The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sidney Gilliat

Writers:

Leslie Bailey (writer)
Leslie Baily (book)

Release Date:

15 February 1953 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

Music! Mirth! Magic!

Plot:

The common career of W.S. Gilbert,a barrister turned comic writer, and Arthur Sullivan, a classic composer turned converted against his will to light music, who wrote fifteen operettas between 1871 and 1896, to great public acclaim. |

Plot Keywords:

Gilbert And Sullivan | Based On Book

Cast

Robert Morley	...	William S. Gilbert
Maurice Evans	...	Arthur Sullivan
Eileen Herlie	...	Helen D'Oyly Carte
Martyn Green	...	George Grossmith
Peter Finch	...	Richard D'Oyly Carte
Dinah Sheridan	...	Grace Marston
Isabel Dean	...	Mrs. Gilbert
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Mr. Marston
Muriel Aked	...	Queen Victoria
Michael Ripper	...	Louis
Bernadette O'Farrell	...	Jessie Bond
Ann Hanslip	...	Bride
Eric Berry	...	Rutland Barrington
Yvonne Marsh	...	Second bride
Lloyd Lamble	...	Joseph Bennett

Also Known As:

Gilbert and Sullivan (USA)
The Great Gilbert and Sullivan (USA)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | USA:Not Rated | Australia:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

This film contains extracts from the following Gilbert & Sullivan's classics: - Trial by Jury (1875) - H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) - Pirates of Penzance (1879) - Iolanthe (1882) - The Mikado (1885) - Ruddigore (1887) - The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) - The Gondoliers (1889)

Brilliant and highly entertaining musical biography.

Every scene propels the film through the collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan, hitting most of the high points and portraying the lows with the sympathy and understanding that creative geniuses deserve. I was predisposed to liking it, because I was a fanatical G&S enthusiast first, but it was a relief to discover that this film was a worthy tribute to their legacy. Providence deserves the credit for forcing friends to acquaint me with the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, when I was dead set against them (for no apparent reason). Later, Providence rewarded my open mind by delivering into my hands (from out of the blue) a 35mm Technicolor print of the film. My reason for mentioning it is that the print had an intermission at about the one hour point. It seemed silly at first, but I later discovered that the print had been shown "double system," with separate hour-long reels of 35mm magnetic sound tracks. This was confirmed by an article in the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, which stated that The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan had been one of the earliest films presented with magnetic stereo sound (before the composite magnetic prints of Cinemascope). I never found the magnetic stereo tracks, but the print also had the usual monaural optical track, of very good quality. My print eventually decomposed from vinegar syndrome, but I was able to buy a VHS tape from a G&S society in England, which apparently owns the rights. I wonder whether they own the stereo tracks, or will ever release a DVD. Are there not enough G&S fans in the world to make it hugely profitable?