Tunes of Glory (1960) User Reviews

searing portrayal by Guinness

[rupie · 9/10 · 9 August 1999]

One of the marks of a truly great actor is the ability to do both comedy and heavy roles. To contrast Guinness's portrayal here of Jock Sinclair with, say, his Professor Marcus in 'The Ladykillers' is to become aware of the protean range of his talent. (One cannot imagine, for instance, John Wayne doing comedy.) To my mind Alec Guinness is the premier actor of the century; his performances have immeasurably enriched my inner life.

I am not as enamored of "Tunes of Glory" as I am of, say, "Bridge on the River Kwai," but it is without question a powerful movie. The conflict between Sinclair and Barrow is palpable; I think, in particular, of Mill's violently trembling rage during the dancing scene, and Guinness's dismissive ridicule of Barrow's deepest confidences ("toy soldiers!") during his attempt to con him into clemency. Sinclair's grief-stricken collapse at the end is truly an unforgettable scene and a tribute to Guinness's power.

"All is vanity... All is ego.": Nietzsche

[Pedro_H · 9/10 · 11 April 2012]

Rough-necked and uneducated Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) has fought his way through the ranks, and despite the love of hard drink and the odd highland fling, has proved himself in the very heat of battle. So much so that he has been made Acting Colonel of an (unnamed) Scottish regiment.

Sadly, for him, his informal barracks is going to be reformed under the auspices of the public school via Sandhurst graduate Lt. Col. Basil Barrow (John Mills) who believes in doing all things by-the-book. This sets the scene for a post WW2 power battle under a grey Scottish winter sky.

When writing a review of any excellent film - such as this - you are frightened you are going to put people off by its limits. However this is a classic example of less really being more. The claustrophobic atmosphere and the sense that armies without wars are prone to be heavy with politics. Not unlike like prisons: To many people in the same space with too much time on their hands. They drive men mad and extend the worst in the human character.

Guinness and Mills are fantastic actors. Oscar winners both and more. They could read the phone book and captivate an audience. For the record they had both seen war service, although Mills baby face and short stature had made him the butt of many jokes (many he was happy to re-tell). Did this help form his character? The guy who was laughed at and therefore worked even harder to enforce discipline or gain respect. This is, naturally, speculation.

I have no the knowledge of author (of book and film) but just by watching you know he has seen it for real. The little details that only the insider would know. The story would just as well be served as a theatre piece and it employs some its stock devices. The accidental narrator being the more obvious. Maybe this was to save money, but it would not have helped the picture to see - say - the incident that Mills had to endure from the Japanese.

Eyewitness testimony from the filming says that Guinness thought he would look silly in a kilt and used fake tanner on his pale legs. He is not the biggest of men and has to stick out his chest and stand on tiptoe to be imposing, but you do believe him. What an actor he was. An actor's actor. Like Peter Sellars, totally bland out of character (and not always very nice as he writes in his various autobiographies) but always mesmeric on screen. Mills - on the other hand - could never work as a bad guy. The perfect uncle figure who you would want to confide in.

(I am maybe giving the support cast short-shrift - but most British films of the time had quality character actors. No exception here. Amazing to see Susannah York in her first role.)

Alfred Hitchcock himself said Tunes of Glory was his own personal favourite film. It is not quite mine, but a great demonstration of how brilliant film can be when top class actors get their teeth in to a wonderful script. The end is pure Shakespeare. Don't watch it once, watch it twice...

Alec Guinness In A Magnificent, Powerful Performance

[jhclues · 10/10 · 27 July 2001]

A clash of wills and personalities between two men, one a psychologically scarred idealist, the other driven by ego and his own needs to the point of cruelty, is examined in the peacetime military drama, `Tunes of Glory,' directed by Ronald Neame and starring Alec Guinness and John Mills. Major Jock Sinclair (Guinness) is the acting Colonel of a Scottish regiment, but as the story begins he has been notified that he has been passed over for promotion and his replacement, Lieutenant Colonel Basil Barrow (Mills) is en route to take command. Sinclair is a soldier's soldier, a man's man loved and respected (with some qualifications) by his men. He has clawed his way up through the ranks, was once a piper (he would've been happy as a Pipe Major, in fact, but Hitler-- as he says at one point-- `Changed all that'), and feels strongly that he should have been made Colonel of the regiment. Barrow, on the other hand, is an aristocrat and a third generation officer of this particular regiment. He suffers, however, from his experience in a prisoner-of-war camp, and has never fully recovered, the impact of which is succinctly expressed when he tells his Captain that he never really came back. From the beginning, it's an almost impossible situation, and from the moment Barrows arrives the atmosphere is thick with tension as he and Sinclair square off in a contest from which it is readily evident that neither will emerge unscathed in one way or another .

Working from a tight, intelligent screenplay by James Kennaway (adapted from his own novel), Neame delivers a taut, insightful character driven drama that explores the diversity of human nature, and illustrates the good and evil contained within us all and the traits which ultimately determine which will be the prevalent manifestation of the individual personality. Through the device of placing the protagonist and the antagonist-- each the antithesis of the other-- in a no-win situation, the film examines motivations, actions and reactions that can lead the story in any number of directions, none of which are positive, but all of which are logical and which finally leads to a conclusion that is extremely powerful, incisive and totally believable.

