This short won the Academy Award for Live Action Short, Two-Reeler, over two shorts from Disney, which was no small feat back then. There will be spoilers ahead:The title of this short refers to the practice of custom-tailoring clothing to fit an individual, with such apparel referred to as "bespoke" and thus not to be sold to anyone else. The short begins with a funeral and a tailor dropping a coat in a grave. The story is related by the ghost of the dead man visiting the tailor that night.The tailor, named Morrie, is friends with Fender, a clerk for Ranting and Co., a clothing manufacturer. When Fender asks the current owner of Ranting if he can buy a sheepskin coat on time, he is callously refused, even though he's worked for the firm for more than 40 years and knew the current Ranting when he was a child.Fender pleads with Morrie to mend his current coat, but it's too old and can no longer be repaired, it's too far gone to be mended. They strike a bargain on a custom coat at cost. Morrie begins making the coat and gets a down payment.Fender gets sacked by Ranting and tearfully tells Morrie he cannot pay for the coat. Fender gets sick and dies of pneumonia. He is the ghost who visits Morrie and asks for his help in settling a debt of honor with Ranting. They go to the warehouse, where the ghost of Fender gets them in the warehouse and Fender helps himself to a sheepskin coat. Fender then asks Morrie to say a prayer for him and the short ends back at Morrie's with Morrie praying for Fender.The three principal roles are all well done by the actors, but Alfie Bass stands out as Fender. It's a wonderful short and richly deserved its Oscar.This is available on a region 2 DVD release of The Innocents and I saw it online. Most highly recommended.

The one and only time I saw "The Bespoke Overcoat" (TBO) was during the summer of 1957. I had gone into the Waverly Theater in N.Y., in Greenwich Village, to catch some AC and a double feature I was told by my trendy friends "not to miss." I can't remember what the other films were, but I haven't forgotten some of the visual details of TBO in nearly 50 years.The film opened with a long, drawn-out, circular pan approach to a bed. The black and white film was grainy. A spotlight shone from above making a cone of light. Someone was singing the Aramaic chant for the dead. A man is on the bed. He is dead or dying. Another man is chanting the Kaddish over him. And this is the opening. I was riveted to my seat. My eyes were wide as if held open by some Lon Chaney contraption. My heart didn't break, yet, as it would when the story finally spun out. But, as a seventeen year old, I knew this was an artful film, that the cinematography alone was outstanding.Then the "play" began, explaining how this man lived and died. I had sometime before read, or seen on TV, a dramatization of a Sholom Alechem short story about the world's most righteous man's death. That was set in heaven and all the angels, seraphim, cherubim, arch-angels, etc. were discussing what they ought do to mark the arrival of the world's most holy man. And when he came, this small, shy man, they badgered him with questions about what he might like: a performance by the heavenly band of musicians? a banquet? what? And he answered, "All I'd like might be a hot roll and a little butter. If it's not too much trouble." So TBO was something like this other story. You couldn't say that the one influenced the other; but, they did have their similarities. Of course, being Russian in its origins, there were surreal elements to the visual setting of TBO. But these were less than I imagined when I got to read "The Overcoat" in a collection of Russian stories. In this film, "The Bespoke Overcoat," writer Wolf Mankowitz managed to incorporate elements of Gogol (its author), plus a little Sholom Alechem into the script, and director Jack Clayton put it all together in an unforgettable cinematic style that was so moving I've remembered it vividly since 1957, which makes it among the most memorable films I've ever seen. And today, 2007, I get misty remembering how little Fender endured his final agony.I have searched for a place to purchase a copy of this film to no avail. My quest did lead me to the British Film Institute, or BFI, who seem to have the only known copy of the film. But they can not issue copies because they do not hold the copyright. The copyright is held by Granada. If IMDb can be cajoled into getting the permission from Granada, they might be able to make reasonably priced DVD copies of this film, one of the best short films ever. If you're reading this, you know what to do.Max Dudious

First, Wolf Mankowitz could write. Just about the worst thing he ever wrote was "a kid for two farthings" and that was pretty good. This was the best thing he ever wrote.Second, both Alfie Bass and David Kossoff acted brilliantly and must have been cast by a genius.Third, the Director also knew what he was about. He shot the film straight down the middle and didn't waste a frame. I suppose I must have seen it for the one and only time getting on for fifty years ago. I still remember some of the lines - "Flying jackets? In these jackets you can fly?" - and the ghost of Fender refusing to walk through the wall because he "felt silly". Didn't somebody get nominated for an Oscar?

I saw this film in 1960. I was 8 years old - and my much older sister had taken me along to see another film at the Glasgow Cosmo - the 'Art House' cinema of the time. I have no idea what the main film was - but this one was enchanting.No film has made such an impression on me - ever. It was 45 years ago - and I remember the words and scenes as if it were yesterday - despite only having seen it the one time.Spoiler*******When Morrie begins praying for Fender - it was only then I realised that Fender had been a ghost. It was so heart breaking - I couldn't stop weeping for days. My Mother was furious with my poor sister for 'upsetting' me by taking me to 'grownup' films.I have tried searching on the internet to see if a film copy (VHS or DVD ) is available. I found a copy of the play at a London bookstore - and amazingly - everything I remembered was as it was written.If anyone knows where I might find a copy - I would be most grateful.