Art & Hue
From the classic Ealing Comedies, Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne stylish pop art print.
Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne
Successful actors individually, the pairing of Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1938 film “The Lady Vanishes” saw the birth of a cinematic double act like no other, before or since.
Whilst the cricket-loving travellers Charters & Caldicott simply wanted to be left alone to enjoy each other’s company, when the time came, their heroic involvement helped to save the day.
Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne would go on to appear as Charters & Caldicott in the films “Millions Like Us” with Gordon Jackson & Irene Handl, “Night Train to Munich”, which premiered at the Empire Leicester Square in London on the 26th of July 1940, and “Crook’s Tour”.
The duo proved so popular they popped up in other films with different names (for copyright reasons) including the Ealing Comedy “Passport to Pimlico” with Stanley Holloway, Barbara Murray, Charles Hawtrey, and Margaret Rutherford, and “The Next of Kin” directed by Thorold Dickinson, “It’s Not Cricket” with Diana Dors, “A Girl in a Million”, “Quartet”, “Stop Press Girl” with Gordon Jackson (which opened in London at both the Haymarket Gaumont & Marble Arch Pavilion cinemas on the 2nd of June 1949), and, their last film together “Helter Skelter”, released on the 7th of August 1949, with Terry-Thomas & Jon Pertwee.
The pair appeared together in a segment of the 1945 horror anthology “Dead of Night” with Michael Redgrave. One of the earliest horror films, the Ealing Studios film featured Basil & Naunton as golfers vying for the affections of Peggy Bryan, who previously starred in the George Formby film “Turned Out Nice Again“.
Providing comic relief with the more-lighthearted section of the chilling film, the early horror is well-regarded and made director Martin Scorsese’s list of scariest horror films of all time.
“Dead of Night” opened at the Gaumont Haymarket cinema in London on the 9th of September 1945.
Their partnership proved successful on radio also, performing in several BBC radio broadcasts including “May I Have The Treasure” and “Rogue’s Gallery”, in which Radford and Wayne reprised their characters of Straker and Gregg from “Passport to Pimlico“.
Basil Radford
Born on the border with Wales in Chester (so practically an honorary Welshman), Basil Radford appeared in two Ealing Comedies, “Passport to Pimlico” with Naunton Wayne, and “Whisky Galore!” with Joan Greenwood, Morland Graham, John Gregson, & Gordon Jackson.
More film credits include “There Goes the Bride” with David Niven, “Climbing High” with Alastair Sim, “Foreign Affaires” with Cecil Parker, “Trouble Brewing” with George Formby, “Chance of a Lifetime” with Hattie Jacques, “Jamaica Inn” with Morland Graham, “The Captive Heart” with Jack Warner, and “The Galloping Major” with Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Charles Hawtrey, & Sid James.
Naunton Wayne
Born in Llanwonno in Glamorgan, the Welsh actor Naunton Wayne also appeared in two Ealing Comedies, “Passport to Pimlico” with Basil Radford, and “The Titfield Thunderbolt” with Stanley Holloway, John Gregson, George Relph & Sid James.
His first film role was in “The First Mrs Fraser” which was directed by Thorold Dickinson, the man who can lay claim to discovering Audrey Hepburn‘s star quality. Some of his other films include “Highly Dangerous” directed by Roy Ward Baker, “The Frightened Bride” with Dennis Price, “Treasure Hunt” with Irene Handl, “Operation Bullshine” with Barbara Murray & Carole Lesley, “Double Bunk” with Sid James, Janette Scott, Liz Fraser, & Ian Carmichael, and “Nothing Barred” with Bernard Cribbins.
Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne Pop Art
Art & Hue had the pleasure to delve into the archives of Ealing Studios to create this stylish pop art print of Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne, available in three sizes and 20 colours.
Available in A4, A3, and A2 sizes to fit standard-size picture frames. Please note that black frame is not included – for a guide on choosing a frame size take a look here.
An official collaboration with Studiocanal, this print is part of the Welsh collection and the Ealing Comedies collection of stylish pop art prints inspired by the classic British comedy films made at Ealing Studios, featuring Art & Hue’s signature halftone style (halftone is an age-old technique that uses dots to make up the printed image, similar to newspapers or comic books).
“Dead of Night” Copyright © STUDIOCANAL Films Ltd. (1945). All rights reserved.
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