Review for Ealing Studios Rarities Collection (The): Volume 7

So ever onwards with this splendid release programme from Network and Set 7 is well on form.As is so often the case there was one film in particular (Play up the Band) that was an absolute revelation and worth the cost of the pack on its own – though more on that later. 

Once again Network (in conjunction with Studio Canal) have done an incredible job in sourcing the finest available prints, some almost eighty years old, and all here in their correct aspect ratios too.

EUREKA STOCKADE (1949)

Eureka Stockade is another of those curiously un-Ealing type releases, set and shot in Australia – a bit like ‘The Overlanders’ which came three years earlier. It’s a veritable historic epic, though not without humour and charm. It tells the story of the gold-digging immigrants of the 1850s and their reaction to the increasing demands on them, despite their poverty, by a Government about to fall bankrupt (sound familiar?).


For those of us who have neglected to learn even the most basic historic facts about the emergence of such a young nation, it does have an almost Disney-ish charm in its telling. Whilst this is no Daniel Boone, there is something of the stoic Abraham Lincoln in the moralistic lead. Whatever the case, it’s a tightly directed piece set among some stunning scenery and there are certainly worse films to be watching on a wet wintry weekend.


TAKE A CHANCE (1937)

Though ‘Take a Chance’ seems terribly dated (well, to be fair it is nearly 80 years old), with humour falling flat at every twist and turn, there is something charming about it as a period piece. Apart from anything else it shows some amazing horse race scenes from Goodwood which will thrill racing fans.


The gist of the tale is that the wife of a racehorse trainer, feeling neglected by his indifference, falls for the charms of another man who is actually out to discover secrets about her husband’s horse.  
Though in great nick, this is the least satisfying of the transfers here though to complain at that would be surly in the extreme!
Running in at a mere 70 minutes, it’s also mercifully short so a good contender as a B-picture for your evening viewing schedule.

THE GAUNT STRANGER (1938)

The Gaunt Stranger is an adaptation of a novel by Edgar Wallace, a hugely popular author at the time. Starring Wilfred Lawson, a huge stage star of the time, this is one of his few performances on celluloid before drink got the better of him.


As Lawyer Maurice Meister he is seen in an increasing agitated state as he awaits the vengeance of the mysterious vigilante in a mask known only as ‘The Ringer’ who has decreed that he will kill him at a certain time and date. But how can that be? The Ringer was killed years ago in Canada wasn’t he? Well, watch and find out. It’s all great fun and every bit as entertaining as ‘The Four Just Men’ which was released a couple of years later.


PLAY UP THE BAND! (1935)

We've saved the best for last. Despite being one of the oldest films on this set, or indeed in the series, the template for the classic Ealing comedy as we have come to know and love it, was set with this fantastic picture. It’s a thinly veiled vehicle for popular music hall star Stanley Holloway and in fact features two of his legendary monologues which last far longer than any film would allow today. In the context of the time though, for many this was the only way to see them. And by gum, they’re good! No sign of an autocue anywhere – this boy knew them off by heart.


So here’s the story, slight as it is. The Heckdyke brass band travel up from Yorkshire to London to compete for a national trophy. Lord Heckdyke and his hilariously snobbish wife (a ‘Mrs. Bouquet’ if ever there was one) are in London trying to mix with the sophisticated society so the arrival of the band is most unwelcome. Their son has fallen for the charms of a show girl which only makes things worse. Cue lots of tuba-fueled hilarity and pomposity-puncturing gags a-plenty. Playing at under 70 minutes it’s far too short of course but fantastic stuff nonetheless.