Art of Film with Ian Nathan on Sky Arts: Episode 2 The Magic of Ealing Studios

 

Ian Nathan introduced "The Magic of Ealing Studios" with the words "there is nothing like an Ealing comedy". He talks to producer Stephen Wooley about how Michael Balcombe built teams of talented people from 1938 to 1955. Steven Armstrong told us how all the writers sat around a table and bounced ideas off each other. The films showed the British way of life after WW2. Chris Auty said that these were classics for future generations.

The programme started with some classics from the 1950's but I will start with 1942's Went The Day Well?. A very violent, very dark wartime depiction of a village in rural England invaded by a group of German soldiers in disguise. However after the war Ian Nathan says that the studio tried to "look forward to the future with optimism and trepidation". ( At present I am reading David Kynaston's A World to Build about Britain just after the war so I know why). 1947's Hue and Cry got the cameras out of the studio to look at all those bomb sites. As did 1949's Passport to Pimlico. The same year came Whisky Galore with that anti-establishment edge and Kind Hearts and Coronets. The 1950's were a highly successful period for the studio, with The Lavender Hill Mob in 1951 and The Ladykillers in 1955. 

Ian Nathan visits the old Ealing Studios and tells us it is the oldest studio in the world.  He introduces Barnaby Thomson, a director and producer Ealing Studios Partner. He says the studios were founded in 1902 in the era of silent films. Today it still thrives as can be seen on their website. We also get a potted biography of Michael Balcombe who joined Ealing in the 1930's. He was a brilliant talent spotter and wanted his people to work in the most collaborative way.  He harnessed the spirit of Britishness with films that spoke to normal people. Eccentricity was celebrated as part of the national identity.

The programme then seemed to run out of ideas as there was a lot of talk and repeats of clips of films that we had already seen. However, the last part told us about films made by Ealing that were not comedies. Such as The Cruel Sea, The Blue Lamp, Scott of the Antarctic, Dead of Night, It always rains on Sunday, and The Titfield Thunderbolt. In fact Ealing were responsible for every genre of film making except for musicals. And they are still around today.