Private's Progress
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| Private's Progress | |
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| Directed by | John Boulting |
| Produced by | Roy Boulting |
| Written by | Alan Hackney (novel) John Boulting Frank Harvey |
| Starring | Ian Carmichael Richard Attenborough Dennis Price Terry-Thomas Miles Malleson William Hartnell |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Eric Cross |
| Editing by | Anthony Harvey |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
| Release date(s) | 1956 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | U.K. |
| Language | English |
Private's Progress is a British comedy film of 1956, based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.
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[edit] Plot
The action takes place during World War II and follows the adventures of a young undergraduate Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) who is conscripted into the British Army. Unlike his friend Egan (Peter Jones), Windrush is a most reluctant soldier and struggles through basic training at Gravestone barracks. Failing his officer selection board, he is posted to a holding unit, under the command of Major Hitchcock. Most of the soldiers are malingerers and drop-outs.
Windrush is finally posted to train as a Japanese interpreter, where he becomes the prize pupil. He's then contacted by his uncle, now a senior officer in the War Office, to join a secret operation known only as "Hatrack". He is quickly commissioned and the operation is launched, ostensibly to recover looted artworks from the Germans, but in fact to steal the works and sell them to two very dodgy art dealers.
Windrush survives the operation, despite being briefly arrested by British forces whilst in German uniform, and is discharged from the army. He returns to University, but when some of the artworks are found to have identical copies in circulation, the game is up.
[edit] Production
The movie was primarily filmed at Shepperton Studios, however a number of scenes were filmed at Wantage Hall, a hall of residence for the University of Reading.
It was the first in a series of successful satirical comedies made by the Boulting brothers for their production company Charter Films. Their 1959 comedy I'm All Right Jack also featured many of the same actors and characters. A number of references are made to the events of Private's Progress.
[edit] Cast
- Ian Carmichael as Stanley Windrush
- Richard Attenborough as Private Cox
- Dennis Price as Brigadier Bertram Tracepurcel
- Terry-Thomas as Major Hitchcock
- Miles Malleson as Windrush Sr.
- William Hartnell as Sergeant Sutton
- Jill Adams as Prudence Greenslade
- Peter Jones as Egan
- Thorley Walters as Captain Bootle
- Ian Bannen as Private Horrocks
- Kenneth Griffith as Private Jones
- Victor Maddern as Private Blake
- John Le Mesurier as Psychiatrist
- Sally Miles as Catherine
- Derrick De Marney as Pat
- Christopher Lee as General von Linbeck's aide
- Ronald Adam as Doctor at medical hearing
- David King-Wood as Gerald
- Brian Oulton as M.O. at Gravestone Camp
- George Coulouris as Padre
- Basil Dignam as Col. Martin (president of Selection Board)
- John Harvey as RAF officer at headquarters
- Glyn Houston as Corporal on sick call
- Lloyd Lamble as Officer at medical hearing
- David Lodge as Lance Corporal on guard duty, Holding Unit
- Henry Oscar as Art expert
- Robert Raglan as Gen. Tomlinson
- Marianne Stone as Expectant mother talking to Capt Bootle
- Michael Ward as Sidney (guest at party)
[edit] Additional crew
- Cinematographer: Eric Cross
- Music: John Addison
- Art Direction: Allan Harris
- Editor: Anthony Harvey
[edit] External links
- Alan Hackney - Daily Telegraph obituary
- Private's Progress at the Internet Movie Database
