It Happened Tomorrow 1944,starring Dick Powell was an earlier and better use of this sort of story.The part of this film set on the island is fine but that part set in the newspaper office becomes a drag.Gilbert Harding,a top tv and radio personality of the fifties plays the Oracle
5 Reviews
Missed opportunities!
JohnHowardReid17 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This movie has a very promising idea and it does deliver some occasionally bright dialogue, plus some humorous bits of comedy "business" and maybe three or four moments of inventive direction from Cyril Montague Pennington-Richards. By and large, however, the film is a bit of a disappointment – despite its entrancing location photography by Wolfgang Suschitzky and a most attractive heroine in the person of Virginia McKenna. Alas, the whole idea of the newspaper framing story is not very workable. I feel that the comedy would have developed much more fluently in some other field. Another problem is the direction. Certainly, Pennington-Richards has his moments and, on the whole, the direction could be described as smoothly competent, but it often lacks the skill needed to point up and underline the satire by a judicious choice of camera angles. For the most part, the compositions are both ordinary and uninspired. Only the scenes up the well reveal any flair for the right comic touch. Another problem is that the cast line-up is weighted too heavily on the dramatic side. Michael Medwin is okay and Joseph Tomelty is superb, but Warren Beatty, Mervyn Johns and the rest of their team are too glumly serious for the light little fantasy that the script proposes. U.S. release title: The Horse's Mouth.
Whimsical Fantasy
boblipton13 March 2020
Michael Medwin has risen to the dignity of being the obituaries editor on his London newspaper. He arouses the ire of his editor when he publishes one of his items under "Happy Events." Fortunately, his vacation comes up before he can be fired. He winds up on an Irish Island, where Joseph Tomelty seems to know everything about him. It turns out Tomelty not only has a very pretty niece in the person of Virginia McKenna. He's got a well in his basement, where an Oracle answers one of his questions every day, about such earth-shaking matters as what the weather is going to be like next week, or where the old lady has left her glasses this time. The Oracle takes a liking to Medwin, and decides,to answer his questions, which Medwin asks on behalf of his paper. It secures his job, and does wonders for the paper's circulation, but the other effects are unexpected.
The first movie directed by Cyril Montague Pennington-Richards is the sort of whimsical fantasy that the 1950s were fond of, drawing some conclusions about the human condition by starting with "what if..." and ending where the writer wanted it. I thought its conclusion were ultimately normative, just like most of this type of movie, and the superficial plot likewise.
The voice of the unseen Oracle is provided by Robert Beatty, who blathers on pompously about how self-important people are. He's amusing, mostly because he's not around most of the time.
The first movie directed by Cyril Montague Pennington-Richards is the sort of whimsical fantasy that the 1950s were fond of, drawing some conclusions about the human condition by starting with "what if..." and ending where the writer wanted it. I thought its conclusion were ultimately normative, just like most of this type of movie, and the superficial plot likewise.
The voice of the unseen Oracle is provided by Robert Beatty, who blathers on pompously about how self-important people are. He's amusing, mostly because he's not around most of the time.
Disjointed, full of missed opportunities but not without interest
Marco_Trevisiol14 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
'The Oracle' is a frustrating film as the potential for a charming fantasy/comedy is there, but because of some odd narrative choices the film never really delivers.
The first half of the film is centred on a struggling newspaperman (Michael Medwin), whom on an holiday in a remote Irish town discovers it contains an oracle located down a well that is used by locals to solve everyday problems. Inevitably he begins using it to develop his own career.
Then, the second half of the film is largely based around the newspaper and its brash editor (Robert Beatty) dealing with the moral implications of providing information to the general public, especially when it comes to the question of whether another world war will result.
Both halves have some value. The first half has some charm with likable characters and picturesque Irish seaside setting. The second half deals with the moral and social implications of knowing the future in a relatively intelligent and serious manner.
But the two halves don't really mesh - the first half is focused on Medwin's character yet he's largely an afterthought in the second half. The film's genial, light-hearted atmosphere in the Irish segment awkwardly contrasts with the increasingly dour segment in the English newspaper office where the topic of the future of humanity even comes up.
As well, the film probably lacks the panache to be a really successful light comedy. For example, the film has the original idea of the voice of the Oracle complains about the opening and ending credits but it isn't as funny as it should be.
Still, it's not a bad film and worth seeking out for seeing the likes of Medwin and Virginia McKenna at the start of their careers.
The first half of the film is centred on a struggling newspaperman (Michael Medwin), whom on an holiday in a remote Irish town discovers it contains an oracle located down a well that is used by locals to solve everyday problems. Inevitably he begins using it to develop his own career.
Then, the second half of the film is largely based around the newspaper and its brash editor (Robert Beatty) dealing with the moral implications of providing information to the general public, especially when it comes to the question of whether another world war will result.
Both halves have some value. The first half has some charm with likable characters and picturesque Irish seaside setting. The second half deals with the moral and social implications of knowing the future in a relatively intelligent and serious manner.
But the two halves don't really mesh - the first half is focused on Medwin's character yet he's largely an afterthought in the second half. The film's genial, light-hearted atmosphere in the Irish segment awkwardly contrasts with the increasingly dour segment in the English newspaper office where the topic of the future of humanity even comes up.
As well, the film probably lacks the panache to be a really successful light comedy. For example, the film has the original idea of the voice of the Oracle complains about the opening and ending credits but it isn't as funny as it should be.
Still, it's not a bad film and worth seeking out for seeing the likes of Medwin and Virginia McKenna at the start of their careers.
One of my Favourites
mannbarbara19 November 2018
Delightfully whimsical, but with wisdom and truth. I have loved this film for years. Joseph Tomelty is marvellous as always and the rest of the cast, including Michael Medwin, Robert Beatty, Virginia McKenna and Mervyn Johns are excellent.
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