Sunday, 28 April 2019

70 Years of Ealing Comedies with Art & Hue


Art & Hue has created a new collection of stylish pop art prints to celebrate the 70th anniversary of classic Ealing Comedies.

1949 saw Ealing Studios release "Passport to Pimlico", “Whisky Galore!“, and “Kind Hearts & Coronets”, all within the space of two months, and the British film institution of the Ealing Comedies was firmly established.


In many ways, the Ealing comedies set the groundwork for the Carry On films: an ensemble cast, much like a repertory theatre in that they were employed across different films, and a very home-grown British humour with no concessions made to international audiences. 



Sid James was in "The Titfield Thunderbolt" and "The Lavender Hill Mob", Charles Hawtrey was in "Passport to Pimlico" and "Who Done It?", Hattie Jacques was in "The Love Lottery", Joan Sims and Irene Handl appeared in "Meet Mr. Lucifer", and Liz Fraser's first ever film role was in an Ealing comedy.

Many Carry On actors cut their teeth in the Ealing comedies, for example, the cast of "Passport to Pimlico" included Sydney Tafler, who went on to appear in Carry On Regardless, Reg Thomason from Carry On Cowboy, Jim O'Brady from Carry On Jack, Hyma Beckley from Carry On Cruising, Fred Griffiths from Carry On Loving, and many other crossover connections of supporting cast.

Another example, the Ealing comedy "Who Done It?", starring Benny Hill, featured a whole host of supporting cast members who went on to appear in future Carry Ons, such as Fred Machon, Ernie Rice, Denis Shaw, Pat Ryan, Chris Adcock, Philip Stewart, Rita Tobin-Weske, Ronnie Brody, Mabel Etherington, Anthony Lang, Chick Fowles, Ian Selby, Gey Standeven, and Terence Alexander.



An official collaboration with Studiocanal, Art & Hue has delved into the archives to create these stylish pop art prints, featuring Ealing Studios regulars Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim, Stanley Holloway, Joan Greenwood, Gordon Jackson, and Basil Radford, who all appeared in more than one of the Ealing comedies.

Exclusively by Art & Hue, the collection is available in three sizes and 18 colour options, printed on museum-quality archival card of 310gsm, made from 100% cotton, with fine-art pigment inks for longevity. 


Visit artandhue.com/ealing to see the full collection.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

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