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Old 30-11-2005, 03:25 PM
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Default Val Guest At The Nft On Monday Dec 5th
94 year old Val Guest is in town and shall be recording an audio commentary for 'Oh Mr Porter!' (hopefully with Roy Ward Baker) as well as answering questions from 'English Gothic' author Jonathan Rigby.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/incinemas/nft/film/6080

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Old 30-11-2005, 03:53 PM
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"Hell is a city" is a great film. Stanley Baker, grimy Manchester, windswept moors. There should have been more British films noir.

Shame Monday's kick off is so flippin' early.
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Old 30-11-2005, 07:32 PM
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Darn it - I have a work commitment I can't get out of !

Met him at the Hammer at Bray in 1998 - excellent fellow [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img] Amazing career !

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Old 02-12-2005, 02:32 AM
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(Holland @ Nov 30 2005, 03:53 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
"Hell is a city" is a great film. Stanley Baker, grimy Manchester, windswept moors. There should have been more British films noir.

[/b]
Almost agree. I'd rate it half great, though. Everything's in place for a terrific movie, and where Guest takes Baker (who is absolutely real and charismatic) and the wide screen out into those grey streets and moors, it all clicks into gear. But there are too many leisurely chat scenes in obvious studio sets which dissipate the tension. Not a whole lot actually happens in the middle. And much as I like John Crawford as a villain, you never believe that he and Baker grew up together. They never explain his American accent, which really sticks out (or did I miss it?). Still, I bought the DVD immediately, and place it very high in the Guest canon...
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Old 02-12-2005, 08:57 AM
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(AndrewLA @ Dec 2 2005, 02:32 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Almost agree. I'd rate it half great, though. Everything's in place for a terrific movie, and where Guest takes Baker (who is absolutely real and charismatic) and the wide screen out into those grey streets and moors, it all clicks into gear. But there are too many leisurely chat scenes in obvious studio sets which dissipate the tension. Not a whole lot actually happens in the middle. And much as I like John Crawford as a villain, you never believe that he and Baker grew up together. They never explain his American accent, which really sticks out (or did I miss it?). Still, I bought the DVD immediately, and place it very high in the Guest canon...
[/b]
It does contain an extremely bizarre hilltop 'tossing school' scene, the likes of which I have never seen before in any movie. Did those sort of things actually happen?

I have a soft-spot for Guest. I wrote one of my Masters essays on his early 1960s output when I thought he was at his best - Hell is a City, The Full Treatment (so rare I had to arrange a special screening at the NFT), The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Jigsaw, 80,000 Suspects, and my personal fave (because of Janette Scott) The Beauty Jungle. Unfortunately my lecturers didn't agree - they were very sniffy about his output and I barely passed. It pushed my scores down so much I missed out on an overall distinction. I think this is indicative - an underappreciated director.
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Old 02-12-2005, 09:06 AM
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If anybody is attending this event (I am too far away to do so) I have a question for Val Guest...

Does a *complete* print of 'Expresso Bongo' (1959) exist?
Every version I have seen has at least one song cut ...and
was a musical number ever filmed with Yolande Donlan (Val's wife)?
Does Val have this?
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Old 02-12-2005, 11:26 AM
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There's to be a single disc 'Collectors edition' of 'Expresso Bongo' out on 20th March 2006. It's listed on the DD Video website.
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Old 02-12-2005, 12:30 PM
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(sanndevil @ Dec 2 2005, 07:57 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
It does contain an extremely bizarre hilltop 'tossing school' scene, the likes of which I have never seen before in any movie. Did those sort of things actually happen?

I have a soft-spot for Guest. I wrote one of my Masters essays on his early 1960s output when I thought he was at his best - Hell is a City, The Full Treatment (so rare I had to arrange a special screening at the NFT), The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Jigsaw, 80,000 Suspects, and my personal fave (because of Janette Scott) The Beauty Jungle. Unfortunately my lecturers didn't agree - they were very sniffy about his output and I barely passed. It pushed my scores down so much I missed out on an overall distinction. I think this is indicative - an underappreciated director.
[/b]
I had a lecturer who is quite a fan of Guest and may be covering him for Manchester University Press's British Filmmakers series.
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Old 02-12-2005, 02:22 PM
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(sanndevil @ Dec 2 2005, 08:57 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
It does contain an extremely bizarre hilltop 'tossing school' scene, the likes of which I have never seen before in any movie. Did those sort of things actually happen?

