This is the film version of a play,with most of the action taking place in the front room of the family house.William Sylvester returns as an army veteran who was the former lover of the daughter of the family.However she is now married to a rather unsympathetic character who is more interested in speaking at strike meetings than taking his wife dancing.There is a courting couple played by a very young Brian Rix and a young Prunella Scales.A youthful Joan Simms also makes an appearance.There is a copious use of stock footage for exteriors.Also at the political meetings you see the platform speakers but not those in the hall.Despite these limitations it is entertaining maybe because it took the path that will be taken by television soap operas.
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boblipton29 July 2020It's a crowded Manchester home, with grand dad, the married couple, their two grown children, one of whom has married the communist at the mill. The son of the house has an understanding with the girl next door, and they have trouble finding a spot for their courting. And then cousin William Sylvester shows up, with a leg shot off in battle, and the daughter of the house and he spark spark at each other. Will Patric Doonan decide there are things more important than class warfare, or will local gossip destroy the family.
It's a fabulous cast, including Brenda de Banzies, and a Prunella Scales so young she's unrecognizable to those who know her from playing John Cleese's long-suffering wife, and Joan Hickson as the sharp-tongued and small-minded neighbor. Under the direction of Maurice Elvey, we are introduced to the characters, and while some don't have as much screen time as I'd like, the story bumps along in an explication of a fairly broad-minded and caring famil -
mark.waltz28 April 2022A young married couple dealing with a limited income and high rents move in with family, deal with interfering mothers, other visitors coming in and out, turning this house into the infamous "Do Drop Inn". Elsie Albiin and Patric Doonan are the struggling couple whose mothers (Brenda de Banzie and Joan Hickson) think they know best, Hickson playing the worst kind of battle axe who never shuts up and gets uppity when she's told to shut up and stop interfering. Issues at the local factory also creates problems, followed by many misunderstandings that has the family thinking that Alibin is seeing another man secretly. Pride causes the marriage to fall apart, and finally it's the older men in the family who have to stand up and put in their two cents even though they haven't been a help in giving the young couple enough privacy to make a go of their marriage. A funny twist involving one of the younger sons ends the film with an ironic twist.
Even with the stereotypical characters, this is a fun little comedy with some drama added, based on a popular British play. The cast is excellent, and even Hickson, who seems to be playing the character deliberately over the top and annoyance to make a point of the hideousness of characters like this, gets to be funny, especially as she gets taken down. The title sequence is very amusing with all these very political pieces of graffiti followed by a declaration of a desire for "more beer" giving an idea of the type of community this family lives in. Certainly, the home becomes rather uncomfortable to live in even for those who have been there for years as they deal with it getting crowded to the point of recklessness. It may be a product of the fifties economy, but there are certainly elements of the film that stand out as issues still prevalent today.