As Jock Sinclair, you see Alec Guinness in a role quite unlike anything else he's ever done; it was, in fact, his own personal favorite of all of his cinematic creations. Sinclair is a man who is course and rough-hewn, an egoist who, when the personal need arises, will wantonly subject those around him to psychological cruelty in order to elevate himself and his position and to assuage his own ego. At mess, for example, he derides a young officer for not smoking his cigarette like a man; he orders every `man' to drink whiskey, implying that to do otherwise constitutes an assessment of an individual's masculinity. Boisterous bravura and ribald behavior are his tools of navigation through life, coupled with an attitude of doing things his way or the wrong way. And Guinness plays it to the hilts. Beginning with his whole perspective and attitude, he IS Sinclair, while physically he embodies and expresses exactly who this man is and what he stands for. At times, his eyes fairly bulge with an enthusiasm that suggests a lasciviousness underlying the cruelty; when he walks he strides purposefully, and carries himself in such a way that when he enters a room he veritably fills it and makes his presence felt so that the very air seems oppressed by him. It's a performance that, even in a strong year of Oscar contenders (Trevor Howard, Lancaster, Lemmon, Olivier and Tracy were all up for Best Actor-- Lancaster won) he deserved to be among them. In this film Guinness is quite simply unforgettable in one of his most powerful roles.

John Mills, as well, delivers a superb, introspective performance as Barrow, capturing the way in which this man must live so inwardly to survive, and conveying how difficult it is for him to continue on while attempting to live up to his heritage and the expectations of a position to which he is clearly unfit in his current mental state. In Barrow we see reflected the prevailing attitude of the times that `might makes right,' and that anything less is akin to unacceptable negligence, that same military mind-set that put Jake Holman at odds with the world in `The Sand Pebbles,' and led to the unfortunate incident depicted so eloquently in `A Few Good Men.' It's an excellent, understated, sensitive performance by Mills, who plays brilliantly off of Guinness's brutishness.

The film also boasts a number of excellent supporting performances, especially Dennis Price, as Major Charlie Scott, whose stoic assessment of himself as well as the situation at hand serves as the film's conscience; Gordon Jackson as the sympathetic Captain Jimmy Cairns; and Duncan Macrae in a memorable turn as Pipe Major Duncan MacLean.

Also included in this outstanding supporting cast are Kay Walsh (Mary), John Fraser (Ian), Susannah York (In her film debut as Morag Sinclair), Percy Herbert (Riddick), Allan Cuthbertson (Eric) and Angus Lennie (Orderly). A powerful film that so successfully demonstrates the devastating effects of dysfunctional human relationships and conveys the need to look beyond ourselves, `Tunes of Glory' presents a story to which everyone will be able to relate because the theme is applicable to any setting involving human interactions. A thoroughly involving film featuring a number of memorable performances (especially by Guinness) that will give you reason to take pause and reflect, and hopefully add some perspective to a world too often mired in unnecessary turmoil. I rate this one 10/10.

A few details about "Tunes of Glory"

[Bobs-9 · 1 March 2004]

These are just a few notes on one of my favorite films, "Tunes of Glory," which I recently watched again in its new Criterion DVD release. The plot is well-described by many posters below, so I won't bother with that.

The more I watch this film, the more I appreciate the wealth of detailed characterization it contains. On Barrow's first meeting with the officers of the regiment, as he is introduced to the rotund Major "Dusty" Miller, note John Mills' quick downward glance of disapproval at the Major's corpulent gut. In the following scene, where Jock Sinclair offers Barrow a whiskey, Barrow courteously replies that whiskey does not agree with him, to Jock's dismay. We later learn that Barrow is emotionally unstable, has problems controlling his rage, and that his family life has broken up. Could alcoholism be an issue, explaining his aversion to whiskey? While Guinness and Mills are justly praised, I find the performance by Dennis Price as Major Charlie Scott to be very interesting as well. Bringing to mind Ralph Richardson, he exudes an oily, genteel but detached sort of upper-crust English manner that Colonel Sinclair gleefully mocks ("old boy, old boy, old boy"). When RSM Riddick (Percy Herbert, distractingly bringing to mind Michael Palin in appearance and exaggerated military manner) tries to officially express the doubts of those in his own strata in the military hierarchy about the prosecution of Jock Sinclair, Barrow's first reaction is curiously bemused and sarcastic ("you astonish me"). Barrow subsequently snaps into martinet mode and brusquely dismisses Riddick's petition. His initial bemusement, though, is telling in that his instinct is not to take this man, from a lower level of the social and military hierarchy, seriously at all, treating him almost as an unruly child who needs be put in his place. Having seen power struggles, personality clashes, and class divisions like this in my work experience, I see that this all rings true. As foreign, exotic, and strange as the setting, characters, and language are to an American like me, the themes of this story are so universal that they can be immediately appreciated by almost anyone who's experienced life to some degree.

