dfarmbrough

Jack of all trades Bernard Miles manages to write, direct, and produce this movie while taking one of the lead roles. Basil Radford is ideal casting as the slightly pompous, yet kind hearted boss who decides to let this employees run his agricultural implement company when they express disapproval at his employee relations.

The film shows the point trade unionism and the co-operative movement had reached in 1950, a few years after the reforming Labour government got in and just before they were replaced by Winston Churchill, showing that the country was oscillating between socialism and conservatism. Miles's intelligent script is even-handed in its approach to these issued and also gives insights into the class system of the time.

This is also worth watching for early performances from Patrick Troughton, Hattie Jacques, and Peter Jones. The direction is slightly flat at times, but Miles must have had his hands full. There are few scenes outside the well-made factory set, and this is all for the better as it gives us more of a feel of the lives of the people who work there.

This film provides valuable insights into several parts of history that might otherwise be forgotten. It does not tell the whole story, but then the whole story is by definition, untellable. There is a saying where I come from that history is always written by the winning side. Therefore this film to some extent tells it from the British point of view. The treatment of German Prisoners Of War by both the British forces and by the film crew is compassionate, and we are left with the feeling that they are not mere ciphers, but human beings. In watching this film, several myths about the Great War were debunked. I learned that very few of the German soldiers sported comedy pointed helmets (most wore the type Paul McCartney wears in his Pipes Of Peace video'). The usual scenes of Trench battle we see in film and television programmes show poor visibility with the trenches shrouded in mist, but this is probably a cinematic convention brought about by budgetary constraints rather than a desire for accuracy. The other myth that is exploded by this film is that the ordnance used in this war was rather primitive, hence the need for foot soldiers. This couldn't be further from the truth, with very big guns with fifteen inch diameter shells being fired over very long distances. When one considers that the majority of the large guns had to be transported (although in some cases by horsepower) by hand, dismantled and moved, then reassembled on the muddy battlefields, all whilst under fire, the engineering and logistical feats seem all the more remarkable.

The interesting thing about this film is that I would happily sit through this and enjoy it, but I wouldn't be interested enough to read a book about the Battle, nor to research the subject at the imperial War Museum. This is a good way of making history come alive and would be of interest to both the young and old.

The Museum's restoration is very good. The picture frame rate seems to be correct, and there do not seem to be any jumps or major tears. However there are a number of minor scratches that could have been repaired with a little more effort, and it jars that this halfpenny of tar has spoiled an otherwise seaworthy ship. The only reason I can think that the remainder of the scratches were not removed is a desire to keep the medium analogue rather than digital. A digital conversion would have rendered the clean-up work a lot simpler, but might present problems for presentation purists.

The upright piano music used for this restoration is ideal for the purpose. It not only gives a feeling of authenticity, but also lends the correct atmosphere to the film. Top marks for restraint go to the Museum for resisting the temptation to dub on sound effects. If I wanted to hear BBC Sound Effects Volume 12 I would visit my record library!

This film might be seen by today's film buffs as an early showcase for the work of directors Michael Powell (who storylined it) and Charles Frend (who edited it), but it really should be taken at face value. It's a bit of fun, having a laugh at the expense of the moral minority who even in 1935 were starting to annoy the cinematic industry. There's grand performances from Leslie Henson and Robertson Hare, who went on to play the Chauffer in The Young Ones. It's worth watching just to see how films were made in 1935 and to see how much influence the night club scene had on television's Jeeves & Wooster, where Charles Frend's montage of champagne filled glasses, bright city lights and drunken toffs show how much can be achieved with a minimal budget.