Film goers who got to know Alec Guinness through the series of comedies he starred in for J. Arthur Rank will recognize the high performance standard he had attained by the early 1950's. His ascent seems swift but Guinness did not really get his start until after World War II, and he was already 38 when The Promoter/The Card was made. This film is a fairly lightweight comedy. Guinness' character, "Denry" Machin, is an imaginative young fellow who has a talent for seeing and seizing the main chance. He gets an important boost from a friendship with the Countess of Chell (Valerie Hobson), is nearly netted by the gold-digging Ruth Earp (Glynis Johns) and eventually finds his true love Nellie Cotterill (Petula Clark). I don't really consider this summary to contain any spoilers because most of the plot developments are visible a mile away. Much of the fun, in addition to that supplied directly by Guinness, comes from an assortment of near-Dickensian characters he encounters with aplomb on his way from poverty to riches.
Review of The Promoter
