The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan time to take a triumphant curtain call before the enthusiastic crowd. Nevertheless, Sullivan is unhappy writing comic opera. When Gilbert proposes a new piece involving the device of a magic lozenge, Sullivan objects that he wants to devote himself to serious music. Sullivan's friend, critic Joseph Bennett, writes a libretto for a cantata based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Golden Legend". Meanwhile, Gilbert, inspired by the sight of a Japanese sword hanging in his study, proposes a new plot, and Sullivan begins work. When Bennett goes to see Sullivan, he finds that "The Mikado" is being rehearsed instead of his
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan is a 1953 British technicolor film that dramatises the story of the collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote 14 comic operas, later referred to as the Savoy Operas, which became the most popular series of musical entertainments of the Victorian era and are still popular today. The film was written by Leslie Baily, Sidney Gilliat and Vincent Korda, based on Baily's "The Gilbert and Sullivan Book". It was directed by Sidney Gilliat, with cinematography by Christopher Challis and production design by Hein