Ealing Comedies
Ealing Studios were founded in 1931 and under the auspices of Basil Dean (1888-1978) it produced comedies from the start, for example Sally in Our Alley (1931) starring Gracie Fields and a little later a number of films starring George Formby. In 1938 Michael Balcon (1896-1977) replaced Dean and before the end of the war Ealing released the last of Will Hay's films but it was after the war that Ealing's most famous comedies appeared.
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- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsAlastair SimFrederick PiperHarry FowlerA gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsRobert BeattyMoira ListerStanley HollowayA young Irishman comes up with an unusual plan to get the money to emigrate to Tahiti.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.Nominations - Venice Golden Lion 1949, BAFTA Best British Film 1950
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - DirectorHenry CorneliusStarsStanley HollowayBetty WarrenBarbara MurrayResidents of a part of London declare independence after they discover an old treaty, which leads to the need for a "Passport to Pimlico".Nominations - Oscar Best Story and Screenplay 1950, BAFTA Best British Film 1950
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsDonald HoustonMeredith EdwardsMoira ListerBrothers from a Welsh village take their first trip to London to collect a prize, and meet a con artist and various other urban distractions.Nomination - BAFTA Best British Film 1950
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBasil RadfordJoan GreenwoodCatherine LaceyScottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.Nomination - BAFTA Best British Film 1950
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - DirectorCharles FrendStarsStephen MurrayKay WalshJames FoxA boy steals a powerful magnet from a younger boy and gets him into all sorts of trouble.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsAlec GuinnessStanley HollowaySidney JamesA meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.Venice Best Screenplay 1951
BAFTA Best British Film 1952
Oscar Best Story and Screenplay 1953
Nominations - Venice Golden Lion 1951, BAFTA Best Film From Any Source 1952, Directors Guild of America Best Director 1953
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodCecil ParkerAn altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.Nominations - BAFTA Best Film From Any Source, Best British Film 1952, Oscar Best Screenplay 1953
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsEric PortmanCecil ParkerHelen CherryThe post-war Labour government appoints an ex-docker as Governor of a Mediterranean colony.
- DirectorAnthony PelissierStarsStanley HollowayPeggy CumminsJack WatlingA television given as a retirement present is sold on to different households, causing misery each time.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsStanley HollowayGeorge RelphNaunton WayneVolunteers take over their local passenger train service (against bus company resistance) when the government announces its closure.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsDavid NivenPeggy CumminsAnne VernonRex Allerton is a top Hollywood star and an idol of the female population. To get away from the pressure of the fans who won't leave him alone, he relocates to a remote Italian village where unanticipated trouble arises when unwittingly he becomes the prize for an international lottery.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsPaul DouglasAlex MackenzieJames CopelandAn American businessman in Scotland is conned into shipping a valuable load of cargo to a Scottish island via a coal powered boat.Nominations - BAFTA Best Film From Any Source, Best British Film, Best British Screenplay 1955
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessPeter SellersCecil ParkerFive oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.BAFTA Best British Screenplay 1956
Nominations - BAFTA Best Film From Any Source, Best British Film 1956, Oscar Best Original Screenplay 1957
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - DirectorMichael TrumanStarsJack HawkinsMargaret JohnstonJune ThorburnAfter Jim Fletcher is told by his firm that his new furniture designs are not in keeping with the firm's image, he threatens to resign and decides to uproot his family and emigrate to Australia. but his problems are only just beginning.Nomination - BAFTA Best British Screenplay 1956
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsBenny HillBelinda LeeDavid KossoffThis movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsAlec GuinnessHarry LockeFrederick PiperA seasick sea Captain commands an amusement pier despite local opposition.