Those People Next Door
| Those People Next Door | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Australian daybill poster | |
| Directed by | John Harlow |
| Produced by | Tom Blakeley |
| Based on | the play Wearing the Pants by Zelda Davees[1] |
| Starring |
Jack Warner Charles Victor Marjorie Rhodes |
| Music by | Billy Butler (musical director) |
| Cinematography | Roy Fogwell |
| Edited by | Dorothy Stimson |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Eros Films (UK) |
Release dates | February 1953 (UK) |
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Those People Next Door is a 1953 British second feature comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Jack Warner, Charles Victor and Marjorie Rhodes.[2][3][4]
Plot
In WW II era Britain, working-class Sam Twigg (Jack Warner) and his wife Mary (Marjorie Rhodes) are raising their family in the shadow of the Blitz. Their next door neighbours Joe (Charles Victor) and Emma (Gladys Henson) practically live in the Twigg's house, borrowing cups of sugar or using their Anderson shelter. Controversy arises when Sam's pretty daughter Anne (Patricia Cutts) becomes romantically involved with RAF officer Victor Stevens (Peter Forbes-Robertson). There is disapproval from Victor's wealthy parents, Sir Andrew and Lady Diana Stevens (Garry Marsh and Grace Arnold), who object to the match on grounds of class. Lady Diana even offers money to the Twigg family to call off the relationship, which enrages father Sam. However, when RAF man Victor is reportedly shot down in action, parental attitudes soften.
Cast
- Jack Warner ... Sam Twigg
- Charles Victor ... Joe Higgins
- Marjorie Rhodes ... Mary Twigg
- Gladys Henson ... Emma Higgins
- Garry Marsh ... Sir Andrew Stevens
- Jimmy James ... Drunk
- Patricia Cutts ... Anne Twigg
- Peter Forbes-Robertson ... Victor Stevens
- Anthony Newley ... Bob Twigg
- Grace Arnold ... Lady Diana Stevens
- Norah Gorsen ... Margaret Twigg
- Geoffrey Sumner ... F / Lt Claude Kimberley
Critical reception
Sky Movies gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote, "The Rank Organisation had unexpectedly boosted its bank balance with comedies about the cockney Hugget family (starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison) in post-war years, but decided to end the series after four films. Unconvinced that this vein of comedy had been mined out, producer Tom Blakeley's Manchester-based film unit, which had made Frank Randle comedies in the war years, took an old play set in 1941, hired Jack Warner and a good cast and let rip. Unfortunately, the characters were too unsympathetic and the piece still ran like a play, but the same distributors had better luck a couple of years later when they reunited Warner with Kathleen Harrison in Home and Away."[5]
References
- ↑ Murphy, Robert (15 August 2005). "British Cinema and the Second World War". A&C Black – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Those People next Door (1952)".
- ↑ "Those People Next Door (1952) - John Harlow - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".
- ↑ Spicer, Andrew (3 October 2003). "Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema". I.B.Tauris – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Those People Next Door".