Moviecut—Gilbert and Sullivan

source: Gilbert and Sullivan

My copy of this long wished for treasure arrived today and it looks fantastic. The new Blu-Ray from Network is stunning and does full justice to this beautifully made tribute to G&S. This is a "must have" for anyone who loves their operettas. There are lots of excerpts from their work and I sang along throughout. Robert Morley is on top form as Gilbert and Maurice Evans does sterling work as Sullivan. The sets and costumes are beautiful and this restored Technicolor print looks ravishing. Buy it and enjoy!

The film Gilbert And Sullivan came in for much of the same criticism that so many musical biographies coming out of Hollywood did. But when we went to see such work as Till The Clouds Roll By, Words And Music, and Night And Day, we were hardly seeing the real stories of Jerome Kern, Rodgers&Hart, and Cole Porter. Their work is what people went to see those films for and thus it is with Gilbert&Sullivan whom we were lucky to get them working in harness for as much as they did give us. Robert Morley plays W.S. Gilbert the word half of the duo who started in life as a barrister, but I suspect the law probably bored him and he had a gift with a phrase and turned it into writing lyrics. Morley who was at his best playing such witty people as Oscar Wilde and James Fox was the best possible fit for Gilbert. Arthur Sullivan is played by Maurice Evans who had ambitions to be a serious composer and he did compose some truly serious music like Onward Christian Soldiers for example. But these comic operas did pay the bills. Right at the beginning of the film there is a marvelous bit with Wilfrid Hyde-White who plays the father of Dinah Sheridan whom Evans is courting. She wants to be the wife of a celebrated serious composer, but dad just wants a son-in-law who can pay his own way, he does not want to wind up supporting genius as he put it. Sullivan never did marry, but the author of Onward Christian Soldiers was quite the ladies man including a rather lengthy affair with at least one married woman that went public. Peter Finch plays D'Oyly Carte their producer who created the light opera company that bears his name and has first call on the works of Gilbert And Sullivan. Finch and wife Eileen Herlie must have felt more like referees than producers as they kept the two working in harness as long as they could. And the heart of this film is the D'Oyly Carte company giving highlights of the various Gilbert And Sullivan comic operas which are loved in every part of the English speaking world. I've seen performances of HMS Pinafore and The Mikado myself and God willing I'll get to see others. The musical numbers are the heart of this film as they are in any American film about one of our persons of music. The copy I rented looks like it has been restored, the color is quite nice. Good thing too, because Gilbert And Sullivan and their talent deserve the best.

Every scene propels the film through the collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan, hitting most of the high points and portraying the lows with the sympathy and understanding that creative geniuses deserve. I was predisposed to liking it, because I was a fanatical G&S enthusiast first, but it was a relief to discover that this film was a worthy tribute to their legacy. Providence deserves the credit for forcing friends to acquaint me with the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, when I was dead set against them (for no apparent reason). Later, Providence rewarded my open mind by delivering into my hands (from out of the blue) a 35mm Technicolor print of the film. My reason for mentioning it is that the print had an intermission at about the one hour point. It seemed silly at first, but I later discovered that the print had been shown "double system," with separate hour-long reels of 35mm magnetic sound tracks. This was confirmed by an article in the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, which stated that The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan had been one of the earliest films presented with magnetic stereo sound (before the composite magnetic prints of Cinemascope). I never found the magnetic stereo tracks, but the print also had the usual monaural optical track, of very good quality. My print eventually decomposed from vinegar syndrome, but I was able to buy a VHS tape from a G&S society in England, which apparently owns the rights. I wonder whether they own the stereo tracks, or will ever release a DVD. Are there not enough G&S fans in the world to make it hugely profitable?

A gentle and moving production, this film takes itself much less seriously than Topsy-Turvy. Blending both well-timed comedy and the "human drama" which Sullivan himself so longed for in the libretti of his partner, the film takes us through the majority of the duo's career. Only the most pedantic G&S historian will not forgive the mild omissions and distortions which are used to move the plot along, and the film manages to work in references to all but Patience, Ida, Utopia, and Grand Duke, often in quite clever and entertaining ways. The soaring music of Yeomen, used so poignantly near the end, never fails to bring a tear to my eye. All in all, I would call this one of my favorite films, for its subtle humor, charm, and artistry.

I have a poor copy that was probably made off the air. Despite the technical shortcomings, the film is a delight to watch. The staging of the various operetta's was done with taste and love. I watch it at least once a year and enjoy it each time. I only wish I could find a reasonable copy. It seems to have vanished.

An enjoyable handsomely well-mounted production in Technicolor, there's actually far more music than story (under the baton of Malcolm Sargent). Not being an expert I can't comment on the quality of the arrangements but they're probably sufficiently clearly enunciated and long enough to please most serious Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados. As Sullivan Maurice Evans is almost unrecognisable, as Gilbert Robert Morley only too recognisable; while the depictions of the tensions between them anticipates 'The Commitments'. As usual the best performance is by Peter Finch as D'Oyly Carte, although like many of the men in the cast his singing voice is obviously dubbed.

Biography documenting the fraught and creatively tense relationship between master opera collaborators William S.Gilbert (played with aplomb by the portly Morley) and Arthur Sullivan (Evans). The film documents their collaboration from their first operetta in 1871, through to Sullivan's premature death at just 58, and Gilbert's subsequent knighthood early in the 20th century. Sullivan's growing reluctance to compose the light opera demanded of him serves as a constant bane upon which the collaboration with Gilbert (the lyricist) is often strained. When the pair eventually agree to part ways, those around them manage to cajole the pair together to resurrect their fragile partnership time and time again. While the subject matter obviates the need for plenty of musical numbers, also present are colourful sets and vibrant exteriors of the Thames and English countryside, wry dialogue that depicts their egos humorously, and an attractive supporting cast that includes Peter Finch as the talent agent who masterminds the pairing, while stalwarts Dinah Sheridan and Wilfrid Hyde-White also feature prominently. Rotund and expressive, the presence of Morley ensures that the tone is mostly comedic, and while it's a lavish production, the momentum is often lacking pace and I found the biopic sometimes tedious. Nevertheless, if you're a fan, there's ample excerpts of "Pirates of Penzance" or "The Mikado" (among others) to enjoy and perhaps discover more about the eccentric relationship 'endured' by the famed duo.

Much was made of "Topsy Turvy" when it came out, but if it's G&S music you're interested in, there's no comparison. The Great G&S wins hands down. Wonderful Maurice Evans, even better Robert Morley, and plenty of operetta excerpts. Wish the film's color quality had held up better with time, and of course today's sound would be better, but this is still a joy to watch and listen to. Wish they had included Princess Ida and Utopia, Ltd., but you can't have everything.