Folly to Be Wise (1953)

Army chaplin Captain Paris attempts to book various acts for the entertainment of a troop of soldiers.

Director:

Frank Launder

Writers:

James Bridie (play), James Bridie (screenplay),

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alastair Sim	...	Capt. William Paris
Elizabeth Allan	...	Angela Prout
Roland Culver	...	George Prout
Colin Gordon	...	Prof. James Mutch
Martita Hunt	...	Lady Dodds
Janet Brown	...	Jessie Killegrew
Peter Martyn	...	Walter
Miles Malleson	...	Dr. Hector McAdam
Edward Chapman	...	Joseph Byres M.P.
Cyril Chamberlain	...	Drill Sergeant
Michael Ripper	...	Drill Corporal
Robin Bailey	...	Intellectual Corporal
Michael Kelly	...	Staff Sergeant
George Cole	...	Soldier in Brains Trust audience

Storyline

A newly-arrived army padre is put in charge of camp entertainment and has the idea of putting on a Brains Trust with local notables. Unfortunately for him, it emerges from a question on the rights and wrongs of marriage that there is more going on between three of the panellists than he wants to know about - though the audience obviously thinks differently.

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Plot Keywords:

based on play

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 December 1953 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Lion Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title comes from Thomas Gray's poem "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" (1768). The actual lines (the last two lines of the poem) are ".... Where ignorance is bliss, /'Tis folly to be wise".

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Soundtracks

"The Whelk Song"
(uncredited)
Written by John Temple West, Johnny Johnston and Louise Kulma

User Reviews

Whilst being a good comedy........

The Intelligence Corps Field Security Police would have in a field day writing out the report of the whole proceedings of the Brians Trust set-up for the troops camp concert entertainment. Sim plays his beleagued camp padre role beautifully well, with his typist WRAC girl, persisting in asking the crucial question about marriage to its very extreme detail answer. She typed out the suitable questions for the BT, so in practice, had editorial control of the proceedings & the direction the show took.

For those that do not remember or never heard of the Brians Trust, it was a development from a WW II BBC radio programme, which had wide audience appeal.

George Cole who plays the soldier nervously offering his "vote of thanks" to the padre for his efforts in organising the show, at the end of the film, was by this time, the adopted Barnado boy son of Sim.

For some good innocent Ealing comedy of the era, then this will kill 90 mins for you.

John Locke