Barnacle Bill (released in the U.S. as All at Sea) is a 1957 comedy, starring Alec Guinness, playing an unsuccessful navy man as well as six of his maritime ancestors. Sir Michael Balcon (May 19, 1896–October 17, 1977) was a British film producer, best known for his work with the Ealing Studios. ... Thomas Ernest Bennett Tibby Clarke (June 7, 1907 - February 11, 1989) was a movie scriptwriter who wrote several of the Ealing Studios comedies. ... Publicity shot from 1960. ... Henry Mancini (April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994), was a noted American composer and arranger. ... Douglas Slocombe is a British cinematographer who has enjoyed a long career in the British film industry. ... John James Jack Harris (born October 27, 1948 in St. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ... Publicity shot from 1960. ...

Plot

William Horatio Ambrose (Guinness) wants desperately to live up to the proud family tradition; the Ambroses had always been mariners. In six humorous vignettes, Guinness portrays some of them, starting with a confused caveman pioneer and ending with his own father's ignominious demise at the Battle of Jutland. Ambrose has a debilitating problem however: he gets violently seasick at the slightest excuse. As a result, his contribution to World War II consists of testing cures for the malady. Combatants United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland German Empire Commanders Sir John Jellicoe, Sir David Beatty Reinhard Scheer, Franz von Hipper Strength 28 battleships, 9 battlecruisers, 8 armoured cruisers, 26 light cruisers, 78 destroyers 16 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 11 light cruisers, 61 torpedo-boats Casualties 6... Seasickness can be hazardous for scuba divers Seasickness is a feeling of nausea and, in extreme cases, vertigo experienced after spending time on a craft on water. ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United States United Kingdom and others Axis Powers: Germany Japan Italy and others Commanders Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Winston Churchill Adolf Hitler Hideki Tojo Benito Mussolini Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military...

When he retires from the British navy as a captain, he purchases a dilapidated amusement pier (the closest thing to a command of his own) with his life savings. The workers are an apathetic bunch, led by an insolent Figg (Victor Maddern), who quits as soon as the new owner begins imposing some semblance of discipline. With the assistance of his new second in command, Tommy (Percy Herbert), and much hard work, Ambrose soon has the pier repaired. The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... The Right Reverend Sir Percy Mark Herbert KCVO DD (April 24, 1885–January 22, 1968) was the first Bishop of Blackburn from 1927 to 1942 then Bishop of Norwich from 1942 to 1959. ...

Then he has to deal with the local town council, headed by the crooked Mayor Crowley (Maurice Denham) and the hostile Arabella Barrington (Irene Brown), who mistook him for a peeping tom when they first met. Every time he comes up with an ingenious way to make his business profitable, they see to it that the council outlaws it. When Crowley decides to confiscate and demolish Ambrose's pier and Barrington's bathing huts (under compulsory purchase) to further his own business interests, she resigns from the council and informs Ambrose. He counters by registering his property as a "foreign" naval vessel (christened the Arabella), under the flag of the easygoing country of Liberama, which puts it ouside the town's jurisdiction. He soon attracts many happy, paying passengers for his stationary inaugural "cruise". Maurice Denham (born as William Maurice Denham on December 23, 1909 at Beckenham, Kent; died July 24, 2002) was a British character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career. ... In law, eminent domain is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owners consent. ... For information on the band Flag of Convenience created by Steve Diggle and John Maher of the Buzzcocks, see http://www. ...

Thwarted, Crowley hires Figg to take his dredger and demolish the structure late at night. Ambrose foils the scheme (with his ghostly ancestors watching approvingly), but in the process, part of the pier is detached and floats away. He remains aboard to prevent salvagers from claiming it and ends up in France, where he is hailed as a great naval hero. ... It has been suggested that Treasure hunting (marine) be merged into this article or section. ...

Trivia

• This was the last film Guinness made for Ealing Studios. By coincidence, the first Ealing movie he starred in was Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which he also played numerous roles.
• Guinness actually served in the British navy in World War II.
• Donald Pleasance has a small role as a bank teller at the beginning of the film.

Ealing Studios, a TV and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London, claims to be the oldest film studio in the world. ... Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 Ealing comedy film. ... Donald Pleasence (October 5, 1919 - February 2, 1995) was a British actor. ...

See Also

• William Bernard, the actual "Barnacle Bill" of 19th-century San Francisco (unrelated to this film).

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External links

• Barnacle Bill at the Internet Movie Database