ODD MAN OUT (1947, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 7 of 10)

Odd Man Out

Suspenseful drama about an Irish revolutionary and his dealings with various people who are trying to either hurt, help or use him. Odd Man Out's many late night street scenes definitely reminds me a great deal of Carol Reed's later classic, The Third Man.

But how British is it? Irish revolutionaries? Yet, the film isn't really about that. It even says so in the film's opening scroll. British pubs and horse drawn carriages? There's a bit of that. But it's really just another example of film noir and how the odd man out gets used and misused. The setting for this could easily be transferred elsewhere.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: I liked this film, but I can only give it a Britishness rating of about 6.

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THE MAN IN GREY (1943, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 6 of 10)

The Man in Grey

Gainsborough Film Studios in Great Britain put out a series of popular motion picture costume period dramas like The Man in Grey during World War II. Who wouldn't want a little escapism during times of war?

The Man in Grey's plot involves four main characters. They are played by the largely evil Margaret Atwood and James Mason (above) and the largely good Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger. I found the intrigues of the plot interesting and James Mason's character is probably the most memorable, thought I'm still not sure this film would make my 1001 list. I did like the movie being framed in a modern day setting which features Calvert and Granger as contemporary characters.

How British Is It? The modern setting featuring British today (1943) and the main setting during the Regency period of the early 19th century is damn British.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: I can't say this was my favorite of the films I saw this month, but it's damn sure British! Let's give it a 10!

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SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (1960, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 5 of 10)

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Part of the "new wave" of British flims. (And quite a contrast to the film I just watched, I Know Where I'm Going!) Saturday Night and Sunday Morning features Albert Finney as Arthur, a member of the poor working class who has to deal with the very grown up problems of women, booze and earning a living.

Quick knock on traditional commercial films: Arthur and his girl leave the movie theater after seeing the glossy film Pillow Talk. "That was a bad film" is his girlfriends only comment.

Is this really the same guy? After having recently seen Albert Finney as the old caretaker of Skyfall in the movie of the same name, it's a bit of a shock to see him so damn young here.

I've seen this guy before: It took me awhile to place Norman Rossington, who played Arthur's friend Bert as later playing The Beatles road manager in A Hard Day's Night.

The 1001 list could use come more British movies from the 60's: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Morgan! A Suitable Case for Treatment and The Knack and How to Get It Come to Mind. Granted, I haven't seen these film in awhile and could change my mind if I watched them again.

How British Is It? Well, I tell ya's. As I light up a fag and thrown down a quid for a pint or three before I go and try to find me a duck to reddog, I figure I'd have to be balmy to not put this one high up on the Brit scale. I'm not crackers, after all.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: I'd have to be daft to not give this at least a "new wave" 9.

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I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 4 of 10)

I Know Where I'm Going!

Powell and Pressburger's romance may be best remembered for bringing to life a most dreamlike place called Killoran...whether we ever manage to get there or not. 

But how British is it? Answer: Really not very British at all. But with the films emphasis on fog, mist, castles, bogs, lochs, moors, myths, legends, falconry, lairds, plaid skirts, a rousing ceilidh with bagpipes a'playin' and blokes and lassies speaking in Gaelic, it's damn sure Scottish!

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Only about a 3 or 4
Rating for Scottishness from 1-10: Definitely a 10! 

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THINGS TO COME (1936, GREAT BRITAIN)

                                                                     

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 3 of 10)

Things to Come

Plot Summary: John Cabal and others are distressed at the potential for an oncoming World War in the British Everytown during Christmas. Their fears come true as a relentless World War begins that leads to famine, plague, societal degeneration and a disarming lack of petrol during the next thirty years. In 1974, Everytown is visited by a man in a futuristic flying machine who turns out to be John Cabal himself. Cabal is part of a society that is called Wings Over the World that has renounced war. After a fierce struggle with Everytown's evil local warlord, Cabal and Wings Over the World triumph and begin to build a new society. We finally end up in 2036, where Everytown's future toga wearing society lead by one of Cabal's descendants has advanced to a position where they are ready to send someone to the moon. They are in for a struggle, as some in this society fear change and progress and will do anything they can to stop it.

This very early entry into sci-fi is interesting as a curio and the special effects aren't too bad either. H. G. Wells's Things to Come does come across as a little pompous and preachy at times and those toga outfits are a more than a little weird. But there are some neat plot threads in this film such as the continued presence of John Cabal as well as Wells accurate prediction of an upcoming World War. Of course, Wells also predicts we'll send a man to the moon by the year 2036 and "SPOILER" we (in the real world) actually got there a bit sooner than that.

But How British is it? Well it's pretty British in that the setting is the British Everytown and the decisions that determine the fate of this world are determined by Warlords or Toga Wearing Englishmen as if England were still the center of the universe. 

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Let's give it a 7

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THE LADY VANISHES (1938, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 2 of 10)

One of the last of Hitchock's British films is noteworthy for its very snappy dialogue, intriguing plot and very likable lead actors (Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood and Dame May Whitty). The action scenes near the end don't seem to hold up too well, but it's still a fun film to watch.

But how British is it?Quite British indeed! Especially seen in the supporting characters of Charters and Caldicott and their somewhat excessive love of the very British game of cricket.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About an 8. However, the section on Bandrika gets a 10 for its "Bandrikaness."

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness?
But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 1 of 10)

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Powell and Pressburger's involving and epic story of forty years of a soldier's life is told mostly in flashback and though it took me awhile to catch up with the story, I eventually did.

But how British is it? Well, you don't get more British than the by-the-book Colonel Blimp. Colonel Blimp's stand that England won the first World War while fighting clean and within the rules (unlike those evil Germans!) made me think about the British stiff upper lip and all that sort of thing. Of course, his fair fighting might not work as well for World War II. This is 1943 after all, we don't know how this World War sequel thing is going to end. But war starts at midnight, eh?

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About a 9

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