The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan

The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan
Directed by	Sidney Gilliat
Starring	Robert Morley, Maurice Evans
Production company	London Films
Distributed by	British Lion Films
Release date	1953
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£98,139 (UK)

The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan is a 1953 British technicolor film that dramatises the story of the collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote 14 comic operas, later referred to as the Savoy Operas, which became the most popular series of musical entertainments of the Victorian era and are still popular today. The film was written by Leslie Baily, Sidney Gilliat and Vincent Korda, based on Baily's The Gilbert and Sullivan Book. It was directed by Sidney Gilliat, with cinematography by Christopher Challis and production design by Hein Heckroth. It was produced by Gilliat and Frank Launder for Alexander Korda, head of London Film Productions and was produced in time to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Some re-releases of the film re-titled it The Great Gilbert and Sullivan.

In addition to describing the ups and downs of the partnership between Gilbert and Sullivan, and their relationships with their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, the movie also depicts many of the people who performed in the original runs of the operas and includes extensive musical excerpts from the works, staged with the assistance of Martyn Green, who advised on the performance practices of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. The film is similar in style to other popular biopics of the era, such as The Great Caruso and takes considerable dramatic licence with factual details and moves events in time. For example, the opening night of Iolanthe is depicted as being the opening of the Savoy Theatre, whereas the Savoy Theatre actually opened earlier, during the run of Patience. The music in the film is played by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.