Editing Private's Progress (section)

=== Critical reception ===
''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote:<blockquote>The general irreverence of this film is in itself welcome; it is prepared to tilt at almost any target – the boredom and futility of army routine, the corruption of high-ups at the War Office, class-consciousness, all kinds of incompetence, intrigue and official absurdity. All that one wishes is for the humour to have more edge. There is material here for real satire, but writing and direction choose the less demanding level of affable farce. The experiences of Windrush are not related to anything outside himself; and since the reality of war is never shown at all, an important point of contrast is lost, and the force of the episode about the looting of German art treasures is dissipated. Everything in this world is absurd. Also, Ian Carmichael – though he has an enjoyably accomplished comedy technique – does not present Windrush as a true innocent; he is too sly, too knowing. When one thinks of [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]] in ''[[Shoulder Arms]]'' [1918] one realises how much is lost by too obvious a dig in the ribs. For the rest, there are some clever character sketches by TerryThomas, Richard Attenborough and Kenneth Griffith, and a number of good jokes.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1956 |title=Private's Progress |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305818684/48025A55A04C4EE7PQ/1 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=23 |issue=264 |pages=44 |id={{ProQuest|1305818684 }}}}</ref></blockquote>''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "As a lighthearted satire on British army life during the last war, ''Private's Progress'' has moments of sheer joy based on real authenticity. But it is not content to rest on satire alone and introduces an unreal melodramatic adventure which robs the story of much of its charm.&nbsp;... Expert British players lake good care of the supporting parts."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=14 March 1956 |title=Private's Progress |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/962917917/2EB903AA241F467EPQ/2 |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |volume=202 |issue=2 |pages=22 |url-access=subscription |id={{ProQuest|962917917 }}}}</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "the Boultings have come up with an ingenious story and injected hilarious moments. But the whole thing sparkles and fizzles."<ref name="NYT1956" />