Heavens Above.

Some critics believe that the last of the Boulting Brothers social satires Heavens Above (1963) deserves to be remembered because of Peter Sellers lead performance as the sincere Church of England clergyman who gets sent due to a clerical (no pun intended) error to the wrong parish and I would not disagree, but there is far more to the film than just Sellers award winning performance. It’s a clever and humorous satire on religion, the establishment and the working class and was called the Boulting Brothers most ‘human picture’ [1].

 

Sellers at his best.

The film is set in a small country town called Orbiston Parva that is over lorded by the Despard family, rich local landowners and proprietors of a factory that provides local employment. When we first meet the Rev. John Smallwood (Sellers) he is in a prison cell having been trussed up by a convict he has recommended to be made a trustee. The prison authorities are not unhappy to see their prison chaplain moved to another parish. But we soon discover that there are two John Smallwood’s and the wrong one gets sent to Orbiston Parva where chaos ensues.  Firstly he appoints a West Indian dustman as his churchwarden and then to make matters worse he moves the very large and unruly Smith family into the Manse.  Following these two actions things can only get worse and believe me they do.

 

Eric Skyes with a young future Small Faces star - Steve Marriott.

This British movie has an exceptional cast that’s far to long to list here but I would give special mention to Eric Skyes as head of the Smith family, Cecil Parker as the Archdeacon who recommends Smallwood for the Orbiston Parva parish and lives to regret it, Brock Peters as the churchwarden and Ian Carmichael in a guest appearance as the other Smallwood.  The films script was written by Frank Harvey, who was also responsible for writing the scripts for I’m All Right Jack (1959) and Privates Progress (1956), and based on an idea by Malcolm Muggeridge who also has a cameo role in the film.  

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[1] Cecil Wilson Daily Mail 22 May 1963

Dear Mr Prohack.

“Dedicated respectfully to that great little huge body of men and women – The British Civil Service”[1]

Dirk Bogarde was not very happy with his role in Dear Mr Prohack (1949) and to be honest his future acting ability had not quite come to the fore at this stage in his career. He plays Charles Prohack son of Cecil Parkers Arthur Prohack a high-ranking treasury official who unexpectedly comes into a quarter of a million pounds (it was quite suppressing what you could do with this amount of money 66 years ago!). This rather lightweight comedy rests somewhat on Prohack seniors public prudence and his private recklessness and as a satire on Civil Service red tape.

 

"He's been spending money Doctor"

This Wessex Film Production was made at Pinewood with location shooting carried out in London, which in this film shows no sign that WW2 had only ended a few years before! Adapted and updated by Donald Bull and Ian Dalrymple to represent 1949 from Arnold Bennetts novel Mr Prohack and the play, which also starred Cecil Parker, by Bennett and Edward Knoblock. This was the last film directed by American Thornton Freeland whose career spanned some 26 British and American films between 1924 and 1949 including the Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers’s movie Flying Down to Rio in 1933.

 

Bogarde has his head turned by Glynes Johns.

The best thing about this movie is its great cast. As well as Parker, who acting skills were summed up beautifully as “wobbling of jowl, fluting of voice, cluttering of harassed hand, a master of disconcerted flappability” by Robin Cross[2] and the early role for Dirk Bogarde, we had Hermione Baddeley (It Always Rains on Sunday 1947, Brighton Rock 1947) as Mrs Eve Prohack, Glynes Johns as Arthurs private assistant and his sons love interest. Other familiar faces in minor roles include Denholm Elliott in his first feature film, future director Bryan Forbes, Elwyn Brook-Jones, a very quick glimpse of Ian Carmichael as a hat salesman and even a future Doctor Who, Michel Pertwee. More of a farce than a comedy, which included a rather strange dream sequence involving Cecil Parker! Strictly for fans of antediluvian British movies.     

Punch Cartoon.

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[1] Opening credits.

[2] Robin Cross - Book of British Film.

For Better, For Worse.

Tony Howard (Dirk Bogarde) takes Anne Purves (the baby faced Susan Stephan who was Mrs Nicolas Roeg between 1957 and 1977) to the local ABC Ritz. It’s there, although they have only been going out for 4 weeks, that Tony asks Anne to be his wife and she accepts. There next step is to seek permission from Anne’s father, always a scary affair this grilling by your prospective father in law, in my case he was a very big Dutchman who scared the shite out of me! Usual question’s asked, have you got a job, how much money do you earn, where do you intend to live and of course my daughter is to young to marry – Anne is 19, while the 33 year old Bogarde’s character is 23. Tony has no job and certainly has no were to live. So Mr Purves, (Cecil Parker) who obviously has a few bob, sets down the conditions under which this young whippersnapper can marry his beloved daughter - get a job and find somewhere to live - although he does offer them accommodation in the rather large well furnished house that he and his smartly dressed wife (Eileen Herlie) roll around in.  But Tony’s a proud man and wants to do right by his intended. A job in an office as a third grade government clerk is conjured up at five pound ten shillings a week and then there’s the flat! A large single roomed apartment in a block of flats with the kitchen in one cupboard and a bathroom, without a bath, in another all for thirty shillings a week. And one must remember that a ‘wedding night’ actually meant a wedding night back in the distant past, which certainly gave a young man something to look forward too! They share this location with what can only be described as eccentrics, who incidentally are played by some very well known British character actors including Dennis Price, Athene Seyler and Thora Hird. It’s in this flat where most of our story takes place and provides most of the comedic moments.

The two young lovers. 

Cecil Parker and Athene Seyler.

Based on the British film censor Arthur Watkyns play that had run for over 500 performances in London’s West End[1] and directed by J. Lee Thomson (The Yellow Balloon 1953 Woman in a Dressing Gown 1957, Tiger Bay 1959) this light hearted middle class comedy tries to masquerade as a working class drama but it does not wash and certainly no way does it qualify as a social realist movie! Note the way the couple treat the plumber (James Hayter) who come’s to unblock the kitchen sink and remember the main character owns a vintage car that has a name! But it’s far from being an objectionable film and in fact because of the strength of the script and its decent cast is quite entertaining. There’s something rather cosy and charming about this type of British comedy where nothing really awful happens and we get a ‘happily-ever-after’ ending: which makes a refreshing change especially for this hard nosed blogger.

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[1] Bogarde had created the role of Tony Howard at the Q Theatre Kew Bridge London in the plays try out in 1948!