In association with

Genevieve -- Special Edition [1953]
from ITV DVD
starring Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen
directed by Henry Cornelius

Features:

• Full Screen
• PAL
• Special Edition

Editorial Review:

For anyone who travels the congested roads of Britain these days the utterly delightful Genevieve will provoke a wistful, nostalgic sigh of regret for times gone by when there were no motorways, traffic jams were almost non-existent and friendly police motorcyclists riding classic Nortons (without helmets) cheerfully let people driving vintage cars race each other along country lanes. Even in 1953, Henry Cornelius’ gentle comedy must have seemed pleasingly old-fashioned, concerned as it is with the antics of two obsessive enthusiasts on the annual London to Brighton classic car rally. The principal quartet could hardly be bettered: though John Gregson is something of a cold fish as Genevieve’s proud owner, the radiant warmth of Dinah Sheridan as his long-suffering wife more than compensates. Kenneth More is ideally cast in the role of boastful rival enthusiast and Kay Kendall has possibly the best comic moment of all when she astonishes everyone with her drunken trumpet playing.

Cornelius also directed Ealing’s Passport to Pimlico, so his sure eye for gently mocking and celebrating British eccentricities is never in doubt. The screenplay by (American writer) William Rose now seems like an elegy to a way of life long disappeared: the pivotal moment when Gregson stops to humour a passing old buffer about his love of classic cars comes from a vanished era of politeness before road rage; as does the priceless exchange between hotel owner Joyce Grenfell and her aged resident: "No one’s ever complained before", says the mystified Grenfell after Gregson and Sheridan moan about the facilities, "Are they Americans?" asks the old lady, unable to conceive that anyone British could say such things. Genevieve is both a wonderful period comedy and a nostalgic portrait of England the way it used to be.

On the DVD: the "Special Edition" version of Genevieve has a decent new documentary with reminiscences from Dinah Sheridan (still radiant), the director of photography and the film’s editor, who talk about the challenges of filming on location. Most treasurable of all, though, is legendary harmonica player Larry Adler, who remembers his distinctive score with much fondness and is not at all embittered by his Hollywood blacklisting, which meant he was denied an Academy Award nomination. There’s also a short piece on some of the locations used (which for economic reasons were mostly in the lanes around Pinewood studios), cast biographies and a gallery of stills. The 4:3 ratio colour picture looks pretty good for its age and the mono sound is adequate. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• A classic British comedy with four classy British actors and a 1904 Darrocq roadster
  Lust, jealousy, ruthless conniving...and that's for starters. No, this isn't a Lana Turner and John Garfield film. This is Genevieve, one of the greatest of the classic English comedies from the late Forties and early Fifties. The movie is witty, warming and, above all else, funny.
  Genevieve is a 1904 Darrocq roadster, driven by the ordinarily levelheaded young barrister, Alan McKim (John Gregson), on the London to Brighton and back annual antique car rally. By his side is his indulgent and sometimes... more info

• Great cameos too
  Genevieve is a wonderfully crafted film you never tire of seeing(and I have been watching it for the past 40 years at least)and which has great performances from its quartet of stars. In addition,there are some highly humorous cameos in it which often get overlooked. Joyce Grenfell's terribly genteel hotel owner "nobody's ever complained before", Michael Medwin as a harrassed father-to-be, Reginald Beckwith - who does a good turn and get booted for his trouble - "what will I tell my wife?" - they all add so... more info

• Totally irresistible British Classic
  This film about the London to Brighton veteran car run and the rivalry between Ambrose Claverhouse (Moore), Alan McKim (Gregson) and their respective ladies Rosalind Peters (Kendall) and Wendy McKim (Sheridan) is one of the great British Classics, so bound up with our national eccentricities it is possibly incomprehensible anywhere else.

  The fine comic acting full of high spirits enraptures one from the very beginning, and soon the cars become characters in the headlong race to the coast.

  Enormously... more info

• Genevieve
  If you like English humour and actors who are excellent at their craft, then you can't go past 'Genevieve'. Comedy and a little bit of ongoing English 'history' is a great mix. John Gregson and Kenneth More battle it out on the road in the London to Brighton rally much to the bemusement of their lady partners.

  Kay Kendall's trumpet solo is a laugh and the tricks that John and Kenneth get up to are delightful. A true taste of English comedy and theater from an age when life was a little less complicated... more info

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