Year:  1954
Rating: 5.5

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This is a quaint English comedy with a strong dose of sentiment. It stars Margaret Rutherford and a cast of English actors that I have never come across before. It is easy to forget that there was and I guess still is a very local British film industry that never made it across the Atlantic - many of the actors never went to Hollywood but they still appeared in loads of English films. Rutherford of course did but before she became famous as Miss Marple only a few of her English films made much of an impact in the States - Blithe Spirit, The Importance of Being Ernest, Passport to Pimlico, The Mouse on the Moon - are the only ones that jump out at me as films that traveled well outside of England.


The humor in this one is very gentle and low key - so much so that it was nearly invisible to me. A sweet story but not a very exciting one. A wealthy old man passes away with his near relatives waiting eagerly for their cut of the estate - but instead he leaves it all to his seemingly doddering kind old niece Clara - played by Rutherford. In the will he asks her to look after a few people who run his businesses that he has affection for. The businesses turn out to be a brothel, greyhound racers, a fair ground con game and an ale house. All things that everyone expects will shock the old lady. There is also an illegitimate daughter who he wants cared for.

And that is what she does - in her slow methodical manner - not at all being shocked by these things but finding a way to better the lives of the people involved. The butler who assists her reluctantly is played by Ronald Shiner. Though apparently Rutherford said this was her favorite character, it is much more passive than I am used to from her which for me was disappointing - I prefer her as the aggressive battle axe she does so well.