The Good Beginning
{{short description|1953 film}}
{{Infobox film
| image = File:The Good Beginning.jpeg
| caption =
| director = Gilbert Gunn
| producer =
| writer = Janet Green
| starring = John Fraser
Eileen Moore
Peter Reynolds
| music = Robert Gill
| cinematography = Lionel Banes
| editing = Richard Best
| studio = Associated British Picture Corporation
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1953}}
| runtime = 65 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
The Good Beginning is a 1953 British drama film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring John Fraser, Eileen Moore and Peter Reynolds.{{Cite web |title=The Good Beginning |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150030385 |access-date=30 January 2025 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{Cite web |title=The Good Beginning |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114011308/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35010 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |website=BFI}}{{cite web |title=The Good Beginning (1953) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ab5921f |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904041345/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ab5921f |archive-date=4 September 2018 |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=BFI}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/peter-reynolds-forgotten-cad/|date=11 November 2024|access-date=11 November 2024|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Peter Reynolds: Forgotten Cad}} It was written by Janet Green.
Plot
Recently married Johnny and Kit Lipton move into their new flat, and Kit tries to run the family home economically. Since she insists on only paying for things using the cash they have, there are few luxuries. When he is promoted at work, Johnny pays a deposit on a fur coat for Kit. When he falls behind on the payments, he turns – unsuccessfully – to gambling. When the furrier threatens to repossess the coat, to repay the debt Johnny embezzles money from his office. His friend Brian Watson rescues him, by persuading Kit to sell the coat and get the stolen money back to the company.
Cast
- John Fraser as Johnny Lipson
- Eileen Moore as Kit Lipson
- Peter Reynolds as Brian Watson
- Lana Morris as Evie Watson
- Humphrey Lestocq as Thorogood
- Hugh Pryse as Braithwaite
- Ann Stephens as Polly
- Peter Jones as furrier
- David Kossoff as dealer
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "'There is really not enough material here to make a successful film; had it been treated as a comedy it might have shown some vitality, but the theme, which seems to be that if only one can become self-employed most money troubles will cease, is quite artificial. The script presents problems which few of the players can surmount and, though they do their best, only Peter Jones seems really at ease."{{Cite magazine |date=1 January 1953 |title=The Good Beginning |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305819342 |url-access=subscription |magazine=The Monthly Film Bulletin |pages=177 |via=ProQuest |volume=20 |issue=228}}
Kine Weekly wrote: "Shrewd, snappy and morally sound domestic comedy drama. ... John Fraser and Eileen Moore admirably suggest the middle-class hero and heroine and their unaffected portrayals, backed up by resourceful direction, smoothly underline its basic human and humorous qualities, while at the same time contributing to a suspenseful climax. ... John Fraser and Eileen Moore are ideally cast as Johnny and Kit, and Peter Reynolds and Lana Morris score in contrast and create effective light relief as Brian and Evie. ... The dénouement has real suspense and completes a little gem of its type."{{Cite magazine |date=22 October 1953 |title=The Good Beginning |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2738578832 |url-access=subscription |magazine=Kine Weekly |pages=18 |via=ProQuest |volume=439 |issue=2417}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Too modest to be either comedy or drama."{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=316}}
References
Bibliography
- Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press, 2007.
External links
- {{IMDb title|0216783}}
{{Gilbert Gunn}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Beginning, The}}
Category:Films shot at Associated British Studios
Category:Films directed by Gilbert Gunn
Category:British black-and-white films