Chance of a Lifetime (1950) User Reviews (13)

A surprisingly great film

[Scaramouche2004 · 8/10 · 11 November 2008]

Reading the synopsis of this British movie, I was expecting a classic pre-Carry On Ealing type of Comedy, but this film turned out to be quite a gripping. moving and entertaining industrial cum kitchen-sink soap drama.

When factory owner Basil Radford's popularity falls to an all time low with his workers, it leads to the sacking of one of his more outspoken workers and potential strike action by the rest of his staff calling for his reinstatement.

In a heated argument with his men, he argues that if any of the workers think they can run the factory better than him, then they ought to put their money where their mouth is and step up to the plate, which is what quiet soft spoken worker Bernard Miles, who also wrote, produced and Directed the whole show, decides to do.

Radford calls Miles' bluff and leaves forthwith leaving the workers in charge of everything, the factory, the wages, the production, the bills, the distribution and the malcontented staff, personified by Niall McGuiness and his gang of anarchic layabouts.

Kenneth More however is another member of the team who rises to the challenge and displays a previously unseen superb business acumen that steers the company in the right direction, even managing to secure a major overseas contract for the firm.

However when word gets out that the respected Radford is no longer in charge, the hitherto steadfast Banks, associate companies and suppliers panic and pull out of all their dealings with the struggling firm, leading Miles, More and the rest of the workforce fighting one problem after another.

All seems lost until Radford, a man who it seems has been judged to harshly, sees his beloved firm struggling, and his hard working workforce losing the battle he at first despaired of but which he now has full admiration for. He helps by using his money and influence to secure deliveries, orders, loans etc, while staying anonymously behind the scenes.

Great performances from what runs as a who's who of post-war British Cinema, and great early performances from Patrick Troughton and Hattie Jacques, This coupled with the gritty black and white photography perfectly capturing the struggles and hardships of a war-battered and rationed England now long since gone, make this a good little film for a quiet afternoon.

Muck, grease and overalls, so realistically portrayed you can almost smell the oil.

Bernard Miles' bow of burning gold.

[ianlouisiana · 8/10 · 31 March 2007]

When the British electorate voted for the first time after the war they rejected Winston Churchill and his "keep the wheels of commerce running smoothly" style of government for Clement Attlee's "Brave New World,Part Two" promise of a more equitable society where men who had risked their lives for their country could have some say in running it. For the next decade,until the Hungarian Uprising of 1956,the Left had the moral high ground in British politics.Its influence was particularly keenly felt in labour relations,indeed,not until Margaret Thatcher did a Prime Minister feel strong enough to successfully challenge it. "Chance of a lifetime" is Bernard Miles' bow of burning gold to fight for the New Jerusalem of Collective Ownership. Refreshingly free of cliché figures the film presents Basil Radford as a decent middle class man 25 years behind the times who,in a moment of exasperation offers his workers control of the means of production. His employees,most of them earnest and hard - working contract to run the factory for themselves. Mr Miles has avoided the stereotypical chirpy cockneys and canny warm - hearted northerners but still managed to decorate his cast with recognisable types.Mr K.More has a convincing London accent rather than an Ealing Studios twang.Mr A.Oliver - much on the fledgling TV at that time as railwaymen storyteller Dai Lewis treats us to his wonderfully expressive voice.Much of the forthcoming elite crop of British film actors appear and stake their claim to our affections. Mr Miles remained defiantly a man of the people all his career as a playwright,an actor or an entrepreneur.If you know him only as the doddering old geezer in "The smallest show on earth",this energetic passionate and humanistic piece will be a pleasant surprise.

Chance of a lifetime

[tdabb-1 · 8/10 · 8 December 2008]

On the face of it, this is a pretty two-dimensional story of how the owner of a small plough-making factory, driven to distraction by a diminishing business in which no-one seems to be working as hard as he, throws down the gauntlet to his workers that they wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Goaded by Niall MacGinnis' tub-thumping militant, the workers take him up on the challenge, which he later attempts to argue was only metaphorical, and elect their own management. A promising start notwithstanding, the experiment soon comes unstuck however, and by the end the workers are positively pleading for the permanent return of their old boss. A stirring tale of British pluck and the moral that in these times of post-war austerity, we've all got to do our bit and muck in together. And that might have been the reason for its BAFTA nomination.

