The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan **** (1953, Robert Morley, Maurice Evans, Peter Finch, Eileen Herlie, Dinah Sheridan, Isabel Dean) – Classic Movie Review 10,827

Director Sidney Gilliat’s 1953 The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan [The Great Gilbert and Sullivan] is very jolly musical biopic entertainment, low on story, high on lovely operetta excerpts, charmingly sung and staged, attractively played by a fine roster of British worthies, and plushly filmed by Christopher Challis in gorgeous Technicolor, with beautiful production design by Hein Heckroth.

Librettist Sir William Shwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900) (played with lip-smacking vigour by Robert Morley and Maurice Evans) collaborate on writing 14 comic operas, but argue with each other and with theatrical impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte (Peter Finch) while composing those nice tunes in their operettas HMS Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), Iolanthe (1882), and The Mikado (1885).

Carte builds the state-of-the-art Savoy Theatre in London for them to host the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, but they fall out.

It also stars Eileen Herlie as Helen Carte and Martyn Green as George Grossmith, Dinah Sheridan as Grace Marston and Wilfrid Hyde White as Mr Marston.

It includes extensive musical excerpts from the works, staged with the assistance of Martyn Green.

It is written by Sidney Gilliat, Vincent Korda and Leslie Baily, based on the book The Gilbert and Sullivan Book by Leslie Baily. But the screenplay feels free to take liberties with the facts and moves events in time.

It was produced by Gilliat and his business partner Frank Launder for London Films to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Sadly, it was a box-office failure. Re-releases re-titled it The Great Gilbert and Sullivan. The music is played by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.

The story is retold in Topsy-Turvy (1999).

Also in the cast are Eileen Herlie, Dinah Sheridan, Isabel Dean, Wilfrid Hyde White, Martyn Green, Muriel Aked, Michael Ripper, Bernadette O’Farrell, Ian Wallace, Leonard Sachs, Owen Brannigan, Philip Ray, George Woodbridge, Ann Hanslip, Eric Berry, Yvonne Marsh, Lloyd Lamble, Thomas Round, Muriel Brunskill, George Cross, Anthony Green, Arthur Howard, Charlotte Mitchell, Perlita Neilson, John Rae, Philip Ray, Stella Roley, Robert Brooks Turner, Richard Warner and Harold Williams.

It is made by London Film Productions at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England.

Edward Scaife is director of photography B unit (uncredited).

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,827

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