Review for The Ealing Studios Rarities Collection : Volume 2

After the ‘three-out-of-four’ gems unearthed on Volume 1 of Network’s Ealing rarities collections I had high expectations for Volume 2. It’s another humdinger and worth £10 of anyone’s money though I must say that, for me, it was a case of ‘three-out-of-four’ aint’ bad again. Which is not a bad ratio for compendium sets like these.

MIDSHIPMAN EASY (1935) is a rip-roaring boy’s own swashbuckler which moves along at a breathless pace, thanks to the infectiously energetic performance of its principle, child actor Hughie Greene (yes – you read that properly, and no, I had no idea either) and masterful direction of Carol Reed (The Third Man, Oliver!). 


It’s pretty unbelievable that this movie has not seen the light of day since its initial cinema run some 80 years ago. As long as you are fully prepared to unquestionably accept the general silliness of the plot (perhaps in the way you might with a Tin Tin book) and just go with the flow. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable school-boy fantasy where Greene’ sboy character seems to command great respect from all around him including crew who seem to blindly follow his orders and the ship’s captain who seems to take a ‘boys will be boys’ approach to his actions.


The narrative, which flows as quickly as a stream of school-boy consciousness, shows a young man who has been brought up by a batty academic to believe all men are equal, and who then applies that philosophy to series of life and death adventures on the high seas. Several of these involve saving the same beautiful young girl (Margaret Lockwood) from a fate worse than death and which helps introduce some romance into an otherwise full-tilt action movie. Greene is hilariously gung-ho and even though he is scarcely recognisable as the seasoned host of X-Factor pre-cursor, ‘Opportunity Knocks’, I still expected him to do the ‘I mean that most sincerely folks’ catch-phrase at any moment.


It’s notable that none of the lilting Irish accent is noticeable here so perhaps that came later, like John Peel’s Liverpool accent or Terry Wogan’s ever-increasing Irishness. Whatever the case, it’s a great start and a tight and enjoyable little film.

BRIEF ECSTASY (1937) was directed by Edmond T. Greville, a French director with a reputation for artful realism and is, arguably, a good enough film. It more than once touches on similar territory to the similarly named ‘Brief Encounter’ (1945) and certainly has some of the cinematic panache of that and I couldn’t help wondering if it had held any influence over the director.


For me, despite its unarguable style, it was disappointingly melodramatic; a slight film with a slight narrative which goes something like this: Brilliant young woman (Linden Travers) meets and falls in love with a handsome pilot (Hugh Williams) who, for one night only, takes her out of her bookish comfort zone into an unimaginably glamorous zone, full of champagne, laughter, dancing and romance. The following morning the pilot leaves for India, leaving the young lady to carry on her studies with a much admired Professor (Paul Lukas). Unable to bear life without her, the pilot sends a telegram asking for her hand in marriage.


Unfortunately she never receives the telegram as it is swept away by the cleaner before she has a chance to read it. So – at a loss – she accepts the proposal of the elder professor, a brilliant and much admired man though some twenty years her senior. Which is fine, until the professor invites an unexpected visitor the family home. You guessed it – the young pilot. 


It’s all played out with convincing gusto and the cinematography is excellent but for me the story too full of contrivances and coincidences to be taken seriously. The ending was a little bit of a let down too. I won’t spoil it for you but you’ll be screaming ‘Go Gal – you know you want to!!’ at the screen too, though I guess those were more moralistic times than these. All in all, one for the ‘to not watch again’ pile. 

THE BIG BLOCKADE (1942): Some out and out propaganda for the third film in the set, a ‘mockumentary’ that seeks to explain the power of political embargo and blockades in history and their importance on the war effort. As a result it’s a rather stuffy affair, very righteous and straight-ahead, actually saved only by some marvelously hammy performances of Nazi’s and enough period footage to make it of great historic interest and value too.


It features performances from Will Hay and Bernard Miles as sailors resisting the Luftwaffe (their conversation, barely broken by an air attack on their ship, is really something) ; Michael Redgrave as a Russian and Robert Morley as a pompous and deluded Nazi.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Warfare it comes across as …well, a film commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Warfare.

Not aired since 1942 it’s a historic gem that will be a real thrill for those interested in such things.

THE FOUR JUST MEN (1939) is much more fun and is itself an updating of an earlier film version of the Edgar Wallace novel. I thoroughly enjoyed TV series (also issued by Network) loosely based on this premise and the run of Edgar Wallace releases from Network have made the man somewhat synonymous with a good story for me, so it was great that this 75 year old film was no exception


The Four Just Men are a secret society made up of a foreign correspondent, an actor, a play-writer and a couturier who are committed to secrecy and anonymity and to justice for their king and country. Discovering a plot to sabotage the Suez Canal which implicates a British MP. It’s all super-spy high adventure but with a sprinkling of good humour and romance thrown in for good measure. Whilst it may all be a bit silly, it’s thoroughly enjoyable and move’s along at an incredibly fast pace.


This pre-war piece provides some fascinating insight into the politics building from Hitler’s Germany and suggests other motives of the MP’s involved in appeasement. Romance is provided via a gutsy girl reporter (Anna Lee) who eventually stumbles on the real identities of ‘The Four Just Men’. Lois Lane anybody?

Picture quality across the set is really top notch and all are presented in OAR (1.33:1). Once again, a highly recommended purchase and a real delight. I can’t wait to see what get’s unearthed on future editions.