As for the language, it's a delight to finally have a DVD with English subtitles to clarify some of the spoken lines. The picture, by the way, is excellent on the new DVD, except for the intermittent appearance of a dark streak down the right side of the screen near the end of the film. I would have thought this could be fixed with digital restoration, but the cost of that might have been prohibitive, and though a little distracting, it really doesn't spoil my enjoyment. I think it's fitting that there are no negative reviews here thus far.

The art of acting

[coop-16 · 10/10 · 15 August 2000]

I finally had the chance to see this film in its entirety on Bravo a few days ago. Ronald Neame was not a director of the first rank, and he probably wasnt even a director of the second, but this is NOT a directors picture. It is a picture carried by superb acting and a brilliant script.I am now convinced that Guinness was one of the greatest screen actors that ever lived-if not the greatest.. This performance surpasses even his Colonel Nicholson in Bridge on the River Kwai, or his magnificent performances in the Ealing comedies. His boorish, arrogant, but oddly touching and vulnerable Jock Sinclair is a full length portrait worthy of Rembrandt-or Dostoevsky.John Mills, as the "by the book " colonel, whose aloof exterior hides enormous psychic scars, is almost equally good.Dennis Price, as a friend who turns his back on Sinclair, and the superb Gordon Jackson ( he was a great actor long, long before Upstairs Downstairs)as a restrained, sensitive officer who tries ineffectually to help both antagonists, are almost equally good. All of the other performances are very fine.The films beautifully written, sometimes funny, usually achingly sad script is a profound meditation on honor, tradition, repression and class conflict. Guinnesses soliloquy at the end is one of the most heart-breaking moments in all of film.

Two men who cannot cope with grief...

[pfgpowell-1 · 7/10 · 11 October 2008]

It's October 10, 2008, and I've just watched Tunes Of Glory on DVD. I give you the date because it is now more than 52 years since the end of World War II and that is relevant. Tunes Of Glory is about unresolved grief for friends and comrades in arms who have died in battle. Those now very old men who fought in WWII, those who fought in Korea, those who fought in Vietnam and Iraq, and those who fought in the many other smaller engagements around the world since then might be familiar with that grief, but a great many of us won't. Are great many of us are the baby-boomers who grew up to smoke dope and sneer at our father's generation and the occasional show of emotion they felt for friends and comrades alongside whom they had fought and who, unlike them, had been unable to cheat death. My father, born in 1923 and who enlisted in 1942, took part in the D-Day invasion in June 1944. He finally developed cancer in the late Eighties and died in 1991. But oddly enough he, a man who was always something of a hypochondriac all his life, spoke nor one word of complaint when he was, for once, very ill and knew he was to die. He said that after seeing so many of his friends and comrades killed in the war, every day since then had been a gift and he could not complain now that his life was finally going to come to an end. Tunes Of Glory is a film for his generation. The two main characters, portrayed by Alec Guinness and John Mills, have neither of them really come to terms with their experiences in the war and the deaths of comrades in arms, but both coped with it in different ways. Mills retreats into being a stickler but that doesn't save him from his grief. Guinness copes far better but is still damaged, but at least he survives. Both are very different characters, both strong in their own way, but both also weak. The Mills character, ironically, demonstrates his strength by going against the grain and giving way. The Guinness character's weakness is more hidden - he has the affection and loyalty of his men, but his flaw is that that affection and loyalty is vital to him. Without it and the battalion he led for a while, it seems that his whole life might fall apart. The film itself is quite static and this production would not be out of place on a stage. But that is no criticism. It is not a director's film, but an actor's film - you watch the film for the story and acting, not the direction and cinematography. In that sense it is quite old-fashioned, but that, too, is no criticism. The only drawback is that it might mean nothing at all to the MTV generation and that it might only be fully appreciated again once - heaven forbid - we have another world war and once again men and women are destined to cope somehow with a grief they find almost impossible to express. In that sense - in the sense that until this planet becomes uninhabitable and mankind ceases to exist, we will always go to war and we will always lose friends and comrade in arms and we will always ask ourselves: why did I survive but not him or her - this film will always carry an emotional clout and will be timeless.

A psychological study of two officers

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 28 January 2023]

British military drama starring Alec Guinness as Maj. Sinclair, the loud, boisterous commanding officer of a Scottish regiment in the years after WWII. Higher ups decide that Sinclair isn't an appropriate peacetime commander, so they send Col. Barrow (John Mills) to replace him. Barrow is a strict ruler-follower who likes life quiet, sober, and "respectable". This sets the stage for a battle of wills between the two officers.

I've heard of this movie for a long time, and knew that it was well-liked (Guinness considered it one of his best performances), but it wasn't what I was expecting. It's a psychological study of these two men, and, with the Barrow character, an early examination of PTSD before it was called that (he was a P. O. W. In a Japanese camp, and was tortured). The accents can be a bit much, and if you don't like bagpipes, this is definitely not the movie for you, but I thought the acting was terrific, and the slow-burn drama builds to a shattering conclusion.

