Curtain Up

Once upon a time most cities and towns would have a theatre which had a repertory theatre where popular plays would be presented for a week at a time.TV was responsible for the demise of this form of theatre.This film shows all the pitfalls that arose with the putting on of plays.Margaret Rutherford and Robert Morley are the reliable leads in this amusing comedy..

Along with gems alike "Withnail & I," "A Midwinters Tale," even "Noises Off" Curtain Up is a film every live theatre worker should see. Based on the idea that 'it'll be alright on the night!' the film is infused with clichés from the theatre world. From the first time author in awe of her creation, the could-have-been-famous-but-if-only-it-weren't-for-xxx-reason actress, the drunken actress in mid-life crisis who insists on being nude, the juvenile lead whose best audience is his mirror to the jaded director/producer who plows on regardless of others' emotions they are all lifted directly from the people who still work in the live industry today. The cast, lead by Morley and Rutherford, are excellent in portraying these highly-strung individuals that even though work for selfish reasons, pull together to finish the play before 'Curtain Up' Today however the film is very dated. Even for the fifties, regional theatres in England weren't often in the position to have a weekly-rep company employed fulltime. This film documents an institution eroded by film and television and to view today seems odd, old-fashioned and perhaps far fetched. Its a jolly giggle that gives tribute to the live theatre and as such many in-jokes may be missed by a layman. So when watching this well roasted chestnut use a little forgiveness. It was released in a different time for a different market, however for any actor, technician, director or the like its a must.

Curtain Up is one of my favourite British films of all time. It contains so many wonderful British actors - Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford (who repeated their coupling in the original Miss Marple films) and Michael Medwin, and of course, Kay Kendall. The story is simple but oh so English and delights in its old fashioned charm.

This film does not appear to have been released on VHS or DVD and only very occasionally appears on TV. I taped it many years ago, but the family have wiped it and I am longing for it to appear again. Anything with the adorable Margaret Rutherford is worth watching and this film is a little gem.

CURTAIN UP is a routine British comedy which fails to raise anything more than the slightest titter. I dread to think what the movie would be like without the considerable talents of Margaret Rutherford and Robert Morley in the leading roles, and even with them it's pretty dire 'entertainment'. The plot quickly becomes tiresome, a weekly repertory company is rehearsing a dreadfully written play, "Tarnished Gold". The producer, played with gusto by Robert Morley, quickly falls out with the play's authoress, the marvellously eccentric Margaret Rutherford, and after the first rehearsal he rips out 27 pages of the 30 page script. Adding to the 'fun' are the problems, tantrums and behind-the-scenes squabbles of the play's cast, which seriously hinder the rehearsals (and also the film). One of England's greatest post war character actors, Sam Kydd, makes a fleeting appearance at the finale, as an ambulance man. The only genuinely funny moment in 80 minutes is Morley's facial expression when Margaret Rutherford turns up and says "I've come to sit at your feet while my child is being born!"

It's a third-rate local repertory house when the 'professionals' are people who had a crack at the West End...and failed. Now the company is asked to premiere a new play by Margaret Rutherford, the aunt of one of the producers. It is a horrid thing, full of bad dialogue and hackneyed situations, and the main producer of the theater, Robert Morley, has to gnash his teeth and make something of it, mostly by telling Miss Rutherford to cut out nine-tenths of the first act and write a new one in thirty minutes.

It's certainly fun to watch these two go at it, hammer and tongs, but the play within the play really is that bad, and gives the movie's audience little to sink its teeth into. The self-painted portraits of the other members of the company are sad little affairs. As a result, we are left with Mr. Morley and Miss Rutherford. They're certainly always worth watching.