Art & HueClassic Afternoon Films on BBC Two
This coming week, BBC Two is spoiling us in the afternoons with screenings of enduring British comedies from Studiocanal’s archive.
From the Elstree-made classic “School for Scoundrels” to Ealing Studios’ wonderful comedies, get set each day this week for a perfect movie matinée.
MONDAY
School for Scoundrels
Monday 6th April 2020
3.15pm
Starring Terry-Thomas, Janette Scott, Ian Carmichael, and Alastair Sim, the tale of oneupmanship is a true British comedy classic that zips along. With cameos from Dennis Price and Hattie Jacques, “School for Scoundrels” is not to be missed, especially for the priceless tennis scenes filmed at this hotel.
Hard cheese, old boy!
TUESDAY
The Man in the White Suit
Tuesday 7th April 2020
3.25pm
Alec Guinness was reunited with his “Kind Hearts & Coronets” co-star Joan Greenwood in “The Man in the White Suit”, the Ealing comedy about the inventive individual against vested interests. The film also stars Cecil Parker who would work with Guinness again in “The Ladykillers“.
WEDNESDAY
The Titfield Thunderbolt
Wednesday 8th April 2020
2.45pm
A classic tale, much-loved by film fans and train enthusiasts alike, “The Titfield Thunderbolt” was the first Ealing Comedy to be made in colour, Technicolor in fact, and pre-empted the savage cuts to the railways made by Beeching’s axe in the 1960s. A picturesque snapshot of rural England in the 1950s, “The Titfield Thunderbolt” stars Stanley Holloway, John Gregson, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, & Sid James.
THURSDAY
Whisky Galore!
Thursday 9th April 2020
2.45pm
A classic Ealing comedy, “Whisky Galore!” tells the story, apparently based on true events, of a fictional Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides that has run dry of whisky but whose inhabitants are gifted a shipwreck carrying 50,000 cases of the spirit. Starring Gordon Jackson, John Gregson, Joan Greenwood & Basil Radford, the French title inspired the name of the world’s first ever discotheque, Whisky à Gogo in Paris.
FRIDAY
The Lavender Hill Mob
Friday 10th April 2020
4.00pm
“The Lavender Hill Mob” sees Alec Guinness & Stanley Holloway as members of a criminal gang who plot to steal gold bullion which will be melted down and smuggled abroad. The film also features Sid James, John Gregson, and a brief cameo by Audrey Hepburn before she became an international star.
SATURDAY
Half a Sixpence
Saturday 11th April 2020
3.05pm
This one’s not from the Studiocanal archive but the film adaptation of the jolly West End musical “Half a Sixpence” starring Tommy Steele is worth a watch. Even viewers who aren’t fans of musicals may enjoy spotting locations shot for the film in 1967, including Tunbridge Wells, Blenheim Palace, Aylesford, and (Art & Hue’s home town) Eastbourne.
SUNDAY
Death on the Nile
Sunday 12th April 2020
2.10pm
An all-star cast, including David Niven, Maggie Smith, & Bette Davis, star in the 1978 film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile”.
Peter Ustinov as Hercules Poirot is joined by Angela Lansbury, Simon MacCorkindale, Harry Andrews, Jane Birkin, Lois Chiles, and Celia Imrie.