Looked at more deeply however, this very personal work by Bernard Miles is actually full of sympathy for the workers' cause. Miles' characters of the time, from Pip's kindly uncle in Great expectations, to plain honest Walter Hardy clinging to the dinghy in In Which we Serve, were impossible not to like, and his performance as George Stevens, reluctantly entrusted with the support of his comrades alongside Ted from the fitting shed sheds a gentler light on workers' control. George and Ted oversee a period of rapid progress in which buildings are whitewashed, roads are asphalted, workers labour purposefully at their lathes and even the factory laggard makes it through the gates before the hooter has finished sounding. As a message on the improveability of the human condition, its hard to miss.

Even when things do go wrong however, as when first the wage bill cannot be paid and then a vital order falls through, when the workers fail it is not their failure, but that of the system. If its not the machinations of the bank managers and steel mill owners and others of their ilk doing everything they can to sabotage this 'apalling precedent' then its the inanity of a capitalist system which seems incapable of meeting needs where they exist. 'It's a crazy world', Steven tells the angry workers faced with calamity,'but the Xenobians want to buy our ploughs and we want to make 'em. but it seems they haven't got the right sort of money.' In fact, Miles is so good at this simple everyman unwilling to accept the iniquities of a morally unsound system, that its a bit like watching a Michael Moore. 'Well, I don't know,' he offers the Governor of the National Bank, 'I don't see why you can't lend us the money without security. It seems to me the workers go to work all week without security and have to wait until the end of the week to get their due'. Even when the Dickinson comes to the rescue, he does so not as a representative of his class, as the workers are, but as a decent man who has turned his back on the schemes and subterfuge employed by his fellow capitalists. This is a story of heroes and villains then in which even the least appealing of the workers, the barrack-room lawyer whose beery oafishness threatens to undermine the factories best efforts, is offered a welcome return to the bosom of the workforce, (represented none too subtly by the ample Hatti Jacques) and the understanding of an audience given an insight into his poverty and his fear of of wife's sharp tongue if returns with a light paypacket. The ruling class are offered no such redemption. From the moment we see 'snob's window' of the local pub reveal the weaselly features of Mr Brand, underlined by a pencil moustache, we can be assured that he is a wrong 'un. He jibes and sneers and goads the workers at every time so that even Dickinson is forced to rebuke him: 'Yes, know you ant to get rid of them Brand, but I'm paying you to keep them at work, and look at them'. From the provincial bank manager to the steel mill owner, all the way through to the governor of the bank himself, George Stevens' patient questions are met with a patronising snide hostility and an obvious relish in the power they have over the workers. This is not really a film about a class collaboration at all. Rather,it's what must have seemed like a timely foretaste, following Labour's post-war 'Golden Age', of how people might live life differently, given the chance.

Interesting summary of post-war labour relations

[dfarmbrough · 15 December 2001]

Jack of all trades Bernard Miles manages to write, direct, and produce this movie while taking one of the lead roles. Basil Radford is ideal casting as the slightly pompous, yet kind hearted boss who decides to let this employees run his agricultural implement company when they express disapproval at his employee relations.

The film shows the point trade unionism and the co-operative movement had reached in 1950, a few years after the reforming Labour government got in and just before they were replaced by Winston Churchill, showing that the country was oscillating between socialism and conservatism. Miles's intelligent script is even-handed in its approach to these issued and also gives insights into the class system of the time.

This is also worth watching for early performances from Patrick Troughton, Hattie Jacques, and Peter Jones. The direction is slightly flat at times, but Miles must have had his hands full. There are few scenes outside the well-made factory set, and this is all for the better as it gives us more of a feel of the lives of the people who work there.

