Displaying items by tag: Donald Sinden

OPERATION BULLSHINE

UK, 1959, 84 minutes, Colour.

Donald Sinden, Barbara Murray, Carole Leslie, Ronald Shiner, Naunton Wayne, Dora Bryan, John Cairney, Fabia Drake, Joan Rice, Daniel Massey, Barbara Hicks..

Directed by Gilbert Gunn.

Watching this British comedy in the late 1950s, emerging in the same time as the Carry on series, including Carry on Sergeant in a similar vein, it is surprising to see how sexist this film is. Most of the man are ogling and drooling over the women. There are implications that women shouldn’t be involved in Army training manoeuvres. And there are all kinds of sex-farce complications about marriage and affairs.

One notices that many bloggers refer to the film as “witless”, as regards its themes and as regards the type of farce comedy on display. (The theme song throughout the film is Girls in Arms. Girls at Sea was released the year before, both films directed by Gilbert Gunn.

There are some surprises in the cast, especially Donald Sinden, a popular leading man of the 1950s as well as comedian, Naunton Wayne, best known for his comedy routines with Basil Dearden, especially 20 years earlier in The Lady Vanishes. There were comedians of the time like Ronald Shiner who appeared in both films as did Fabia Drake and Daniel Massey, Massey at the beginning of his career. The main member of the cast who gets into the spirit of things and gets away with a lot of the comedy as well as vigorous dancing is Dora Bryan.

While the film be seen as indicative of British comedy of the 1950s – and its themes developing during the 1960s with greater permissiveness, it does not offer a great deal of entertainment value.

JOSEPHINE AND MEN

UK, 1955, 95 minutes, Colour.

Glynis Johns, Donald Sinden, Jack Buchanan, Peter Finch, Heather Thatcher, Ronald Squire, William Hartnell, Gerald Sim, Victor Maddern, Thorley Walters, Laurence Naismith, John Le Mesurier, Lisa Gastoni.

Directed by Roy Boulting.

This is an all-stops-out comedy drama of the mid-1950s. It has a strong leading cast but it is also a film with many well-known British character actors in supporting roles.

The Josephine of the title is played by Glynis Johns, busy, organised, intervening, engaged to Donnell Sinden, an upcoming businessman. Also around is her playboy uncle who narrates the story into a bartender, played by veteran Jack Buchanan, in films since 1917, Broadway since 1924, very well known for his starring role in The Bandwagon. And, then there is the emerging Peter Finch as a playwright.

The film should have worked better than it does. Perhaps Nigel Balchn, creator of thriller novels and screenplays is not the best choice for writing this kind of comedy drama. And, Roy Boulting had great success with films like Brighton Rock.

The actors give their all but the treatment seems, at least in retrospect, somewhat laboured. Josephine with a compulsion to help needy men, encountering the disorganised playwright, breaking the engagement to the businessman, marrying the playwright and, over the years, supporting him, urging him, and his having great success. On the other hand, the businessman has resigned, successful but suddenly turning up on their doorstep with the police after him because of allegations of fraud.

And, at the same time, the wandering, uncle also turns up.

So, Josephine with her compulsion needs to be helping the businessman on the run and so neglecting her husband. All kinds of complications, misunderstandings, the police in pursuit and interrogations, some amusing supporting characters with their roles.

But, many decades later, does not have the impact it may have had in its day.