Review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) by Greg N — 14 Oct 2010

The fourth film by The Archers (Powell & Pressburger), is told over the span of four decades, the life and loves of a British general named Clive Wynne-Candy, played by Roger Livesey. The film begins in 1943 in the middle of WWII where Candy is the leader of a Home Guard squad that is participating in a training exercise. While in a Turkish bath relaxing many other officers, he is "captured" by the training soldiers, led by the young lieutenant "Spud" Wilson. Spud has "attacked" pre-emptively, breaking the established conventions of war believing that this is how the Germans fight. He has ignored Candy's protests that "War starts at midnight!" and they fight a little bit but eventually fall into a bathing pool. In a continuous shot that goes from where they fall into the pool, the camera pans forward where, forty years before, a much younger Candy is shown in the same pool coming out of it from here on through almost all of the film is an extended flashback of Candy's life.

During this time, in 1902, Candy was a lieutenant on leave from the Boer War in South Africa, where he has been awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism. He receives a letter, through a friend, from Edith Hunter, played by Deborah Kerr, a woman he's never met before that works as an English teacher in Berlin. She says in the letter that a German named Kaunitz is spreading anti-British propaganda about the Boer War, and she wants the British embassy to do something. Candy's superiors refuse him permission to intervene because he is a soldier, not a diplomat - Candy goes against orders and goes to Berlin. Candy meets Edith and they go to a café, where he recognizes Kaunitz as a former spy who his division had once captured in South Africa. He confronts Kaunitz who, during their little squabble, spits in Candy's face. Provoked by all this, Candy somehow manages to insult the entire German Army officer corps, which in turn creates a diplomatic incident. He is then forced to fight a duel with a German officer: Theodor Kretschmar-Schuldorff, played by Anton Walbrook, although the man disapproves of dueling. The duel is officially said to be over Edith's honor in order to avoid a diplomatic crisis. Both men are eventually injured from the duel and while recuperating from these injuries in the same nursing home, Candy and Theo become friends. Both are visited regularly by Edith and she becomes engaged to Theo. Candy is delighted by the news and leaves for home, but soon realises that he lovers her himself. The film then moves forward to WWI, showing the passage of time through a montage of trophies from Candy's hunting trips around the world from 1903-1914; the last trophy is a German helmet labeled "Hun - Flanders" and dated 1918.

Candy is now a Brigadier General in WWI, he believes that the Allies won the war because "right is might," although it's implied that the Allies had used alternative methods to extract information while Candy's back was turned. He meets a nurse named Barbara Wynne, played again by Kerr, at a convent where he is sent to have some dinner and is surprised by her resemblance to Edith. Once he is back in England, he attempts to learn her identity and stages a party for Yorkshire war nurses in the hope that he would meet her again; it's safe to say the party was a success. He later marries her despite her being twenty years younger than he. Before entering their new home, Barbara makes Candy promise that he will never change. Candy swears not to until "his house is flooded and this is a lake." Candy later tracks Theo down at a p.o.w. camp in England after the Armistice. Candy greets his friend as if nothing has ever changed, but Candy is ultimately snubbed by Theo. Later on his way back to Germany, Theo calls Candy and apologizes and accepts an invitation to Candy's house. Theo remains skeptical that his country will be treated fairly and returns to Germany with very little hope. The film once again moves forward in time through another montage where it is revealed that Candy's wife had died between the world wars from an undisclosed cause and Candy had retired in 1935.

The next section takes place in 1939 where, at an immigration office in England, an older and more melancholy Theo relates to an official questioning him of how his children had become Nazis and never had any contact with him. He tells the official that before the war, he refused to move to England when his wife Edith wanted to but by the time he was ready to move to England, she had died and like Barbara, the cause of death is not revealed. Candy shows up in time to vouch for Theo and saves him from either internment or deportation. After dinner back at his house, Candy reveals to him that he loved Edith and had only realized it when it was much too late. He admits to him that he never got over it and shows Theo a portrait of his dead wife Barbara. Theo doesn't immediately see the similarity since he and Edith had grown old together. Leaving Candy's house after dinner, Theo meets Candy's driver Angela Cannon, played again by Kerr in her third role, whom is nicknamed "Johnny" by her friends, who reveals that Candy had personally chosen her out of 700 other women. The resemblance between her, Barbara and Edith amuses him. Candy is later restored by the War Office to the active list. The BBC has Candy give a radio talk regarding the British Army's evacuation of troops from the Battle of Dunkirk. He plans to say that he would rather lose the war than to win it using the methods of the Naziz. This inevitably ensures that his talk is cancelled at the last minute. Theo had known that it would cancelled as he had read the speech beforehand and urges Candy to accept to win by whatever means possible since losing would have a lot more consequences. Candy has apparently become irrelevant to the way people perceive war and is sent back into retirement, but he turns his energy to the Home Guard, Britain's secondary line of defense against invasion. There is another montage showing the passage of time once again, this tim taken from Picture Post - dated September 19,1942, which shows how Candy's energy and connections have become instrumental in helping build up the Home Guard. His home is even bombed in the Blitz, where his trusty butler was killed, and is replaced by an emergency water supply reservoir. He moves to his club, where he relaxes with his staff officers in a Turkish bath before the scheduled beginning of a training exercise he has arranged for his troops.

Here, the film has now come full circle to the beginning of the film. The energetic lieutenant who captures Candy is in fact Johnny's boyfriend. He has used her as a spy to learn about Candy's plans and his location. When she discovers this, she tries to warn Candy, but is too late. Candy is then held prisoner for a few hours. Theo and Johnny find him sitting in a park across the street from his old house. Candy then recalls that when he had visited Germany against the orders, he had been given a severe dressing down by his superior in the War office and afterwards, the man had invited him to dinner. He declined but had often regretted doing so. He then orders Johnny to invite her boyfriend to dinner and exclaims "he'd better accept." Looking at his old home, Candy remembers the promise he had made to Barbara years ago that he would "never change" until his house is flooded and "this is a lake." Seeing the reservoir, he realizes that "here is the lake and I still haven't changed." The film ends with a shot of a leaf in the water and Candy saluting the new guard as it passes by.

The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp's title gets its name from a satirical comic called Colonel Blimp but is an entirely original film written, produced and directed by The Archers, Powell & Pressburger. Unlike most dramas taking place during wartime, Colonel Blimp is very light-hearted throughout and for this reason, along with its unique narrative, makes it one of the most unique war dramas ever made. Powell's direction is pretty great throughout and the actors do a very good job especially Roger Livesey and Anton Walbrook, who I had only previously seen in P&P's masterpiece The Red Shoes. Like the story itself, the acting by both of these men is very light-hearted. The film is also shot in beautiful technicolor, although I believe The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus had more beautiful images. The editing is also really well done, I especially liked the montage portions that tell the passage of time, that was one thing I have never previously seen done. Colonel Blimp is a very unique epic war drama that solidified how great British cinema could be, although it would reach new heights with films such as The Red Shoes, The Third Man, Bridge On the River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia. Will definitely watch this another time in the future so I can digest everything that goes on in this epic. A really great film! 10/10.