Hackney Picturehouse’s First Film Theory Class: Ealing Comedies!

Ealing Comedies.As post-war Britain began rebuilding, Michael Balcon’s Ealing Studios (“The Studio with the Team Spirit”) were starting a mild revolution by tapping into a rich vein of British humour.From the murderous antics of Dennis Price killing off his relatives; the exhilarating sight of Alec Guinness’s timorous bank clerk running amok with stolen gold-plated Eiffel Towers, and the cunning tricks of Scottish islanders who hide 50,000 cases of whisky their films (including PASSPORT TO PIMLICO, WHISKEY GALORE and KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS and THE LADYKILLERS) highlighted the small man’s struggle against authority, the subversive and cynical side of British life, all displayed with wit and charm.Throughout the course we will look (with the aid of extracts) into the background and making of the finest body of comedy films British Cinema has produced, the social history that surrounded them, and their legacy within cinema today.This six-week course will run on Mondays from 7-9pm starting on Monday 6 February in the Education Suite at Hackney Picturehouse.Price: £65 / £60 Concessions and Students / £55 Members.Course Leader:.Graham Rinaldi is a freelance film lecturer and writer. Work has included illustrated talks from Westerns to British Comedies; film and television reminiscence seminars and workshops around the UK. He has also contributed to the BFI’s website Screenonline. He is the author of the biography of British comic actor, Will Hay.https://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Hackney_Picturehouse/film/Film_Theory_Class_Ealing_Comedies/