The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Portrays in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. We meet the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynne-Candy, a blustering old duffer who seems the epitome of stuffy... See full summary »

Directors:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Stars:

Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Livesey	...	Clive Candy
Deborah Kerr	...	Edith Hunter / Barbara Wynne / Johnny Cannon
Anton Walbrook	...	Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff
Roland Culver	...	Col. Betteridge
James McKechnie	...	Spud Wilson
Albert Lieven	...	von Ritter
Arthur Wontner	...	Embassy Counsellor
David Hutcheson	...	Hoppy
Ursula Jeans	...	Frau von Kalteneck
John Laurie	...	Murdoch
Harry Welchman	...	Major Davies
Reginald Tate	...	van Zijl
A.E. Matthews	...	President of Tribunal
Carl Jaffe	...	von Reumann (as Carl Jaffé)
Valentine Dyall	...	von Schönborn

Storyline

Portrays in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. We meet the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynne-Candy, a blustering old duffer who seems the epitome of stuffy, outmoded values. Traveling backwards 40 years we see a different man altogether: the young and dashing officer "Sugar" Candy. Through a series of relationships with three women and his lifelong friendship with a German officer, we see Candy's life unfold and come to understand how difficult it is for him to adapt his sense of military honor to modern notions of "total war."

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Plot Keywords:

officer | military | german | boer | boer war | 

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Taglines:

The Lusty Lifetime Of A Gentleman Who Was Sometimes Quite A Rogue!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

4 May 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Colonel Blimp

Filming Locations:

139 Park Lane, Mayfair, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rank Organisation, The, Archers, The, Independent Producers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

163 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Microphonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the earliest films to directly refer to The Wizard of Oz (one of the characters sings part of "We're Off To See the Wizard"), proving rather conclusively that "Oz" was more successful and popular on its first release than is sometimes claimed.

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Goofs

The notice Candy places in The Times about Murdoch's death states he died in a bombing raid in October, 1940. But when Candy is shown on the cover of Picture Post magazine sometime afterward, the magazine is dated September 21, 1940.

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Quotes

Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff: What is your first name, Miss Cannon?
'Johnny' Cannon: Angela.
Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff: What a lovely name. It comes from Angel, doesn't it?
'Johnny' Cannon: I think it stinks. My friends call me Johnny.

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Crazy Credits

The lead actors' names are sewn onto a tapestry-like picture, written on scrolls. This opening credits "needlework tapestry" was completed by the Royal College of Needlework.

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Connections

Referenced in Mine Own Executioner (1947)

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Soundtracks

"Commando Patrol"
Music by Allan Gray

User Reviews

Not what you expect.

I'm not sure what you expect; but I'm pretty sure it isn't this.

We open in the early days of World War II with some motorcyclists speeding through the English countryside to some jaunty music. (The score, by the way, is a fine one - by Allan Gray, a composer I don't think I've heard of in any other context.) Very little is explained about the motorcyclists' quest and we don't get the full significance of the opening events until the the film's conclusion, after we've gone back to the end of the Boer War and seen events narrated from there. There's no sudden revelation at the end: it just slowly dawns on us why the motorcycle chase was so very important. I found, also, that the title preyed on my mind through most of the film's running time. It's `The Life AND DEATH of Colonel Blimp'. Why `death'?

It's a lovely, sad story with a pronounced moral, even though it isn't at all clear, even on reflection, what the moral is. Does Clive Candy really become out of date and out of touch? If so, when? There doesn't seem to be any particular moment; or rather, there are many moments - he's a character who always gives the impression of having only just ossified.

There's a lot of humour beneath the sadness - I'm particularly fond of the Battle of the Orchestra, which takes place late last century, where Candy keeps bribing the musicians to play a piece by Johann Strauss, while a German officer, who loathes the piece, offers fresh bribes to get them to stop. The German officer is, of course, an omen. Strauss is much too merry for the Germany that's to come.