ABSTRACT
The rival of every comedian—Walt Disney—offered two cartoon features, the delightful and at times fearful Pinocchio, and Fantasia. Nostalgia for the old days of the Keystone cops was revived with Hollywood Cavalcade. By 1941 there were considerably fewer British comedies on the screen. The local English success of such stars as Frank Randle and Norman Evans—to name only two—was based on crude music hall humour. One of the great discoveries of the Ealing studios was Alec Guinness. Guinness had not always known success. An important feature of British films has always been the excellence of the supporting character player. The American comedies were even richer in scene stealers. Billie Burke, Donald Meek, Hugh Herbert, Edward Everett Horton, and Eugene Pallette could win honours in any sequence.
