Barnacle Bill (1957)

Rating U
Length 1h27
Release 17.12.1957
Director Charles Freed
About Captain William Ambrose purchases a devastated amusement pier after retirement. He comes up with various business ideas, but in vain. Soon, he must deal with a man who wants to demolish the pier.
Moon: full moon seen
Where to Watch: 4OD
Trailer:

The Good

Alec Guinness is a delight, as always. There’s just something so endearingly charming about him, even when he is playing someone with the quirks of Captain Ambrose.

The bookend storytelling device, one that I mostly associate with Hammer Horror, works well here. I adore the opening in which the pub closes much, MUCH, earlier than we would expect and Ambrose takes the reporter to the bank over the road.

It’s funny, charming and full to the brim of everything that makes Ealing Comedy great. In fact, this film reads like a Carry On… film, without the over zealous and salacious double entendre.

The Bad

This film has a most excellent ‘bad guy’ in which Ambrose and his associates go up against. It makes for a wonderful underdog story that you will want to see out to the end.
Partly I think because nothing has changed and this local council is much more representative of our government today. It’s nigh impossible for us to get a win and our government have done way more egregious things as embezzlement. However, there’s something cathartic about the underdog getting a win.

The Ugly

Poor Mrs Barrington. She’s a force to be reckoned with and there’s even a hint of a romance with Captain Ambrose. However it all falls by the wayside for the second half of the movie and she becomes a mere ornament for the final act.
I wish they had her as strong throughout; giving her something to do or achieve that wasn’t directly linked to Ambrose.

The opening, and some of the scenes in Ambrose’s cabin, didn’t half make me sea sick. I guess that’s one way to have you empathise with the main character, but I would have preferred a less interactive and visceral way.

Final Thoughts

A charming snapshot of years long past. I do wonder if a remake could be made around the currently closed, and condemned, Southport Pier. It would be a novel way to raise the funds for its reparations.