Ein Nerz an der Angel

Oddball British humor is as quirky as it gets in MAKE MINE MINK about a former military man (TERRY-THOMAS) who organizes an unlikely band of fur thieves in order to help fund an orphanage. It's screwball farce on the highest level, as only the British could do in the '60s about seniors in a rooming house who decide to spice up their lives by joining a robbery plan that goes awry.

Within a half-hour of various pranks involving a discarded mink coat, the eccentric roomers of a London boarding house decide to go in on a scheme of stealing fur coats to fund their favorite charity. A sub-plot develops involving BILLIE WHITELAW and a young policeman. She's reluctant to become his sweetheart because she has a police record and it could hurt his career. He scoffs at the idea. She, of course, knows nothing about the roomers' plans.

The plot deals amusingly with all of the bungled fur robberies and the interplay between the eccentric boarding house characters who adopt different disguises for every robbery. One of the most amusing sequences has Terry-Thomas believing he's stumbled upon a den of thieves and fences so he can sell some of the stolen goods--until he realizes the patrons are all members of the Salvation Army.

The fun is in the role playing and the clever script. It's played to the hilt by an ingratiating cast and ends on an ironic note after the burglar ring has sworn that they've committed their last crime.

Summing up: Mindless fun all the way.

The last time I saw this film was about 40 years ago when I was a kid. My sister and I would watch movies on Channels 9 and 11 in NYC and we saw Make Mine Mink about 3 times, I figure. Since then, I have unsuccessfully sought it in movie stores, like a man wistfully returning to the haunts he frequented with his first love, hoping against all odds to catch another glimpse of her. Part of my curiosity is determining whether I would think it as funny today, and my sister wonders the same thing. Terry Thomas was an absolute favorite of mine back then, too, and I haven't seen anything of him on TV for a long time. So what's this got to do with the movie itself? Well, it's just that kind of film. There's such a combination of comedy, sweetness, surprise, and intelligence in it that it sticks with you for a long time. The combination of the odd British major living in a rooming house with an extraordinary collection of women, the craziness of their plans and the situations they get themselves into, and the smart understating of the comedy that was such a British specialty before they became so self-conscious about that particular gift, make it a rarity in more ways than one.

For no reason I can fathom, this title recently popped into the disordered clutter of my memory. I haven't seen it since those halcyon days in Southern California, before multiplexes, when admission prices were affordable on a frequent basis, and when the area where I lived had theaters that booked all sorts of films from all over the globe, or so it seemed. It's one of the few films I went back to see almost immediately, since the uproarious laughter it provoked obscured some of the dialogue during my first viewing.

Terry-Thomas and his female partners-in-crime are truly hilarious and, for me, the special bonus of two of my favorite British character actresses, Irene Handl and Hattie Jacques, appearing in a film together, made this one of those gems I'll never forget. The slapstick elements are handled with that special brand of wit for which English comedies are noted and the modest production values actually enhanced the fun. I note that it's not currently available from American purveyors to the U.S. video market, but a DVD is offered in the U.K. Guess it's time to discover what's involved in exchange rates, international shipping, and so forth. It should prove worth the effort to renew a happy memory.

Paris used to be the place where you can see all sorts of "rare" films. But how comes we always have Man in the White Suit and Ladykillers when it comes to British comedy ? I discovered Terry-Thomas in the Dr Phibes movies (IMDB kindly tells me he's showing as well in that great French war classic, La Grande Vadrouille. How silly of me) and, rather charmed by the gap between the teeth, bought a Terry-Thomas DVD set in London. Mark that, readers ! It contains Make Mine Mink, Too Many Crooks and Naked Truth. They're all very good but Make Mine Mink has the very special charm of its female cast, from oddly beautiful Billie Whitelaw to wonderful Hattie Jacques (and a special mention to Penny Morrell in a faultless dumb blonde part).

I liked this. I suggest you reserve it for a time when you want something that isn't much work in viewing (which means that 1960 is about the latest you can consider).

The structure is a familiar one: we watch a bunch of actors portraying unlikely characters who themselves play unlikely characters precisely as far away. The joke of course is in the overlap, and the competence of the first contrasted with the incompetence of the second. Its all about coats and appropriation.

There's an interesting performer here, one I haven't seen before. She plays a painfully reserved spinster who's occupation is mending broken china. Her character, Pinkie, is immensely inept and most of the polished humor (this was a successful stage play) is hers. We are introduced to her when the silly major breaks in on her bath because she has extended into his time.

This is moments after having the first long segment of the movie linger on the sexy, pretty maid. And we see a naked skinny old maid in the bath. The major is retired from his duty as commander of "portable baths."

That's the attention to detail you'll find in how this humor is constructed.

Anyway, Pinkie (with the wonderful name of Elspeth Duxbury) only lived a few years after this. Too bad.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.