The Bespoke Overcoat

1956 British short film by Jack Clayton

The Bespoke Overcoat

Film poster

Directed by| Jack Clayton
Written by| Nikolai Gogol
Wolf Mankowitz
Produced by| George K. Arthur
Jack Clayton
Starring| Alfie Bass
David Kossoff
Cinematography| Wolfgang Suschitzky
Edited by| Stan Hawkes

Production
company

Romulus Films

Distributed by| British Lion Films

Release date

* 7 October 1956 (1956-10-07)

Running time

| 33 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Budget| £5,000[1]

The Bespoke Overcoat is a 1956 British black and white short film directed by Jack Clayton, based on a 1953 play of the same name by Wolf Mankowitz. The story is an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's short story The Overcoat with the action moved from Russia to the East End of London. In this version the protagonists are poor Jews working in the clothing trade, played by Alfie Bass and David Kossoff. It won an Oscar at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).[2][3]

## Plot

[edit]

The film titles run as a funeral takes place. A coffin is placed in the grave. We then see an overcoat being thrown on the coffin, before the grave is infilled. Morrie a Jewish tailor, speaks to himself in the mirror. He is then joined by the dead Fender. They debate the art of tailoring.

Fender is a lowly clerk in the warehouse of clothing manufacturers Ranting and Co. He complains to his boss, Mr Ranting that it is cold, and he wishes he had a good coat. Ranting ridicules him and says he will never be able to afford £20 for a good coat. He goes to a tailor friend, Morrie, to make a bespoke overcoat. They discuss the materials and the cost, which is agreed at £10.

As the coat progresses he goes for a fitting. The coat has no arms, and looks very big, but he says it is too tight under the arms. They agree that Fender will pay £2 at this stage. Ranting fires Fender. He goes to Morrie. They drink brandy by candlelight and Fender cries as he says he must cancel the order. Morrie says he will finish the coat nevertheless.

Fender lies in bed and regrets not fighting for his job, or fighting for a sheepskin coat. He coughs and coughs. He dies in his sleep. His ghost speaks to Morrie, who gives him the completed coat. However he still wants a sheepskin coat from Ranting's warehouse. The pair drink more brandy and go to the warehouse. Morrie asks if he can walk through the wall but Fender wishes to use the door.[4]

They enter and find a rail of jackets. They agree Morrie's work is better but "Ranting owes me" he says. Fender wishes Morrie a long life and says "pray for me", as he slowly walks away into eternity. Back at his house, Morrie puts on a black skullcap and says a Jewish prayer.

## Cast

[edit]

* Alfie Bass as Fender (Ghost)
* David Kossoff as Morrie
* Alan Tilvern as Ranting
* Alf Dean as Gravedigger (uncredited)

## Reception

[edit]

Pauline Kael called The Bespoke Overcoat "one of the best short-story films ever made".[5]

## Stage play

[edit]

The play was performed at the Arts Theatre in London with Kossoff and Bass and was directed by Alec Clunes. The supporting cast was Harold Kasket and Oscar Quitak.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p51
2. ^ "The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
3. ^ "The Bespoke Overcoat (1952)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011.
4. ^ "The Bespoke Overcoat (1956)". IMDb. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
5. ^ Kael, Pauline (2011) [1991]. 5001 Nights at the Movies. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 63\. ISBN 978-1-250-03357-4.
6. ^ Mankowitz, Wolf (2006). The Plays. London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1840026993.

