The Queen's Guards

Powell's sad farewell to British features was, by his own admission, crippled by lack of any conviction in the script. In a series of flashbacks from a Trooping the Colour ceremony, a young officer (Daniel Massey) remembers the abiding family problem: his dead brother is forever held up to him as an example by their military father, who is totally obsessed with the pride of the service. Despite an imposing performance by Raymond Massey in this role, neither the period frolics (which include a visit to a 'beat' club) nor the ponderous heroics carry much conviction, with only the faintest whiff of the flair or emotion that infused The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.