Stars: Elizabeth Allen, Leslie Banks, Frank Lawton, Basil Sydney, Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Googie Withers, Basil Radford, Roland Culver, Cedric Hardwicke, Stanley Holloway, Sybil Thorndike, Bernard Miles, Derek Bond, James Robertson Justice, John Mills, Kenneth More, Christopher Lee

Director: Alberto Cavalcanti

Summary: In 'Went The Day Well' a small English village is invaded by German paratroopers disguised as soldiers of the Royal Engineers. A could-it-happen propaganda film from World War II. In 'Dead Of Night' Walter Craig visits Pilgrim's Farm and recognises all the guests but he doesn't know from where. Eventually he realises that their faces constantly recur in a dream of unspeakable horror. 'Nichols Nickleby' is the classic Charles Dicken's tale of a man who is deprived of his inheritance and travels to seek his fortune with a group of gypsies. 'Scott Of The Antarctic' is a film adaptation of the dangerous 1912 expedition to conquer the South Pole. Scott's intrepid team are beaten by the Norwegians in the Arctic race and the heroic journey ended in catastrophe.

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The Ealing Classics Collectionpresents four films from the great British studio, which, unlike the two sets devoted to Ealing Comedy, have at first glance little in common. Apart from many of the same names before and behind the cameras, what really connects Went the Day Well?(1942), Dead of Night(1945), Nicholas Nickleby(1947) and Scott of the Antarctic(1948) is Ealing's commitment to well-written, high-quality drama realised with the best possible production values.

British patriotism at its best links Went the Day Well?with Scott of the Antarctic. The former is a wartime propaganda morale-booster that doesn't shirk from showing the cost of the conflict, but provides genuine excitement as a small German advance force take over a Midlands village--a plot later reworked in The Eagle Has Landed(1977). Director Alberto Cavalcanti handles events with neo-documentary efficiency and William Walton's score cannot fail to stir. No less a composer than Vaughan Williams scored Scott, delivering one of the finest in film history, while Ealing spared no expense on Technicolor location filming. The result is occasionally too tableau-like and historically inaccurate--the mini-series Shackleton(2002) is more commendable in this respect--but remains a gripping and ultimately very moving drama.

The darker side of life is explored by Cavalcanti in a suitably stark version of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, a film unfortunately overshadowed by David Lean's double whammy of Great Expectations(1946) and Oliver Twist(1948). Here Derek Bond is fine as Nicholas and a superb supporting cast, including Cedric Hardwicke and Stanley Holloway, ensure this is a first-rate production. Dead of Nightoffers one of the earliest examples of the anthology horror film, all wrapped in a decades-ahead-of-its-time framing narrative that nightmarishly twists reality inside-out. Most famous is the sequence with Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist possessed by his own dummy, an idea later expanded to feature length with Anthony Hopkins in Magic(1978). Still unsettling six decades on, this all-time horror classic is only marred by a terrible comedy golf skit.

On the DVDEaling Classicspresents each film on its own DVD without extras. All four are in the original 4:3 ratio, in black and white, apart from Scott of the Antarctic. The audio is functional mono, and, while dialogue and sound effects are very clear, the music tracks are often distorted.

Picture quality is very variable, with Went the Day Well?being taken from an excellent print. Dead of Night, though, is constantly beset by small sparkles, with much more serious print damage being in evidence, making this a very below-par presentation for such a classic film. Nicholas Nicklebyranks somewhere in between, with a print showing various forms of constant but minor damage and offering a rather indistinct image in the darker scenes. The big budget Technicolor of Scott of the Antarcticis a little muted and the many snow scenes show a considerable amount of grain, but otherwise the print is in very good condition. --Gary S Dalkin

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Four Art Postcards of the Original Film Posters
Year:	1942
Release Date:	September 8, 2003
Runtime:	403 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 038498
Label:	Canal Plus
Keywords:	Day, Night, Collection, Dead, Box, Classics, General, Scott, Set, Nicholas, Nickleby, Went, Well, Drama, Antarctic, Ealing, Nickelby
Genre:	Drama