The Film:
The Rank Organisation is one of the most well known recognisable companies to have ever graced the world of cinema. At one point owning some of the biggest studios known including Pinewood Studios (the home of James Bond) and various chains of cinemas including Paramount Odeon, people instantly knew the film was from The Rank Organisation as soon as it started with a man hitting a huge gong. Little do people know however is that Pinewood also owned Mecca Gaming, Grosvenor Casinos and The Hard Rock Cafe restaurants so popular with people who have a love for Hollywood. Despite owning so many international companies, Rank's biggest thing in the fifties was the art of the British comedy, showing that we have been the funniest nation since way before Ricky Gervais.
In The Card, Alec Guiness plays Edward Henry Machin, known more fondly as Denry. Whilst Denry is looking at job vacancies in a shop window he sees a man drop his wallet. He soon realises that the man owns a local well-to-do business which happens to have a vacancy as a clerk. When he is given the task of writing the invitations to the Countess of Chell's ball, he writes an invitation to himself. When his boss finds out and gives him the boot he slowly takes the customers and starts his own rent collecting business. He soon becomes known as The Card because he lends debtors money to pay their rent providing they pay him back over following weeks. As business blossoms he ventures into a boating business aswell as starting a 'club' which is basically a credit card business of yesteryear. As rags turn to riches he takes it upon himself to help others including his local football club, aims to become mayor and fights off the women.
The Card is a comedy with a stellar cast as well as an underrated director (Ronald Neame - The Poseidon Adventure) and it hits the target on a lot of levels. The laughs, whilst they don't come as often as I would like, hit the nail on the head when they do appear and the story, though formulaic, plods along well enough to keep you entertained. Whilst it certainly isn't as good as other British comedies, it is still above average and is a must buy for fans of either the genre or of the cast. Recommended.
Picture:
Network have provided the film in it's original fullscreen state and whilst they have obviously done some work on the print I have to admit that I was disappointed it hadn't been treated aswell as The League of Gentlemen. The definition between the various blacks and whites are good but there is noticeable grain throughout aswell as the occasional scratch. No subtitles have been provided.
Audio:
Network have provided the film with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono track and it's perfectly serviceable. Dialogue is clear at all times and volume levels are consistent. Unfortunately it is spoiled by too much background hiss which is noticeable throughout the film.
Extras:
We start the extras with what is somewhat a surprise in the way of a TV play from 1983 entitled "Edwin". The play is a light hearted company in which Alec Guiness plays Sir Fennimore Truscott, a retired judge who wonders about the fidelity of his wife and the true paternity of his son. Well worth a watch even if it is twenty minutes overlong at 79:02.
We also get an image gallery (1:12) and a trailer (3:07).
