THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT (1956) won the Oscar for Best Short Subject Film as well as the Venice Film Festival award for Best Short Film. I can see why. The tale is a quiet ghost story based on a tale by Nikolai Gogol (The Vij, Taras Bulba) in which an elderly clerk named Fender, working in a clothing manufacturing company, complains to his boss Mr. Ranting of the cold in the warehouse. Fender asks Ranting whether he can have one of the warm sheepskin overcoats and have the sum weekly deducted from his paycheck. Ranting scoffs that, at Fender's wages, he wouldn't live long enough to pay for the 20 pound overcoat. Fender goes to see his tailor friend Morrie and asks him to mend his tattered old coat. Morrie complains that he can't work miracles with such a shredded coat so he agrees to make a brand new overcoat for Fender at less than cost and have the clerk pay him in installments. Unfortunately, Mr. Ranting soon decides to let the old man go -- after over forty years of service -- with a week's pay. (Sound familiar in these economic times???). The old man is crushed and tearfully tells Morrie to cancel his coat order. Morrie insists he'll still make the coat for him but the cold (and probably a broken heart) kills Fender later that night. At Fender's spare funeral, Morrie tosses the now finished overcoat onto the coffin. The tailor is later visited by the ghost of Fender who insists that Ranting owes him that sheepskin coat after 40 years of service. The new ghost and the tailor drunkenly decide to go break into the warehouse and take it.

THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT is produced and directed by Jack Clayton who would later bring us the superb ghost film THE INNOCENTS based on Henry James' novella "The Turn of the Screw". You can certainly tell since, in OVERCOAT, Clayton utilizes the same delicate touch and realistic approach to ghostly appearances he would later use in his 1961 classic. Clayton would also direct the 1983 Ray Bradbury film adaptation of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, the hugely popular 1974 film version of THE GREAT GATSBY and the acclaimed 1959 British film ROOM AT THE TOP. There are absolutely no "Boo" moments -- this isn't THAT kind of ghost story. Instead it is an absorbing, realistic, indeed heartbreaking, depiction of the interpersonal relationships and grinding poverty of the two main characters. Comic actor Alfie Bass is almost unrecognizable (except for his voice, of course) as the touching old clerk Fender. Bass is mostly known over here in the States for the 8 episodes of ARE YOU BEING SERVED? in which he played Mr. Goldberg alongside John Inman's Mr. Humphries and Trevor Bannister's Mr. Lucas. Bass is truly remarkable in his understated performance and, in fact, was nominated for a BAFTA award for this very performance. Bass can also be seen through the years in such films as British caper film THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951), Roman Polanski's Hammer parody THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967), the Beatle's film HELP! (1965), superb British trucking drama HELL DRIVERS (1957) and the swinging 60's Michael Caine film ALFIE (1966).

Good-hearted tailor Morrie is played by David Kossoff and he is equally effective in his role. Kossoff's Morrie is a genuinely warm and caring soul who, even though he himself lives in poverty, still agrees to make an overcoat for the even more destitute Fender. However, Kossoff's performance never comes across as maudlin or saccharine. He is totally believable in his giving nature. Kossoff appeared in many films including the by-all-accounts dreadful 1954 screen version of SVENGALI (also appearing with Alfie Bass), the Cliff Richard teen rock & roll movie SUMMER HOLIDAY (1963), 1960 Hammer Horror THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED (1959), the early Benny Hill comedy WHO DONE IT? (1956), the also by-all-accounts dreadful remake of NINOTCHKA entitled THE IRON PETTICOAT (1956) starring Katharine Hepburn & Bob Hope and the 1956 film version of 1984.

The only other real part in the film is brusque Mr. Ranting played by Alan Tilvern. Tilvern is also quite good in his relatively minor part but the film is really concerned with the two leads. Ranting doesn't come across as a miserly Scrooge-type villain but instead as a man concerned with the bottom line who finds himself giving the sack to an elderly clerk who has become an annoyance to him. Not malicious but certainly not a caring fellow. Tilvern appeared in the Hammer Horror version of a biopic called RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK starring Christopher Lee, as well as THE FROZEN DEAD, SUPERMAN THE MOVIE and the Ralph Bakshi animated film version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The actor also appeared in many TV series including DAD'S ARMY, UFO, DOCTOR WHO, Z CARS and THE SAINT.

Special mention should also be made of the wonderful musical score by maestro Georges Auric which underlines the emotional sincerity of the film. Auric had a long career scoring film music and would go on to score the equally sensitive score for Clayton's THE INNOCENTS. Among the composers other notable screen scores can be found the classic British omnibus ghost film DEAD OF NIGHT (1945), the classic Cocteau version of Beauty and the Beast LA BELLE ET LA BETE (1946), Audrey Hepburn's Oscar winning film ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953), the superb Russian spook tale THE QUEEN OF SPADES (1949) starring the wonderful Anton Walbrook, Clouzot's WAGES OF FEAR (1953), the John Dickson Carr adaptation of THE BURNING COURT (1962), TESTAMENT D'ORPHEE (1960), RIFIFI (1955) and BONJOUR TRISTESSE (1958).