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Brandy for the Parson

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1952 British film by John Eldridge

Brandy for the Parson
British theatrical poster
Directed byJohn Eldridge
Written byWalter Meade
John Dighton
Alfred Shaughnessy
Based onBrandy for the Parson by Geoffrey Household
StarringJames Donald
Kenneth More
Jean Lodge
CinematographyMartin Curtis
Edited byJohn Trumper
Music byJohn Addison
Production
company		Group 3 Films
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé
Release date
  • 20 May 1952 (1952-05-20)
Running time79 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£50,000

Brandy for the Parson is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Eldridge and starring Kenneth More, Charles Hawtrey, James Donald and Jean Lodge. It was written by Walter Meade, John Dighton and Alfred Shaughnessy based on a short story by Geoffrey Household from Tales of Adventurers (1952). The title is a reference to the refrain of the poem "A Smuggler's Song" by Rudyard Kipling.

Plot

Bill and Petronilla are a young couple on a yachting holiday. They agree to give a lift to friendly Tony and his cargo, who unbeknownst to them is a brandy smuggler. Before they know it, the couple are fleeing cross-country, chased by customs men.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was based on an unused script from Ealing Studios, which was passed on to Group Three Films who produced it on a comparatively small budget. Director John Eldridge had previously worked in the documentary film sector and this was his feature film debut. Filming took seven weeks. It was made at Southall Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Ray Simm. Location shooting took place around Salcombe and the Kingsbridge Estuary in Devon as well as Dorchester in Dorset. John Grierson, head of Group Three, said "I hope it will be in the Jerome K. Jerome tradition". Audrey Hepburn was originally lined up to play the female lead, but delays in production led to her becoming unavailable and she was replaced by Jean Lodge who was married to the film's screenwriter Alfred Shaughnessy.

Kenneth More said he was cast due to Shaugnessy who had seen a test More made for Scott of the Antarctic.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This agreeable comedy is an altogether more hopeful introduction to the work of Group 3 than its first effort, Judgment Deferred: unlike the latter, it was produced under the supervision of John Grierson, and its accent is on young talent both in the direction and the playing. In style, the comedy derives from the Ealing genre, and though not particularly original it has a welcome freshness and intimacy. One would have liked a script with more wit and direction with more humour, but the amusing situations, some excellent playing and the very pleasing location work carry it lightly, unpretentiously through."

Variety said if the film "is a fair sample of" Group 3's "output, the government’s confidence has been fully justified, for this is an amiable entertainment. It should do pleasing business at home despite the absence of prominent marquee names. Pic should also prove a hit in American art houses."

Allmovie called it "wafer-thin comedy."

The New York Times called it "a mild but tasty distillate."

Picture Show magazine found it "well acted against a delightful background of English scenery, beautifully photographed", and the film's executive producer John Grierson described it as "a sweet lemon of a picture" with a feel of "old oak and seaweed".

Filmink said "it isn't very funny but More is... charismatic."

References

  1. Group Three - a lesson in state intervention? Popple, Simon. Film History; New York Vol. 8, Iss. 2, (Jan 1, 1996): 131.
  2. "Brandy for the Parson (1952)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  3. Louis XIV, the Sun King (Nick Jones). "Existential Ennui: Tales of Adventurers: Short Stories by Geoffrey Household (Michael Joseph First Edition, 1952)". existentialennui.com.
  4. "Poems - A Smuggler's Song". kiplingsociety.co.uk. 17 January 2021.
  5. howardmorley (16 August 1952). "Brandy for the Parson (1952)". IMDb.
  6. Chibnall & McFarlane p.112
  7. Grierson, John (27 September 1951). "Three's Company Adds Up". Kine Weekly.
  8. Chibnall & McFarlane p.112
  9. More, Kenneth (1959). Happy Go Lucky. pp. 119–120.
  10. "Brandy for the Parson". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 19 (216): 44. 1 January 1952. ProQuest 1305810418 – via ProQuest.
  11. "Brandy for the Parson". Variety. 4 June 1952. p. 6.
  12. Hal Erickson. "Brandy for the Parson (1952) - John Eldridge - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  13. "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 7 October 2021.
  14. Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 116.
  15. Vagg, Stephen (16 April 2023). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Kenneth More". Filmink.

Bibliography

  • Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. The British 'B' Film. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.
  • Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press, 2007.

External links

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