The Card (1952)

Directed by Ronald Neame. Starring Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson, Petula Clark, Edward Chapman, George Devine, Veronica Turleigh, Joan Hickson.

Poor but opportunistic Englishman Guinness uses his scheming mind and a bold disposition to rise through the ranks of society, charming a countess (Hobson) and getting engaged to an indebted dance teacher (Johns) along the way. Guinness is wonderful, of course, and he underplays the humor nicely, as the tone here is much more laidback and bemused than that of the Ealing comedies of the era he excelled at; trouble is, it’s too laidback, dawdling from scene to scene, and (intentionally) lacking set pieces that can provide a jolt of energy here and there. Amusing throughout but rarely laugh-out-loud funny; late-film romantic pairing is underwhelming and unearned, but it’s almost worth it to see what happens when Johns tries to hail a coach. Based on a novel by Arthur Bennett; released in the US under the title, The Promoter.

62/100