Driven by its authentic atmosphere and its outstanding lead

[those_who_dig · 7/10 · 7 February 2017]

For some, "Tunes of Glory" may look like Scotland's answer to "From Here to Eternity". The similarities certainly exist, but I think the constraints imposed on Ronald Neame's film (i.e. not having the kind of budget or ensemble power of "From Here to Eternity") bestow upon it a feeling of sincerity. We can truly believe that military camaraderie is all that these men have, and that the power politics of army life are secondary to these soldiers' need to relate to both their little world and those with whom they share it.

My praise for this film's feeling of authenticity shouldn't be mistaken for an accusation of cheapness, though. Indeed, the star of the film is among the most respected actors of his time.

Alec Guinness is certainly one of my favourite actors, and "Tunes of Glory" is definitely a film for fans of his. The final scene, in particular, demonstrates just how good he was. He's supported competently by the other actors in this film, but he succeeds in dominating every scene he appears in.

Underplotted and overacted...though with intense scenes and interesting characterizations

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 22 November 2009]

WWII story set amongst clashing personalities in a Scottish military battalion, with the rigidly strict Commanding Officer shaking things up for the rowdy, hard-drinking Colonel. Ostensibly a great dramatic showcase for leads Alec Guinness and John Mills, however there's not much to this story beyond the battle of egos. Director Ronald Neame can't work up any interest in the side-plots concerning the Officer's daughter (Susannah York) and her flirtations with a Piper, nor the Colonel's drunken dependence on a local stage actress. It is very well-made, well-paced, yet the intricate succession of relationships between the disparate troupe of men might have been handled with more subtlety. Guinness has a long, rambling speech at the finale that shows off his range as a performer, but the sequence is too broad to work successfully in the context of the picture. ** from ****

As you'd expect, another exceptional performance by Alec Guinness

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 12 April 2009]

Alec Guinness is an amazingly under-appreciated actor. While most remembered for his Obi-Wan character, this was one of his least interesting or demanding roles. Few today realize the depth and range of his characterizations as well as the realism that he infused his characters with in his previous films. He was one of the finest British actors and this film is yet another example of his skills.

Guinness plays an angry and blustering Scottish officer who may also be an alcoholic (he at least is a problem drinker and shows many signs of alcoholism). The film begins with this popular officer throwing a farewell party, of sorts, with the men in his command. It seems that Guinness was given temporary command but a replacement (John Mills) is due to arrive shortly--dashing Guinness' hopes for this position becoming permanent.

Because Guinness' character is so very flawed and petty, he does much to try to undermine the new C.O.. In particular, Mills is a "by the book" sort of officer and Guinness ignores changes Mills orders--and by example, derision and a lack of respect for Mills spreads through the ranks. Instead of behaving like officers and gentlemen, the men behave like this is some sort of popularity contest and they show contempt for their new leader. None of this is helped by Guinness' drinking, as it gets him in trouble and creates serious problems for the regiment.

While Mills, as usual, does a great job in the film playing a man who is suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, the film is definitely Guinness'. His boorish character is a great example of him once again immersing himself into a character and the way he responds to the tragedy near the end of the film gives the character great depth and a bit of sympathy--something you needed to make this a stand-out film.

The bottom line is that this film is extremely well-crafted. The acting is universally excellent, the script tense and well-written and the film is great unless you are the type of person who demands lots of action. While a film about the military, this is no action film. Wonderful.

What fine reviews

[trimmerb1234 · 8/10 · 8 January 2009]

As a very late reviewer I see that very much of what I would have said has already been said so I endorse rather than repeat it. What is surprising is that these lengthy perceptive and very admiring reviews have come not from the film's country of origin but from the USA where it seems to have struck a particular chord. Reviewers have noted Guinness's perhaps finest ever performance as well as, very unusually the fine ensemble playing where script, casting and direction must all have been of similar quality.

I would take issue with the reviewer who said that the Mills character would never have been given command. Clearly he had been highly educated, had a long and distinguished career in a headquarters job following a traumatic time as a POW of the Japanese. He would have at least earned some kind of moral right at the end of his career and in peacetime to be given the job that he believed he really wanted and might have thought to have been among friends. He would most likely have been highly respected owed favours and been able to pull strings. Had Jock Sinclair (Guinness) - unashamedly uneducated, rough and proud to have been educated in Barlinnie jail, Glasgow and deeply popular with his men not been the officer he replaced, most likely Colonel Barrow would have made a success of it. The whole entirely believable tragedy came about through the grotesque mischance that with these so different characters, one had to wrest command - and respect of the men - from the other. Colonel Barrow's fragility was only exposed when he tried to impose his English "civilising" ways on the one person whose whole being rejected them. Bad enough if it had been simply about class, here it was a battle for the Scottish soul. These deeper levels of conflict deriving from earlier historical intra-Scottish battles was suggested by one reviewer. The film tells a story which perhaps could have been set in almost any country with a strong military tradition - France. Germany, Japan etc rather like its near name-sake "Paths of Glory" by Stanley Kubrick set in WW1 France. Here though the central conflict presumably had very deep roots in Scottish ethnic and tribal history of clan wars, of Highlanders vs Lowlanders even of those supposed English-loving "traitors" who "sold" Scotland to "a parcel of rogues" (The English) in 1707. It may well be that for Sinclair, the entirely Anglicised Colonel Barrow (gin-drinking, aloof, distant and without a hint of a Scottish accent) represented exactly that kind of treacherous pseudo-Scot.

