Private's Progress
Encyclopedia
Private's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film
based on the novel by Alan Hackney
. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting
, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey
.
and follows the adventures of young undergraduate Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael
), who is conscripted into the British Army
. Unlike his friend Egan (Peter Jones
), Windrush is a most reluctant soldier and struggles through basic training at Gravestone barracks. Failing his officer selection board, he is posted to a holding unit, under the command of Major Hitchcock. Most of the soldiers are malingerers and drop-outs.
Windrush is finally posted to train as a Japanese interpreter, where he becomes the prize pupil. He's then contacted by his uncle, now a senior officer in the War Office
, to join a secret operation known only as "Hatrack". He is quickly commissioned and the operation is launched, ostensibly to recover looted artworks from the Germans, but in fact to steal the works and sell them to two very dodgy art dealers.
Windrush survives the operation, despite being briefly arrested by British forces whilst in German uniform, and is discharged from the army. He returns to University, but when some of the artworks are found to have identical copies in circulation, the game is up.
, however a number of scenes were filmed at Wantage Hall
, a hall of residence for the University of Reading
.
It was the first in a series of successful satirical comedies made by the Boulting brothers for their production company Charter Films. Their 1959 comedy I'm All Right Jack
also featured many of the same actors and characters. A number of references are made to the events of Private's Progress.
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...
based on the novel by Alan Hackney
Alan Hackney
Alan Charles Langley Hackney was an English novelist and screenwriter.. He was educated at Thornleigh College, Bolton, and while at Manchester University was called up to the army...
. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting
John and Roy Boulting
John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting , known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:The twin brothers were born in Bray, Berkshire, England...
, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey
Frank Harvey
Frank Harvey was an English screenwriter who jointly won a BAFTA Award with John Boulting and Alan Hackney for I'm All Right Jack in 1960. He was born 11 August 1912 in Manchester. During his career he was nominated for a second BAFTA for Private's Progress. He died 6 November 1981 in Ottery St...
.
Plot
The action takes place during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and follows the adventures of young undergraduate Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael
Ian Carmichael
Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.-Early life:Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA...
), who is conscripted into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Unlike his friend Egan (Peter Jones
Peter Jones (actor)
Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
), Windrush is a most reluctant soldier and struggles through basic training at Gravestone barracks. Failing his officer selection board, he is posted to a holding unit, under the command of Major Hitchcock. Most of the soldiers are malingerers and drop-outs.
Windrush is finally posted to train as a Japanese interpreter, where he becomes the prize pupil. He's then contacted by his uncle, now a senior officer in the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, to join a secret operation known only as "Hatrack". He is quickly commissioned and the operation is launched, ostensibly to recover looted artworks from the Germans, but in fact to steal the works and sell them to two very dodgy art dealers.
Windrush survives the operation, despite being briefly arrested by British forces whilst in German uniform, and is discharged from the army. He returns to University, but when some of the artworks are found to have identical copies in circulation, the game is up.
Production
The film was primarily filmed at Shepperton StudiosShepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
, however a number of scenes were filmed at Wantage Hall
Wantage Hall
Wantage Hall, built 1908, is the oldest hall of residence at the University of Reading. The hall is in the town of Reading in the UK. The displayed motto "Astra castra, Numen lumen" is that of the Knights of the Maccabees...
, a hall of residence for the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
.
It was the first in a series of successful satirical comedies made by the Boulting brothers for their production company Charter Films. Their 1959 comedy I'm All Right Jack
I'm All Right Jack
I'm All Right Jack is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney, based on the novel Private Life by Hackney...
also featured many of the same actors and characters. A number of references are made to the events of Private's Progress.
Partial cast
- Ian CarmichaelIan CarmichaelIan Gillett Carmichael, OBE was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.-Early life:Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA...
as Stanley Windrush - Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Private Cox - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
as Brigadier Bertram Tracepurcel - Terry-ThomasTerry-ThomasThomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
as Major Hitchcock - Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
as Egan - William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as Sergeant Sutton - Thorley WaltersThorley WaltersThorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
as Captain Bootle - Jill AdamsJill AdamsJill Adams was an English actress artist and fashion model. She featured or starred in over 25 films during the 1950s and 1960s....
as Prudence Greenslade - Ian BannenIan BannenIan Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
as Private Horrocks - Victor MaddernVictor MaddernVictor Jack Maddern was an English actor.Born in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, Maddern was one of large group of dependable supporting actors that British film produced over the years....
as Private Blake - Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
as Private Jones - George CoulourisGeorge CoulourisGeorge Coulouris was a prominent English film and stage actor.-Early life:Coulouris was born in Manchester, England, the son of Abigail and Nicholas Coulouris, a merchant of Greek origin. He was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School...
as Padre - Derrick De MarneyDerrick De MarneyDerrick De Marney was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry.-Actor:On the London stage from 1922 and films from 1928...
as Pat - Ronald AdamRonald Adam (actor)Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
as Doctor at medical hearing - Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
as Windrush Sr. - Sally Miles as Catherine
- David King-WoodDavid King-WoodDavid King-Wood was a British actor.He was born in Tehran, Iran , the youngest of four children...
as Gerald - Brian OultonBrian OultonBrian Oulton was an English character actor.Born in Liverpool, he made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor...
as M.O. at Gravestone Camp - Michael TrubshaweMichael TrubshaweMichael Trubshawe was a British actor and former officer in the Highland Regiment of the British Army. Trubshawe was very close friends with the famous British actor David Niven, serving as best man for both Niven's weddings, and is constantly referred to in Niven's memoirs The Moon's a Balloon,...
as Col. Fanshawe - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as Psychiatrist - Robert RaglanRobert RaglanRobert Raglan was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in Dad's Army, as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as Fabian of the Yard and The Haunted House of Horror...
as Gen. Tomlinson - Henry OscarHenry OscarHenry Oscar was an English stage and film actor.Born as Henry Wale, he changed his name and began acting in 1911 and appeared in a wide range of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much , Fire Over England , The Four Feathers , Hatter's Castle ,...
as Art expert - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as General von Linbeck's aide - Basil DignamBasil DignamBasil Dignam was an English character actor.Basil Dignam, a native of Sheffield, acted on film and television between 1951 and 1975. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as a police officer, army general or peer....
as Col. Martin (president of Selection Board) - John HarveyJohn Harvey (actor)John Harvey was an English actor. He appeared in 52 films, two television films and made 70 television guest appearances between 1948 and 1979....
as RAF officer at headquarters - Glyn HoustonGlyn HoustonGlyn Houston , is an actor best known for his television work. He is the brother of the late film actor Donald Houston.-Early life:...
as Corporal on sick call - Lloyd LambleLloyd LambleLloyd Nelson Lamble was an Australian actor who worked in theatre, television, radio and film. He lived and worked two-thirds of his life in the United Kingdom .- Personal life :...
as Officer at medical hearing - David LodgeDavid Lodge (actor)David William Frederick Lodge was a British character actor.Before turning to acting he worked as a circus clown...
as Lance Corporal on guard duty, Holding Unit - Marianne StoneMarianne StoneMarianne Stone was a British character actress. She appeared in many films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s...
as Expectant mother talking to Capt Bootle - Michael WardMichael Ward (actor)Michael Ward was an English character actor who appeared in nearly eighty films between 1947 and 1978.-Early life:...
as Sidney (guest at party) - John Warren as Sergeant Major Gradwick