La cassa sbagliata

Funny and often laugh out loud hilarious story of two brothers (John Mills and Ralph Richardson), one of whom must outlive the other in order to win a Tontine started at their boys school and going to the final survivor of the class. What transpires is "The Wrong Box," a 1966 film directed by Bryan Forbes and also starring Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Wilfred Lawson, Nanette Newman (Mrs. Forbes) and Peter Sellers.

The first ten minutes or so of the movie is hilarious, as it shows the demise of the other students over the years. Regarding the surviving Finsbury brothers, one side of has Caine and his grandfather Mills, who is desperate to win, so he summons his brother to his "deathbed" in order to kill him, in one of the funniest scenes in the movie. On the other side, Cook and Moore are Richardson's nephews, who have devoted themselves to keeping their uncle alive. They needn't have bothered because he can't be killed anyway. He walks away from a train crash, but there's a mix-up, and he's believed dead. The nephews are desperate to cover this up until Mills dies. When they go to bury what they think is his body, Cook makes Moore do it rather than put his hands in the dirt, insisting "petal-soft hands are the mark of a great ornithologist."

Both Richardson, as the fact-spewing brother, and Mills, as the crazy old coot with murder in his heart, are excellent, as is the rest of the cast. Michael Caine is young and handsome here. Peter Sellers as a shady, cat-loving doctor is a riot. Wilfred Lawson, who plays Mills' butler, nearly steals the film as the elderly servant so old he practically has rigor mortis. One of the best moments is when Michael Caine sends him to the door telling him to go slowly - it already takes him ten minutes to get there, and Lawson starts to go to the door and mumbles to himself, "I'll slow it down." Too much. The pretty ingénue, Newman, had been married to director Forbes for ten years before the making of this film. She's still married to him.

Lots of fun, with a crazy finale befitting the film.

I've recently bought this video not only to hear the music, which I do enjoy, but to be honest, it's the amusing shenanigans of the fortune seekers which I find so amusing. What will they think of next! Of course Michael Caine is his charming, adorable self, and his lady love, Julia, is captivating in her Victorian role of modesty personified, such a charming couple. I never thought John Mills could be so funny as he plays his role to the hilt, being very active for an ailing elderly family member. Peter Sellers' role as the absentminded Dr. Pratt would be hard to top as a performance. He certainly has a way with kittens and ink! It's the highlight of the movie, I'd say. The ending is hilarious and I'm still trying to figure it out as there's confusion galore. Altogether a very enjoyable film that you won't forget.

As one of the authors of the film, I'd like to say that neither of the Peters, Cook nor Sellers, did any ad libbing. As is usually the case with British actors, there was a great respect for, and reliance on, the written word.

There are many reasons to enjoy this film. It is a catalogue of English comic and serious actors, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore not the least among them. But this show belongs to the bit players. Wilfrid Lawson as Peacock is superb. I hope he garnered enough attention from this role to cap off his career. Bit and character players are a special breed.

The film is vaguely psychedelic. The art nouveau lettering on title cards fits in with the Haight Ashbury tone of the times. The plot is solid and humorous throughout yet it depends on the basic slapstick for its conclusion.

Well-written, well-acted, well-directed, well-conceived. A treat.

Without question, I would put THE WRONG BOX on any list of the ten best movies ever made. Certainly, to my mind, it is the most perfectly conceived and realized comedy to appear in my lifetime (and I have been around for a long spell). All the performances are flawless, but Peter Sellers's Dr. Pratt is, I believe, the best work he ever did on the screen. His characterization is hilariously funny and, at the same time, heart-wrenchingly poignant. It is worth the price of the film simply to see what he does with the kitten and the thermometer (No, not what you expect). I have always suspected that he and Peter Cook improvised their dialogue and these two brilliant satirists display a give-and-take of such high wit and subtlety that it is probably unique in cinema.

An amazing, wonderful, happy motion picture. THE WRONG BOX is a classic.