In what 1949 classic English comedy from Ealing Studios does Alec Guinness play 8 roles?
"Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness, (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including ""The Ladykillers"" and ""Kind Hearts and Coronets"" in which he played nine different characters. He is also known for his six collaborations with David Lean: Herbert Pocket in ""Great Expectations"" (1946), Fagin in ""Oliver Twist"" (1948), Col. Nicholson in ""The Bridge on the River Kwai"" (1957, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor), Prince Faisal in ""Lawrence of Arabia"""
"Ealing comedies The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during the period 1947 to 1957. ""Hue and Cry"" (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and ""Barnacle Bill"" (1957) the last, although some sources list ""Davy"" (also 1957) as the final Ealing comedy. Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. 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"
"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 neighborhood of Pimlico attempt to create their own independent nation state and end rationing, leading to a variety of unexpected problems and diplomatic incidents with the British government. ""The Magnet"" (1950), set in Liverpool, is about a boy whose acquisition of a magnet leads to a series of adventures in"
"Most often remembered for its comedies such as Hue and Cry, Passport to Pimlico, The Lavender Hill Mob, Kind Hearts and Coronets starring Dennis Price, The Man in the White Suit and the black comedy The Ladykillers. However, following the withdrawal of Courtauld's financing in 1952 having relocated to Rhodesia the previous year due to failing health, he and Balcon were reluctantly forced to end this arrangement, selling the Ealing lot to the BBC in 1955 and relocating to MGM's Boreham Wood studios. The last Ealing film appeared in 1959. See Ealing Studios (1930–1959). In the aftermath of his son's"
"presages James Stewart's condition in Alfred Hitchcock's ""Vertigo"", made seven years later. A film montage of sensational newspaper headlines marks the crime as taking place in August 1950. The film won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay. Guinness was nominated for the award of Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. The Lavender Hill Mob The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James"
"but its production was unconnected with Ealing. 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. Though Ealing Studios has come to be remembered for its comedies, they were only a tenth of its productions. Conversely, Gainsborough Pictures is associated with the Gainsborough"
"of course the Ealing Comedies were released during his time there. Other films from the studio include ""Dance Hall"" (1950) with Petula Clark and Diana Dors; and ""The Blue Lamp"" (also 1950), whose lead character, George Dixon, was named after Balcon's grammar school. This character was later used in the long-running television drama ""Dixon of Dock Green"". In his 1969 autobiography, ""Michael Balcon Presents... A Lifetime of Films"", he wrote that his years at Ealing Studios were ""the most rewarding years in my personal career, and perhaps one of the most fruitful periods in the history of British film production."""
"and becomes a Christian martyr in Africa. Two years later, Edward and Lavinia, now better adjusted, host another cocktail party. After its debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1949 with Alec Guinness in the role of the unidentified guest, produced by Henry Sherek and directed by E. Martin Browne, ""The Cocktail Party"" premiered on Broadway on January 21, 1950, at the Henry Miller's Theatre and ran for 409 performances. Produced by Gilbert Miller and directed by E. Martin Browne, the production starred Guinness as the mysterious stranger. It received the 1950 Tony Award for Best Play. The play also ran"
"The Man in the White Suit The Man In The White Suit is a 1951 science-fiction satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) for Roger MacDougall, John Dighton and Alexander Mackendrick (who was a cousin of Roger MacDougall). It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the ""common man"" against the Establishment. In this instance the hero falls foul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his"
"Whisky Galore! (1949 film) Whisky Galore! is a 1949 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. It was the directorial debut of Alexander Mackendrick; the screenplay was by Compton MacKenzie, based on his 1947 novel ""Whisky Galore"". The storybased on a true eventconcerns a shipwreck off a fictional Scottish island, the inhabitants of which have run out of whisky; the islanders find out the ship is carrying 50,000 cases of whisky, which they salvage, against the opposition of the local Customs and Excise men. Like others of the Ealing comedies,"
"September 2002. The Captain's Paradise The Captain's Paradise is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco. De Carlo plays his Moroccan wife and Johnson plays his British wife. The film begins at just before the end of the story, which is then told in a series of flashbacks. In 1958, the story was made into a Broadway musical comedy, retitled ""Oh, Captain!"". In early 1950s North Africa, a man (Alec"
"and ""Kind Hearts and Coronets"", leading to 1949 being remembered as one of the peak years of the Ealing comedies. In the US, where ""Whisky Galore!"" was renamed Tight Little Island, the film became the first from Ealing Studios to achieve box office success. It was followed by a sequel, ""Rockets Galore!"". ""Whisky Galore!"" has since been adapted for the stage, and a remake was released in 2016. The inhabitants of the isolated Scottish island of Todday in the Outer Hebrides are largely unaffected by wartime rationing, until the supply of whisky runs out in 1943. Then gloom descends on"
