Keep It Clean

Last updated

Keep It Clean
"Keep It Clean" (1956).jpg
Original British trade ad
Directed by David Paltenghi
Screenplay byCarl Nystrom
R. F. Delderfield
Produced by Maxwell Setton
John R. Sloan
Starring Ronald Shiner
Joan Sims
Cinematography Wilkie Cooper
Bernard Lewis (camera operator)
Edited byJohn Pomeroy
Music by Bruce Montgomery
Production
company
A Setton-Sloan Production
Distributed by Eros Films (UK)
Release date
  • 1 May 1956 (1956-05-01)(UK)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims. [1] The screenplay was by Carl Nystrom and R. F. Delderfield.

Contents

Plot

Advertising agent Bert Lane plans to market his brother-in-law Peter's new miracle cleaning machine. However, Bert's boss Mr. Bouncenboy wants him to advertise Mrs Anstey's famous crumpets, but Bert's cheesecake advertising slogans incur the wrath of Mrs Anstey and her Purity League, as well as that of his boss.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film was a commercial disappointment. [2]

Critical

Monthly Film Bulletin said "A dispiritingly unfunny farce, which lacks surprise in its story, timing in its slapstick and humorous appeal in its players. Several competent performers are embarrassingly and unhappily involved in the affair." [3]

Kine Weekly said "The picture takes a crack at Mrs. Grundy, a henpecked window cleaner, members of the aristocracy and non-stop striptease variety shows, but does not always hit its mark. What's more, some of its quips are crude, but by and large the fun is reasonably clean, if not clever. Ronald Shiner, who always enjoys his own jokes, never lets up as Bert, Jean Cadell is shrewdly cast as the austere Mrs. Anstey, and the others make eager stooges." [4]

Picturegoer wrote: "It's a pity to see such a first-rate comic as Ronald Shiner running riot over a puny comedy that at best has the makings only of a rowdy music-hall sketch. ... Shiner and James Hayter ham it up outrageously. No bewhiskered gags or comedy characters are spared. If there's a bucket of water around someone is sure to fall into it. ... There are lodgers, window cleaners, striptease girls, old lady firebrands, impoverished aristocrats . . . the lot." [5]

Picture Show called the film "Lively slapstick comedy." [6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Shiner floundering outside auspices of big studios, time-honoured slapstick situations litter unfunny comedy." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Shiner</span> British stand-up comedian and comedy actor (1903–1966)

Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.

<i>Miss London Ltd.</i> 1943 British film

Miss London Ltd. is a 1943 British black-and-white comedy musical directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was written by Guest and Marriott Edgar and produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures. It was Guest's directorial debut.

Who Done It? is a 1956 British slapstick black and white comedy crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Benny Hill, Belinda Lee, David Kossoff, Garry Marsh, and George Margo. It was wrtten by T. E. B. Clarke.

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>Tons of Trouble</i> 1956 British film by Leslie S. Hiscott

Tons of Trouble is a 1956 black and white British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne, William Hartnell and Austin Trevor. It was written by Hearne and Hiscott.

<i>Sailor Beware!</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Gordon Parry

Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Ronald Lewis. It was written by Philip King and Falkland Cary adapted from their 1955 stage play of the same name. It was released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.

<i>The Butlers Dilemma</i> 1943 British film by Leslie S. Hiscott

The Butler's Dilemma is a 1943 black-and-white British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne, Ronald Shiner as Ernie, Ian Fleming, Francis L. Sullivan, Judy Kelly and Hermione Gingold. It was produced by Elisabeth Hiscott and Graham Cutts for Shaftesbury Films, and filmed at British National Studios.

<i>Tread Softly</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film

Tread Softly is a 1952 British second feature ('B') crime film with musical overtones, directed by David MacDonald and starring Frances Day, Patricia Dainton and John Bentley. It was written by Gerald Verner based on his novel The Show Must Go On. A chorus girl investigates a series of mysterious happenings at a derelict theatre.

<i>The Second Mate</i> 1950 British film by John Baxter

The Second Mate is a 1950 British crime film directed by John Baxter and starring Gordon Harker, Graham Moffatt and David Hannaford. It was made at Southall Studios.

<i>Im a Stranger</i> 1952 British film

I'm a Stranger is a 1952 British second feature ('B') comedy film directed and written by Brock Williams and starring Greta Gynt, James Hayter and Hector Ross.

<i>Whispering Smith Hits London</i> 1952 British film

Whispering Smith Hits London is a 1952 British second feature ('B') mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt and Herbert Lom. The screenplay was by John Gilling. It was released in the United States by RKO Pictures.

<i>Top of the Form</i> (film) 1953 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Top of the Form is a 1953 British black-and-white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley and Harry Fowler. The film draws inspiration from Will Hay's 1937 classic Good Morning, Boys.

<i>The Gangs All Here</i> (1939 film) 1939 British film

The Gang's All Here is a 1939 British black-and-white comedy-mystery, directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan and Googie Withers. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation and released in the U.S. in 1943 as The Amazing Mr. Forrest.

<i>Home Sweet Home</i> (1945 film) 1945 British film

Home Sweet Home is a 1945 British musical comedy film directed by John E. Blakeley, written by Roney Parsons and Anthony Toner, and starring Frank Randle, Nicolette Roeg and Tony Pendrell. Set in the fictitious town of Redvale, the film is largely a vehicle for slapstick routines by Randle.

<i>And the Same to You</i> 1960 British film by George Pollock

And the Same to You is a 1960 British boxing-themed comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Brian Rix and William Hartnell. It was written by John Paddy Carstairs, John Junkin and Terry Nation based on the 1955 stage farce The Chigwell Chicken by A. P. Dearsley.

<i>Child in the House</i> 1956 British film by Cy Endfield

Child in the House is a 1956 British drama film directed and written by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the 1955 novel A Child in the House by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to cope with her uncaring relatives.

<i>Hangmans Wharf</i> 1950 British film by Cecil H. Williamson

Hangman's Wharf is a 1950 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Cecil H. Williamson and starring John Witty, Genine Graham and Campbell Singer. It was written by John Beldon and Williamson based on Beldon's 1948 BBC radio serial Hangman's Wharf.

<i>Landslide</i> (1937 film) 1937 British film

Landslide is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jimmy Hanley, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Mageean. It was written by Pedelty and David Evans.

<i>Always a Bride</i> (1953 film) 1953 film by Ralph Smart

Always a Bride is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan and Ronald Squire. It was written by Peter Jones and Smart.

<i>Girdle of Gold</i> 1952 British film by Montgomery Tully

Girdle of Gold is a 1952 British second feature comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Esmond Knight, Maudie Edwards and Meredith Edwards. It was written by Jack Dawe.

References

  1. ↑ "Keep It Clean". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (2003). British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press. pp. 178–180. ISBN   978-0-19-815934-6.
  3. ↑ "Keep It Clean". Monthly Film Bulletin . 23 (264): 77. 1956 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ "Keep It Clean". Kine Weekly . 469 (2542): 99. 3 May 1956 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ "Keep It Clean" . Picturegoer . 31: 16. 2 June 1956 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "Keep It Clean" . Picture Show . 66 (1730): 10. 26 May 1956 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 332. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.



This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.