I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 4 of 10)

I Know Where I'm Going!

Powell and Pressburger's romance may be best remembered for bringing to life a most dreamlike place called Killoran...whether we ever manage to get there or not. 

But how British is it? Answer: Really not very British at all. But with the films emphasis on fog, mist, castles, bogs, lochs, moors, myths, legends, falconry, lairds, plaid skirts, a rousing ceilidh with bagpipes a'playin' and blokes and lassies speaking in Gaelic, it's damn sure Scottish!

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Only about a 3 or 4
Rating for Scottishness from 1-10: Definitely a 10! 

THINGS TO COME (1936, GREAT BRITAIN)

                                                                     

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 3 of 10)

Things to Come

Plot Summary: John Cabal and others are distressed at the potential for an oncoming World War in the British Everytown during Christmas. Their fears come true as a relentless World War begins that leads to famine, plague, societal degeneration and a disarming lack of petrol during the next thirty years. In 1974, Everytown is visited by a man in a futuristic flying machine who turns out to be John Cabal himself. Cabal is part of a society that is called Wings Over the World that has renounced war. After a fierce struggle with Everytown's evil local warlord, Cabal and Wings Over the World triumph and begin to build a new society. We finally end up in 2036, where Everytown's future toga wearing society lead by one of Cabal's descendants has advanced to a position where they are ready to send someone to the moon. They are in for a struggle, as some in this society fear change and progress and will do anything they can to stop it.

This very early entry into sci-fi is interesting as a curio and the special effects aren't too bad either. H. G. Wells's Things to Come does come across as a little pompous and preachy at times and those toga outfits are a more than a little weird. But there are some neat plot threads in this film such as the continued presence of John Cabal as well as Wells accurate prediction of an upcoming World War. Of course, Wells also predicts we'll send a man to the moon by the year 2036 and "SPOILER" we (in the real world) actually got there a bit sooner than that.

But How British is it? Well it's pretty British in that the setting is the British Everytown and the decisions that determine the fate of this world are determined by Warlords or Toga Wearing Englishmen as if England were still the center of the universe. 

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Let's give it a 7

THE LADY VANISHES (1938, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 2 of 10)

One of the last of Hitchock's British films is noteworthy for its very snappy dialogue, intriguing plot and very likable lead actors (Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood and Dame May Whitty). The action scenes near the end don't seem to hold up too well, but it's still a fun film to watch.

But how British is it?Quite British indeed! Especially seen in the supporting characters of Charters and Caldicott and their somewhat excessive love of the very British game of cricket.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About an 8. However, the section on Bandrika gets a 10 for its "Bandrikaness."

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness?
But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 1 of 10)

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Powell and Pressburger's involving and epic story of forty years of a soldier's life is told mostly in flashback and though it took me awhile to catch up with the story, I eventually did.

But how British is it? Well, you don't get more British than the by-the-book Colonel Blimp. Colonel Blimp's stand that England won the first World War while fighting clean and within the rules (unlike those evil Germans!) made me think about the British stiff upper lip and all that sort of thing. Of course, his fair fighting might not work as well for World War II. This is 1943 after all, we don't know how this World War sequel thing is going to end. But war starts at midnight, eh?

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About a 9