## External links

[edit]

* The Bespoke Overcoat at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Short subject
1931–1935|

| Comedy|

* The Music Box (1932)
* So This Is Harris (1933)
* La Cucaracha (1934)
* How to Sleep (1935)

|

Novelty|

* Wrestling Swordfish (1932)
* Krakatoa (1933)
* City of Wax (1934)
* Wings Over Everest (1935)

Short subject
1936–1956|

| Color|

* Give Me Liberty (1936)
* Penny Wisdom (1937)

|

One-reel|

* Bored of Education (1936)
* The Private Life of the Gannets (1937)
* That Mothers Might Live (1938)
* Busy Little Bears (1939)
* Quicker'n a Wink (1940)
* Of Pups and Puzzles (1941)
* Speaking of Animals and Their Families (1942)
* Amphibious Fighters (1943)
* Who's Who in Animal Land (1944)
* Stairway to Light (1945)
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* Symphony of a City (1948)
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* Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor (1953)
* This Mechanical Age (1954)
* Survival City (1955)
* Crashing the Water Barrier (1956)

Two-reel|

* The Public Pays (1936)
* Torture Money (1937)
* Declaration of Independence (1938)
* Sons of Liberty (1939)
* Teddy, the Rough Rider (1940)
* Main Street on the March! (1941)
* Beyond the Line of Duty (1942)
* Heavenly Music (1943)
* I Won't Play (1944)
* Star in the Night (1945)
* A Boy and His Dog (1946)
* Climbing the Matterhorn (1947)
* Seal Island (1948)
* Van Gogh (1949)
* In Beaver Valley (1950)
* Nature's Half Acre (1951)
* Water Birds (1952)
* Bear Country (1953)
* A Time Out of War (1954)
* The Face of Lincoln (1955)
* The Bespoke Overcoat (1956)

Short subject
(live action)
1957–1973|

* The Wetback Hound (1957)
* Grand Canyon (1958)
* The Golden Fish (1959)
* Day of the Painter (1960)
* Seawards the Great Ships (1961)
* Heureux Anniversaire (1962)
* An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1963)
* Casals Conducts: 1964 (1964)
* The Chicken (1965)
* Wild Wings (1966)
* A Place to Stand (1967)
* Robert Kennedy Remembered (1968)
* The Magic Machines (1969)
* The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970)
* Sentinels of Silence (1971)
* Norman Rockwell's World... An American Dream (1972)
* The Bolero (1973)

Short film
(live action)
1974–present|

* One-Eyed Men Are Kings (1974)
* Angel and Big Joe (1975)
* In the Region of Ice (1976)
* I'll Find a Way (1977)
* Teenage Father (1978)
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* The Dollar Bottom (1980)
* Violet (1981)
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* Boys and Girls (1983)
* Up (1984)
* Molly's Pilgrim (1985)
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* The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1988)
* Work Experience (1989)
* The Lunch Date (1990)
* Session Man (1991)
* Omnibus (1992)
* Schwarzfahrer (1993)
* Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life / Trevor (1994)
* Lieberman in Love (1995)
* Dear Diary (1996)
* Visas and Virtue (1997)
* Election Night (1998)
* My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York (1999)
* Quiero ser (I want to be...) (2000)
* The Accountant (2001)
* This Charming Man (2002)
* Two Soldiers (2003)
* Wasp (2004)
* Six Shooter (2005)
* West Bank Story (2006)
* Le Mozart des Pickpockets (2007)
* Toyland (2008)
* The New Tenants (2009)
* God of Love (2010)
* The Shore (2011)
* Curfew (2012)
* Helium (2013)
* The Phone Call (2014)
* Stutterer (2015)
* Sing (2016)
* The Silent Child (2017)
* Skin (2018)
* The Neighbors' Window (2019)
* Two Distant Strangers (2020)
* The Long Goodbye (2021)
* An Irish Goodbye (2022)
* The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Nikolai Gogol's "The Overcoat" (1842)

Films|

* The Overcoat (1926 silent Russian)
* The Overcoat (1952 Italian)
* The Bespoke Overcoat (1955)
* The Overcoat (1959 Russian)
* The Girl in the White Coat (2011)
* The Overcoat (Russian)

Television|

"Nayi Sherwani"

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jack Clayton

* The Bespoke Overcoat (1956)
* Room at the Top (1959)
* The Innocents (1961)
* The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
* Our Mother's House (1967)
* The Great Gatsby (1974)
* Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
* The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

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