The Galloping Major

Basil Radford is a fine judge of horseflesh, but he has no interest in betting. He wants to own a racehorse. He forms a syndicate to do so in his quiet London neighborhood of Lamb's Green, and they buy the wrong horse. Nothing loath, they train it anyway.... for the Grand National.

Henry Cornelius follows up his classic PASSPORT TO PIMLICO with another movie about the peculiar madness of the English. Although it lacks the general insanity of his better known picture, it has the funniest horse race I've ever seen on celluloid. With Jimmy Hanley, Rene Ray, Joyce Grenfell, and A.E. Matthews.

A fond recall of life in the 40's for a culture about to be altered from strong community and fellowship to selfish, materialistic, plastic and shallow strangers of today.

The film is a fantasy about the past when dreams could come true set in a characterful neighbourhood rich in persons, buildings, transport, courtesies and endeavour.

A pleasant experience to flow along with the story through a memory provoking past .... put the kettle on and enjoy with a slab of coconut cake from Woolworths.

The films directed by Henry Cornelius can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Passport to Pimlico (1948) -- one of Britain's most successful comedies -- The Galloping Major (1951) -- Genevieve (1953) -- possibly Britain's number one combined box office and critical success for the year -- I Am a Camera (1955) -- which failed to fill audiences with enthusiasm but nonetheless provoked the ire of the censor and thus became a top money-maker by default -- and finally Next To No Time (1957) which failed dismally even though it starred Kenneth More and was deliberately kept back from release until More scored a major triumph with A Night To Remember.

So how does The Galloping Major fare in this line-up? Very well, in my opinion. It has a lively script with several very ingenious touches. I love his moral-ground introduction in which A.E. Matthews lays down the law to our hopeful hero, but in the very next scene we discover that his motivation is more than somewhat curdled. The same goes for the introductory and following scenes featuring Hugh Griffith.

All the players bar one are at the top of their form. True, Kenneth More has little to do and doesn't really look the film director type; but the big letdown is Raymond Glendenning who hogs the camera so avidly, it seems like he's never going to let go! For a while there, it seems like Cornelius is going to make a thing of double-decker buses. This doesn't follow through, but happily, transport is certainly one of the main items on his agenda.

In all, despite Gendenning and an adequate but not exactly overly charismatic hero, plus a few slow patches here and there, The Galloping Major is a British character-filled delight.

Interesting look at a bygone era of the early 50's in the London district of Lambs Green. But today we still love the GG's just like then. Some things never change. I was amazed at the way the bookies communicated with their colleagues in the stands (all line of sight). The film "dry rot" also showed them communicating odds with arm movements - fascinating, I've no idea what they were 'saying'. Seeing the old double decker buses brings back memories. They also had some real old buses that looked prewar as well. Lots of familiar British actors like Basil Radford playing the major and Joyce Grenville and Jimmy Hanley. Not a laugh out loud comedy more a comical drama post- Ealing production that apparently was based on an idea by the actor playing the Major. You can also catch sight of the 'Carry On' star Charles Hawtrey in a bit part. This film runs the gauntlet of emotions when bets of all sorts are involved. Just enjoy the ride and races.

I have never been very fond of films which have horse racing as their subject and this film reinforced my view.I presume that this is supposed to be a comedy but it fails to raise a laugh despite all of the considerable talents involved with this film. In fact I found more interest in viewing Belsize Park in the fifties.I think about the only joke is showing the area,called Lambs Green in the film with a large factory and a bus garage.Now that is a laugh.A cinema is featured,maybe the old Classic in Pond Street. Also of interest are the London buses of that era which I remember well.As well there is Alfie Bass shouting Star News Standard.In those days London had 3 evening papers.Otherwise the film is a bore which doesn't deserve its high rating.