Thursday, August 27, 2020

Old Enemies Teaming Up Against Nazis!

 



I hadn't seen Bedknobs and Broomsticks since it originally played in the theaters in 1971. I actually didn't remember a lot about it. It was mostly the finale that stuck in my mind--the images of magically animated suits of armor fighting Nazis. To my young mind, that was awesome.

Well, by golly, it's STILL awesome. In fact, as a grown-up, I realize it is awesome in many ways that hadn't originally occured to me as a child.

Angela decided one night recently that she wanted to watch it. So we rented it and did so. The plot is a lady learning to be a witch. She lives in a small town near the coast in England during World War II and has just been unwillingly saddled with three children who were evacuated from London during the Blitz. (There was a part of me that was hoping the Pevensie kids would have a cameo when the Bedknob kids are at the train station.)

The kids soon discover that Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) can do magic, though she's not very good at it. She's been taking a correspondence course on the subject.

But when she receives a letter telling her the course was cancelled before she receives the magic words for the final spell (a spell allowing her to bring inanimate objects to life), she uses a magical bedknob to travel (with the kids) to London to find Mr. Brown (David Tomlinson), who taught the course.

Tomlinson is a con artist and street merchant who had no idea the spells he was sending her actually work. But the book from which he was taking the spells is missing the last page. So they all end up trying to track down a source for the magic words--a quest which takes them to a land populated by talking animals. 



So far, it's all been great fun. The animated sequence involving a soccer game played by the animals involves some clever and funny slapstick action. An earlier musical number ("Portobello Road") works both as a lively number AND involves some subtle character development. The prissy Miss Price starts to liven up, while Mr. Brown (despite some shady aspects to his personality) turns out to have a healthy sense of both fun and community. That the two of them end up in love by the end of the film is predictable, but also surprisingly believable. 



But the really, really awesome part is the final act. A small force of German soldiers has landed in England from a U-Boat, intending to destroy British morale by showing they are vulnerable to a full-scale invasion any time. But by now, Miss Price has the words for that magic spell.

She also has access to a surprisingly large number of suits of armor and military uniforms in the local museum. 



The sequence is staged magnificently, with a seemingly endless line of animated armor--immune to bullets because no one is inside them--marching relentlessly towards the Germans and sending them running for the shore in panic. 

And, watching as an adult, I noticed something that got by me as a kid. Its something that isn't even overtly commented on in the movie, but it's there.

The armor and uniforms are from various periods in British history, including examples of those soldiers who would have once fought each other. Redcoats are fighting alongside Highlanders, while we see Roundheads marching towards the Nazies along side a Cavalier. 

They may have tried to kill each other during their time in history, but when the Germans set foot on British soil, all that is set aside. All that matters is kicking Nazi butt and scouring them from the English countryside!

It truly is awesome.


6 comments:

  1. This is his wife - he forgot to mention that WWI veterans even got their opportunity to kick some Nazi butt. So every era of British military history is depicted.

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  2. Good point. The WWI vets working in the Home Guard got in their licks at the end.

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  3. Also worth noting is the opening credits, which are based on the Bayeux Tapestry--reworked and redrawn to reflect this story, of course.

    I hope you watched the restored version--it clears up a lot that was left out in the theatrical version, such as why Roddy McDowell gets third billing in the credits for a part that lasts about three seconds onscreen. His part is more substantial and justified in the restored version. The re-dubbing of the cut scenes is a bit jarring with different voice actors, but at least Angela was available to re-record her own lines.

    And that last battle is certainly one of the most remarkable ever staged in any film. I,too, noticed the variety of uniforms representing different eras in the history of the UK. The music cues also provide period-appropriate embellishments.

    There are many great moments, but one of my favorites is after Miss Price has finished her incantation and stillness reigns in the museum. Then bit by bit the instruments, the banners, and the suits of armor start coming to life. Gives me chills every time!

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    1. We rented it via Amazon streaming, which was the theatrical version. I am aware of the restored version. My understanding is that the run time had to be trimmed in order to have it premiere at Radio City and still leave time for the stage show. I've heard mostly good things about it, though I've also run across an opinion that the extended version of Portobello Road becomes something of an endurance test.

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  4. If you like big, lush production numbers it is in no way an endurance test. Rather, it adds to the subtext of the film. It shows a whole variety of regiments and uniforms, an eclectic mix of colors and styles, underscoring further the various types of then-current military as the past military is laid out later on in the ghostly battle sequence. It is also the only glimpse the film offers of the wider world, demonstrating the far-reaching benefits that Miss Price could potentially achieve through mastery of the spell. "Portobello Road" reveals how all-encompassing WWII was. Also includes some subtle and not-so-subtle revelations about the main characters.

    Once having seen the extended version, I never want to see the cut version. Much as I enjoyed the shorter version when it was all I had, I savor the longer one. But of course it's a matter of individual taste.

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    1. I agree with everything you said about Portobello Road. I was simply citing one person's opinion about the extended cut of Portobello Road (assuming that person was remembering correctly about that particular musical number also being longer in the extended cut). We have the DVD at the library at which I work. I'll have to see if it includes the extended version.

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