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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: He approaches the character in a completely serious manner and the results are marvelous., 7 June 2004 Author: order-7 from Florida, United States
I've enjoyed most of the Alec Guiness films, especially The Ladykillers. I must say that I wasn't expecting much from this film and it was only because the VCR did not get turned off that I saw it. I believe it to be one of the most amusing films I've ever seen and one of Guiness' best. He approaches the character in a completely serious manner and the results are marvelous. The incongruity of a naval man who gets seasick and dock turned into a "ship" are very funny. At first, the character seems stiff and military, but he is anything but. One of the best scenes is of him dancing with teenagers. Every one of Guiness' Ealing Studios films are gems, but this is the top. This needs to be put out on DVD/VHS.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: A.K.A. All at Sea, 12 November 2001 Author: kat13 from Geneva, IL
This has been a family favorite for years ! It also has waited that long to become part of our movie collection. DVD would be nice Mr. Turner (Hint, Hint) even if in a second movie collection ( FULL versions of Man in the White Suit, The Horses Mouth + All at Sea). Yes, although listed at IMDB as 'Barnacle Bill' it's actual release title is "All at Sea" this story of a sea sick sailor made hero tickles the funny bone and warms the heart. This delightful movie can be shown to all ages something we sorely miss with most of today's films.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Another fine offering from Ealing Studios, 4 August 2000 Author: bigar-4 from Ghent, Belgium
Wonderful film with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour. Alec Guiness is excellent as an descendant of a family full of (in)famous captains who has just one little problem to follow in there footsteps: he has a bad case of seasickness! So he decides to buy a 1000 foot pier and run it as a ship. The city-council though has other plans with de seafront and the pier does not really fit into their plans. The Captain can only do one thing: declare his pier as a proper cruise ship! This is a film that fits in with the other small masterpieces made by Ealing Studios in the fifties and I can really recommend it..
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Another great Guinness performance, 18 October 2000 Author: (thehumanduvet@hotmail.com) from uk
The great Alec Guinness gives one of his usual fine performance in this lightweight comedy, wrapped around a typically wacky Ealing conceit - the sailor who can't go to sea buying a pier and running it like a ship. The early set-up sequences, featuring a montage of Guinness playing his ancestors at sea through the ages, are the usual silly, slapstick fun, and our hero's exploits getting his 'ship' up and running, fending off the crooked local council, and generally having a good time are heartwarming and cannot fail to raise a smile. One sequence, where he tries to run a dance hall at the end of the pier and is merrily strutting his stuff on the dancefloor with some local hottie when the authorities arrive to complain, is particularly memorable if only for the mad grin on Guinness' face as he boogies. Lacking the deeper satirical bite or wealth of really hilarious moments and characters powering the true classics of Ealing, this is nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable little film, featuring the standard role-call of vaguely familiar faces (watch out for a youngish Donald Pleasence in an early scene). Not brilliant, but fun.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Love it!, 27 March 2003 Author: leonm54 from Chicago, IL
As a true lover of the Ealing studio films, especially those of Alec Guinness, I am delighted to find this movie on television. Unfortunately, this is the only way one can view it, as it is not available on VHS or DVD. The story of the seasick prodigy of a navel family and his attempts to keep a British "stiff upper lip" in the face of adversity is endearing and hilarious. Also catch The Man in the White Suit, The Lady Killers, and The Lavender Hill Mob. You may also enjoy Hobson's Choice.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Family favorite for years. I am hoping it will come on DVD., 18 February 2004 Author: (btourville@qnet.com) from Llano, CA
I have this on tape (from the TV) and hoping it will come out on DVD or VHS. I lucked out one day and taped it. I have never seen it shown since. My tape is wearing out. Help! It is a great comedy and can be enjoyed over and over again.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Charming!, 30 April 2005 Author: bregund from San Francisco
Alec Guinness is wonderful in this movie. As the movie starts, he wanders around London with a reporter in tow, carrying a keg of rum. He walks into a bank and bangs on the counter, demanding drinking glasses. A stunned Donald Pleasance, playing a bank clerk, stares back and says "we don't have glasses." Alec Guinness looks around in disbelief and says "No glasses? What do you do when famous people come in here?" It's this kind of humor that permeates the film.Guinness purchases a run-down resort pier and strolls through the place, which is filled with bored pensioners watching cheap stage shows. The pier has been falling apart for decades, but he breathes new life into it by creating a dance hall and offering spirits. The local politicians have other ideas, and Guiness finds out that they have hoodwinked him and, through the rights of eminent domain, plan to purchase the pier back at half the price. He outwits them by registering the pier as a ship, enraging the politicians, and offers "cruises" for people prone to seasickness. It's a cruise that never goes anywhere, but offers food, dancing, music, and even a radar screen for the more mature folks. It's all very proper and charming. Guinness shows off his dance moves, there's a climax involving a dredging boat, and then a bouncy little song at the end accompanied by the ghosts of Guinness's ancestors (all played by him, of course); the song goes on just long enough to make you laugh like hell at the weirdness of it.This might not be one of Guinness's best roles, but it's still a fun movie.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Great fun, 30 March 2004 Author: (maxbuck_1999@yahoo.com) from Middle America
Saw this as "All At Sea" in the mid 1980's and actually had a copy from TV on tape, but lost it. I'd love to have a copy in my video/DVD library, but none to be found... Really fun and a great cast. Guinness plays the part(s) well, and there are lots of familiar faces if you are at all familiar with British comedy, or British Films in general for that matter. I believe that "All At Sea" was the US Title (US release also in 1957). It is interesting to note that it was made the same year as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and that Percy Herbert also shares the screen with Guinness in both films.
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Minor, but still memorable, Guiness comedy from his stint at Ealing., 13 December 2002 Author: TheVid from Colorado Springs
The Guiness persona makes this stereotypical British comedy worth a look; but this is a minor effort compared to his earlier work at Ealing. The irony of the central character and the pokes at bureaucracy are somewhat simplistic and lack the dark wit of earlier projects like KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS, MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT and LADYKILLERS. Still, any Guiness is better than none at all!
Description, 17 March 2009 Author: Douglas Gordon from United States
William Horatio Ambrose (Guinness) wants desperately to live up to the proud family tradition; the Ambroses have always been mariners, hence their family motto, Omnes per Mare (All at Sea). In six humorous vignettes, Guinness portrays some of them, starting with a confused caveman pioneer and ending with his own father's ignominious demise at the Battle of Jutland. Ambrose has a debilitating problem however: he gets violently seasick at the slightest excuse. As a result, his contribution to World War II consists of testing cures for the malady.When he retires from the Royal Navy as a captain, he purchases a dilapidated amusement pier (the closest thing to a command of his own) with his life savings. The workers are an apathetic bunch, led by an insolent Figg (Victor Maddern), who quits as soon as the new owner begins imposing some semblance of discipline. With the assistance of his new second in command, Tommy (Percy Herbert), and much hard work, Ambrose soon has the pier repaired.ANYONE INTERESTED IN OBTAINING A COPY OF THIS FILM, PLEASE WRITE ME AT: SPACIBA888@HOTMAIL.COM
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