Ealing Comedy #2: Another Shore (Charles Crichton, 1948)

The Ealing Comedies Blog Series continues today with a second film directed by Charles Crichton: Another Shore! Released in 1948, it stars Canadian actor Robert Beatty in the leading role, South-African actress Moira Lister and English actor Stanley Holloway, all finding themselves in a Dublin setting. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Irish author and judge Kenneth Sheils Reddin, more specifically known under the pen name of Kenneth Starr. If the comedic aspect of Hue and Cry (Charles Crichton, 1947) was ambiguous, with Another Shore, we finally officially enter the series with a humorous spirit. Without necessarily being a masterpiece, it remains a delightful product that I would qualify as a “cute little film”. The kind of picture you watch when you seek entertainment but don’t feel like concentring too much. In other words, it provides a pleasant feeling for its viewers.

Filmed on location in the Irish capital, Another Shore introduces the character of Gulliver Shields (Robert Beatty). Gulliver has one strong ambition: to go to Rarotonga Island in the Cook Islands archipelago and live there for the rest of his life. He dreams of the carefree and relaxing lifestyle the island seems to offer, wishes to escape a noisy city and find peace once and for all. Only, Gulliver has no money and doesn’t wish to work after leaving his old job. According to him, it will take too much time to save money that way. In other words, the Irish man wishes for a miracle for his dream to come true. Every Sunday, he goes to St Stephen’s Green square, sits on the same bench, and seeks that miracle. In his mind, one way or another, he hopes he will cross the path of an old wealthy gentleman or gentlewoman who might need his help and, therefore, reward him with some of their wealth. But, despite his patience, not much seems to happen, primarily false hopes.

His venture in Dublin makes him cross the path of the pretty Jennifer (Moira Lister) at the beach and, at the park, a Scottish gentleman, Alastair McNeil (Stanley Holloway)- talk about a name! His importance and Jennifer’s will evolve later in the film. However, after his first encounter with McNeil, Gulliver finds in a bar a newspaper with an article about a car accident. He then has the twisted idea of changing location for that wealthy person in need (despite being a dandy, McNeil is quite penniless). Instead of staying on guard in a park, he decides that he will do so next to a busy street, hoping an accident involving a rich person will happen so he’d be ready to help and receive his reward. You know the pattern. Once again, there’s not so much happening. However, he will cross the path of Jennifer again. The latter is one of the people implied in a car crash. With the hope that Gulliver will serve as a witness, Jennifer is happy to see him pop up in her life again. Still, he quickly escapes as she is not an old rich lady anyway. However, the young woman is not ready to let him go immediately. She somehow manages to have him take her back home and eventually share dinner with her. He then confesses to his project and his means to reach it. On her side, Jennifer is clearly more interested in Gulliver himself than in his project. However, the latter has his mind lost on a desert island.

Gulliver Shields has one twisted mind. Did you ever asked yourself, “how could I make money without working?” Ok, unless you come from a wealthy family, it’s easier said than done. In the case of Gulliver, one has to admire his creativity. This idea of making money without working reminded me of Give Us the Moon (Val Guest, 1944), a film that some of you know how much I love. In this picture, there is a group called the White Elephants. They all live as a community in a Russian restaurant, and their purpose is to make money without working. They describe themselves as “useless members of society”. However, they do so to survive and live their lives. On his side, Gulliver has one precise objective in mind. However, if the White Elephants are presented as eccentric and silly characters, Gulliver doesn’t immediately give that impression. At first glance, he appears like a serious and tidy man. His motives for not wanting to work aren’t immediately apparent. We then discover that he is definitely not a worker but a dreamer. People often mistake him for an author (he doesn’t seem to like this comparison), probably because he has such a vibe. With his routine and way of observing life, it’s almost as if he was seeking inspiration for a book. I also wonder if the fact that he dreams of living on an island or somewhere in the South could have been a nod to authors like Noël Coward or Ernest Hemingway. Casting Robert Beatty for the role was interesting as he contains the seriousness in which his character wishes to be perceived. However, he can also let it go and knows how to merge himself into the comedic spirit of the film without necessarily becoming a clown. He reacts rather than acts to the situations, and that’s how he contributes to creating comedy. One can particularly think of his reactions to his defeats while trying to execute his plan. Although Beatty didn’t become an Ealing comedies regular, his career is truffled with films today considered masterpieces, such as Odd Man Out (Carol Reed, 1947) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968). He even did voice acting for Jim Henson’s Labyrinth (yes, the film with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly)! Needless to say, there is an impressive variety to his career. I would like to discover more of him.

A dreamer

On their side, Stanley Holloway and Moira Lister appeared in more than one Ealing comedy. Maybe not as much as Alec Guinness, but still. We saw Holloway again in The Lavender Hill Mob (Charles Crichton, 1951), Passport to Pimlico (Henry Cornelius, 1949), The Titfield Thunderbolt (Charles Crichton, 1953) and Meet Mr Lucifer (Anthony Pelissier, 1953). Despite his short screen time, Stanley Holloway’s presence is always appreciated. He had this friendly grandpa vibe and a fun sense of fun. As for Moira Lister, she provides a breath of youth and fresh air in the film. Her character is dynamic, knows what she wants and has a contagious dynamism, making a relevant contrast with Robert Beatty’s character. We saw her again in an Ealing comedy, A Run for your Money (Charles Frend, 1949).

Aside from its fun narrative (credits for the screenplay go to Walter Meade), an aspect I particularly enjoyed in the film was the Dublin setting. I mean, it’s displayed in such a beautiful manner, you really wonder why Gulliver so desperately wants to leave it. Ok, we get it, he’s probably not a city guy at heart. Interestingly, when I saw the first shots of the city at the beginning of the film, I initially thought it was set in Oxford because some of the buildings reminded me of it. Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe provided a dramatic vibe to the decors of the city with strong contrasts. It illustrates that impressive vibe the city has to offer but also makes it look menacing, therefore reflecting Gulliver’s mindset. Slocombe worked on more than one Ealing comedy and became a prolific cinematographer, three-times Academy Award nominated, notably for Spielberg’s Raider’s of the Lost Ark (1981). I always find it interesting to see the difference of projects on which a crew member could have worked! To come back to the images of the city itself, the way the statues are sometimes filmed in low angle reminded me of certain shots in Alfred Hitchcock’sI Confess (1953).

Statues in Dublin –

A statue in Quebec City –

Another noticeable aspect of Another Shore, about its narrativity, is how it subscribes to the style of the Ealing comedies in a more obvious way than its precursor, Hue and Cry. First, the humour is more straightforward, without being too out of proportion, either. It stays subtle and calculated. But there’s something very Ealing about it. I noticed how in some of the classic Ealing comedies I had seen before, the story often takes an unsuspected path (without necessarily being a plot twist). There’s often that moment at the end where you think, “Wait. What just happened?” It can be displayed in a very fast paste, and you must accept what is happening. But it’s good food for thoughts.

Compared to other Ealing comedies, Another Shore might be a bit forgetful. Nonetheless, it remains a fun film that I will recommend if you’re in for some light British comedy, despite the film describing itself as a tragi-comedy (a deal sealed in the fun opening titles).

Next film on the menu for that series is Passport to Pimlico. That won’t be my first viewing, and I’m impatient to revisit it!

See you!

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Introduction

Hue and Cry