The Comedy Man *** (1964, Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price, Billie Whitelaw, Norman Rossington, Angela Douglas, Edmund Purdom, Frank Finlay) – Classic Movie Review 7761

The 1964 British drama film The Comedy Man tells a backstage showbiz story about TV deodorant adverts finally making a star out of ageing, seedy actor Chick Byrd (Kenneth More). 

Director Alvin Rakoff’s 1964 British drama The Comedy Man tells a very fair little backstage showbiz story about TV adverts selling a brand of deodorant finally making a star out of Chick Byrd (Kenneth More), an ageing, seedy, second-rate actor working in repertory theatre in the English provinces.

The Comedy Man is probably an accurate picture of showbiz in its day, even if exaggerated for effect, and it is now an interesting period piece. Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price, Billie Whitelaw, Norman Rossington, Angela Douglas, Edmund Purdom and Frank Finlay all shine in a very useful true Brit cast.

More gives a neatly etched performance in this, his personal favourite of his roles. But the film was not popular, apparently proving too downbeat and not having enough humour for widescale success. And, having being forsaken by cinema audiences after his huge Fifties success, More returned to the stage and TV, where he was popular all over again, especially in TV’s The Forsyte Saga (1967) and Father Brown (1974).

Purdom plays Julian Baxter, an actor with a similar history to his own as brief Hollywood star of The Egyptian (1954). Oddly, More and Purdom both played 2nd Officer Lightoller of the Titanic – Purdom in Titanic (1953) and More in A Night to Remember (1958).

Peter Yeldham’s screenplay is based on Douglas Hayes’s novel.

Also in the cast are Alan Dobie, J G Devlin, Jill Adams, Gerald Campion, Freddie Mills, Naomi Chance and Wally Patch.

The Comedy Man is directed by Alvin Rakoff, runs 92 minutes, is made by Gray Film and Consant Films, is released by British Lion, is written by Peter Yeldham, based on Douglas Hayes’s novel, is shot in black and white by Ken Hodges, is produced by Jon Pennington and David Henley, and is scored by Bill McGuffie.

It was nearly two years on the shelf before being shown in September 1964, usually in a double bill with Lord of the Flies.

More’s movie hits include Genevieve (1953), Doctor in the House (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956), The Admirable Crichton [Paradise Lagoon] (1957), A Night to Remember (1958), North West Frontier (1959) and Sink the Bismarck! (1960).

On 17 March 1968, More married co-star Angela Douglas, whom he met while filming Some People (1962) with her.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7761

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com