Martin Bradley "Private's Progress" was the first of the Boulting Brothers' anti-establishment satires, (this time it was the army getting it), and over the years it has built up something of a reputation. It's also very funny, (more 'Private Eye' than 'Punch'), and much more cynical than other British comedies of the time. It introduced us to Ian Carmichael's character Stanley Windrush, the perpetual innocent abroad in a world of charlatans and n'er-do-wells beautifully represented by the likes of Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price and, best of all, the great Terry-Thomas. They are all great company and other familiar faces in the cast include Ian Bannen, William Hartnell, Kenneth Griffith and Christopher Lee. It would take the Americans several years to catch up.

l_rawjalaurence PRIVATE'S PROGRESS, the first of the Boulting Brothers' series of satirical films - produced by themselves in association with British Lion - is a bit of a structural ragbag, with a comic look at army training followed by a dangerous (yet successful) mission to steal German art treasures.Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) is an upper-class twit studying at Oxbridge who is plucked from his safe life as undergraduate to serve as an officer in World War II. He proves totally incompetent in his army training, despite the best efforts of Sgt. Sutton (William Hartnell) to train him. He encounters a variety of colorful characters, notably Private Cox (Richard Attenborough) as well as Commanding Officer Hitchcock (Terry-Thomas) who is prone to describing his charges as an "absolute shower!" Having left camp without commission, Windrush is co-opted into a secret mission run by his uncle Bertram Tracepurcel (Dennis Price) that involves a trip to Germany. Disguised as a Nazi officer - although he knows no German - Windrush bumbles his way through the scheme, only to discover at length that its purpose was not what he first assumed.PRIVATE'S PROGRESS follows a familiar path trodden by other Fifties service comedies, notably RELUCTANT HEROES (1951) and CARRY ON SERGEANT (1958) - with Hsrtnell appearing once more in the latter film as an exasperated sergeant. The Boulting Brothers seem intent on showing how many of those on active service during World War II were manifestly unsuited to the task; the fact that Britain actually emerged triumphant was almost in spite rather than due to their efforts. At the time the film was made Carmichael was gradually ascending to stardom; having played another bumbler in SIMON AND LAURA (1955), he was to repeat the same role in I'M ALL RIGHT JACK (1959). The Boultings surround him with a gallery of other incompetents, notably Terry-Thomas, Kenneth Griffith, Victor Maddern and Ian Bannen.On the other hand the film makes some serious points about the levels of crime that took place during the war. Con-artists such as Tracepurcel and Cox flourished at that time, taking advantage of their secure jobs in the services to instigate a series of illegal operations. The fact that are both are found out at the end of the film has more to do with the prevailing codes of censorship at that time, rather than their own ineptitude. Spivs made a highly lucrative living during the Forties, and PRIVATE'S PROGRESS shows explicitly why that was the case.

Joxerlives Rather amazing that such a film could be made in this period, when memories of the Second World War were still fresh in everyone's minds and National Service was still in full swing. I think it works partly because virtually the entire nation had served in uniform and easily recognised each and every character as someone they'd served with. The idea that it is dedicated to all those who got away with the various scams against authority is astonishingly daring for the time but probably touches a common chord in British society in which the war had led to such great social upheaval and questioning of the traditional class system.What an AMAZING cast who would dominated British film and TV comedy for the next half a century. Ian Carmichael is beyond perfect as the epitome of the 'chinless wonder', a hapless upper class twit obviously destined for the officer class (where he could do less harm?) but stuck as a private and adopted by his contemporaries who take pity upon him. Richard Attenborough great as the spiv, amazing to think this is the man who later made Ghandi! William Hartnell playing the tough NCO he would specialise in before becoming Dr Who, Terry Thomas terrific as ever as the pompous Major, a man who was simply born to play roguish authority figures. John Le Meusier too as the psychiatrist and an unbilled Christopher Lee playing the German General's aide. Very much of its' time but you can see its' appeal.

Tim Kidner The Halliwell's Film Guide that I used to get and live by always praised 'Private's Progress', but has it ever been on TV? Not that I know of and as someone in his mid 40's I hardly would have seen it when it was theatrically released.So, now, to my just purchased Terry Thomas Collection; very good value and which includes this film plus five more. I would suggest this be the best way of buying Private's Progress, as the remainder (not seen yet) are well regarded and Thomas starred in some great films.My second viewing in two days and I'm loving the disarmingly naive Ian Carmichael, who isn't quite a fish out of water but is certainly floundering at the edges. The film is set in 1942 and the offbeat intro sets the tone. The script is superb, gently bristling with satirical jibes and subtle in-jokes that are only revealed after repeat viewings. The comedy relies on intelligent writing rather than visual gags, so give it a chance - and concentrate!The cast list is quite an extravaganza, a feast of well-known and famous faces that I was brought up on. Aside of the aforementioned Terry Thomas, who is the entertainingly robust toff Major Hitchcock, John Le Mesurier as an Army psychiatrist and a bounder of a chancing fellow private, Richard Attenborough. As Private Cox, he instigates a major theme of this film, getting out all you can from an unfortunate situation that war happens to be. We might associate such waspish satire with the likes of Hollywood writers such as Billy Wilder and his 'Stalag 17', but this is our very own, very English example.There's also an array of other, lesser characters that will be familiar to anybody who watches Brit movies of the '60s.It all rolls along nicely, fairly briskly leading to a rather bizarre situation that finds Windrush moving into Intelligence, becoming a Japanese translator but gets sent on a mission to Germany - where his new found skills prove absolutely useless and he nearly ends up getting shot as he can't speak a word of German! The story about stolen art treasures that his Brigadier uncle (Dennis Price) is having brought back, somewhat unofficially, from occupied Germany quickens the visual pace and sees out the film, ending with Windrush finally back at his old school, where he is a master.Transfer quality: this one is fine, obviously un-restored and slightly grainy, with the odd blemish but seldom noticeable and which is par for the course for a film of this era.So, Private's Progress is a delight, hideously unknown and one of British cinema's little gems.