HAPPY IS THE BRIDE

Original British 11 inch x 8 1/2 inch Trade Advertisement from Kinematograph Weekly for the 1958 Roy Boulting Comedy HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, based on the novel by Esther McCracken and starring Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Cecil Parker, Terry-Thomas, Joyce Grenfell, Eric Barker, Edith Sharpe, Elvi Hale, John Le Mesurier, Nicholas Parsons, Virginia Maskell, Thorley Walters, Irene Handl, Miles Malleson, Athene Seyler, Brian Oulton, Joan Hickson, Cardew Robinson, Victor Maddern and Sam Kydd.

In a quiet summer corner of Wiltshire that is forever England, David and Janet decide to tie the knot. Unfortunately this is the cue for everyone else to take over proceedings, to the dismay of the couple and the increasing despair of Janet’s father. One way or another the wedding – if there is one – is going to be an unforgettable occasion.

The poster art is by Michael ffolkes (1925 – 1988). A British illustrator and cartoonist. Born as Brian Davis in London, he studied art at Saint Martin’s School of Art, and in 1942 sold his first drawing to Punch, signing it “brian”. He went on to study painting at the Chelsea School of Art and later adopted “Michael Ffolkes” as his artistic name, becoming a professional cartoonist in 1949. He typically signed his cartoons as “ffolkes” in an all-lowercase printed style.

In 1961 he began illustrating the film reviews in Punch, and once admitted that “my whole life has been influenced by the cinema”: “I still often draw classic film situations – the mad scientist, Pancho Villa, Beau Geste and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.” In 1965 he admitted that “some of my opinions are outrageously right-wing”, and was described as “a Boulting Brothers impersonation of a Conservative”. Not surprisingly then that he illustrated 5 of the posters for the Boulting Brothers’ classic 1950s satires “Private’s Progress, “Brothers in Law” “Lucky Jim”, I”m All Right Jack” and “Happy is the Bride”

An exhibition of his cinema caricatures was held at the National Film Theatre, London in 1982.

The Advertisement is in very good condition.