"June 2009, but was dropped from their catalogs in 2011. A loose remake of the same name was released in 2006, starring Queen Latifah as Georgia Byrd, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Alicia Witt, and Gérard Depardieu. Last Holiday (1950 film) Last Holiday is a 1950 British film featuring Alec Guinness in his sixth starring role. The low-key, dark comedy was written and co-produced by J. B. Priestley and directed by Henry Cass, featuring irony and wit often associated with Priestley. Shooting locations included Bedfordshire and Devon. George Bird (Guinness), an ordinary, unassuming salesman of agricultural implements who inexplicably speaks"
"influence over later Scottish-based films, including ""The Wicker Man"" (1973) and ""Local Hero"" (1983). In 2007 the film was adapted and staged at the Nottingham Playhouse. In June 2016 a remake of the film was premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Eddie Izzard played Waggett and Gregor Fisher took the role of Macroon. The film was remade in 2016, with release in the UK in early May 2017. Whisky Galore! (1949 film) Whisky Galore! is a 1949 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. It was the directorial debut"
"papers, the film was a ""notable box office attraction"" at British cinemas in 1947. The film was digitally restored and released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2015. Hue and Cry (film) Hue and Cry (1947) is a British film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler and Joan Dowling. It is generally considered to be the first of the Ealing comedies, although it is better characterised as a thriller for children. Shot almost entirely on location, it is now a notable historic document due to its vivid portrait of a London still showing the damage of the"
"All Right Jack"" (1959). Popular comedy series included the ""Doctor"" series, beginning with ""Doctor in the House"" (1954). The series originally starred Dirk Bogarde, probably the British industry's most popular star of the 1950s, though later films had Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips in leading roles. The Carry On series began in 1958 with regular instalments appearing for the next twenty years. The Italian director-producer Mario Zampi also made a number of successful black comedies, including ""Laughter in Paradise"" (1951), ""The Naked Truth"" (1957) and ""Too Many Crooks"" (1958). Ealing Studios had continued its run of successful comedies, including ""The"
"The Captain's Paradise The Captain's Paradise is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco. De Carlo plays his Moroccan wife and Johnson plays his British wife. The film begins at just before the end of the story, which is then told in a series of flashbacks. In 1958, the story was made into a Broadway musical comedy, retitled ""Oh, Captain!"". In early 1950s North Africa, a man (Alec Guinness) is"
"as a favour to the director. In later years, however, he recalled it as ""wretched, (a film) ... I never wanted to do and only did out of friendship to Charley Frend."" Although ""Barnacle Bill"" was the last Ealing comedy, it was shot at Hunstanton Pier and Borehamwood Studios, as Ealing Studios had closed and was sold to the BBC for television production. ""Barnacle Bill"" as ""All at Sea"" was reviewed in ""The New York Times"" by Bosley Crowther. His review was sympathetic to the failings of the film and script but he did see redeeming qualities in Guinness's performance."
"her real name. She also appeared in ""Africa Screams"" (1949) and ""Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd"" (1952) with the comedy team. She co-starred in three Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, ""Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror"" (1942), ""Sherlock Holmes Faces Death"" (1943) and ""The Woman in Green"" (1945). Her other film credits include ""Jane Eyre"" (1943), ""The Enchanted Cottage"" (1945), ""Lucky Losers"" (1950) with The Bowery Boys, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller ""The Man Who Knew Too Much"" (1956), the 3-D film ""The Maze"" (1953), and the sci-fi B-movie classic ""Invaders from Mars"" (1953). On"
"The Lavender Hill Mob The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers to Lavender Hill, a street in Battersea, a district of South London, in the postcode district SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station. The British Film Institute ranked ""The Lavender Hill Mob"" the 17th greatest British film of all time. The original film was digitally restored and re-released to UK cinemas on 29 July 2011 to celebrate its"
"Last Holiday (1950 film) Last Holiday is a 1950 British film featuring Alec Guinness in his sixth starring role. The low-key, dark comedy was written and co-produced by J. B. Priestley and directed by Henry Cass, featuring irony and wit often associated with Priestley. Shooting locations included Bedfordshire and Devon. George Bird (Guinness), an ordinary, unassuming salesman of agricultural implements who inexplicably speaks with a posh public school accent, visits a physician for a routine check-up and is told he has Lampington's disease, a newly identified condition which allows him only a few weeks to live. He accepts the doctor’s"
"he edited the film, ""The Big Blockade"" (1942). Crichton also served as an associate producer of the film, ""Nine Men"" (1943), which he also edited. Crichton made his directorial debut with ""For Those in Peril"" (1944). In 1945, he directed ""Painted Boats"" and co-directed a segment in ""Dead of Night"". Crichton then directed ""Hue and Cry"" (1947), a film considered to be the first comedy released by Ealing Studios. Crichton later directed ""Against the Wind"" (1948) and ""Dance Hall"" (1950). Crichton then directed Alec Guinness in ""The Lavender Hill Mob"" (1951). This was followed by ""Hunted"" (1952), starring Dirk Bogarde."
"Kind Hearts and Coronets Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ""Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal"" (1907) by Roy Horniman. It concerns Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, the son of a woman disowned by her aristocratic family for marrying out of her social class. After her death Louis decides to take revenge on the family, and to take the dukedom, by murdering the eight people ahead of him in succession to the title."