The Ploughs And The Stars

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 1 April 2017]

Another of those time-capsules the English have a knack of getting right. In 1950 the country was slowly getting back on its feet and needed to export to earn foreign currency. A small family owned business enjoys an uneasy workers v management co-existence and Miles (who had clearly been frightened by Orson Welles, and undertook to write, produce, and take a leading role without first ensuring he was a genius) got off with a fatal flaw by having professional hot-head and trouble-maker Geoffrey Keen, a worker who turned up consistently late and for an encore left a obscene and personal anonymous comment directed at the owner in the Suggestion Box. It was obvious that man was a waste of space and hadn't a leg to stand on yet when he was fired - as workers could be on the spot in 1950 - instead of rejoicing as normal people would his fellow workers downed tools. This led the owner to suggest the workers have a go at running the factory themselves and they take him up on it. The premise was interesting but you have to get past the fatal flaw in order to appreciate it. The film is studded with excellent acting and holds up well.

Very interesting working class drama

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 9 March 2017]

CHANGE OF A LIFETIME is an interesting working class drama written and directed by Bernard Miles, who also takes a starring role. It tells the simple story of the workers at a plough firm who decide that they can do a better job than the management and decide to take over the business, belatedly discovering the pitfalls along the way.

This sort of film takes such a premise and uses it to shine a light on attitudes and practices of the day. It doesn't sound like the most exciting film ever but it turns out to be especially interesting thanks to the wealth of character talent involved in the production. Miles gives a stand-out turn but other performers are just as effective, particularly Basil Radford in a non-comedic role. And the list of familiar faces is endless: Geoffrey Keen, Patrick Troughton, Sam Kydd, Hattie Jacques, Niall MacGinnis, Kenneth More, and Eric Pohlmann all feature before they became well-known household names.

This is the type of film that educates as well as entertains, and it holds the interest from beginning to end, capturing a snapshot of long-forgotten life over half a century ago. Another commendable thing about it is that it never takes the easy route and paints the characters as good or bad, instead refusing to take sides and presenting the case from the viewpoint of both parties. It's undeservedly obscure, in my opinion.

Madame Kumar loyally supports the workers cooperative

[howardmorley · 6/10 · 19 February 2017]

Madame Kumar was the mysterious character immortalized by Alfred Hitchcock in "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) and was played by Josephine Wilson who plays here a loyal secretary, first to the old boss (Basil Radford) and then to the replacement workers cooperative boss, played by a young Kenneth More.It helps to know a bit of post war British economic history as we had to export or die as we as a country were severely in debt to our biggest creditor the U.S.A.Communism was taking hold in many east European countries and the U.K. government were watchful of any trend in 1950 in this direction often orchestrated by the old U.S.S.R.This time the Czar does return but in a subordinated role.

The action takes place in a tractor factory and there are the usual squabbles between management and workers over pay and conditions both before and after the change at the top when the former "revolutionaries" start to fall out with their colleagues.The only real laugh in the film is seeing Hattie Jacques wiggling her body to allow a coin to fall down out of her cleavage in a scene where the workers are personally contributing to a fighting fund.I feel sure the "Carry On" producers kept her in mind for the string of comedies to follow.There is no love interest in this film.Watchable 6/10.

Realistic and solid working class storyline

[geoffm60295 · 8/10 · 14 November 2019]

Made in 1950, the film revolves around the worker's decision to take over the management of an agricultural machine factory from their benign but traditional minded boss played by Basil Radford. Strong acting performances from Bernard Miles, Kenneth More, Neil Macginnis, Basil Radford and Geoffrey Keen, as well as the realistic scenes played out on the factory floor, make this a thought provoking and enjoyable film. What makes this film convincing is that the characters are not one dimensional and the dialogue between the workers, as they struggle to come to terms with their responsibilities, feels and sounds genuine. This is film which intends to show what life was really like on the shop floor as well as portray factory workers, not as mere pawns or victims in the world of work, but rather as working men who could display initiative, courage and determination to save their jobs.

The story of its exhibition outweighs the drama on screen.

