Films from the Ealing Studios - Cryptic Style Quiz

Answer: The Ladykillers

"The Ladykillers" was released in 1955. It is a dark comedy starring Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Peter Sellers as a gang of not too ruthless villains who hole-up with eccentric widow, Mrs Louisa Wilberforce (Katie Johnson).
The gang tell their landlady that they are a musical ensemble and she believes their deceit. Various twists in the plot leave the unsuspecting Mrs Wilberforce with the gang's loot, which she is persuaded to keep.
Gang members Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom were later destined to become fierce enemies in the "Pink Panther" series of movies.

Answer: Whisky Galore

(Scotch whisky is without an 'e', Irish whiskey contains an 'e'.)

"Whisky Galore" was released in 1949 and starred Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. The plot concerns a shipwreck off the coast of Scotland and the attempts of the locals to keep the cargo of whisky out of the hands of the officials. The film was based on a book by Compton MacKenzie, which in turn was based on a true story about the wreck of the S.S. Politician in 1941, which indeed was carrying a cargo of whisky.

Answer: The Man in the White Suit

"The Man in the White Suit" was released in 1951. It starred Alec Guinness as Sidney Stratton who is a textile researcher. Sidney discovers a 'wonder fabric' which he claims never wears out or needs cleaning. Far from making him a fortune, Sidney finds opposition from both his employers (who realise that ultimately they would be out of business) and unions (who are concerned about long-term effects on the job market). Is his material all it's cracked up to be? Well that would be telling.

Answer: Passport to Pimlico

"Passport to Pimlico" is a 1949 movie starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Barbara Murray. It is discovered, by chance, that the London borough of Pimlico is actually part of Burgandy not England. This has important implications for the residents; they do not have to endure post-war rationing for example, hurrah! However the authorities are quick to cut off vital services etc and the locals are forced into direct action to survive and have to get relatives and friends to throw food over the barricades.

This all had echoes of the Berlin blockade which was taking place in Germany at the time.

Answer: The Lavender Hill Mob

"The Lavender Hill Mob" was released in 1951 and starred Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James. Henry Holland (Guinness) is a mild-mannered bank clerk. He appears to be a model employee but he has a master plan to relieve the bank of most of its gold bullion.

He recruits three accomplices and his plan to smuggle the gold out of the country goes fine at first. However things start to get complicated and their plot is discovered. Henry escapes to South America and freedom... or does he?

Answer: The Blue Lamp

"The Blue Lamp" was released in 1950 and starred Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde (in one of his first starring roles). Warner plays George Dixon, an old style policeman on the verge of retirement. He takes rookie cop, Andy Mitchell (Hanley), under his wing but their friendship is violently terminated when Dixon encounters a young hoodlum (Bogarde) who shoots him dead.

Although he was killed in the movie, the character of George Dixon was revived for the long-running BBC TV series "Dixon of Dock Green" with Jack Warner again starring as the amiable bobby.

Answer: The Cruel Sea

"The Cruel Sea" (1953) was based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Monsarrat. It starred Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. The story is set in the Atlantic Ocean during WWII and demonstrates the hopes and fears of the sailors caught up in the battles between the Royal Navy escorts to the supply conveys and the German U-boats.

Answer: It Always Rains on Sunday

"It Always Rains on Sunday" was released in 1947 and shows some of the realities of post-war Britain. The plot centres around an east-end (of London) housewife who shelters a former lover who is on the run from the police. The couple who played these two main roles, Googie Withers and John McCallum, were married to each other when the film was shot.

Answer: Fiddlers Three

"Fiddlers Three" was a 1944 comedy starring Tommy Trinder, Sonnie Hall and James Robertson Justice. The rather fanciful plot concerns a group of sailors who are transported back in time to Ancient Rome.

Answer: Kind Hearts and Coronets

"Kind Hearts and Coronets" was first released in 1949 and starred Dennis Price and Alec Guinness. Louis Mazzini (Price) discovers that he could be an heir to a fortune - but nine people are ahead of him in the pecking order. Louis sets about bumping them off one by one, with a series of ingenious methods. Alec Guinness plays eight different members of the D'Ascoyne family who meet a variety of fates.

It looks as though Louis's plot may work but there is a neat twist at the end, which means he is thwarted; strange how you can feel some sympathy with a guy who has just murdered a whole bunch of people but then he was so apologetic to most of them!