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The Oracle (1953 film)

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The Oracle
Original trade ad by Ronald Searle
Directed byC. M. Pennington-Richards
Written byPatrick Campbell
Anthony Steven (additional dialogue)
Based onradio play To Tell You the Truth by Robert Barr
Produced byColin Lesslie
StarringRobert Beatty
Michael Medwin
Virginia McKenna.
CinematographyWolfgang Suschitzky
Edited byJohn Trumper
Music byTemple Abady
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé (UK)
Release dates
  • 1 June 1953 (1953-06-01) (London, UK)
Running time
85 mins
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Oracle (known as The Horse's Mouth in the United States) is a 1953 British second feature ('B')[1] comedy film directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and starring Robert Beatty, Michael Medwin and Virginia McKenna.[2] The film was based on the radio play To Tell You the Truth by Robert Barr.[citation needed] A journalist goes on holiday to Ireland and encounters a fortune-teller.

Plot

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Timothy Blake, a British reporter holidaying on a remote island offshore of Ireland, hears a man's voice coming from the bottom of a well. The voice turns out to be a modern-day Oracle, or fortune teller, whose predictions prove uncannily accurate. Bob is determined to get a story out of this, but his editor is less enthusiastic and promptly fires him. The newfound publicity though, means the once-sleepy Irish village is now invaded by curiosity seekers, and those seeking the horse racing results.

Production

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The film was shot at Southall Studios on a budget of £43,000.[3]

Cast

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Critical reception

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Allmovie called the film "A lesser comedy of the Ealing school (though not from the Ealing studios)".[4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Gilbert Harding voices the oracle at the bottom of a well in this piffling comedy in which whimsy is heaped on to make up for the absence of genuine humour. Ordinarily, Harding dispenses his wisdom to the inhabitants of a small Irish island. But then journalist Robert Beatty begins using him to predict horse races and other momentous events until the British mainland is reduced to chaos. Celebrated at the time as the rudest man on TV, Harding comes over today as an irascible prig."[5]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Apart from a few shafts at yellow journalism, comedy is resolutely whimsical."[6]

References

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  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "The Oracle". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  4. ^ "The Oracle (1952) - C.M. Pennington-Richards, C. Pennington Richards - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".
  5. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 690. ISBN 9780992936440.
  6. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 357. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
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