Laughter in Paradise

Any film with Alastair Sim is worth watching, but this must rank as one of his best. Here he really displays his comic genius; his scenes can rightly be described as a masterclass in the art of comedy. Not before time, this has now become available on DVD, although, as yet, only part of a box set. Since Alastair Sim appears in the other films offered, this is not a great drawback. The other main characters in the film are also very good, particularly Fay Compton, and the supporting roles are filled well, with the always reliable Joyce Grenfell giving great satisfaction. The plot, too, is a cut above the usual, and it all adds up to a very satisfying experience, and one which I have watched many times, and hopefully will watch many more times.

I first saw this as a youngster and liked it, but over the years it's really grown on me until now I regard it as a minor classic. The main characters were all played excellently, with many lesser characters also played memorably.

Practical joker Hugh Griffiths dies and leaves GBP 50,000 to each of his four living relatives if they complete various silly but onerous tasks within one month of his death. Pulp writer Alistair Sim, snobby Fay Compton, womaniser Guy Middleton and timid George Cole are all faced with problems that are against their natures, and their attempts to succeed ultimately result in a worthy moral and laughter on Earth. Cole's "juvenile" sections used to irritate me when younger but there's plenty else to savour, especially the incomparable Sim as a determined shoplifter, Compton as a harassed skivvy and Middleton as a hornswoggled suitor. As icing on the cake there's also fluffy Joyce Grenfell, scathing John Laurie, suave Anthony Steel, jolly Ernest Thesiger, and many other old friends – even the forever bald Noel Howlett and a young Audrey Hepburn. The direction and production values were top notch too; the sets were so beautifully wooden, the acting certainly was not.

It's flimsy yet logical, life-affirming and recommended – stay with it to the end to have the last laugh.

When the film begins, an elderly man is dying...and he commits a prank on his way out of this world. But it's not his final prank...that comes in his will. When it's read to his four relatives, they're each told they'd receive 50,000 pounds...provided each do something odd and specifically tailored to them. His haughty sister is told that in order to collect, she must become a domestic and serve as one for a year. His cousin, the writer, must act out his dime novels...and get himself incarcerated for 28 days. His meek relative must hold up a bank with a fake gun...and his playboy cousin must marry the first woman with which he strikes up a conversation! And, all of these must be completed without telling anyone why they are doing it!

What made this one especially good is that, for the most part, the folks all learned a positive lesson from all this and there were also a few laughs along the way. Worth seeing and clever.

Alastair Sim would make a perfect undertaker. With those Bassett-hound eyes and that mournful hand-wringing manner, he's made to preside over the Slumber Room and ease you into the priciest model. So, it never fails to surprise me that he's also a first-rate comedic actor, maybe even the last word in droll comedy. And he pulls off the humor so slyly, with just a minor change of expression. What a wonderfully artistic contrast he is to today's rub- your-nose-in-it brand of comedy.

This is not his best vehicle, but the movie does have a clever premise and a couple of good set-ups—the shoplifting sequence, and any scene with Joyce Grenfell. The sketches, however, are more amusing than hilarious, and the humor never really peaks out in a climactic way. It's also perhaps one of the sweetest comedies on record, insisting that the key to happiness is pairing up with another, even in the case of those two cranky old people. That's the wisdom behind the will's requirement— old man Russell makes each beneficiary experience what is most missing from his or her life, and in the process, become a better and happier person.

Note the shot taken early on at America's brand of hard-boiled detective fiction, probably then making inroads into popular British fiction. So, by combining America's street- tough style with traditional British prose, writer Russell (Sim) produces something amusingly ridiculous, like "Petal arched her alabaster arm above her patrician brow in a moment of precise exasperation before he smacked her in the kisser." Anyway, I thought those passages were both funny and cleverly offbeat. All in all, this little comedy may be no knee-slapper, but it is rather sweetly memorable.

After a wealthy eccentric dies, he leaves his very sizable fortune in equal portions to four relatives, but they can only claim the money if they each perform a difficult task. Former military officer and gentleman (and secret crime novelist) Deniston Russell (Alastair Sim) must spend 28 days in prison. Ill-tempered Agnes Russell (Fay Compton), often cruel to her own servants, must herself become a servant. Milquetoast bank teller Herbert Russell (George Cole) must rob his own bank, and his own boss, at gunpoint. And gambler and ladies man Simon Russell (Guy Middleton) must wed the first woman he speaks to. All four struggle to complete their tasks, each with unique and unexpected outcomes.

I wasn't much looking forward to this one, as I only recorded to see Audrey Hepburn's brief turn as a cigarette girl. Depending on the source, this was her movie debut, and it doesn't amount to much although she's very cute. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find this a charming little comedy with some winning performances and enjoyable plot turns. Sim steals the show as a proper gent utterly befuddled at trying to become a criminal, attempting a variety a minor offenses in an attempt to earn the requisite 28 days in the clink. Any fans of British comedy that missed this the last time it was shown would do well to try and catch it on its next showing.