Editing Ian Carmichael (section)

==Screen persona and technique==
Carmichael learned much of his technique from the thirty-week tour of ''The Lilac Domino'' he undertook in the late 1940s, where he appeared opposite the comic actor [[Leo Franklyn]].{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael". ''The Daily Telegraph''. 8 February 2010}}{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=53}} Carmichael acknowledged the credit for his development as a light comic actor went "in its entirety to the training, coaxing and encouragement of&nbsp;... Franklyn",{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=53}} who "showed me how to time my laughs and how to play an audience".{{sfn|Quinlan|1992|p=52}} Carmichael's experience in [[revue]] helped when he worked in a dramatic play; his experience in getting a character across to an audience quickly in a short sketch showed him that "it is very important to establish a comedy character as soon as possible. Your whole performance may depend on this being done".{{sfn|Marriott|1957|p=8}}

Carmichael polished his performances through extensive rehearsals and training.{{sfn|Strachan|2010|p=34}} The [[screenwriter]] [[Paul Dehn]] acknowledges the effort and discipline needed by Carmichael to achieve a polished feel to his act, describing how Carmichael would "slave for hours to perfect one stumble on a stairway and, having got it,&nbsp;... [would] make it seem effortless thereafter".{{sfn|Dehn|1957|p=6}} Jennings considers much of Carmichael's seemingly effortless light touch "was built on a hugely disciplined and virtuosic technique".{{sfn|Jennings|2014}} Carmichael's choice of comedy was character-, rather than situation-based and when the film or play generated its atmosphere from normal, recognisable aspects of life.{{sfn|Marriott|1957|p=8}} He selected his work projects carefully and became involved in the development and production side as closely as possible, or initiated the project himself.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1998|p=53}}

The image he portrayed in many of his works was summarised by one obituarist as "the affable, archetypal silly ass Englishman" with a "wide-eyed boyish grin, bemused courtesy and hapless, trusting manner".{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael". ''The Daily Telegraph''. 8 February 2010}} He became somewhat [[typecast]] with the character, but audiences liked him in the role, and "he polished this persona with great care", according to his obituarist in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', even though he tired of playing the role so often.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=176}}{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael". ''The Daily Telegraph''. 8 February 2010}} One of the attractions for the public was that he played his parts to get the audience's sympathy for the character, but with a measure of dignity that viewers could relate to.{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael: Actor". ''The Times''. 8 February 2010}}{{sfn|Barker|2010|p=35}} During Carmichael's semi-retirement, the Boulting brothers told him that they had not shown the range of his talents, and that "perhaps they should not virtually have confined him to the playing of [[wikt:twerp#Noun|twerps]]".{{sfn|Barker|2010|p=35}} When he took the role of Wimsey—the intelligent, cultured and effective investigator—the critic [[Nancy Banks-Smith]] wrote that "it was high time that Ian Carmichael was given the opportunity to look intelligent".{{sfn|Banks-Smith|1972|p=10}}