The [[armed robbery]] proves surprisingly successful, but things start to go wrong when they attempt to melt down their haul into model [[Eiffel Tower]]s. ''[[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. The villagers join forces to keep their railway running, but face competition and sabotage from a rival [[bus company]]. 

''[[Meet Mr. Lucifer]]'' (1953) follows a [[television set]] as it is passed on from one owner to another, causing dissatisfaction wherever it goes. The film serves as a warning about the effects of rapidly expanding television use.

''[[The Love Lottery]]'' (1954) sees a [[matinee idol]] Hollywood star, played by [[David Niven]], agree to take part in a "love [[lottery]]". ''[[The Maggie]]'' (1954) features a clash of culture and wills between a wily Scottish boat captain and a vigorous American business tycoon who has mistakenly contracted the boat to carry a cargo for him. In ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955) a gang of criminals rent a room from the elderly Mrs Wilberforce while they're pretending to be a [[string quintet]] looking for a space to practice. They plan to use the house to stage a robbery at nearby [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross railway station]]. On the brink of escape, they are thwarted by Mrs Wilberforce who discovers their true purpose. The gang agree that she has to be murdered before she can go to the police, but prove incapable of doing this, and begin turning on each other instead.

===Later comedies===
''[[Who Done It? (1956 film)|Who Done It?]]'' (1956) was the final comedy made at Ealing Studios, before it was sold to the [[BBC]]. It parodies [[detective fiction]] with a young man setting himself up in business as a [[private detective]] after receiving a windfall of £100. His confused efforts to solve a crime lead to his becoming entangled in [[cold war]] espionage. The film was closer in style to traditional 1930s comedy, rather than the type of films Ealing had become known for over the previous decade.<ref>Burton & O'Sullivan p.21-22</ref>

Two final comedies were released under the Ealing banner, but made at [[MGM-British Studios|Elstree Studios]]. ''[[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|Barnacle Bill]]'' (1957) follows Captain Ambrose who, after leaving the navy, buys a run-down [[pier]] on the English seaside. 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 [[Seasickness|seasick]] to go on cruises. In ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'' (1958) a promising entertainer tries to decide whether to strike out on his own, or stay with his family's struggling [[music hall]] act. No further comedies were made by Ealing, and after the thriller ''[[Siege of Pinchgut]]'' (1959), the brand was absorbed into the wider [[Rank Organisation]].
The previous year Rank had released ''[[Rockets Galore!]]'', a sequel to ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'', but its production was unconnected with Ealing.

===Personnel===
Many of the films were built around a [[repertory]] group of actors, screenwriters, directors and technicians. Directors were [[Alexander Mackendrick]], [[Charles Crichton]], [[Robert Hamer]], [[Charles Frend]], [[Anthony Pelissier]] and [[Henry Cornelius]]. Notable actors who became prolific in these films included [[Stanley Holloway]], [[Alec Guinness]], [[Raymond Huntley]] and [[Alastair Sim]]. A number of actors also appeared frequently in smaller roles such as [[Philip Stainton]] and [[Edie Martin]].

==Legacy==
Though Ealing Studios has come to be remembered for its comedies, they were only a tenth of its productions.<ref>Sweet p.157</ref>  Conversely, [[Gainsborough Pictures]] is associated with the [[Gainsborough melodramas]] though it also produced many comedies. 

''The Ealing Comedies'', a documentary examining the films and featuring interviews with many key players, was screened as part of [[BBC One|BBC1]]'s Tuesday Documentary strand in April 1971.<ref name="Tuesday Documentary">{{cite web |title=The Ealing Comedies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rrdyx |website=BBC |access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref>

Two Ealing comedies were adapted for radio and broadcast over [[BBC Radio 4]]: ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' in 1990 starring [[Robert Powell]] and [[Timothy Bateson]] and in 2007 starring [[Michael Kitchen]] and [[Harry Enfield]], and ''[[The Ladykillers (radio series)|The Ladykillers]]'' in 1996 starring [[Edward Petherbridge]].

==List of Ealing comedy films==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]'' (1947)
*''[[Another Shore]]'' (1948)
*''[[Passport to Pimlico]]'' (1949)
*''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'' (1949)
*''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (1949)
*''[[A Run for Your Money]]'' (1949)
*''[[The Magnet (1950 film)|The Magnet]]'' (1950)
*''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951)
*''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (1951)
*''[[His Excellency (1952 film)|His Excellency]]'' (1952)
*''[[The Titfield Thunderbolt]]'' (1953)
*''[[Meet Mr. Lucifer]]'' (1953)
*''[[The Love Lottery]]'' (1954)
*''[[The Maggie]]'' (1954)
*''[[Touch and Go (1955 film)|Touch and Go]]'' (1955)
*''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955)
*''[[Who Done It? (1956 film)|Who Done It?]]'' (1956)
*''[[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|Barnacle Bill]]'' (1957)
*''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'' (1958)}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* Burton, Alan & O'Sullivan, Tim. ''The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph''. Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
* Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48''. Routledge, 1992.
* Sweet, Matthew. ''Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema''. Faber and Faber, 2005.

[[Category:Film series introduced in 1947]]
[[Category:Ealing Studios films]]
[[Category:Comedy film series]]
[[Category:Lists of British films]]
[[Category:1940s in British cinema]]
[[Category:1950s in British cinema]]