Main Cast: Robert Morley, Maurice Evans, Eileen Herlie, Peter Finch, Martyn Green
Release Year: 1953
Country: UK
Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Robert Morley and Maurice Evans play W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, 19th-century composers of such imperishable comic operettas as H.M.S. Pinafore,Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Much is made of the inescapable fact that Gilbert and Sullivan grew to dislike each other intensely. Also touched upon is the fact that both men felt they were writing "beneath" their talents, and yearned to do something more serious than their witty frivolities. And of course, we are treated to generous excerpts from several of Gilbert and Sullivan's works, performed by such D'Oyly Carte veterans as Martyn Green. Gilbert and Sullivan was originally titled The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan; its US release title was The Great Gilbert and Sullivan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
When it debuted in 1953, The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan catered to middle-brow music fans eager to dissolve into a world of rousing light opera, vivid images, and a script that takes to heart Mark Twain's famous writing admonition: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Viewers got what they wanted -- a potpourri of Gilbert and Sullivan operetta favorites in stereophonic sound, colorful period and stage costumes photographed in brazen Technicolor, and a plot that sometimes thumbs its nose at historical accuracy in order to better amuse and entertain. In other words, The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan is a good, old-fashioned, '50s-style biodrama that tickles the senses without taxing the intellect. Based on The Gilbert and Sullivan Book by Leslie Baily, the film is a jolly good show, moving along at a comfortable pace with the always animated Robert Morley in the role of lyricist Sir William Swenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and the always distinguished Maurice Evans in the role of his partner, composer Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900). Both actors perform ably, in spite of sometimes uninspiring dialogue, as Gilbert and Sullivan collaborate on their operettas, most of which spoof highfalutin English manners and customs. Peter Finch also performs well as Gilbert and Sullivan's producer and partner, Richard D'Oyly Carte, who founds an opera company, the D'Oyly Carte, to perform the operettas, and builds a theater, the Savoy, to stage them. Although Gilbert and Sullivan's music is not exactly high art, it is diverting; and in this film it gets loving treatment from the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Dinah Sheridan - Grace Marston; Isabel Dean - Mrs. Gilbert; Muriel Aked - Queen Victoria; Michael Ripper - Louis; Lloyd Lamble - Joseph Bennett; Rick Warner - Cellier; Charlotte Mitchell - Charlotte; Leonard Sachs - Smythe; Eric Berry - Rutland Barrington; Owen Brannigan - Principal bass baritone; Ann Hanslip - Bride; Arthur Howard - Usher in "Trial by Jury"; John B. Hughes - Train Bearer in "Iolanthe"; Wilfrid Hyde-White - Mr. Marston; Harold Lang; Yvonne Marsh - Bride; Bernadette O'Farrell - Jessie Bond; John Rae - Ferguson; Philip Ray - Theater manager; Ian Wallace - Captain; Harold Williams - Judge in "Trial by Jury"; George Woodbridge - Reporter; Webster Booth - Singer; George Cross - Stage manager; Kenneth Downey - Counsel for the plaintiff in "Trial by Jury"; Anthony Green - Office Boy; Perlita Neilson - Lettie; John Cameron
Credit
Sidney Gilliat - Director, Gerald Turney-Smith - Editor, William S. Gilbert - Composer (Music Score), Malcolm Sargent - Musical Direction/Supervision, W.S. Gilbert - Songwriter, Hein Heckroth - Production Designer, Christopher G. Challis - Cinematographer, Sidney Gilliat - Producer, Frank Launder - Producer, Sidney Gilliat - Screenwriter, Vincent Korda - Screenwriter, Leslie Bailey - Screenwriter, Arthur Sullivan - Featured Music, Leslie Baily - Book Author
