As a lighthearted satire on British army life during the last war, Private's Progress has moments of sheer joy based on real authenticity. But it is not content to rest on satire alone and introduces an unreal melodramatic adventure which robs the story of much of its charm. The Boulting Brothers obviously felt there must be some point to the plot and they've added an adventure tailpiece in which a War Office brigadier invades enemy territory to bring back valuable art treasures to Britain.

As a lighthearted satire on British army life during the last war, Private’s Progress has moments of sheer joy based on real authenticity. But it is not content to rest on satire alone and introduces an unreal melodramatic adventure which robs the story of much of its charm. The Boulting Brothers obviously felt there must be some point to the plot and they’ve added an adventure tailpiece in which a War Office brigadier invades enemy territory to bring back valuable art treasures to Britain.

The basic comedy, however, derives from the depiction of the typical misfit into the army way of life. Ian Carmichael is shown as the earnest university student who interrupts his studies to join the forces. He is a lamentable failure.

Many weaknesses of the yarn are surmounted by the allround performances of the cast. Carmichael does remarkably well. Richard Attenborough is in confident mood as a private who soon gets to know his way around. Dennis Price gives a smooth study as the brigadier.

Jump to Comments

Private’s Progress

UK

  • Production: Charter/British Lion. Director John Boulting; Producer John Boulting, Roy Boulting; Screenplay Frank Harvey, John Boulting; Camera Eric Cross; Editor Anthony Harvey; Music John Addison
  • Crew: (B&W) Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1956. Running time: 102 MIN.
  • With: Richard Attenborough Dennis Price Terry-Thomas Ian Carmichael Peter Jones William Hartnell

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9mhnaBjp%2BgpaVfp7K3tcSwqmioop7DosDEZqpmqKKktLOx0qxkampgZYFyhI9tbGg%3D