In the 1940s and 50s, the Boulting brothers won over filmgoers and critics with a series of classics – from Brighton Rock to Private's Progress. As the BFI begins a retrospective, Michael Newton explores their version of Britain
The history of the Boulting brothers is the history of British cinema in miniature. The brilliance, the comforts and the disappointments are all there. In the 1940s, they take off from documentary realism to reach the heights of noir extravagance, before falling back into a gently unexciting worthiness. At the start of the 1950s they produce two fascinating oddities, characteristic of the oddity of the times. Later that decade, they turn to cosily satirical farce, the products of an exasperated, grump. The 1960s see them trying to get with it and making a middle-aged effort to "swing", but also creating one work that finds a vulnerable, extraordinary beauty in ordinary lives. And after that comes a petering out,...
The history of the Boulting brothers is the history of British cinema in miniature. The brilliance, the comforts and the disappointments are all there. In the 1940s, they take off from documentary realism to reach the heights of noir extravagance, before falling back into a gently unexciting worthiness. At the start of the 1950s they produce two fascinating oddities, characteristic of the oddity of the times. Later that decade, they turn to cosily satirical farce, the products of an exasperated, grump. The 1960s see them trying to get with it and making a middle-aged effort to "swing", but also creating one work that finds a vulnerable, extraordinary beauty in ordinary lives. And after that comes a petering out,...
- 7/26/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
The School for Scoundrels actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89, elevated muddled decency and likability to an art form
Ian Carmichael, who has died at the age of 89, was an actor with an incredible work ethic and appetite for the acting life: he filmed his last episodes of the period TV hospital drama The Royal just last year.
Before he became a TV regular with his performances as Bertie Wooster and Lord Peter Wimsey, he had been established as one of Britain's biggest post-war box office stars with innocent, guileless roles in classic Boulting Brothers films such as Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). My favourite Carmichael film is also one of my favourite British films, and perhaps favourite films full stop. It is that tremendous 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels, the last film by the great, troubled director Robert Hamer (who made Kind Hearts And Coronets).
Based on the Stephen Potter Lifemanship books,...
Ian Carmichael, who has died at the age of 89, was an actor with an incredible work ethic and appetite for the acting life: he filmed his last episodes of the period TV hospital drama The Royal just last year.
Before he became a TV regular with his performances as Bertie Wooster and Lord Peter Wimsey, he had been established as one of Britain's biggest post-war box office stars with innocent, guileless roles in classic Boulting Brothers films such as Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). My favourite Carmichael film is also one of my favourite British films, and perhaps favourite films full stop. It is that tremendous 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels, the last film by the great, troubled director Robert Hamer (who made Kind Hearts And Coronets).
Based on the Stephen Potter Lifemanship books,...
- 2/8/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor who brought sympathetic dimensions to the comic twerp Bertie Wooster and the shrewd detective Lord Peter Wimsey
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
- 2/7/2010
- by Dennis Barker
- The Guardian - Film News
Film and TV star, best known for role as Bertie Wooster, dies aged 89
The British actor Ian Carmichael has died at the age of 89.
The star of film and TV from the 1950s to the 1970s fell ill over Christmas and New Year, his wife Kate Carmichael said.
He died peacefully on at his home yesterday in the Esk Valley on the North Yorkshire moors.
Carmichael made his name in films for the Boulting Brothers including Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).
During the 1960s and 70s he enjoyed a successful television career, most notably as Bertie Wooster in the BBC drama series The World of Wooster.
Carmichael followed this with another popular role as Lord Peter Wimsey in several of the BBC drama series' based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L Sayers.
The news on TVTelevisionBBCDavid Batty
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited...
The British actor Ian Carmichael has died at the age of 89.
The star of film and TV from the 1950s to the 1970s fell ill over Christmas and New Year, his wife Kate Carmichael said.
He died peacefully on at his home yesterday in the Esk Valley on the North Yorkshire moors.
Carmichael made his name in films for the Boulting Brothers including Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).
During the 1960s and 70s he enjoyed a successful television career, most notably as Bertie Wooster in the BBC drama series The World of Wooster.
Carmichael followed this with another popular role as Lord Peter Wimsey in several of the BBC drama series' based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L Sayers.
The news on TVTelevisionBBCDavid Batty
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited...
- 2/6/2010
- by David Batty
- The Guardian - Film News
Ian Carmichael has died peacefully at his Yorkshire home at the age of 89. The veteran actor, who was well-known for playing the title role in the BBC's World Of Wooster, fell ill over Christmas, his wife told the corporation. Carmichael's film and TV career spanned three decades and included films such as the Boulting Brothers's Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). His (more)...
- 2/6/2010
- by By Sarah Rollo
- Digital Spy
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