The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.

Directors:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Stars:

Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anton Walbrook	...	Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff
Deborah Kerr	...	Edith Hunter / Barbara Wynne / Johnny Cannon
Roger Livesey	...	Clive Candy
Roland Culver	...	Colonel Betteridge
Harry Welchman	...	Major Davies
Arthur Wontner	...	Embassy Counsellor
Albert Lieven	...	von Ritter
John Laurie	...	Murdoch
Ursula Jeans	...	Frau von Kalteneck
James McKechnie	...	Spud Wilson
Reginald Tate	...	van Zijl
David Hutcheson	...	Hoppy
A.E. Matthews	...	President of Tribunal
Neville Mapp	...	Stuffy Graves
Vincent Holman	...	Club Porter (1942)

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."

---

Plot Keywords:

friendship | gymnasium | bilingual | sword | sword fight | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

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:

Independent Producers,The Archers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

163 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Microphonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tapestry seen in the opening credits was made by the members of The Royal College of Needlework.

---

Goofs

Several times Candy says that during the Boer War he had had to hide out in a house in South Africa for seven months. But at the restaurant in Berlin he tells Edith he had hidden for seven weeks.

---

Quotes

Aunt Margaret: [Candy has returned from the opera] See any one there you knew?
Clive Candy: I met Hoppy and Sybil Gilpin, they're married.
Aunt Margaret: Hm, a very suitable match: he has money, she has land and neither of them has any brains.

---

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.

---

Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

---

Soundtracks

Commando Patrol
(uncredited)
Written by Allan Gray, Stan Bowsher and Walter Ridley

User Reviews

pacy, breathless brilliance since unparalleled on the big screen

Neither war films nor romances rate amongst my favourite film genres. Colonel Blimp is both of these and has to rate as my runaway favourite film. Made in 1943 by the irreplaceable icons of British film making Powell and Pressburger it displays a pacy breathless brilliance since unparalleled on the big screen.

The film follows the life and times of General Wynne-Candy from when he is an idealistic young officer returned on leave from the Boer War through to his retirement as an anachronistic and obdurate Major General.

The film is structured in three acts set in the aftermath of the Boer War, the first world war and the present (at the time of making the film) the height of the 2nd World War. But it is not just an examination of these conflicts. Its real power lies in Candy's pursuit of his ideal woman throughout each of these stages. All three women are played beautifully by Deborah Kerr who never surpassed the power of her performance in this film.

The other constant in the film is Anton Wallbrooks character of the sympathetic German with whom Candy builds a lifelong friendship and ultimately is probably Candy's only ever really satisfying relationship throughout his life.

For me the film operates on many complex levels. The romantic element is as affecting as anything you are likely to witness in the cinema. It achieves everything in the unrequited love department a la "the remains of the day" in a fraction of the time and as only part of the overall plot.

It deals with the moral complexities of war in a way that will have you debating the issues in your mind long after you have seen the film. This particular theme reaches its climax towards the end of the film when Candy is "retired" by the war ministry probably as a result of his outdated approach to strategy for the 2nd World War. Anton Wallbrook then delivers a setpiece speech which starkly outlines the evils of Nazism and the necessity to use any means to defeat it for the sake of freedom and humanity for coming generations.

Colonel Blimp with its pristine performances, absorbing plot, dazzling colour photography and economic flawless script easily gives Citizen Kane a good run for its money as the best film of all time.