The Good Companions The Good Companions The Good Companions is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929 (in Deal, Kent), it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a concert party in England between World War I and World War II. It is arguably Priestley's most famous novel, and the work which established him as a national figure. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was adapted twice into film. The novel is written in picaresque style, and opens with the middle aged, discontented Jess Oakroyd in the fictional Yorkshire town of Bruddersford. He opts to
The Good Companions (1933 film) the cheery personalities are present and in good form," and concluded, "Miss Matthews sings pleasingly and dances gracefully, while Mr. Gielgud's portrayal is extraordinarily real. It is one of those stories which is all the more worth while for having been made in England, for, aside from the naturalness of the players, there are the scenes of country houses and hedged roads, which add to the general effect of the picture"; whereas "Time Out" wrote, "Saville's direction is adequate rather than inspired, but he elicits marvellous performances from his disparate cast. Matthews' portrayal of a bubblingly neurotic soubrette is wonderful,