Heavens Above!

United Kingdom

1963

118 Min

Black and White

1.66:1

English

Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
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DIR John Boulting, Roy Boulting

PROD John Boulting, Roy Boulting

SCR John Boulting, Roy Boulting, Frank Harvey, Malcolm Muggeridge

CAST Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Isabel Jeans, Ian Carmichael, Bernard Miles, Brock Peters, Eric Sykes, Irene Handl, Miriam Karlin, Miles Malleson, Joan Miller, Roy Kinnear, Kenneth Griffith, Gerald Sim

This delightful 1960s comedy stars Peter Sellers as the Rev. John Smallwood, an unconventional prison chaplain who’s mistakenly appointed as Vicar of the wealthy parrish of Orbiston Parva, known for its local laxative factory. When Smallwood bucks the town’s rigid expectations and insists on ministering to the rich and poor alike, he unwittingly shakes up the town’s social order and infuriates everyone — from the needy to the greedy.

Director

John Boulting

The twin brother of British producer Roy Boulting, John Boulting joined his sibling at Toronto’s McGill University. In the late 1930s, the Boultings formed a partnership to produce second-echelon feature films, with Roy and John alternating as producer and director; John’s first feature-length directorial assignment was Trunk Crime (1939). After attaining critical prestige via Thunder Rock (1942), the Boultings made training films and documentaries for the RAF. The brothers shared directing credit for two films: Crest of the Wave (1954) and Suspect (1960). In the 1950s, John and Roy cleaned up on the international box-office scene with a series of satirical social comedies like Brothers in Law (1958) I’m All Right Jack (1959) and Heavens Above! (1963); during this period the producer/directors were instrumental in the rise to stardom of Peter Sellers. After 1965, John Boulting worked solely as producer, while brother Roy continued directing until 1979. —britmovie.co.uk

Roy Boulting

The twin brother of John Boulting, producer/director Roy Boulting spent the bulk of his film career in partnership with his sibling. Both men attended Toronto’s McGill University, both entered the British film industry in the early 1930s, and both teamed to form Charter Films in 1937. In most of their subsequent film projects including Thunder Rock (1942), Desert Victory (1943), Single-Handed (1953), Brothers in Law (1957) and Twisted Nerve (1968), John produced and Roy directed. Their positions were reversed in films like Brighton Rock (1947) and Heavens Above! (1963). In 1963, the Boultings joined the board of the directors of the flagging British Lion Film Corporation, and have been credited with bringing that sleeping giant back to life. While both brothers evinced a preoccupation with droll wit and satire, they were adept at virtually any film genre. Evidently, it was Roy Boulting who enjoyed the most active social life; among his six wives was actress Hayley Mills. —britmovie… read more