Chris B

The card Starring Alec Guinness, Gerald Chapman, Glynis Johns,


Petula Clark and Alec Guinness
The black-and-white film The Card (The Promoter in the United States) was released in 1952, adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Ronald Neame. It starred Alec Guinness as Denry Machin, Petula Clark as Nellie Cotterill, Valerie Hobson as the Countess, and Glynis Johns as Ruth Earp. The movie was mostly faithful to the novel, though it omitted the newspaper caper, Denry outmaneuvering his mother into moving and a few other minor adventures not noted in this article. Also, Ruth Earp was described as rather plain in the book. It was filmed in Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent.
For Guinness, playing the romantic lead was a departure from his previously comic roles, and the film was one of the first adult screen roles for Clark who, as the hero's intended bride, got her first screen kiss.
What a card!" said one, laughing joyously. "He's a rare 'un, no mistake."
"Of course, this'll make him more popular than ever," said another. "We've never had a man to touch him for that."
"And yet," demanded Councillor Barlow, "what's he done? Has he ever done a day's work in his life? What great cause is he identified with?"
"He's identified," said the speaker, "with the great cause of cheering us all up."
(Not A Bad DVD transfer considering the age of the material) A truly great British Film

Brief Encounter

Glad someone else likes this. I adore this film. I only watched it originally because it starred Petula Clark, who is very good in it, but I think everyone's performances are superb, especially Alec Guinness and Glynis Johns. I watched it with my mum recently (who'd never heard of it before, she was 2 when it first came out!) and she was in hysterics watching it.

This and The Runaway Bus are Pet's best films. Whilst TRB is widely available and has been given a disservice on DVD, DD Home Entertainment's issue of The Card is only available online and the quality is excellent! My only complaint is that Pet isn't on the DVD cover. She was on all the original film posters.