Kipps (1941 film)
Encyclopedia
Kipps, also known as The Remarkable Mr. Kipps, is a 1941
comedy film
adaptation of H. G. Wells
' novel of the same name
, directed by Carol Reed
. Michael Redgrave
stars as a draper's assistant who inherits a large fortune.
Kipps goes to work for Mr. Shalford (Lloyd Pearson). Years pass and Kipps grows up into an unremarkable young man. One day, he attends a free lecture on self improvement presented by Chester Coote (Max Adrian
) and decides to take a course. Coote, disdaining Kipps' lower class origins, steers the young man away from the literature class he wants to take to a woodworking class taught by the aristocratic Helen Walshingham (Diana Wynyard
). Kipps is soon smitten with his lovely teacher, but she is mindful of his social inferiority and ignores him.
One night, actor and playwright Chitterlow (Arthur Riscoe), riding a bicycle, collides with Kipps and rips his trousers. He takes Kipps back to his lodgings to repair his clothes. They get drunk together, while Chitterlow tells Kipps about his latest play, a comedy involving a beetle. By coincidence, one of Chitterlow's characters is also called Kipps, a name the writer got from a newspaper advertisement.
When Kipps shows up for work late, he is sacked for breaking one of Mr. Shalford's strict rules of conduct. Then, Chitterlow tells Kipps that the advertisement was about him. It turns out Kipps has inherited a large house and a fortune (£26,000) from a grandfather he had never met.
Chitterlow talks Kipps into investing £300 in his new play for a half share. At the bank, they run into Mr. Coote. Coote suggests Kipps employ new solicitor Ronnie Walshingham (Michael Wilding
) to look after his fortune. When Kipps finds out the man is Helen's brother, he becomes interested.
Soon, Coote and the Walshinghams have maneuvered the naive Kipps into an engagement with Helen (though he needs no encouragement). Then, Kipps meets Ann, now a parlour maid, on her day off. His feelings for her resurface and he kisses her. Later, when he and the Walshinghams attend a party, Kipps is mortified to find the front door opened by Ann. During the gathering, Ann overhears the news of his engagement to Helen and rushes away. Kipps finds her and tells her he loves her. They sneak away to get married.
The newlyweds clash over Kipps' insistence on maintaining his lofty social position. Then, Kipps receives a request to go to Ronnie Walshingham's office. Dreading a breach-of-promise suit, Kipps is surprised to meet not Ronnie, but Helen. She has terrible news for him. Ronnie has lost all Kipps' money and fled. The good-natured man reassures Helen that he will not set the police on her brother.
Just when all seems blackest, Chitterlow shows up in the middle of the night and informs Kipps that his play is a great success, and Kipps has a half share in the profits. It is enough for Kipps to set up a bookshop and live comfortably with Ann and their baby son.
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
adaptation of H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' novel of the same name
Kipps
Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. Humorous yet sympathetic, this perceptive social novel is generally regarded as a masterpiece, and was the author's own favourite work.-Plot:...
, directed by Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
. Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
stars as a draper's assistant who inherits a large fortune.
Plot
The day before the fourteen-year-old Kipps leaves to begin a seven year apprenticeship in a draper's shop, he asks his friend's sister, Ann Pornick, to be his girl. She gladly agrees.Kipps goes to work for Mr. Shalford (Lloyd Pearson). Years pass and Kipps grows up into an unremarkable young man. One day, he attends a free lecture on self improvement presented by Chester Coote (Max Adrian
Max Adrian
Max Adrian was a Northern Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre....
) and decides to take a course. Coote, disdaining Kipps' lower class origins, steers the young man away from the literature class he wants to take to a woodworking class taught by the aristocratic Helen Walshingham (Diana Wynyard
Diana Wynyard
Diana Wynyard, CBE , whose birth name was Dorothy Isobel Cox, was an English stage and film actress.-Life and career:...
). Kipps is soon smitten with his lovely teacher, but she is mindful of his social inferiority and ignores him.
One night, actor and playwright Chitterlow (Arthur Riscoe), riding a bicycle, collides with Kipps and rips his trousers. He takes Kipps back to his lodgings to repair his clothes. They get drunk together, while Chitterlow tells Kipps about his latest play, a comedy involving a beetle. By coincidence, one of Chitterlow's characters is also called Kipps, a name the writer got from a newspaper advertisement.
When Kipps shows up for work late, he is sacked for breaking one of Mr. Shalford's strict rules of conduct. Then, Chitterlow tells Kipps that the advertisement was about him. It turns out Kipps has inherited a large house and a fortune (£26,000) from a grandfather he had never met.
Chitterlow talks Kipps into investing £300 in his new play for a half share. At the bank, they run into Mr. Coote. Coote suggests Kipps employ new solicitor Ronnie Walshingham (Michael Wilding
Michael Wilding (actor)
-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
) to look after his fortune. When Kipps finds out the man is Helen's brother, he becomes interested.
Soon, Coote and the Walshinghams have maneuvered the naive Kipps into an engagement with Helen (though he needs no encouragement). Then, Kipps meets Ann, now a parlour maid, on her day off. His feelings for her resurface and he kisses her. Later, when he and the Walshinghams attend a party, Kipps is mortified to find the front door opened by Ann. During the gathering, Ann overhears the news of his engagement to Helen and rushes away. Kipps finds her and tells her he loves her. They sneak away to get married.
The newlyweds clash over Kipps' insistence on maintaining his lofty social position. Then, Kipps receives a request to go to Ronnie Walshingham's office. Dreading a breach-of-promise suit, Kipps is surprised to meet not Ronnie, but Helen. She has terrible news for him. Ronnie has lost all Kipps' money and fled. The good-natured man reassures Helen that he will not set the police on her brother.
Just when all seems blackest, Chitterlow shows up in the middle of the night and informs Kipps that his play is a great success, and Kipps has a half share in the profits. It is enough for Kipps to set up a bookshop and live comfortably with Ann and their baby son.
Cast
- Philip Frost as Kipps as a boy
- Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
as Kipps as a man - Diana WynyardDiana WynyardDiana Wynyard, CBE , whose birth name was Dorothy Isobel Cox, was an English stage and film actress.-Life and career:...
as Helen Walshingham - Diana Calderwood as Ann Pornick as a girl
- Phyllis CalvertPhyllis CalvertPhyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
as Ann Pornick as a woman - Arthur RiscoeArthur Riscoe-Selected filmography:* Horatio's Deception * For Love of You * Public Nuisance No. 1 * Paradise for Two * Kipps -External links:...
as Chitterlow - Max AdrianMax AdrianMax Adrian was a Northern Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre....
as Chester Coote - Helen HayeHelen HayeHelen Haye was a British stage and film actress.She began acting on the stage in 1898 and debuted in London in 1911 as Gertrude in Hamlet. Her film career began in 1917. She often worked with director Alexander Korda...
as Mrs. Walshingham - Betty Jardine as Doris
- Michael WildingMichael Wilding (actor)-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
as Ronnie Walshingham - Lloyd PearsonLloyd Pearson-Selected filmography:* The Challenge * Kipps * Banana Ridge * When We Are Married * Schweik's New Adventures * My Learned Friend * Time Flies * The Agitator...
as Shalford - Edward RigbyEdward RigbyEdward Rigby was a British character actor.-Early life:Rigby was the son of Jamaican-born Dr. William Harriot Coke and his wife Liverpool-born Mary Elizabeth of 17 High Street, Ashford. He was educated at Haileybury, and Wye Agricultural College...
as Buggins, an older Shalford employee