Obi-Wan Senior and a slew of (predominately facial haired) stiff upper lip authoritarian types forever loom over the shadow of the late Sir Alec Guinness that its quite easy to forget that this was an actor once lauded for his comedic talents. And thats exactly what The Alec Guinness Collection: Screen Legends DVD box set attempts to reveal: the decidedly funny man lurking behind the beard. Pinning together five of his finest comedies, that stretch over a period of eight years, (from 1949-1957), and include such classics as Ealing funnies Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Man in the White Suit, interesting discoveries like Captains Paradise and The Last Holiday and the revelation that is Barnacle Bill, this set finally opens our eyes to Guinness indisputable genius as a comedic character actor and his flawless deft-hand at multiply characterization.
Ealing comedies have a charm that is all their own and Guinness featured in arguably four of the best ones. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) is notable for being both Guinness first collaboration with the famed British studio and for audaciously showcasing the actor's brilliant durability in no less than eight supporting roles that make up an entire aristocratic family; a casting decision he created himself after being balled over by the script. A deeply dark and macabre comedy, Coronets became of one the most successful Ealing projects in the studios history and still holds up today as a guilty pleasure, which impressively displays Guinness' wonderful versatility as an actor. Installing every characterization with superb gusto, whether it be an arrogant upper crust gentleman, a friendly under-the-thumb secretive alcoholic, a bureaucratic elderly businessman, or, most enjoyably of all a slurring drunken vicar, (his personal favourite) you begin to appreciate why the actor used to grumble about being solely identified as the Jedi master by irritating younglings. Its a real accomplishment - considering that he was just 35 at the time and just his fourth cinematic outing one that is particularly astonishing when, at one point, all the members of the family gather majestically together on screen. Robin Williams should be ashamed of even considering attempting to ape these fine performances in the now thankfully ditched remake.
The Man in the White Suit is rightly regarded as a gem of a film, triumphantly pitting Guinness as the little man literally against the machine. He plays a menial inventor who develops a fantastically durable fabric which withholds dirt and general wear and tear, but is eventually derided by capitalist manufacturers who see it as a significant threat to their multi-million production line. Sweetly sincere but with a strong and serious underlying message that illustrate the terrors of a capitalist world, White Suit may not be concerned with being overtly funny but it is deeply touching and magnificently hinges on Guinness' bravo performance as the well-meaning victimised inventor, who becomes the prey of bullish and corrupt businessman. The film is also noteworthy for its impressive and catchy sound-effects track, rememberably consisting of an array of strange churns, and gurgling sounds that emit from Strattons laboratory experiment, and which were later set to music and even released as a single titled The White Suit Samba.
But the real ace in the pack for me (having experienced the previous two classics on countless occasions), was the devilishly entertaining Captain's Paradise. This is a true revelation of Guinness' talents as a suave funny man who's not afraid to clown around. He appropriately lends his distinct and mannered vocals to Henry St. James, a charming, much respected Captain of an international ferry who lives a secretive life as an adulterer: using his vessel as a gateway to accomplish his demands for both a faithful, adoring English housewife (played to sweet perfection by Celia Johnson) and a sexy, party loving foreign mistress, (the beautiful, but recently departed sex goddess Yvonne De Carlo). Henry's cunning delusion is hilariously encapsulated in his multi-switch bedside picture display that alternates between both squeezes at the touch of a button! Things start to turn problematic for the amateur Don Juan when the women divert from their stereotypes; with housewife Maud becoming addicted to the nightlife (Johnson's boogie on the dance floor has to be seen to be believed), while the previously hot-blooded Nita yearns to be a proper kitchen bound housewife. This is where Guinness' obvious knack for comedic timing really shines through with his character hilariously failing in his various attempts to dissuade each lover from luring the other way: he tries to keep his, seemingly easily-pleased wife occupied with the latest domestic gadgets at home, while teasing Nita out of domestic duties by telling her she will grow old and ugly. Its a brilliantly conceived bittersweet comedy that starts out a little slowly but picks up a suitably brisk urgency when Henrys a la carte existence becomes conflicted. I was also pleasantly won over by the warmhearted, albeit decidedly more melancholy charm of the Warner Bros. produced The Last Holiday (1950). Guinness this time plays the working class loser George Bird, a man who learns that he is dying from a rare disease. He takes off - upon the rather optimistic prognosis and advise of his doctor - to the country to splash all his savings, posing as a rather dapperly dressed 'mystery man' in an upmarket hotel. Gleefully poking fun at old English caricatures - an array of gossiping hotel guests are brought to life by character actors as diverse as Sid James, Wilfrid Hyde-White and even Bernard Lee (M in the original James Bond films) - Holiday is a wonderfully witty and ironic twist-of-fate comedy. The twist-of-fate has a double meaning, as we see how Mr. Birds 'luck' changes to the point of irritation: he starts to win bets at the races, is offered lucrative job opportunities, falls in love for the first time, while becoming extraordinarily influential and popular with the guests at the hotel. The ending may be a bit of a cheat, but Holiday is a warm cozy comedy that successfully addresses some home truths.
Barnacle Bill is another one of those charming Ealing comedies where a small band of people pull together, to do battle against the authorities for the greater good. Guinness plays a British Naval Captain whose incurable seasickness forces him into early retirement, but gives him the perfect opportunity to become the proprietor of his own unique 'vessel': a decrepit amusement pier. He makes it his mission to heroically restore life back into the pier, which he develops general affection for: "Just an ugly old hooker, but I wouldn't change her for any craft afloat". Theres a general sense of accomplishment in watching him winning over both the juvenile coastal dwellers, (one of them played by the, then, ridiculously young future novelist Jackie Collins) and loosening up an old and rigid community member, by spiking her coffee with a little scotch: "Come along strike it down! It improves the world Mam". Also his spell on the dance floor jamming it with Collins cannot be missed! I have never seen the old master have so much fun with his material (or dance so much over so few films for that matter), its a wonder he never continued this trend later in his career (not the dancing mind).
On the aesthetic front Captain's Paradise bestows a noticeably crisp, cleaned up transfer, but the general consistency of the DVD transfers is sporadically grainy rather than sharpened, bringing a nice authenticity to the films that allow them to remain pleasing to the eye. Somewhat abysmally there are no extras included in the boxset, (not even trailers) which is a real cheat considering the steep retail price. Although not as generously extensive as a soon-to-be-released six film Alec Guinness boxset, (which features six films at half the price, including such lauded bank holiday classics as Our Man in Havana, HMS Defiant and Bridge on the River Kwai), Screen Legends is an insightful, if expensive vanilla disc set that will give you an impressive glimpse into the man that should be now deemed a master of a thousand faces.
The Alec Guiness Box Set was released in the U.K. on region 2 DVD and can be found at retailers such as Play (£32.99).