Poet's Pub

Enjoyable romp about an Oxford poet, Saturday Keith, who after complaining about the dreadful food, beer, and accommodations at an ancient country village inn/pub, befriends a lady at the next table whose husband has just bought her the inn. She makes Saturday the new manager, and soon the "Downy Pelican" is a huge success, full of an assortment of characters including an American collector, a Professor/critic who wrote a bad review of Saturday's book of verses, the critic's attractive daughter, Saturday's ditsy mother, a maid who likes to snoop around the rooms, and a bartender who collects cigarette cards and has invented what he calls a "Blue Cocktail". This is the kind of place where the guests like to indulge in such things as gossip, bridge, games of croquet on the lawn, and lots of drinks in the pub including an old English concoction, a spiced whiskey drink called "Lamb's Wool".

This film is enjoyable, silly fun where the charming old inn is really the star of the whole thing - the kind of place I would love to visit! It is mostly a comedy, but includes a thrown-in mystery involving the "Essex room", the seemingly required car chase scene near the end, and, of course, a romance between Saturday and the attractive daughter. Light, quite entertaining fare - well worth seeing.

This opens up with a quite a fun exchange between poet "Saturday Keith" (Derek Bond) - "Frankly, sir, I'm lost for words" and literary critic "Prof. Benbow" (James Robertson Justice) - "I know, sir, I've read your works..." that rather sets the tone for this light-hearted post-war comedy set in a rustic inn that is struggling to make ends meet. The not-so-hot poet is, rather imprudently, made the manager of this establishment and as he gradually falls for "Joanna" (Rona Anderson) - the daughter of his nemesis - what ensues is a rather entertainingly prickly love story that also finds itself embroiled in a little kidnapping intrigue - and, the mystery of a secret room! I always found that Joyce Grenfell could light up the screen just by smiling, and though that's just about all she does here, she and JRJ do just about enough to keep Eric Linklater's jolly whimsy enjoyable for eighty minutes with some borderline farce and silliness. No, you will not remember watching it half an hour after it's done, but it is still worth a watch to see some true professionals make a small silk purse from a bit of a sow's ear.

Eric Linklater's affected effort at wit and sophistication seldom resulted in anything but qualified and superficial nonsense, and this is a typical example. Everything and everyone appears to be serious but no one is, the plot appears to be complicated and screwed up, but it is all about trifles of no sense. The dialog appears to be brilliant in splendour and intelligence, but it is all affected make-believe of silly nonsense, and silliness is the main character of the whole show. The performance is saved to some degree by James Robertson Justice, whose imposing appearance used to grace every film he was in, and Derek Bond is never as silly as he seems but actually tries to make a contribution. The music is the worst of all, bits and pieces of all kinds of truncated tunes, and it is not even funny, just silly all the way, while Rona Anderson is the only one who in spite of all makes the film worth watching.

In 1950 Rank had a ten million pound overdraft,and it was films like this that largely contributed to it.The film is shapeless and disjointed with characters acting in totally unexplained ways.Derek Bond is appointed hotel manager because he complained!A woman is forcibly kissed,but she likes it!Even the appearance of Joyce Grenfell and James Robertson Justice fail to raise the film above mediocrity.

Derek Bond, ex-university champion rower, ex-RAF pilot and aspiring poet winds up the manager of a rural pub. He gently woos Rona Anderson, daughter of John Robertson Justice, eminent professor and literary critic in this amusing screen adaptation of Eric Linklater's novel.

I thought it a jolly little comedy, although its free mixture of town and country, of serious literary issues and low comedy might have been a little early for the sort of comedy that would become a successful sort of movie with DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE. Justice plays what would become his signature sort of role, as a professor of English and critic; Joyce Grenfell is a cheery bluestocking, and Iris Hoey plays Bond's mother as if he is Lord Peter Wimsey.

Perhaps the movie's lack of popularity is due to Bond's character; he is simply too smart, efficient and successful at what he sets out to do to merit much sympathy from the audience. It's a comedy, so we know he's going to succeed; it would be nice if he had some doubts.