The Promoter

One of the greatest British comedies of the 1950s and one of Alec Guinness' most satisfying roles early in his long career. As Denry Machin, son of a washerwoman and the "card" of the title, Guiness brings to life one of the almost forgotten stories about the "five towns" (Stoke-on-Trent) of Arnold Bennett. The old-fashioned and very English word "card" had to be translated into the American title "the promoter", but that is a far less accurate description of Denry Machin's combination of charm and opportunism.

He is supported by four magical actresses, in sharply contrasted roles. Gold-digger Glynis Johns, her friend Petula Clark, aristocrat Valerie Hobson and mother Valerie Turleigh are all charmed in their different ways by Guiness' smiles as he "gives providence a helping hand". William Alwyn's music is perfect, with a jaunty theme-tune that has lingered in my memory for more years than I care to remember. Ronald Neame's direction, also at the start of an impressive directorial career, brings the best out of Guinness, although the setting is disappointingly 'comedy-Northern' rather than specifically Stoke-on-Trent.

Overall a delightful film, and the perfect pick-me-up after watching a depressing Hollywood block-buster (Million Dollar Baby). And watch out for one of the movies' great sign-off lines, from Valerie Hobson.

Very well adapted from the novel by Arnold Bennett, this is a warm and witty comedy about the rise of a washerwoman's son from obscurity to becoming the Mayor. In a series of episodes Edward Henry (Denry as his mother called him) Machin demonstrates his acumen in business, his eye for the main chance, noticing what Shakespeare called the 'tide in the affairs of men that leads on to fortune'. (Literally in one episode!)

In all of his this you can not help liking Denry, especially as he is perfectly played by Alec Guinness. As the narrator says, he is not dishonest, he just likes to give providence a helping hand. As Denry grows older Guinness wonderfully captures each facet of his character. He is well supported by the other cast members, each one also perfect for their roles. It is hard to think of a better cast film, even down to the small roles.

The film captures well the look of the Potteries. The small houses, the pottery kilns, the canal. This place is living and breathing, populated by interesting people. An excellent film, splendid in all departments and well worth seeing many times.

The Card must have been an interesting if somewhat painful film for Alec Guinness to make. This might have been the most autobiographical piece of work Guinness ever did.

In The Card Guinness plays the son of washerwoman who learned early on to keep an eye out for the main chance and always strive to improve yourself by whatever means. In real life Guinness's mother should only have been a washerwoman In fact she was a prostitute who never married his father, whomever that could have been. In real life Guinness overcame bigger obstacles than his character in The Card ever did.

But I'm sure he drew from real life in playing Denny Machin. Guinness in 91 minutes goes from a humble clerk to a position of real power in his area of England. The story is how he did it, the legal and extralegal methods employed and the people he used. When you think about it, The Card is a kinder, gentler version of Room At The Top.

Guinness courts two women on his way up, Valerie Hobson the widow of a local lord and dancing instructor Glynis Johns. Glynis is quite the climber herself as we learn when the story unfolds. In fact she nearly steals the film from Guinness, no easy task.

The Card which was released in the USA under the title of The Promoter is a good followup to such other Guinness everyman roles like he had in The Lavendar Hill Mob. The screenplay is quite good, I was kept very entertained seeing how Guinness could always make lemonade out of lemons. Definitely required viewing for Alec Guinness's legion of fans.

'The Card' was just what war-worn Britain needed in the early fifties. This innocent, cheeky and humorous talkie would have had the cheap seats in fits!

Alec Guinness plays Edward Henry 'Denry' Machin, a young ambitious chancer who is just about likable enough to get away with the stunts he pulls on his way up the ladder of social and business success. He pounces on each and every opportunity and risks everything he has... and each venture seems to work out very well.

Edward is a very 'English' working class hero and is the sum of many parts. There's some Charlie Chaplin, some Arthur Askey and even some George Cole in the mix. At first, he seems to be rather effete and almost effeminate... he's definitely a mother's boy, though his stubborn mother wouldn't know it!

The story is buoyed by a mass of top class British talent. Already famous Petula Clark plays Nellie but she's always in the shadow of the magnificent Glynis Johns. Her blistering on screen feline sexuality is just pure magic.

Edward Chapman plays a jealous adversary. Chapman was an extraordinarily busy actor throughout his long career but is probably best remembered for playing opposite Norman Wisdom as Mr Grimsdale.

Joan Hickson shows up as a dissatisfied and grouchy property owner. She went on to find her greatest professional success towards the end of her life playing Miss Marple in the best of any Agatha Christie series ever made... in my humble opinion!

Towards the end, there's even a beautiful cameo by Wilfrid Hyde-White. And there are a lot more names for 'spotters' to enjoy, too.

The story is mostly good-natured silliness with no real plot to think about and there are some great outdoor shots of post-war England for good measure.

At this time of writing (2017), there's a good copy of this available to watch on YouTube... so do yourself a favour... unwrap that choc-ice and get over there!

Alec Guinness' reputation as a serious actor tends to overshadow the subtle but deftly comic early work he was involved in, even when the films themselves (especially his handful of Ealing classics) are highly-regarded. This was another fine (and reasonably popular) vehicle for him in which he plays a go-getter(!) who uses his wits – and the helping hand lent him by Fate – to rise the ranks in British society from a washer-woman's son to, ultimately, Mayor of his town. In this respect, the film reminded me of two similar efforts i.e. NOTHING BUT THE BEST (1964) and THE RISE AND RISE OF MICHAEL RIMMER (1970) – which I owned but had not yet checked out (and which I then promptly opted to include in my ongoing Christmas schedule); of course, thematically, it is not unlike Ealing's own KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949; in which Guinness had memorably played eight murder victims)...but the approach here is altogether more genteel and nostalgic (even if there are a few undeniable belly-laughs along the way), thus lacking the pointed satirical barbs which distinguished the earlier (and later) films. Anyway, the star delivers an entirely disarming performance and the film – augmented by its charming period setting – proves a most delightful concoction. He is abetted besides by three splendid leading ladies in Glynis Johns (surprisingly playing haughty), Valerie Hobson (obviously aristocratic, her feathers apparently not even unruffled by a pratfall!) and Petula Clark (not yet the chart-topping singer and, tackling the role of a commoner, is naturally Guinness' eventual choice of partner). Foremost among the supporting cast, then, is Edward Chapman – later a stooge in many a Norman Wisdom comedy – as Guinness' disgruntled former employer, but several other familiar faces crop up throughout (Peter Copley, Michael Hordern, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Frank Pettingell, etc). For the record, this was the first of four appearances by the star in films directed by Neame (apart from two the latter had produced for David Lean); of these, the only one I have yet to watch is another comedy, THE HORSE'S MOUTH (1958), which I might as well get to now rather than later...