Tweet Genevieve (1953)

Love, love, love.

Somebody on another board posted a link to one of the more hilariously misguided amazon customer reviews I've seen:

0 of 54 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars NOT a family film!, 31 Oct 2010
By Yaffa "The Bookworm" (Devon, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Genevieve -- Special Edition [DVD] (DVD)

I may be a complete kill-joy, but

Yep, you are a real kill-joy. There are quite a few similar reviews from like-minded people on Netflix and other sites, from people who are shocked, SHOCKED!! at everything, yet from the volume of their reviews you realize all they do is sit around watching movies and being outraged.

Frankly, all you have to do is get the Ealing Studios list of films, both comedy and/or all else and you'll have possibly the best entertainment package in the universe. I've bought close to fifty titles in the last year alone. Not a dud in the bunch!

I have quite a few of the Ealings, but Genevieve isn't an Ealing...is it? It's listed as "A Sirius Production, Released by the Rank Organisation." Ealing isn't listed on the imdb entry, nor is it listed among the other Ealing classics at BFI's site here, http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/445526/" target="_blank" target="_blank

Oh lookie, the film has it's very own website.
http://www.donbrockway.com/genevieve.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank

No, it's not Ealing. I was simply suggesting that because if you enjoy the kind of film that "Genevieve" is, then you should enjoy nearly anything that Ealing has produced. Didn't mean to confuse you. Actually, I'm just happy others on the board enjoy the earlier British films as much as I do. Only wish many more of the earlier 30's mysteries and dramas were available. Sinister Cinema has a few titles, and they're wonderful, but the condition of many of the prints is not very good, and the number of titles is paltry. The very early comedies are nearly impossible to find. Such a shame.

No, it's not Ealing. I was simply suggesting that because if you enjoy the kind of film that "Genevieve" is, then you should enjoy nearly anything that Ealing has produced. Didn't mean to confuse you. Actually, I'm just happy others on the board enjoy the earlier British films as much as I do. Only wish many more of the earlier 30's mysteries and dramas were available. Sinister Cinema has a few titles, and they're wonderful, but the condition of many of the prints is not very good, and the number of titles is paltry. The very early comedies are nearly impossible to find. Such a shame.

Yes, love the Ealings, and not just the comedies.

Genevieve has some similarities to the Ealings, but it felt very different to me while I was watching it. The humor is generally understated but it's not black. The characters are a little obsessive but they're not eccentrics or grotesques. It's a warm, sweet little film about people you'd enjoy having as next door neighbors. "Warm" and "sweet" are not descriptors that immediately spring to mind when discussing Kind Hearts and Coronets, much as I love it.

Looking up Kay Kendall films I found a blurb in a book about Simon and Laura, a 1955 film with Peter Finch.

"In the 1950's days of only BBC television, a wet-behind-the-ears producer has the idea of basing a family drama series on a real-life happily married actor couple. Unfortunately he chooses the Fosters, who need the money and so do the show. Actors they may be, but happily married they most surely are not."

Anyone seen it?

Simon and Laura a total delight. Kay Kendall is wondrous.

I believe you...

I found it on Ebay..........

If you haven't seen it already, watch 1955's MGM production of "Quentin Durward," where Kay Kendall's role is pivotal. I think the term to use to describe her role is the "access character." But I am not a screenwriting guru.