One reviewer describes it as "pure John Ford" leaving it unclear if he is suggesting that it was similar or derivative. With art in general, its lower and by definition least original forms ape others. This film does not ape any other - as already said the intensity of the conflict derives not just from class but from old old historical grievances between two intimately close nations. In "Old" Europe grievances and rivalries ran long and deep.

Just a rather sad footnote. One reviewer mentioned similarities to earlier John Ford/John Wayne movies. The entire John Wayne archive is to be seen on a continuously circulating basis on two of Britain's five national television channels State broadcaster the BBC and so-called public service broadcaster Channel 4. Yet in contrast Tunes of Glory has rarely been shown. It reappeared 2 years ago but in a poor quality print on a remote satellite channel which plays mainly public domain material. Many of Britain's fine vigorous quality films of the 1960s have never been shown at all on British television until a few months ago when again a very minor satellite channel started showing them: Otley, The Hireling, The Reckoning and others. I did not see them originally and it was revelation seeing the bold acting and directing talent which existed then and how sad is the current decline into the Lock Stock etc formulaic gangster stuff. Very curious indeed that great British films are not shown on the supposed British public service channels and it is left to small satellite channels Movies4Men and Simply Movies to show them. Very curious indeed. Public service broadcasting not in the service of the public.

A truly excellent movie

[susan-101 · 4 April 2002]

You will never know whether you should love or hate the two lead male actors this this movie. Just when you find yourself hating the Guiness character, you will be pulled in the opposite direction, and find yourself feeling sad for him. Same for everyone really in this story which is what makes it so engaging. The rich and privileged John Mills is easy to hate as he didn't have to work hard to get where he is. But that very stigma is what hurts him, as he is never really given a chance to be seen as anything more than a privileged fool, so then you pity him. Guiness plays a character who worked very hard for everything he has, and is to be admired until you realize he doesn't give any room for kindness, or compassion, and then you pity him too, but for different reasons. I saw this movie at 3:00 am on a work night, and couldn't move from the screen, despite my early day at work. I was pulled into this story that seemed too familar to me as we are all guilty of either judgement. Brilliant.

Double Oscar Winners

[shell-26 · 8/10 · 1 March 2000]

Alec Guinness is superb as acting colonel Jock Sinclair. Drunken and boorish, a terrible administrator but a wartime hero. Rough and wild for once, he is cast against type, yet emerges triumphant in an acting master class.

The book is a slim volume, but is fast moving and full of character. Set in provincial Scotland, the flavour of the film is as strong as the novel (by James Kennaway who also wrote the screenplay) but the characterisation by the actors builds on and then surpasses the script. I note that neither of the actors is Scottish and this amazes me. Maybe I should seek advice from a Scot on this matter.

We never leave the barracks or the quiet army town and so learn only by rumour how Jock Sinclair, on some blasted field at the centre of El Alamein saved his regiment and turned the battle. Half the officers and men were dead, the cause lost, yet his spirit and the force of his will brought him a battlefield promotion to acting colonel. The Regiment is what he lives for.

Several years later, in peacetime, the army catches up with its paperwork and sends a proper officer to take back the reins. Basil Barrow arrives unexpectedly from a desk job and Sandhurst. His assignment is to organise and civilise the men, long gone wild under Jock's supervision. John Mills plays the rather impotent lonely Barrow as an accentless and educated man. There are "dark rumours" amongst the men that he may be English.

The clash between the two men commences immediately on their meeting and ends in scenes of mourning and redemption.

This is an actors film. There are few effects and much of the action is centred on one or the other of Guinness or Mills. Sinclair is a piper, this gives him an almost spiritual air and his feel for music (the Tunes of Glory) is the first area of contention between the two Colonels. When Jock leads his men in a wild and unruly reel with arms flailing and much shouting and yipping at a society ball the ensuing fit from the uptight and conservative Mills is wonderful. He trembles and shakes and we do likewise.

The film builds and builds to a finale full of Tunes of Glory and we come to an understanding about both men, as they come to understand each other.

British cinema emptier!

[rxelex · 6/10 · 9 December 2019]

This film is a prime example of the vage pointless film that destroyed the British film industry. It is full of outdated, out moded Victoriana and class divide. The plot is a Scotch regiments attempt to fill their boring peacetime with childish immaturites , redundant ceremony and the evening dinner. Watch it for its view of Sterling and men in skirts dancing but don't forget it was mad when Coronation Street was already a year old.

Great movie. Great cast. Great location.

