The Chiltern Hundreds (film)

The Chiltern Hundreds

Section of British 6-sheet poster by Eric Pulford
Directed by John Paddy Carstairs
Produced by George H. Brown
Screenplay by William Douglas-Home
Patrick Kirwan
Based on the play The Chiltern Hundreds by William Douglas-Home
Starring Cecil Parker
A. E. Matthews
David Tomlinson
Lana Morris
Music by Benjamin Frankel
Muir Mathieson
Cinematography Jack Hildyard
Edited by George Clark
Production
company
George H. Brown Productions (for) Two Cities Films
Distributed by General Film Distributors (UK)
Release dates
  • 27 September 1949 (1949-09-27)

(London) (UK)

Running time
 84 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Chiltern Hundreds (released in the U.S. as The Amazing Mr. Beecham) is a 1949 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs, adapting William Douglas Home's 1947 play of the same name and starring Lana Morris, David Tomlinson and Cecil Parker.[1][2]

Synopsis

Viscount Pym (David Tomlinson) - whilst on National Service - gets leave from the British Army on the pretext of standing for Parliament as a Conservative Party candidate in his home constituency, held by his family for generations. The request is a ruse to enable Pym to marry his wealthy American fiancée June Farrell (Helen Backlin) while she's still in England and before she has to return home to America. His master plan backfires when he finds himself swept into the election campaign and beaten by the more politically experienced Mr Cleghorn (Tom Macaulay), the Labour Party candidate.

After losing the election, his family take the news calmly, but his fiancée is mortified, and he must now devise a plan to win her back. When Cleghorn is made a Peer, Viscount Pym stands again for the newly vacant seat, however this time he fights the campaign as a Socialist candidate but is beaten once again, this time by the family butler Beecham (Cecil Parker) - a steadfast Conservative.

Cast

Production

The film was made for ₤109,000.[3][4]

Critical reception

Bosley Crowther in The New York Times noted "a somewhat slapdash lot of fooling. It rambles all over the place and is perilously uneven in its humorous attack. But it does offer several stinging sideswipes at the "plutocrats, peers and parasites," and kids class distinctions and traditions in a pleasantly good-natured way. In the title role of the butler, Cecil Parker—he who played the pompous colonel in the last episode of "Quartet"—is delightfully foolish and mannered, but A. E. Matthews as the butler's ranking boss, a beautifully addle-brained old codger, runs away with the show. Mr. Matthews' illustration of the complacence of an impoverished earl may not be wholly consistent but it glistens brightly in spots. David Tomlinson also does nicely as the thoroughly light-weight young lord and Lana Morris, Tom Macaulay and Marjorie Fielding are amusing in other roles."[5]

References

  1. ↑ r-winbow (1 December 1949). "The Amazing Mr. Beecham (1949)". IMDb. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70034008
  3. ↑ "Hustling Showman Of British Films.". The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 19 July 1954. p. 11. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "THE STARRY WAY". The Courier-mail (4075). Queensland, Australia. 17 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 24 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DEEDD1F3BE23BBC4E51DFB4678382659EDE


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