Always a Bride

With boring actors and a dull script, this movie doesn't even pass the basic test of credibility. We are asked to believe that a con man has made a lot of money over a great many years with a scheme that looks very unlikely to bring in any money at all. (And if it did, surely gossip in the hotel trade or newspaper reports would soon put an end to it.) The film is full of details that accentuate the sloppiness of the idea. The crook at one point has a handful of false passports. He could not possibly afford these with the money he makes. At another point, the crook and his henchman meet another crook and take him into their scheme, even though he is very poor at what he does AND it would mean less money for each of them AND they don't need another man to pull the scheme off! He is only around so we can (presumably) be amused by his (presumably) funny face and accent. Though this film tries to belong to the genteel- but-naughty tradition of English comedy, it is neither, just clumsy and prissy.

just thought i would add a piece of film trivia which may or may not be of interest to film buffs!. One of the stars of this film , James Hayter played a character with several children, as he happened to have 5 of his own, they were given tiny parts in one scene where "cash" Dutton is handing out ridiculously large sums of pocket money to the kids. at the end of this scene his character says " don't forget little Herbert" and passes a baby to his wife. as the youngest child at that time and only 5 months old i got my first and only chance at the limelight! i was a source of great satisfaction to my father that i earned 3 guineas! Jonathan Hayter (one of eventually eight Hayter children)

"Always A Bride" is one of those little-known but delightful comedies from what I have always thought of as the Golden Age of British Comedy (late 40s into the 60s). The entire cast is ingratiating, with that wonderful British character actor Ronald Squire a standout. Terence Morgan, an actor I am not always fond of, has never been more likeable, and Peggy Cummins does her usual efficient job in the role of leading lady. The humour tends towards the subtle and wry rather than the broad, and co-scripter Peter Jones can be seen briefly making the best of a supposed foreign lingo in an early scene. Also appearing briefly as a cab driver is Sebastian Cabot.

An escapist fantasy set in a plush hotel in the South of France which does for postwar austerity Britain what 'Only When I Larf' did for the swinging sixties fifteen years later, co.scripted by actor Peter Jones (who has a brief bit as a funny foreigner in a fez).

The agreeable cast milling about a plush hotel in Monte Carlo is headed by a charmingly glossy Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan is more animated than usual as a dashing treasury agent and Ronald Squire is his usual old reprobate with a twinkle in his eye.

Film does not get big reviews in most film books, but that doesn't mean it's not a good movie. The movie is a fun romantic comedy. Taxman (Morgan) goes on holidays only to fall into the middle of a bunch of conmen (and woman), who he falls in love with. Cast, camera and director all became workers for ITC television shows of the 50's. Should you see the movie for sale- buy it! If it shows up on the late-show, tape it!