[armourjock · 10/10 · 16 May 2000]

I consider "Tunes of Glory to be one of the best movies made of it's type. The acting of Alec Guinness and John Mills was of the highest standard, with a great supporting cast. The Scottish accents were excellent and the setting at Stirling castle in Scotland gave the film real authenticity. Although the film was made in 1960 I still consider it to be one of the best movies I have ever seen. Of course I could be a wee bit prejudiced here as I hail from Scotland, although exiled here in Melbourne, Australia these last 34 years. This movie hardly ever appears on television, however if you haven't seen it and get the opportunity, please take it. You won't be disappointed.

Tempest in a teapot

[bondom-163-503490 · 7/10 · 17 September 2020]

Great acting in a movie where immature grown men, playing soldier (in skirts), create tempests in teapots.

Far too depressing

[HotToastyRag · 3/10 · 6 November 2020]

Unless you're die-hard fans of Alec Guinness or John Mills (or preferably both), you'll probably be bored to tears when you rent Tunes of Glory. It's an oft-used plot, that of a commander of his troops butting heads with his rigid replacement, but since I've seen so many of those movies, I'm a pretty hard sell. This one involves a Scottish brigade, so you'll get to hear Alec trying out a very effective brogue and literally dancing around in a kilt. In fact, one particular bone of contention is the way the men dance at a ball, and John Mills insists on extra dance practice first thing in the morning. It sounds very inconsequential on paper, but it's one of the major plot points.

Much of the push and pull isn't too interesting, so you'd better be in it for the acting. A Scottish accent is very difficult to master, and if it weren't for his signature facial expressions, you might not know it's Alec Guinness under the red wig and brogue. John Mills wears a flattering salt and pepper hairpiece, and he has a couple of tearful scenes with his powerful blue eyes to show the strain is too much for him, but this isn't one of those movies that'll really stand out in your mind for years to come. For a laugh, since the movie ends with an extremely depressing tone, I'll end this review with my oft-said remark, "Why wasn't it David Niven?" He's Scottish! To be fair, I'm sure Richard Todd wanted the part, too.

Tunes was indeed Glorious

[mullin-1 · 10/10 · 25 June 2001]

Such a fitting picture was Tunes of Glory, that Sir Alec Guinness himself declared it in his autobiography one of his favorite roles. The mood of the film was perfectly captured by a cast of outstanding British character actors, led most ably by Gordon Jackson, in the world of post wartime Britain. The barricks/castle backdrop is itself a character in the film. However, its indeed an actor's film. Guinness's soliloquy at the end of the movie is worth the "price of admission" and should be mandatory for any would-be actor to view prior to entering the trade. Guinness is matched scene for scene with John Mills portrayal of Col Barrows. Movies such as this and Carol Reed's "The Third Man" with Orson Wells was the backbone of two decades of outstanding British cinema. This movie joined an impressive list of movies to be ignored by Academy of Motion Pictures and the Oscar. If nothing else the soundtrack is a bagpipe lover's dream. In a personal aside (chance for name dropping) I had the opportunity to met Gregory Peck once, and he in a brief moment he was asked about great performances in great roles, and without hesitation chose Guinness's Colonel Sinclair as one of his top three comtemporary performances (first of course was his Attackus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird". High praise indeed.

Tunes of Glory

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 10 December 2019]

Tune of Glory is a battle of wits between two damaged men.

Alec Guinness plays Lt Colonel Jock Sinclair, a boorish Scotsman who was in temporary command of a Scottish regiment. Colonel Basil Barrow (John Mills) is the new commanding officer who arrives at the regiment a day early. On the day Sinclair has his raucous leaving party.

Barrow is not happy with what he sees, the way the men do the Highland fling and tells the regiment to shape up when he takes over command.

Sinclair worked his way up the military hierarchy. Popular with some of the men, not others especially the English officers. He is also fond of the drink, maybe too fond. Barrow was born into a military family, he went to all the right schools for military officers. Barrow also spent World War 2 in a prisoner of war camp where he was tortured including being waterboarded.

Sinclair has no time for Barrow and sabotages him from the very beginning. After Sinclair hits a corporal who he spots in the pub with his daughter, Sinclair weasels his way out of a court martial by promising Barrow he would be on his best behaviour. A promise he has no intention of keeping.

Excellently acted by Guinness and Mills. Tune of Glory does very much comes across as an overly melodramatic stage play. Barrow's problem was he needed to talk properly to the officers on his side to get Sinclair's number. He needed to be more sly and cunning, like Major Charles Scott (Dennis Price) who is friendly with Sinclair but undermines him when the opportunity presents himself.

Maybe Sinclair was right about Barrow. He was a toy soldier.

