Stars: Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, John Le Mesurier, Thorley Walters, William Hartnell, Ian Bannen

Director: John Boulting

Summary: An innocent young army recruit is taught some priceless dodges, but becomes a dupe for jewel thieves.

Director John Boulting made this war comedy in reaction to the staid military dramas that had been coming out of England since the end of WWII, and its desire to explode the conventions of the war film are evident in the film's infectious giddiness. Ian Carmichael stars as Stanley Windrush, a young student who is drafted, enters officer's school, and is promptly busted down to the rank of private. However, he soon runs into Pvt. Cox (Attenborough), a savvy soldier who shows him how to scam his way through the war. Soon, the two are leading a platoon into Nazi Germany to liberate some stolen art. With a cast largely populated by great comedians (Terry-Thomas, Dennis Price), PRIVATE'S PROGRESS ranks among the best war comedies ever made. Followed by the sequel I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK.

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With a remarkable cast headlined by Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price and Terry Thomas, WWII army comedy Private's Progresswas one of the major British hits of 1956. Carmichael is Stanley Windrush, a naïve young soldier who during training falls in with the streetwise Private Cox (Attenborough). Windrush's uncle is the even more ambitiously corrupt Colonel Tracepurcel (Price), who plans to divert the war effort to liberate art treasures already looted by the Germans. The first half of the film is quite pedestrian, though the pace picks up considerably once the heist gets underway, and the cheery tone masks a really rather dark and cynical heart.

Carmichael's innocent abroad quickly wears thin, but Attenborough and Price steal the film, as well as the paintings, with typically excellent turns. With a nod in the direction of Ealing's The Ladykillers(1955) the film also anticipates the attitudes of both The League of Gentlemen(1959) and Joseph Heller's novel Catch 22(1961), though lacks the latter's greater sophistication. The cast also contains such British stalwarts as William Hartnell, Peter Jones, Ian Bannen, John Le Mesurier, Christopher Lee and David Lodge, and was sufficiently popular to reunite all the major players for the superior sequel, I'm Alright Jack(1959).

On the DVD:Private's Progressis presented in black and white at 4:3 Academy ratio, though the film appears to have been shot full frame and then unmasked for home viewing so there is more top and bottom to the images than at the cinema. The print used shows constant minor damage and is quite grainy, though no more than expected for a low-budget film of the time. The mono sound is average and unremarkable, and there are no special features. --Gary S Dalkin

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1956
Release Date:	February 16, 2004
Runtime:	96 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 038119
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Progress, Private's
Genre:	Comedy