4 in legge

This is a delightful, gentle, warm and witty little piece of old England. Public school accents, sedate lives and endless good manners all provide a wonderful antidote to the trash Hollywood is currently creating at a million times the cost! The stars are worth watching just because of who they are...Ian Carmichael, Terry~Thomas, Dickie Attenborough, Nicholas Parsons and the incomparable John LeMesurier. Select a soggy November day in England, get a cup of cocoa, don the fluffiest slippers possible and watch this with complete escapist delight.

Another of the Boulting Brothers swipes at the British Establishment. This time it's the law that is the target and very funny it is, too. Once again, it's Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael and Terry-Thomas heading up a superb cast of British character players that includes Miles Malleson, John Le Mesurier, Eric Barker (winning a Best Newcomer British Academy Award), Raymond Huntley and the great Irene Handl who dominates the film's funniest scene which takes place, naturally, in court. Hugely popular at the time of its release, it isn't much revived now, more's the pity, as it is something of a classic of it's kind. Seek it out.

A gentle British comedy, from the days when laughter didn't need to be generated by expletives. A flawless cast with some of the most illustrious names in British film. Ian Carmichael should have received a knighthood, his services to comedy are second to none. Watch and enjoy.

A fun film about barristers who have just begun their careers. Ian Carmichael plays Roger Thursby, who is hired on as a "pupil" (an associate) and immediately he is in court. He fumbles along through some little mishaps in court, but finds his way eventually. Its a great cast, including Richard Attenborough and Terry-Thomas, amongst others. I can imagine any lawyer in Britain or anywhere else smiling through this, recalling their first missteps before a judge. The film moves along well, and the characters are both likable and well realized. The title threw me, I thought it was about a bickering family (I bought it because Terry-Thomas, who actually has a minor role), but it is about the law. A fun, amusing film, especially recommended for anyone remotely related to the legal profession.

An excellent English period comedy with Ian Carmichael as lead. I started to write "starring..." but although Carmichael is definitely the leading actor here, he is not given star billing, not even lead billing. This is not the only time this happened in the '50s, or the only time it happened to Carmichael (and others). The English didn't seem to understand how to showcase its young would-be stars.

It is, though, a superb comedy about a young barrister fresh out of law school trying to get his foot in the big time law practice. The supporting cast is expert, especially Miles Malleson and Edith Sharpe who plays Carmichael's mother and has a nice bit at the end. If you liked I'm All Right, Jack, you will like this, too, even if this one doesn't have Peter Sellers or Dennis Price.

Carmichael would later play Bertie Wooster in the BBC production, and then go on from there to play Dorothy Sayers's Peter Wimsey in a series, which is appropriate as the mature Wimsey is Bertie all grown up, if that can be imagined.