I have a soft-spot for Guest. I wrote one of my Masters essays on his early 1960s output when I thought he was at his best - Hell is a City, The Full Treatment (so rare I had to arrange a special screening at the NFT), The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Jigsaw, 80,000 Suspects, and my personal fave (because of Janette Scott) The Beauty Jungle. Unfortunately my lecturers didn't agree - they were very sniffy about his output and I barely passed. It pushed my scores down so much I missed out on an overall distinction. I think this is indicative - an underappreciated director.
[/b]
It's indicative all right - of bad lecturers. Just because they disagree they shouldn't mark you down.
It's because of lecturers like that that so many degree courses just churn out people that follow the "approved" party line rather than encouraging original thinkers.

Steve
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Old 03-12-2005, 02:28 AM
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I am going to this and I can't wait. I saw Val Guest again at the Lunch Club a week ago and it was great to see him. I got him to autograph my copy of his book and also had his photo taken with him. He was very friendly and I enjoyed our brief chat. It was an honour and a pleasure to meet him. I am looking forward to the n.f.t. event. not long to go now.
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Old 03-12-2005, 06:09 AM
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(noglea @ Dec 3 2005, 02:28 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I am going to this and I can't wait. I saw Val Guest again at the Lunch Club a week ago and it was great to see him. I got him to autograph my copy of his book and also had his photo taken with him. He was very friendly and I enjoyed our brief chat. It was an honour and a pleasure to meet him. I am looking forward to the n.f.t. event. not long to go now.
[/b]
Nog -

Will you post a report/pictures please ?

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Old 04-12-2005, 05:34 PM
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(noglea @ Dec 3 2005, 02:28 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

I am going to this and I can't wait. I saw Val Guest again at the Lunch Club a week ago and it was great to see him. I got him to autograph my copy of his book and also had his photo taken with him. He was very friendly and I enjoyed our brief chat. It was an honour and a pleasure to meet him. I am looking forward to the n.f.t. event. not long to go now.
[/b]
Is the book you are talking about Val Guest's
"<span style="color:#cc9933">So You Want To Be in Pictures : From Will Hay to Hammer Horror and James Bond</span>"?

COVER :Â*Â*Â*

I am reading it at the moment. It is great fun and is a high-speed rollercoaster ride through classic film history. One of my favourite bits so far was his story about Peter's Sellers' early work as a voice-over. Another is one of the pranks he played on Alfred Hitchcock. I won't ruin either of these anecdotes by providing the details.

J.M.N.
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Old 04-12-2005, 06:40 PM
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(jmn @ Dec 4 2005, 05:34 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Is the book you are talking about Val Guest's
"<span style="color:#cc9933">So You Want To Be in Pictures : From Will Hay to Hammer Horror and James Bond</span>"?

COVER :Â*Â*Â*

I am reading it at the moment. It is great fun and is a high-speed rollercoaster ride through classic film history. One of my favourite bits so far was his story about Peter's Sellers' early work as a voice-over. Another is one of the pranks he played on Alfred Hitchcock. I won't ruin either of these anecdotes by providing the details.

J.M.N.
London
[/b]
Yes - the book is a fun read, although you have summed it up well - very anecdotey and name-droppy! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] Not much in the way of analysis of his output at all, and some films get virtually no mention [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbdown.gif[/img]
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Old 04-12-2005, 06:50 PM
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(sanndevil @ Dec 4 2005, 06:40 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Yes - the book is a fun read, although you have summed it up well - very anecdotey and name-droppy! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] Not much in the way of analysis of his output at all, and some films get virtually no mention
[/b]
You are right that it isn't to be read as a work of film history but it does have lots of interesting and funny stories in it which would probably remain undocumented if Val Guest had not put pen to paper.

I hope that he will make this book available as a "talking book" because his writing style is very informal and conversational and would probably work well as audio.

My only gripe with the book was the typeface and font size which make it hard to read.

This also makes it difficult to give as a gift to many of my friends of advanced years who would appreciate this whirlwind tour of the early British film industry.

J.M.N.
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Old 05-12-2005, 09:58 AM
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The great Val Guest will be at NFT3 tonight for a screening of HELL IS A CITY. It will be a privilege to be in the same room as the man who penned the shortest joke in the world from OH MR PORTER - "Next train's gone"
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