Battle of wits between two superstars, Alec Guinnes and John Mills, in the Neame's best film

[ma-cortes · 8/10 · 20 November 2008]

This memorable drama deals with a strong confrontation between two veteran army officers , developing an impressive clash of wits , enhanced by marvelous performances . Major Jock Sinclair-Alec Guinness- is undisciplined , drunk and a fun loving person , he fought in Montecassino and Berlin , moving throughout the ranks of the British military and respected by Officers remainder . His contender the senior commanding officer Colonel Basil Barrow -John Mills- is serious , disciplined and educated in Oxford and Eton , he was even imprisoned by enemy . He has returned as a new regiment chief and replacing Major Jock . Colonel Sinclair is disillusioned when is replaced by a British martinet and he then undergoes a psychological harassing with sad results . Here's a Helluva Swelluva Free-Swinging Movie! Colonel Jock Sinclair drank with his officers...and sang and danced with them...until that day when a shot rang out AND HE STOOD ALONE!

Alec Guinness and John Mills were never better than in this picture . Both of whom acting from deep within and giving the interpretation of their lifetime . They confront each other to brink of madness , an intense battle of wiits , well reflected on their outstanding performance . Secondary cast is frankly extraordinary such as : Dennis Price as Commandant Charles , Officer Allan Cuthbertson , Sergeant Percy Herbert, Corporal John Fraser , 2ªLieutenant PeterMcEnery , Kay Walsh as the girlfriend and Susannah York film debut as the intimate daughter. Special mention for Gordon Jackson as an upright officer . Adequate cinematography -shot in Shepperton studios- by cameraman Arthur Ibbetson and emotive musical score plenty of Scottish bagpipes sounds by Malcolm Arnold . Ronald Neame's smoothly persuasive direction attracted reception by the public . Neame was one of Britain's best cameramen in the 1930s and 40s, working for David Lean , later he turned to direction in 1947 with 'Take my life'. His biggest hits were undoubtedly 'The Poseidon adventure' and 'Odessa file' . Ronald Neame and Alec Guinness worked successfully together in 'The card' and 'The hours's mouth'. Rating: 8/10 . Splendid and excellent , above average. Essential and indispensable seeing .

A faultless "10"

[caa821 · 10/10 · 26 October 2006]

I recently saw this movie again, several years after having first enjoyed it. And I recall reading a remark in a review of Leonard Maltin's (I enjoy his reviews more than those of any of his peers), but disagree with one of his statements. He said that Guinness and Mills had been cast in roles which seemed more appropriate to the other.

In looking at several of the comments in this site, I haven't seen any which I feel would agree with this opinion, either - despite Mr. Maltin's well-deserved high reputation.

Like others here, I found this to be a superb, outstanding film, one of my all-time favorites. In addition to faultless performances - by the leads, primary supporting actors, and all the remaining cast - the depiction of the stark, gray, spartan setting in Scotland is wholly-realistic as well as captivating.

This film, soon to be 50-years old - now also provides a nostalgic picture of its period, in terms of films of its era, and its contemporary presentation of the post-WW II era.

About as "faultless" and "moving" as any motion picture and story one can name, in whatever setting or of whatever genre.

An acting masterclass, never to be equalled

[kindofblue-78221 · 10/10 · 23 December 2019]

There's no other movie like Tunes of Glory. Story, acting, setting are all superlative. I used to live right at the top of the Royal Mile next to the Castle. Its a grand setting and one of the finest views in the world. Therefore its fitting that such a movie equals this. The acting is Almost beyond belief John Mills is never outclassed by Alex Guinness as some have said. The supporting cast is a who's who of legends. Movies do not get better than tunes of glory Movies cannot get better than Tunes Of Glory

A really good leadership study as the different members make mistakes, some of which have a great impact on others.

[ccunning-73587 · 10/10 · 2 July 2019]

Nothing short of outstanding on many levels. A quality movie made at a time when people actually tried to make quality movies. Excellent photography and great sound, though the Scottish accents sometimes left me needing to watch the subtitles! An awesome story about people, military personnel in this case, but you can find the same situations in any group. An outsider comes in and becomes the CO of a unit that most in the unit believed rightfully belonged to the acting CO, and one well liked by the officer staff. These are all adults with the history that all adults have, ambitions, realized and unrealized, desires, flaws, jealousies, and demons... and how they play among real people, not current hollywood's plastic unrealistic people. A really good leadership study as the different members make mistakes, some of which have a great impact on others. A great cast of past and current greats in acting.

NOT for those that want non-stop, pin-ball type, CGI action.

Mills and Guinness showcase the greatest performances of their respective careers

[MarvellousMedicine · 10/10 · 6 September 2020]

I don't know why we British haven't more affection for Tunes of Glory, it demonstrates how a film can be made to perfection simply by allowing it's two star players to act. There is nothing flashy, there is no especially amazing plot devices, you are captivated by the performances of Mills and Guinness. It's quite simply the best performances given by both men.

I have said this before in other reviews of Mills' work, he can display so much, so simply with his facial expressions and his expressive eyes. He only has to look at the camera in a certain way to convey the deepest emotions. His portrayal of Barrow is the pinnacle of his achievements (and there is a lot to compare it to), Mills' portrayal of men driven to the point of insanity was surely his forte. This performance is understated, with one poignant and deliberate outburst, everything else about Barrow is pure inner pain, magnificently achieved by erratic facial twitching. When you read his autobiography or see him in interviews Mills always states how lucky a man he was, and how wonderful his life had been. What on earth were those inner demons and tragedies he used to turn to when playing these characters? Perhaps there never were any, then by god that's some bloody good acting right there, and by an actor with no formal training either. Yet we only seem to want to lionise him for his 2D military films.

