Tunes of Glory?

[macwilkin]

My favorite Alec Guinness flick right next to Bridge On The River Kwai.

I used to love that movie until I read the true story of Col. Phillip Toosey:

http://www.juliesummers.co.uk/colonel.php
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-...s/ww2/kwai.htm

T.

[ForresterModern]

"Kiltie, kiltie, cauld bum!!"---best line in the whole movie.

[ThistleDown]

The kilts from Tunes of Glory had a second appearance in Leslie Neilsen's "Wrongfully Accused". They were all so embarassed by that exposure, after their illustrious first performance, that they fled back to some wardrobe dungeon in London. Too bad, because they were well made 16 ounce 8-yarders.

Rex

[macwilkin]

The kilts from Tunes of Glory had a second appearance in Leslie Neilsen's "Wrongfully Accused". They were all so embarassed by that exposure, after their illustrious first performance, that they fled back to some wardrobe dungeon in London. Too bad, because they were well made 16 ounce 8-yarders.

Rex

They were also in "Carry on up the Khyber".

T.

[MacSpadger]

They were also in "Carry on up the Khyber".

T.

They then had another outing when the London Scottish Pipes & Drums were filmed wearing them for the projected backdrops of the touring stage production. The theatre company that hired the London Scottish were not aware that it was the London Scottish Pipes & Drums that had been used in the original film, so that was a nice link.

You can also see one of these kilts worn by the flame throwing piper in the Bond film The World is not Enough.

[macwilkin]

They then had another outing when the London Scottish Pipes & Drums were filmed wearing them for the projected backdrops of the touring stage production. The theatre company that hired the London Scottish were not aware that it was the London Scottish Pipes & Drums that had been used in the original film, so that was a nice link.

You can also see one of these kilts worn by the flame throwing piper in the Bond film The World is not Enough.

Very interesting...many thanks for sharing this information.

T.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

A film like TUNES OF GLORY is made in four stages:

(1) SET UP this is when the producers dial in the script and attach the various performers, directors, camera, and craftsmen to the film project.
(2) PRE-PRODUCTION puts everyone on the payroll, builds the sets, sorts the costumes rehearses the cast, and takes care of any last minute glitches.
(3) PRODUCTION is all of the time spent in front of the cameras, which can be anything from a few weeks to several years depending on the complexity of the story.
(4) POST-PRODUCTION in it's simplest terms means editing the film footage into a cohesive narrative (in other words making sure the picture has a logical beginning, middle, and end).

The entire process of making a film is constrained by two things: the total budget the studio has allotted the producer for the project, and the amount of time available to the producer to complete steps 2-4. Film making is not a leisurely process, and frankly on a small budget film like Tunes of Glory the producer probably wouldn't have wasted time or money on a special weave of tartan-- his costume designer would have selected something readily available, checked with the set designer and the director of photography to make sure the fabric would "work" on camera, and would then schedule fittings for everyone who would be kilted in the film.

What the costume designer wouldn't have done was sit down, design a tartan, have it woven, then have kilts made.

So, if it's the consensus of well-informed opinion on XMTS that the regiment is wearing brown Scott tartan-- well, that's good enough for me.

[macwilkin]

A film like TUNES OF GLORY is made in four stages:

(1) SET UP this is when the producers dial in the script and attach the various performers, directors, camera, and craftsmen to the film project.
(2) PRE-PRODUCTION puts everyone on the payroll, builds the sets, sorts the costumes rehearses the cast, and takes care of any last minute glitches.
(3) PRODUCTION is all of the time spent in front of the cameras, which can be anything from a few weeks to several years depending on the complexity of the story.
(4) POST-PRODUCTION in it's simplest terms means editing the film footage into a cohesive narrative (in other words making sure the picture has a logical beginning, middle, and end).

The entire process of making a film is constrained by two things: the total budget the studio has allotted the producer for the project, and the amount of time available to the producer to complete steps 2-4. Film making is not a leisurely process, and frankly on a small budget film like Tunes of Glory the producer probably wouldn't have wasted time or money on a special weave of tartan-- his costume designer would have selected something readily available, checked with the set designer and the director of photography to make sure the fabric would "work" on camera, and would then schedule fittings for everyone who would be kilted in the film.

What the costume designer wouldn't have done was sit down, design a tartan, have it woven, then have kilts made.

So, if it's the consensus of well-informed opinion on XMTS that the regiment is wearing brown Scott tartan-- well, that's good enough for me.

I think this stands to reason.

T.

[BobsYourUncle]

A film like TUNES OF GLORY is made in four stages:

(1) SET UP this is when the producers dial in the script and attach the various performers, directors, camera, and craftsmen to the film project.
(2) PRE-PRODUCTION puts everyone on the payroll, builds the sets, sorts the costumes rehearses the cast, and takes care of any last minute glitches.
(3) PRODUCTION is all of the time spent in front of the cameras, which can be anything from a few weeks to several years depending on the complexity of the story.
(4) POST-PRODUCTION in it's simplest terms means editing the film footage into a cohesive narrative (in other words making sure the picture has a logical beginning, middle, and end).

The entire process of making a film is constrained by two things: the total budget the studio has allotted the producer for the project, and the amount of time available to the producer to complete steps 2-4. Film making is not a leisurely process, and frankly on a small budget film like Tunes of Glory the producer probably wouldn't have wasted time or money on a special weave of tartan-- his costume designer would have selected something readily available, checked with the set designer and the director of photography to make sure the fabric would "work" on camera, and would then schedule fittings for everyone who would be kilted in the film.

What the costume designer wouldn't have done was sit down, design a tartan, have it woven, then have kilts made.

So, if it's the consensus of well-informed opinion on XMTS that the regiment is wearing brown Scott tartan-- well, that's good enough for me.

I am afraid the logic herein is unassailable. The most credible part of the story of the movie's production is that the A&SH and MOD prohibited the use of any actual Army tartan or emblem. That does not automatically translate into the design of an original tartan for the movie. I would agree that Neame's recollection may well have been faulty--and yet he was the director. One should be wary of dismissing the evidence of witnesses in favor of mere logic--I would take Director Neame's evidence over most other sources. However, I will observe that comparing the tartan as depicted in the film with Brown Scott, as was done in the Dunsire thread and shown in Post # 11 in this thread, it looks quite like a match. At this juncture in the discussion, I move from believer to agnostic. Without better evidence for either proposition, I am not convinced that either is proven.

Now what I would really like is a good, clean photo showing detail as to the cap badge...

[macwilkin]

Bob,

I certainly wasn't advocating that we discount Naeme entirely; however, as a historian I was taught to never depend on just one source, and to consider possible factors to place a primary source in context. However, the one post from the piper who asked Kenny Dalgleish, a man whose business is to know tartans, seems to confirm that it is Brown Scott. Such an observation, if legitimate, certainly would confirm what Rathdown has said about the adoption of the tartan.

It is interesting to note, btw, that Jock's swipe that "Cock O' The North" is a "cheesy tune" was also Kennaway's personal dig at his old regiment, from which he reportedly took his inspiration.

T.