"in circles saying ""And um..um..."" and laughing aloud at the joke he will never finish. Robert Farnon provides the soundtrack, his light orchestral version of the folk tune ""Early One Morning"" proving particularly popular at the time. Spring in Park Lane Spring in Park Lane is a 1948 British romantic comedy film produced and directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding. It was the top movie at the British box office in 1948 and remains the most popular entirely British-made film ever in terms of all-time attendance. A footman, Richard, played by Michael Wilding, is employed"
"took over £7 million at the UK Box Office. Between these, Ealing released ""Easy Virtue"" (2008), directed by Stephan Elliott and ""Dorian Gray"" (2009), directed by Oliver Parker. Ealing Studios is also home to the Met Film School London, which has a purposely built film school on the lot and use of the studios. ITV drama ""Downton Abbey"" filmed the kitchen and servants' quarters on stages 3A and 3B. Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902"
"Good Companions"" with John Gielgud and Jessie Matthews (1933) and Radfern in Carol Reed's ""Laburnum Grove"" with Cedric Hardwicke (1936). His final British film role, as a capitalist trying to take over a family brewery in ""Cheer Boys Cheer"" (1939) is credited with being the first authentic Ealing comedy. Gwenn appeared in more than eighty films, including ""Pride and Prejudice"" (1940), ""Cheers for Miss Bishop"", ""Of Human Bondage"" and ""The Keys of the Kingdom"". George Cukor's ""Sylvia Scarlett"" (1935) was his first appearance in a Hollywood film, as Katharine Hepburn's father. He settled in Hollywood in 1940 and became part"
"Pimlico"", ""The Ladykillers"" and ""The Lavender Hill Mob"". The studios were taken over by the BBC in 1955, with one consequence being that Ealing locations appeared in television programmes including ""Doctor Who"" (notably within an iconic 1970 sequence in which deadly shop mannequins menaced local residents) to ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"". Most recently, these studios have again been used for making films, including ""Notting Hill"" and ""The Importance of Being Earnest"". Most recently, ""St Trinian's"", a remake of the classic film, was produced by Ealing Studios; some locations in Ealing can be seen in this film. Quite remarkably, Ealing now"
"with ""Hue and Cry"" in 1947. Cheer Boys Cheer Cheer Boys Cheer is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Nova Pilbeam, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy O'Dea, Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott and Peter Coke. The film depicts the rivalry between two firms of brewers. Ironsides, a modern company led by the ruthless Edward Ironside and his son John, seeks territorial expansion to crush its rivals and seize control of their business. They are faced by the smaller, more gently run Greenleaf brewery which is about to celebrate its 150th anniversary. The film was made by Ealing Studios,"
"Evensong (film) Evensong is a 1934 British musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Evelyn Laye, Fritz Kortner and Emlyn Williams. It is loosely based on the story of the singer Nellie Melba. It was also the first film of Alec Guinness, who appears as an uncredited extra. The New York Times found the film ""politely dull in its reverent examination of a songbird's career. But in its sober way it emerges as a superior musical entertainment...Victor Saville tells the story with tenderness, intelligence and skill and his method is technically invigorating in one lengthy sequence which he develops"
"(1947), starring Attenborough as the gangster ""Pinkie"" from the novel by Graham Greene, which has become a classic. Also well liked was the comedy ""The Guinea Pig"" (1948), starring Richard Attenborough as a young working class boy sent to a public school. It was made for Pilgrim Pictures who the Boultings left shortly afterwards. The Boultings co-directed the thriller ""Seven Days to Noon"" (1950), which won an Oscar for Best Story. It led to a less popular sequel, ""High Treason"" (1951). John directed ""The Magic Box"" (1951), a biopic of William Friese-Greene notable for the number of cameos in its"
"in promotional material, but there was an occasional more substantial part in films such as ""Nine Men"" (1943), ""The October Man"" (1947) and ""Hunted"" (1952). In 1947, Piper played in ""Hue and Cry"", the film which became known as the first in the canon of classic Ealing comedies; he later also appeared in ""Passport to Pimlico"" (1949) and ""The Lavender Hill Mob"" (1951). From the early 1960s film work began to dry up, but Piper continued to find work in television, a medium on which he had first appeared as early as 1938 in a production of J. B. Priestley's"
"Hue and Cry (film) Hue and Cry (1947) is a British film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler and Joan Dowling. It is generally considered to be the first of the Ealing comedies, although it is better characterised as a thriller for children. Shot almost entirely on location, it is now a notable historic document due to its vivid portrait of a London still showing the damage of the Second World War. London forms the backdrop of a crime-gangster plot which revolves around a working class children's street culture and children's secret clubs. Following church choir"
"British comedy films British Comedy films are Comedy films produced in UK. In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s. British comedy films are numerous, but among the most notable are the Ealing comedies, the 1950s work of the Boulting Brothers, and innumerable popular comedy series including the St Trinian's films, the ""Doctor"" series, and the long-running Carry On films. Some of the best known British film comedy stars include Will Hay, George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and the Monty Python team. Other actors associated with British comedy films include"