The Battleaxe

This film dates back to the time when a person jilted by their fiancée could sue for damages for breach of promise.This antiquated caution was taken off the statute books in the sixties.It was normally the woman.suing the man however in this film it is the man,Francis Matthews,suing the woman,Jill Ireland.This is a comedy from the prolific Danziger Brothers.It has a good cast and quite a funny script.It makes for a reasonably entertaining 63 minutes.There is some rather irritating background music which really is superfluous.The Battleaxe of the title is the sort of mother in law that you would wish on your worst enemy.The ending is farcical but fun

Francis Matthews is suing wealthy Jill Ireland for breach of promise. As the proceedings wend their way in court, an unpleasant picture is produced of the plaintiff. He is a penniless playboy who has established a company to manufacture locks, employing only burglars who have served their time. He has taken trips to France for the purpose, he claims, of securing contracts with entities he will not name. On the very evening he proposed marriage to Miss Ireland in his apartment, a girl in a bathrobe exited from his bedroom.

It's a movie from the Danziger Brothers, and as such is very cheaply produced. There are only a couple of sets, few performers, and the giving of testimony is not a good setting for subtle acting. Yet this movie, which makes fun of the changing standards of sexual propriety, is actually quite clever, and at barely more than an hour in length, does not outstay its welcome.

A dated rom-com set mainly in a court where playboy Tony Evers (Francis Matthews) is sueing wealthy fiancée Audrey (Jill Ireland) for breach of promise.

Here is another all expenses pared production from those czars of cinematic mediocrity the Danziger brothers. The eponymous "battleaxe" is Audrey's mother who has been married six times and is played by excellent character actress Joan Haythorne. But after the first few minutes she is given very little to do. Instead we focus on Evers' business, which employs ex convicts in a small workshop improbably involved in work vital to the defence of the realm in addition to some dabbling in the world of advertising. Any intentional laughs from the feeble script are promptly smothered by the inept director.

At least the humblest British 'B' is able to boast some fine actors, and Francis Matthews offers his usual polished, likable performance, while Richard Caldicot makes something of his role as the judge. THE BATTLEAXE is now out on DVD billed as 'Classic British Cinema' which is pushing it a bit, complete with an inaccurate précis of the film.

I am making a study of B films made in the UK in the 1950's and 1960's. YouTube has a great number of them, and some are very good and some trivial. I find it socially interesting, and many are filmed largely outside and reveal daily details of British life. I find them unique and underrated as they made up programmes as second features to the A film which the audience mainly went to see. This film ' The Battleaxe ' shows the inevitable ' terrible ' potential mother-in-law who in the usual cliche way tries to make life difficult for everyone who comes close to her. Her daughter wants to marry a man with a supposedly shady past, played rather blandly by Francis Matthews in stiff upper lip form. She rejects him and he takes her to court for breach of promise. This reversal of the usual situation could have been amusing, but falls flat due to the improbable twists and turns of the plot, and the ending of course has to please the audience. A conservative formulaic kiss was the usual conclusion, and this one between Jill Ireland and Francis Matthews was one of the most unlikely I have seen. Just over one hour long and the film seemed longer. This was the usual time for a B film. I do not want to put off viewers investigating this genre of the British supporting film, and there are some gems to be found. And for those who remember this period they could bring back a lot of nostalgia.