Sunday, June 01, 2014

Movie review - "What the Butler Saw" (1950) **

Hammer were best known for their horrors and thrillers but they also made a surprising amount of comedies - such as this obscure 1950 movie. It actually has an OK idea, a sort of sequel to The Admirable Crichton - a noble and his butler return to England after ten years on a tropical island, only to find they've been accompanied by an island princess who is hot for the butler. Now, Kenneth More made films with worse plots but this is weighed down by inadequate casting.

If anyone out there is a massive fan of Edward Rigby (aristocrat) or Henry Mollison (butler) I apologise but I found neither up to the task. They also introduce the male love interest - a reporter - way too late (40 mins in). It really needed colour and some first rate comic talent, like More, or Margaret Rutherford or Alistair Sim. As it is, it's got the B team. It passes the time, and worse films have been made.

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