Folly to Be Wise

Alastair Sim was a fine actor who made some very good comedy films. But this is not a good one. Sim's acting as the frustrated and befuddled Royal Army chaplain and newly appointed entertainment officer, is quite good. While it's not very funny, it's the only thing that keeps one watching this film to the end.

As others have noted, it can easily become boring or blasé. There is very little witty or funny dialog in this film. The humor is mostly in situations. The best of those is during the brain trust show that Sims' Rev. William Paris hosts. That's when George Prout (Roland Culver) and Professor Mutch (Colin Gordon) nearly come to fisticuffs in an argument on the stage.

Miles Malleson adds some humor as Dr. Hector McAdam. And, the only other funny scene is toward the end. Prout takes off in his car, pulling a house trailer. Unbeknownst to him, Rev. Paris, Angela Prout and Jessie have gone into his trailer looking for him, and they are along for the ride.

The cast are fine in their roles. Elizabeth Allan plays Angela Prout and Janet Brown plays Jessie, the WAAF secretary for the camp entertainment office. Unfortunately the screenplay isn't very good and most will have a hard time sticking with the film.

On hearing of this film I was looking forward to watching it. It's the typical 1950's British film, with the added bonus of Alastair Sim. He is brilliant, but the plot is weak. Social matters are highlighted that were common in Britain then, such as the Labour party versus the Tories etc. But the plot doesn't hold together well. Over all a good enough film, but no where near the St. Trinian's series or The Green Man. Watch out for a young George Cole as a soldier as well.

Saw this about twenty years ago and recall thinking it was dire. With such a talented cast, I thought I'd give it another chance on its appearance on the indispensable Talking Pictures channel the other day. But for the most part it just wasn't funny with the exception of the Brains Trust in the middle, where those entertaining eccentrics Martita Hunt, Miles Malleson, Colin Gordon and the others on the panel couldn't help but raise a few smiles. That was it. A speech close to the end by Janet Brown's dim-witted boyfriend who constantly refers to women as 'judies' - did anyone talk like that? - has to be one of the most excruciating moments in British film comedy.

Alistair Sim is the stand-out in this rather claustrophobic adaptation of a slight stage play. Mr Sim is commendably restrained, more so than in some other Launder & Gilliat comedies, but he has so little to do, and so little happens that nowadays, one wonders why the whole thing was mounted anyway. The relationship between the aspirational secretary and her 'dumb' boyfriend is nicely constructed, and he, Peter Martyn, plays his part very nicely. Otherwise all the focus is on the more upper-middle class characters, who nowadays seem like caricatures. There was a tendency in most British cinema of the 50s to adapt stage plays, but very non-cinematically; this is a typical example. In terms of film study or of entertainment, this doesn't have a lot more than competence to commend it.

The Intelligence Corps Field Security Police would have in a field day writing out the report of the whole proceedings of the Brians Trust set-up for the troops camp concert entertainment. Sim plays his beleagued camp padre role beautifully well, with his typist WRAC girl, persisting in asking the crucial question about marriage to its very extreme detail answer. She typed out the suitable questions for the BT, so in practice, had editorial control of the proceedings & the direction the show took.

For those that do not remember or never heard of the Brians Trust, it was a development from a WW II BBC radio programme, which had wide audience appeal.

George Cole who plays the soldier nervously offering his "vote of thanks" to the padre for his efforts in organising the show, at the end of the film, was by this time, the adopted Barnado boy son of Sim.

For some good innocent Ealing comedy of the era, then this will kill 90 mins for you.

John Locke