But one stellar performance is not enough to make a film gold standard, and we are treated to another superior performance, perhaps even the better performance of the two. Guinness knocks the socks off of us with his performance as Sinclair. It is truly fantastic, and the final scene is perhaps the greatest scene you will ever see him in. Before I saw this film I was dubious, Guinness playing a rowdy, flame-haired Scot, full of whiskey and bullying Mills? I just didn't think it would have been possible, Guinness does not come across as that kind of masculine figure. Just compare these two in Great Expectations. Your money would be on Pip, not Pocket if they were to have ever relived their boyhood scrap, and as they both aged Mills was definitely the more physical actor of the two. But Guinness not only proves us all wrong he becomes Sinclair so convincingly, he gives his character so many aspects to delight in. In the space of 5 minutes he turns Sinclair's character into one near identical to Barrow the loss of his family, his regiment, his sanity, you end up feeling more sorry for him than you did Barrow. This film is the reason why Guinness deserves to be known as the greatest British film actor of all time.

A Battalion In Winter

[slokes · 8/10 · 22 February 2013]

A solid drama with comic overtones but a tragic heart, "Tunes Of Glory" spells out the cost of war to its unlucky survivors as two Scots clash over the command of a battalion.

We begin inside the snow-capped battlements of a highland fortress where acting commander Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) holds an uneasy if boisterous court. He's about to surrender command to a paper-pusher up from Sandhurst named Barrow (John Mills) whom Sinclair dismisses as a "wee man" and his command come to know as "Boy Barrow." As played by Guinness, Sinclair does a lot despite his rough ways to win our rooting interest, but as the film engages us with its twisty story, it doesn't let us stick with him for long.

The first time I saw "Tunes Of Glory," I was underwhelmed. A lot of guys in uniform glaring at one another until matters reach an uncomfortable, unrealistic pitch, I thought. But watching it again twigged me onto its depth of characters, not just the two principals but the many men around them who define this strange command. Under the steady, unshowy direction of Ronald Neame, "Tunes Of Glory" becomes a riveting psychodrama not for its dramatics but its subtleties.

Take the second-in-command (after the demoted Sinclair), Major Charles Scott (Dennis Price). He seems Sinclair's bosom friend, but the word "seems" is the operative term here. Is he simply an opportunistic louse, or has he seen enough of Sinclair's antics to take a different tack? Knowing my share of Scotts in life, I can't say I like the man, but the trick of this film is, like with everyone else, I can't quite hate him as much as I want to. Price does a great job playing off the two principals in his quiet, insidious way, always drawing our attention in frame.

Guinness and Mills are equal partners in this dramatization, but Guinness is the one you come away admiring. Whether you think of Obi-Wan or Colonel Nicholson (a clear model for Barrow, actually, as they both served in the Pacific in World War II), there's nothing that prepares you for the sight of Guinness with a red wig and mustache, glaring at his underlings with a clenched smile as he alternately teases them and calls him his "babies."

Spying a lower officer with a cigarette, Sinclair upbraids him to "stop puffing it like a ruddy debutante." Setting his sights on Barrow, he shows no mercy in turning the command against the martinet colonel, even when Barrow shows he's about more than spit and polish.

"He was never Alec Guinness, he was always the character," Neame says in an extra on the Criterion DVD. That was never more true than here. "Tunes" is a takeoff point in discussing Guinness's singular greatness as a film actor.

Mills is a capable foil, and in many ways, the heart of the film. You want to hate him right away, with his clipped delivery and brusque manner with his new command, but Mills presents a beating heart you find yourself liking more and more, especially after Sinclair and the others continue their raillery at his expense. It's this twisting quality of manipulating audience loyalty that lends "Tunes Of Glory" its most bracing force.

I admit the ending still leaves me a bit cold, as does a romance between a young Susannah York and John Fraser that helps set up the main conflict without much in the way of its own resolution. Most of the minor characters' story arcs are dealt with more satisfactorily, such as that of Gordon Jackson's Capt. Cairns, who can be called the moral center of this socially rigid but morally askew drama, or Duncan Macrae's Pipe Major MacLean, who along with Guinness in his lighter moments preserves the comedic sidenotes as the drama takes over in the second half.

"Tunes Of Glory" pushes a lot of heavy emotion at the viewer but to view it again, after its main trumps have been played, is to see better the textures and resonances of James Kennaway's script. At times, the film plays with sound, especially when either Barrow or Sinclair is under mental strain, in ways that are brutally effective.

"You see before you the body of a major and a ghost of a colonel," Sinclair says early on, referencing his demotion but, as we discover, offering a prediction of things to come. The greatness of "Tunes Of Glory" is to turn us the viewer alternately into both approving witnesses and horrified bystanders of a colonel's ruin, realizing like Sinclair too late that the price of victory can be as high as the cost of defeat.