BARNACLE BILL

 

BARNACLE BILL (1957) was one of the last of the famed Ealing comedies made in England, and the last Ealing film that Alec Guinness appeared in. It's another very light comedy involving a naval theme, quite similar to THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, the subject of my last blog post. (In America the movie was titled ALL AT SEA.) 

Alec Guinness plays Captain William Horatio Ambrose, a man who is descended from a long line of British naval heroes. This Ambrose, however, starts to get queasy as soon as he even sees water. Because of his affliction, Ambrose's military career has been rather limited. Ambrose has always wanted a command of his own, and he gets it as a civilian by buying a rundown amusement pier. The Captain starts to build the place back up, but the local town council is against him--they have plans to tear the place down. Ambrose comes up with a out-of-left-field idea--he registers the pier as a sea-going vessel, and attracts customers to stay on it by advertising that it's the only cruise ship that is not affected by the ocean waves. The new "ship" is a big success, but Ambrose must confront his seasickness problems to save his command from being sunk by conniving local politicians. 

BARNACLE BILL was directed by Charles Frend, who made a number of fine films (such as THE CRUEL SEA), and written by T.E.B. Clarke, who penned many of the best Ealing comedies. Despite this, and the fact that it has a superior cast, the movie feels more on the level of a TV sitcom story instead of a witty British classic. The humor is more silly than truly funny, and the quirkiness of the characters and the situation seems forced. Due to his seasickness, one expects Alec Guinness to be playing a timid, Don Knotts type of fellow, but Captain Ambrose is a tried and true military man, and a stickler for efficiency, so one never gets the feeling that the odds are all that against him. 

Where BARNACLE BILL really shines is in its cast. Film buffs and Hammer fans will recognize plenty of notable character actors: Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Victor Maddern, Maurice Denham, Charles Lloyd Pack, George Rose, Lionel Jeffries, Miles Malleson, and Sam Kydd. Jackie Collins (sister of Joan and future novelist) has a small role, and smaller roles are filled by Joan Hickson (who gained fame for playing Miss Marple on TV in the 1980s) and Donald Pleasence. (Pleasence's role is so small that one wonders why such a striking performer was put into it.) It appears that Alec Guinness was trying to make Captain Ambrose more than just the typical strange nerdy comedic leading character type who fights against the system. (According to multiple sources, Guinness didn't think much of the movie, and he only appeared in it as a favor to the director.) As in THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, Guinness gets a chance to show his stuff on the dance floor. 

BARNACLE BILL is well-done technically. The cinematographer (working in black & white) was Douglas Slocombe, and most of the story was filmed on an actual pier in Norfolk, England. (The pier is established a few times by some effective miniatures and special effects.) The overall production just doesn't grab you the way THE LAVENDER HILL MOB or THE LADYKILLERS would. As I mentioned in my last post about THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, I got the Kino DVD that contains both films at a discount, and I have to say I wouldn't buy it at full price. BARNACLE BILL and THE LADYKILLERS are certainly not bad films, but they are not standout entries in Alec Guinness' big-screen career.