Editing Ian Carmichael (section)

===Early post-war career, 1946–1955===
In July 1946 Carmichael signed with Stone, who had also been demobilised and had set up as a [[theatrical agent]]. Carmichael obtained his first post-war role in the revue ''Between Ourselves'' in mid-1946 before he appeared in two small roles in the comedy ''[[She Wanted a Cream Front Door]]''— a hotel receptionist and a BBC reporter. The production went on a twelve-week tour round Britain from October 1946, and then ran at the [[Apollo Theatre]] in [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], London, for four months.{{sfnm|1a1=Carmichael|1y=1979|1pp=197–199|2a1=Fairclough|2y=2011|2pp=44–45|3a1=Herbert|3y=1972|3p=609}}

Between 1947 and 1951 Carmichael appeared on stage in both plays and revues —the latter often at the [[Players' Theatre]] in [[Villiers Street]], Charing Cross. He made his debut appearance on [[BBC television]] in 1947 in ''New Faces'', a revue that also included [[Zoe Gail]], [[Bill Fraser]] and [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]].{{sfn|"New Faces". ''Radio Times''}} From 1948 he also began appearing in films, including ''[[Bond Street (film)|Bond Street]]'' (1948), ''[[Trottie True]]'' and ''[[Dear Mr. Prohack]]'' (both 1949); these early roles were minor parts and he was [[Motion picture credits|uncredited]].{{sfn|Pettigrew|1982|p=30}} He spent much of 1949 in a thirty-week tour of Britain with the operetta ''[[The Lilac Domino]]''.{{sfn|Quinlan|1992|p=52}} According to Jennings, Carmichael's "first conspicuous success" was ''The Lyric Revue'' in 1951; the production transferred to The Globe (now the [[Gielgud Theatre]]) as ''The Globe Revue'' in 1952.{{sfn|Jennings|2014}} He received a positive review in the industry publication ''[[The Stage]]'', which reported that he "[[wikt:bullseye#Interjection|hits the bull's-eye]]" for his comic performance in one [[Sketch comedy|sketch]], "Bank Holiday", which involved him undressing on the beach under a [[mackintosh]].{{sfn|"The Globe". ''The Stage''}}

Carmichael spent the next three years appearing in stage revues and small roles in films.{{sfn|Jennings|2014}} Although he enjoyed working in revues, he was concerned about being stuck in a career rut. In a 1954 interview in ''The Stage'', he said "I'm afraid that managers and directors may think of me only as a revue artist, and much as I enjoy acting in sketches I feel there must be a limit to the number of characters one is able to create. What I would like now is to be offered a part in light comedy or a farce".{{sfn|Bullock|1954|p=10}} Between November 1954 and May 1955 he appeared as David Prentice in the stage production of ''Simon and Laura'' alongside [[Roland Culver]] and [[Coral Browne]] at the [[Novello Theatre|Strand Theatre]], London. The following year [[Simon and Laura|a film version]] was directed by [[Muriel Box]]; she asked Carmichael to repeat his role, while Browne and Culver's roles were taken by [[Kay Kendall]] and [[Peter Finch]].{{sfn|Jennings|2014}} The reviewer for ''[[The Times]]'' thought Carmichael "comes near to stealing the film from both of them".{{sfn|"Television's Ideal Married Couple Date". ''The Times''}} In 1955 Carmichael also appeared in ''[[The Colditz Story]]''. He played Robin Cartwright, an officer in [[Foot guards#United Kingdom|the Guards]], and spent much of his screen time appearing with [[Richard Wattis]]; the two men provided an element of [[comic relief]] in the film, with what Fairclough describes as a "[[Flanagan and Allen]] tribute act".{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=70–71}} ''The Colditz Story'' was Carmichael's ninth film role and he had, Fairclough notes, risen to sixth in the credits behind [[John Mills]] and [[Eric Portman]].{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=71}}