Barnacle Bill is a shadow of former Ealing comedies I'm sad to say. Alec Guinness seemed to have lost his light touch that he had seven years previously in The Card, which I quote by comparison as I only watched that two weeks ago. Maybe it's because this final Ealing comedy was made after Sir Alec's mesmerising Oscar winner, The Bridge On The River Kwai, and I thought his performance as Bill had elements of his stern Kwai character. It could have done with his lighter touch when he was younger.
There are some funny moments, some of the best are the opening scenes of his ancestors which kick start the film. There's a good scene with a hard to recognise at first, Warren Mitchell as an escapologist on stage. Other good supports are Victor Madden, Percy Herbert, Sam Kydd and Donald Churchill, the actor/writer who gives a great turn as a rock and roll piano thumper. Jackie Collins can be seen as a sexy teenager in a rebellious teen gang.
There's Maurice Denham, Harry Locke, Alan Cuthbertson and various other fifties stalwarts for older viewers of British movies. All reliable faces, but I still felt this story creaked a bit. Maybe that's why It was the last of the Ealings.
There are some funny moments, some of the best are the opening scenes of his ancestors which kick start the film. There's a good scene with a hard to recognise at first, Warren Mitchell as an escapologist on stage. Other good supports are Victor Madden, Percy Herbert, Sam Kydd and Donald Churchill, the actor/writer who gives a great turn as a rock and roll piano thumper. Jackie Collins can be seen as a sexy teenager in a rebellious teen gang.
There's Maurice Denham, Harry Locke, Alan Cuthbertson and various other fifties stalwarts for older viewers of British movies. All reliable faces, but I still felt this story creaked a bit. Maybe that's why It was the last of the Ealings.