Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (film)

Last updated

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys
"Mrs Gibbons' Boys" (1962).jpg
Directed by Max Varnel
Written by
Based on
Produced byHenry Halstead
Starring
Cinematography Stanley Pavey (as Stan Pavey)
Edited by Helen Wiggins
Music byDave Shand
Production
company
Henry Halstead Productions (as Byron)
Distributed by British Lion Film Corporation (UK)
Release date
April 1962
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys is a black and white 1962 British comedy film directed by Max Varnel and starring Kathleen Harrison, Lionel Jeffries and Diana Dors. [1] It is based on the play of the same name by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and was released in the UK as the bottom half of a double bill with Constantine and the Cross (1961). [2]

Contents

Plot

An ageing widow finally finds new love and happiness; but matters are complicated when her two convict sons escape from prison and beg her to hide them.

Cast

Production

Diana Dors was living in Los Angeles but returned to England to make the film. [3]

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "This unhappy farce about the doting mother of three revolting thugs is redeemed from utter banality by a few slick lines (mostly spoken by Diana Dors as Mrs. Gibbons' hairdresser cousin, a "straight bird" with a purely decorative function in the film), a few scenes (such as poor, sad Lionel Jeffries purchasing some chocolates for his intended) that are not sadistically slapstick, and a valiant supporting cast. How admirably shopkeeper Eric Pohlmann falls for ever amid the ruins of his merchandise! The pace is fast enough to hold real boredom at bay, but the production is wholly unimaginative and the settings, especially Mrs. Gibbons' stagey parlour replete with doors, both dreary and repetitive." [4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Unattractive farce with clodhopping characters and too much slapstick." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Two-Way Stretch</i> 1960 British film by Robert Day

Two-Way Stretch, also known as Nothing Barred, is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Robert Day and starring Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Lionel Jeffries and Bernard Cribbins. The screenplay is by Vivian Cox, John Warren and Len Heath. A group of prisoners plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into their jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the robbery occurred. However, their plans are disrupted by the arrival of a strict new Chief Prison Officer.

Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 black-and-white British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison and Robert Flemyng. The film released on 20 September 1955, distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States. The story concerns a husband who murders his wife.

<i>Emergency Call</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Lewis Gilbert

Emergency Call, released in the US as The Hundred Hour Hunt, is a 1952 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Sid James. It was distributed by Butcher's Film Service. The film was a noted success compared to its small budget and helped establish Gilbert as a director. It was remade in 1962 as Emergency.

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys is a play by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman. The comedy centers on the mother of three delinquent boys.

<i>Hour of Decision</i> (film) 1957 British mystery film directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards

Hour of Decision is a 1957 British mystery film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards and starring Jeff Morrow, Hazel Court and Anthony Dawson. It is based on the novel Murder in Mayfair by Frederic Goldsmith.

<i>West 11</i> 1963 British film by Michael Winner

West 11 is a 1963 British crime film directed by Michael Winner and starring Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on The Furnished Room (1961), Laura Del-Rivo's debut novel, adapted for the screen by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse. Set in west London, the title is taken from the postcode W11.

<i>Ladies Who Do</i> 1964 British film

Ladies Who Do is a 1963 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards and starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.

<i>Double Confession</i> 1950 film

Double Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, William Hartnell and Peter Lorre. The screenplay by William Templeton is based on the novel All On A Summer's Day by H.L.V. Fletcher, written under the pen name John Garden.

<i>The Man in the Sky</i> 1957 British film by Charles Crichton

The Man in the Sky is a 1957 British thriller drama film directed by Charles Chrichton and starring Jack Hawkins and Elizabeth Sellars. A test pilot strives to land a stricken prototype plane.

<i>Tom Browns Schooldays</i> (1951 film) 1951 British film by Gordon Parry

Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film, directed by Gordon Parry, produced by Brian Desmond Hurst, and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the 1857 novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes.

<i>Home and Away</i> (film) 1956 British film

Home and Away is a 1956 British drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. It depicts the life of an ordinary working-class man after he wins the football pools. The film reunited Warner and Harrison who had previously appeared together in the Huggetts series of films.

<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 released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.

<i>The Terror</i> (1938 film) 1938 British film by Richard Bird

The Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by Richard Bird and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Linden Travers and Bernard Lee. It was based on the 1927 play The Terror by Edgar Wallace. The play had previously been adapted as the American film The Terror(1928).

<i>Waterfront</i> (1950 film) 1950 British film by Michael Anderson and Peter Ustinov

Waterfront is a 1950 British black and white drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Robert Newton, Kathleen Harrison and Avis Scott. It is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by John Brophy.

<i>Not Wanted on Voyage</i> 1957 British film by Maclean Rogers

Not Wanted on Voyage is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix and Catherine Boyle. It is based on the play Wanted on Voyage by Ken Attiwill and his wife Evadne Price, and was made at British National Studios.

<i>Keep It Clean</i> 1956 British film by David Paltenghi

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims.

<i>Rattle of a Simple Man</i> 1964 British film by Muriel Box

Rattle of a Simple Man is a 1964 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Diane Cilento, Harry H. Corbett and Michael Medwin, based on the 1963 play by Charles Dyer. A naive man who becomes involved with a prostitute.

<i>Hi Gang!</i> (film) 1941 British film by Marcel Varnel

Hi Gang! is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon and Vic Oliver. It was a spin-off from the popular BBC radio series Hi Gang!.

<i>The Girl Who Couldnt Quite</i> 1950 British film by Norman Lee

The Girl Who Couldn't Quite is a 1950 British drama film directed by Norman Lee and starring Bill Owen, Elizabeth Henson and Iris Hoey. It is based on the 1947 stage play of the same name by Leo Marks.

<i>Live Now, Pay Later</i> 1962 British film

Live Now, Pay Later is a 1962 British black-and-white comedy-drama film starring Ian Hendry, June Ritchie and John Gregson, directed by Jay Lewis. It is based on the 1961 novel All on the Never-Never by Jack Lindsay.

References

  1. ↑ "Mrs. Gibbons' Boys". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Mrs. Gibbons' Boys". Britmovie.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  4. ↑ "Mrs. Gibbons' Boys". Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 155. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 687. ISBN   0586088946.


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.