Petticoat Pirates (1961)

" You long haired idiot.

Meh. I mean, this film isn't exactly terrible, but there's a reason why it- and Charlie Drake- are pretty much forgotten.

Yes, the social attitudes on display here are different from today, and one must make allowances. But that's not really an excuse. The same could be said of the Carry On films, and they are far superior to this mildly amusing but underwhelming comedy about the hilarity that ensues when a Royal Navy frigate is taken over by women. The sexism on display is not particularly extreme by the standards of the time, and the whole "battle of the sexes" angle is good humoured, and the ladies pretty much come out on top. Regardless of social attitudes, a film is either good or not, and this film is not.

No, it's not that. And nor is it the script, which may not be brilliant but is perfectly serviceable. Nor, mostly, is it the cast. Anne Heywood, in particular, is superb.

No: it's Charlie Drake. He's just not very good. He's a very generic Norman Wisdom type comedy actor, with no charisma and no discernible talent. For him to have apparently become a star simply beggars belief.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. The film is harmless enough, and passes the time. But any humour is mild, and much of the interest comes from the fact that this film is an artifact from another time. I'd suggest, sadly, that this isn't exactly a film greatly worth bothering with.

The Man in the White Suit (1951)

“Tea break! We had to fight for it!"

This is, obviously, an extraordinary film on all sorts of levels; I'm hardly going to do other than praise this, one of the finest Ealing comedies. But its greatness lies not in its humour- after all, this is wry, ironic humour, not exactly a laugh a minute. No; this is a film which nicely skewers much of what's been wrong with this country since well before the War.

The concept is a brilliant one- Sdney, played with the usual brilliance by Alec Guinness, invents an indestructible and dirt repelling fibre which will free mankind from drudgery (according to Daphne, played with charm and splendidly cut glass vowels by Joan Greenwood), as well as destroy much of the industry and ruin both workers and management. What's particularly clever, of course, is that both viewpoints are correct: just not necessarily in that order. This is progress and, as ever, the omelette will come. It's just that the breaking of eggs will not be pleasant for many. It was this way with the Industrial Revolution, and with various smaller waves of progress ever since. These are big themes for an Ealing comedy, but handled with wit and verve in a brilliantly structured film.

Michael Gough has a nice little role, too, and Ernest Thesiger steals the show with his doddery campness as the wise Sir John. There are lots of nice little details, not least the wonderful tubes and bubbling of a very proper chemisty experiment. And, although I wouldn't know, the film seems to capture very well the reality of being an industrial chemist. Yet it also shows us a vanished world- one of strong trade unions and harmonious industrial relations, and of thriving Lancashire textile mills.

Yet it also scolds us as a nation, reminding us that our businesses are far too short termist, too focused on this year's dividends instead of the long term, and that this blinds us to shocks from foreign competition- and prevents us from reacting as we should to things like climate change. I think that, as much as musings over the immediate human price of progress, is the message of this film.

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

"I never think you should judge any country by its politics. After all, we English are quite honest by nature, aren't we?"

I've seen a fair few Hitchcocks but, shockingly, this is the first film helmed by the great Sir Alfred that I've blogged. It's an early, pre-Hollywood film, but all his gifts for suspense are already on evidence. Engaging characters, a worry script and a solid presence- an old lady mysteriously vanished from a moving train and people start denying that she was ever there- make this a bloody good film. Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave are superb as leads.

The characterisation, direction, dialogue and acting come across as fresh and mover considering the film's age, and I love the two cricket-obsessed Englishmen. The plot twist is also handled extremely well and successfully as the conspiracy unravels and peril (I love that word) ensues. This isn't perhaps one of the best known Hitchcocks but it's certainly a bloody good film.