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 4 May 2017]

This was clearly a contentious film when it was first released.Originally this film was rejected by the circuits.It was championed by the producer and was imposed on the Odeon circuit by the Board of Trade.It was received enthusiastically by the critics..The Rank card was unimpressed stating "Unspectacular production,but one of general interest".However audiences stayed away.For example in Leeds where Up In Arms obtained 42 days of screening,this film obtained just 6.In southeast Essex The Royal Wedding obtained 88 and this film 13.Initially the producer claimed that Ranks marketing would kill the film but was subsequently forced to admit that the film had done badly notwithstanding the genuine efforts of the Odeon people to boost it.

A precarious experiment risking everything and almost foundering, but only almost.

[clanciai · 9/10 · 18 October 2020]

This is fascinating as a time document of workers' conditions after the war, competing with impossible circumstances, here trying to save a factory from going to the dogs by taking it over themselves, and ultimately, when difficulties and adversities threaten to overwhelm them, get some well needed help from the catcher in the rye, the old boss himself. One of many curiosities here is the appearance of Comptom MacKenzie himself in the role of Sir Robert Dysart, but generally the acting here is superb all the way, especially by the young Kenneth More, the director and producer Bernard Miles himself, Basil Radford and actually every one. Although you don't understand much of the details and the working circumstances of 1950, the film is extremely vivid, everyone putting his heart in it, even the Xenobians make a very convincing impression, and the film gives a thrilling insight into working men's lives and conditions after the war.

Chance of a Lifetime

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 27 December 2022]

Basil Radford ""Dickinson" runs a small foundry that makes farming implements in post-war Britain that has it's fair share of disgruntled employees. When they threaten a walk out after the stroppy "Bolger" (Geoffrey Keen) gets the push, he offers to let them try their hand at running the business instead. What ensues is a depiction of their valiant attempt to make a go of it, and what makes it interesting - aside from some characterful performances from Radford, Niall MacGinnis, Kenneth More and a smartly paced dialogue - is that Bernard Miles doesn't present us with a rose-coloured "co-op" success story. They have plenty of glitches, contretemps and the ending is clever and fulfilling, without being cloyingly sentimental. It's emblematic of the start of a new era of industrial relations peppered with some good comedic lines and a genuinely plausible, collaborative, perspective. Definitely worth watching.

Pretty powerful stuff if a bit challenging to get into.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 15 April 2023]

Certainly an important film, and very well written and acted, this seemed to be a very realistic account of post war tensions in British industry where the working class fights for a series of improvements and finds many obstacles as does upper management and factory owner (Basil Radford), a decent man with lots of business issues beyond his control. The angry workers and embittered management come into conflict, and as right gets might, the viewer begins to see both sides as even the fight for fairness results in conflicts among the workers, with many of them coming off unfavorably in the way they express their frustrations and create more issues for everyone involved.

Sometimes films can have an issue with too much honesty, far too uncomfortably realistic and expressing views about society that the public is just too blind to accept. Mob mentality is definitely present as workers gather together to fight for changes in their contract, and desperation shows that there's no winners in situations like this. America viewers may be put off by certain thick accents which reduces sympathy for certain characters, and I found this frequently unpleasant to watch even though I saw the importance of the message. East to see why this wasn't a box office success as it certainly doesn't fall under the category of entertainment. But the acting is strong and the direction top notch. Not a film I can praise, but certainly one of historical importance that could be classified as one of the top docudramas ever made even if it's a fictional one. I definitely believe that this could happen (and probably did), and that's why I can also see many people being depressed by it.

A group of British Factory Workers take over their business with surprising results

[Dr. Tom · 13 December 2001]

At a meeting to settle a dispute at his plough factory, owner (Basil Radford) foolishly proclaims that if his staff could do any better they are welcome to try. To his surprise two of his workers (Niall MacGinnis and Bernard Miles) take him up on the offer. After initial difficulties with co-workers and financiers they start to make progress. After a major order falls through their old boss cannot bear to see them fail and comes back to use his overseas contacts to save the business. In a show of gratitude the factory ask him to return, but instead he appoints Kenneth More from amongst their number to take over and allow him to retire.

Although nominally a comedy this film is neither that nor a satire on British industrial norms. What it is, however, is a warm hearted observation of a lost era in British Social history.