Ealing Studio Rarities Collection Vol 2

The second instalment of Ealing Rarities once again contains two discs with an interesting mix of genres, from espionage to melodrama, from swashbuckling adventures to nauseating war propaganda.

Disc 1:
MIDSHIPMAN EASY from 1935 is an earlier work of director Carol Reed, who went on to direct one of the best British movies ever, ‘Odd Man Out’. Based on the novel by Frederick Marryat, ‘Midshipman Easy’ is set in the 1790’s and concerns a young lad (Hughie Green) who runs away from home to join the navy. Having had romantic idea about it, he quickly wakes to reality about the harsh conditions aboard and on the sea in general. Determined to stand his ground and leave his mark, he rescues a captive family from an enemy Spanish galleon, amongst the family is pretty Donna Agnes, a young and innocent Margaret Lockwood before her Wicked Lady days! But rescuing Donna and her family from the clutched of evil is only just the beginning of many adventure, which sees our Midshipman Easy fighting smugglers and pirates on Spanish shores. Nothing in the vain of an Errol Flynn outing, it is still an enjoyable romp that can be enjoyed by all the family, but it aimed at a younger audience.

Much more serious tone, and darker, is the 1938 melodrama BRIEF ECSTASY by Edmond T. Grenville. Brilliantly acted, this story about a seemingly doomed love keeps the tension going due to its clever plot twists. When student Helen Norwood (Linden Travers) falls for dashing aviator Jim Wyndham (Hugh Williams), the blossoming love affair is cruelly cut short when he confesses that he is off to India to care for his sick father, something he knew all along. Yes, men are no-goods. Heartbroken, Helen throws herself into her studies, during which the eminent but much older scientist Professor Paul Bernhardy (Paul Lukas) falls for her… first making her his assistant, and then his wife. Cue forward, and Lady Helen is surrounded by opulence, a doting husband, and mad housekeeper Martha (Marie Ney). Martha hates Helen, because she secretly has the hots for her employer. The happy marriage casts a dark cloud when Professor Bernhardy asks his wife to stay at home (as good wives do) and leisure about, but the driven and highly intelligent young woman soon feels trapped and bored. Things seem to lighten up when one day, Bernhardy announces the visit of an old friend… what ya know, it’s aviator Jim Wyndham, which unsurprisingly leaves Helen shaken and stirred. Worse, at some point before her marriage, Jim sent her a telegram from India asking her to become his wife, but the telegram never reached her… Now Jim thinks Helen married the professor because she loves him more. Soon after, however, the old passion is rekindled, and with the professor out of the house a lot, the young people get to spend much time together. One day, Jim invites Helen along on one of the flights in his little private plane, but hubbie objects due to reasons of safety. Helen being bored with her existence, she ignores her husband’s concerns and climbs aboard the plane anyway. Mid-air, the fuel drops dangerously low and the couple are forced to make a bumpy emergency landing, which sees them spending the night in a nearby Inn. As details of their night in the tavern emerge, Bernhardy suspects his wife to have a secret affair, however, the real reason why Helen tried to conceal her night with Jim in the tavern is because she didn’t want her husband to find out that she went flying with Jim despite her husband forbidding it. But the damage is done, and fate takes over… As far as melodramas go, this one is perfect entertainment!

Disc 2:
We already featured EDGAR WALLACE presents THE FOUR JUST MEN separately on Film-News, as it was recently released as an individual disc.

Which leaves us with THE BIG BLOCKADE from 1942, directed by Charles Fend. This star-studded docu-drama (starring John Mills, Michael Redgrave and Robert Morley to name but a few), developed from a Ministry of Information short, is pure propaganda if ever there was one, with all the stereotypes and clichés imaginable. The drama is showing the effects of the blockade of Nazi Germany put into action by the Allies on the declaration of war, and so and so forth… It’s the kind of stuff you can watch every Sunday afternoon on the box, or on the ‘Yesterday’ channel seven days a week if that’s your thing.
If you prefer a bit of a laugh in between all your cups of tea and WW2 fodder, I recommend the episode ‘Escape From Stalag Luft’ from Michael Palin’s RIPPING YARNS DVD set, also available via Network!

No bonus material on either DVD, but the films on Ealing Rarities Vol 2 are presented as new transfers in their original aspect ratio.