Mrs.Cragg ( Peggy Mount ) is a charlady in the employ of the successful property development firm Ryder Enterprises. One day she finds a barely-smoked cigar in her employer's waste-paper basket, and, wrapping it in a piece of paper, gives it to her other employer, Colonel Whitforth ( the splendid Robert Morley ).
Noticing that the paper is in fact a telegram warning of an imminent company take-over bid by R.E., the wily Colonel instructs his stockbroker to buy shares in the doomed firm, and then sell them when the bid goes through. He makes a profit of £5,000! He offers Mrs.Cragg a share in the money, but she thinks he has done something illegal and goes to James Ryder ( Harry H.Corbett ) to come clean about the whole business. While waiting to see him she finds out R.E. have bought Pitt Street - where she lives - and plans to turf out the residents in order to build office blocks.
Enraged, she enlists the help of other chars to beat the greedy Ryder at his own game...
The post-war years saw much social change in Britain. Houses were demolished all over the country as redevelopment took place on a grand scale. 'Ladies Who Do' effectively captures those far-off times.
It is like an Ealing comedy in that it features ordinary people unexpectedly finding themselves in positions of authority, and the world becomes better off for it. The Colonel uses the money to form a company called 'Ladezudo' ( ladies who do ). Initially, they set out to save working class communities from predators such as Ryder, but by the end of the picture, they are seduced by the capitalist system and have adopted his entire philosophy.
A mouth-watering cast - Peggy Mount, Robert Morley, Harry H.Corbett, Jon Pertwee, Nigel Davenport, Dandy Nichols, Miriam Karlin, Graham Stark, Cardew Robinson, Avril Elgar, Arthur Mullard, John Laurie - and a witty script by Michael Pertwee add up to 85 minutes of absolutely charming comedy.
Mount's 'Mrs.Cragg' is not as domineering as her other screen roles, such as 'Emma Hornet' in 'Sailor Beware'. Here she is lovable. I'm sure audiences cheered as her army of women in aprons and curlers advanced menacingly on the builders.
'Ryder' has worked his way up from nothing to become a tycoon. He is the sort of man Harold Steptoe could have been had he gone into the property developing business instead of totting.
Barbara Mitchell appears briefly at the end, her character is not too far removed from the one she played in 'Please Sir!' and 'The Fenn Street Gang'. Also one to watch out for is a young Carol White ( of 'Cathy Come Home' fame ).
Favourite moment - a couple takes up R.E.'s offer of £100 to move out of Pitt Street, then the husband ( Ed Devereaux ) admits they were going to go anyway!
The only thing this film needed to make it a bona fide classic was the presence of John LeMesurier. But even without him, its still pretty good. Great music by Ron Goodwin too!
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