The Guinea Pig

1948 1h 37m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 17

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A working-class boy wins a scholarship to a public school, as part of a post-World War Two experiment in bringing boys of different social classes together.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Richard Attenborough
Jack Read
Sheila Sim
Lynne Hartley
Bernard Miles
Mr. Read
Cecil Trouncer
Lloyd Hartley
Joan Hickson
Mrs. Read
Edith Sharpe
Mrs. Hartley
Robert Flemyng
Nigel Lorraine
John Forrest
Fitch

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roy Boulting
Writers: Roy Boulting, Warren Chetham-Strode, Bernard Miles
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roy Boulting, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Best shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim and Bernard Miles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040407 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roy Boulting directs. Gilbert Taylor behind the camera. Richard Best cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

178 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Roy Boulting, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Richard Best shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim and Bernard Miles carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt0040407 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor
Editing: Richard Best
Costume design: Honoria Plesch
Makeup / hair: Guy Pearce
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Guinea Pig (1948)

Also by

Roy Boulting

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-11-23
★ 9/10
Saintbury School, host to a truly wonderful experiment. Based on a Warren Chetham Strode play and directed by the supremely talented Roy Boulting, The Guinea Pig is a cinematic delight of the kind that makes me proud to be British. Set in the 1940s, the picture is showing us the wind of change that occurred in Britain in the 40s as regards the breaking down of class system snobbery after the advent of World War II. Here our main protagonist is Jack Read (a simply wonderful Richard Attenborough) is a young fresh faced kid from a basic working class family. His father sends him away to posh Saintbury School, a school famed for it's Henry The Eighth heritage, Rugby, Cricket and it's affluent laden scholars. In short our Jack is not so much a fish out of water, but more like a tadpole in a sea of sharks. He his bullied by class mates for his humble origins, and even the house masters are looking down their noses at him. However, a bit of love and support from home and also from astute teacher Nigel Lorraine (Robert Flemyng brilliant) and Jack, coupled with his guts, could yet make his mark on Saintbury School and beyond. An important film in many ways, The Guinea Pig seems to be something of an under seen piece. At the time of writing this there are very few user comments written for it on IMDb and only 100 people have voted on it. With that in mind please ignore the current 6.3 rating, for this film is a positive delight. From the harsh early days of Jack's schooling to a delightful Thomas Wolsey inspired wind of change, The Guinea Pig not only gave me a tear in my eye, it also gave me pride within my chest. Wonderful indeed. 9/10

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